Fairbanks Morse Defense has bought Samtan Engineering, a Malden, Massachusetts-based single-source metalworking supplier, in an effort to add metal-stamped products and machine shop services to FMD's portfolio. "Samtan has a long track record of delivering superior customer service and high-quality products to the U.S. Navy, especially for submarine programs," remarked FMD CEO George Whittier.

NASA has increased funding for two commercial space stations meant to succeed the International Space Station, which is scheduled to retire in 2030. The agency announced Friday that it added $57.5 million for the Starlab station of Voyager Space’s exploration segment, as well as $42 million to the Orbital Reef station conceptualized by Blue Origin.

Space Systems Command and Microsoft will continue to develop and deploy an augmented reality space simulation platform in support of U.S. Space Force missions under a renewed partnership. The Integrated, Immersive, Intelligent Environment is built on an Azure cloud infrastructure and is powered by Microsoft’s HoloLens headsets designed to enable users to see and interact with satellites and other orbital objects in a scaled space environment, SSC said Friday in a press release received by Executive Mosaic.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has begun seeking solicitations for a potential $499 million follow-on indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to research, integrate, develop and support the service branch's geospatial systems and services. A notice posted Friday on SAM.gov states that the GRIDS IV contract will have an ordering period of five years and covers the provision of technical expertise to help the Army Geospatial Center coordinate, integrate and synchronize geospatial data standards and requirements.

VivSoft Technologies has received a Strategic Fund Increase award to modernize the U.S. Air Force Unified Platform, which serves as a shared system for military cyber operations. Under the $15 million award, VivSoft said in a press release received by Executive Mosaic that it would develop and implement a set of UP capabilities -- collectively referred to as UPV1 -- that would containerize the UP data platform and provide Department of Defense users with zero trust access.

Kyounghoon Kang, a 15-year General Dynamics NASSCO veteran, has been named vice president of operations support at the San Diego, California-headquartered shipbuilding company, according to a recently published LinkedIn post. He assumed the role after serving as director of outfitting at NASSCO and managing the company's on-ground activities for nearly 10 years.

DSC-EMI II, a North Carolina-based government contractor, has secured a potential $76.4 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract from the U.S. Navy to provide base operating support services for Naval Base Ventura County in California. The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Southwest conducted a competitive procurement process for the award and received six bids, the Department of Defense said Thursday.

Oswaldo Holguin, a finance executive whose experience spans more than three decades, has been appointed vice president and chief financial officer at research services provider Westat. He brings to the position his leadership experience and expertise in strategic planning and implementation, accounting, expansion strategies, investments and new business design, Westat said Thursday.

Maximus has received a contract from the Internal Revenue Service to help develop two systems. Under the $32 million Data Delivery Services award, Maximus is responsible for improving existing technological components and processes associated with these systems, the Tysons, Virginia-based company announced on Friday.

Jacobs and its subcontractors were instrumental in the Missile Defense Agency's flight demonstration of Ground-based Midcourse Defense Weapon System-12 interceptor against an intermediate-range ballistic missile. Jacobs, which leads the Integrated Research and Development for Enterprise Solutions contract, said Wednesday that it deployed employees in different locations to provide IT services, connectivity and communications for the flight test.

The U.S. Air Force awarded Applied Research Solutions a $48.75 million contract to study and develop closed-loop sensing, reasoning and data processing technologies for military missions. The cost-plus-fixed-fee contract will cover multiple defense domains and is scheduled for completion by April 2, 2029.

On Jan. 31, the Potomac Officers Club will host industry leaders, experts and government decision makers in the defense sector to put their heads together about the latest military technologies. POC's 10th Annual Defense R&D Summit is open for registration.

Timothy Barton, former chief technology officer of Leidos company Dynetics, has joined DESE Research as CTO. The company announced Thursday that it hired Barton to oversee all growth, strategy, change management, planning, execution, technical differentiation and investments.