ECS has promoted John Heneghan to chief operating officer (COO) and Giles Kesteloot to chief strategy officer (CSO) in an effort to enhance company performance and speed up growth. In the roles, Heneghan and Kesteloot will enhance customer service and maintain the business operations. “I am proud to promote John and Giles to the roles of COO and CSO,” said ECS President George Wilson, a 2020 Wash100 Award recipient.

Accenture's federal services business has been awarded a five-year, $50 million blanket purchase agreement by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to operate, maintain and modernize the agency’s financial management systems (FMS) for the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO). “We are proud to support USPTO," said Rasha Nahas, managing director and the U.S. Department of Commerce lead for Accenture Federal Services.

Northrop Grumman has secured a $325 million contract from the U.S. Air Force to continue its support of the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS). “The overall modification and sustainment work will ensure continuous safety and system readiness for the E-8C fleet against evolving threat environments,” said Janice Zilch, vice president of manned airborne surveillance programs at Northrop Grumman.

Cyberbit has launched an international competition that will subject participating teams to attacks simulated through a company-built platform to determine the best defensive group of cyber professionals.

BAE Systems has signed a nine-year agreement with Vertex Aerospace to increase the availability of the U.S. Marine Corps’ AV-8B Harrier II fleet. "This new contract with Vertex Aerospace ensures we can continue to apply our expertise to support the U.S. Marine Corps in their crucial operations,” said Tom Fillingham, senior vice president of US Programs at BAE Systems Air.

Northrop Grumman has been awarded a contract from Lockheed Martin to enable new functionality that supports the 5th Generation F-35 Lightning II multi-role fighter. BAE Systems is also part of the collaborative agreement. Northrop, Lockheed and BAE will equip the fighter jet with Northrop’s AN/ASQ-242 Integrated Communications, Navigation and Identification (ICNI) and BAE’s AN/ASQ-239 Electronic Warfare/Countermeasures (EW/CM) system to deliver optimal operational utility.

Dan Antal, formerly senior vice president and general counsel for civil group at Leidos, has joined Rolls-Royce as general counsel for defense and North America business. He will serve on the board of Rolls-Royce North America, lead general counsel teams across the U.S. and oversee the company’s special security agreement with the Department of Defense.

Persistent Systems has announced that Robotic Research joined the Wave Relay Ecosystem, an industry alliance of sensor and unmanned system companies that leverage the former's Wave Relay mobile ad hoc network. "The aim of the Wave Relay Ecosystem is to deliver the warfighter a truly unified battlefield network," said Jeffrey Washington, director of business development at Persistent Systems.

An industry team led by Lockheed Martin has secured a $1.28 billion undefinitized contract action (UCA) from the F-35 Joint Program Office to support operations and sustainment of the global F-35 fleet through June 30. "This contract ensures F-35s remain ready to fly and accomplish the warfighter's mission," said Bill Brotherton, Lockheed Martin F-35 program acting vice president and general manager.

Paradyme Management has appointed Roger Miller as senior director of growth for justice markets, responsible for further building relationships with federal agencies that serve the homeland security mission. “Roger has a vast amount of experience in the justice community and has been right in the middle of dealing with the complex technical issues it faces," said Jack Ginsburg, chief operating officer of Paradyme. 

Executive Mosaic, a leadership media and events company in the government contracting space, will be accepting nominations for the 2021 Wash100 Award until Friday. Submissions for the award can be done through the Wash100 website. The award also highlights the contributions and efforts of private and public sector leaders in leading industry growth and innovation.

Cobham Mission Systems has been awarded a three-year contract by Sabena technics to provide comprehensive through-life support (TLS) and air-to-air (AAR) equipment maintenance in support of refueling tankers. “Our TLS agreements provide customers with long-term cost savings and faster access to parts and technical support, and gives us important insight into the full AAR product lifecycle," said Russell Bailey, vice president air-to-air refueling for Cobham Mission Systems in the UK.

Tactical gear and equipment provider Maddox Defense transferred to a new headquarters along Cranswick Road in Houston on Dec. 1 following a six-month business operation expansion effort that began in March 2020.

Exolaunch has initiated its launch campaign that will integrate 30 small satellites from the U.S. and Europe aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rideshare mission. The launch is scheduled for no earlier than January 2021. “Through our partnership with SpaceX, Exolaunch has become the bridge for multiple European smallsat developers and others from around the world interested to launch on Falcon 9,” said Jeanne Medvedeva, vice president of Launch Services at Exolaunch.

Northrop Grumman has been awarded a potential $250 million production contract by the U.S. Navy to deliver up to 103 GQM-163A “Coyote” supersonic sea-skimming target (SSST) vehicles. Northrop Grumman’s contract has a base value of $57 million that provides for 19 Coyote vehicles. “The Coyote is the only supersonic sea skimming target in production in the U.S.,” said Rich Straka, vice president of launch vehicles at Northrop Grumman.