FCW Insider: Oct. 16

Spectrum on the battlefield

Managing electromagnetic spectrum will become increasingly important as the Army pushes for large-scale operations across domains.

FAA presses on anti-UAS testing

The Federal Aviation Administration is advancing testing of anti-drone technology at airports, as federal authorities say rogue unmanned aircraft remain a problem even in the pandemic.

Solving the Army's data talent problem

The Army needs to develop specific skill sets and retool or retrain existing workforce, said Mark Gorak, the director of people analytics for the Assistant Secretary of the Army Manpower and Reserve Affairs.

Quick Hits

*** The White House released its National Strategy for Critical Technologies, designed to counter strategic investments made by geopolitical rivals China and Russia in areas of emerging technology. The document includes a list of 20 "critical and emerging technologies" that are identified as priorities for agency missions.

*** The Department of Defense announced $197 million in awards under Other Transaction Authority to support microelectronics technology advancements. The awards were issued under the DOD's Rapid Assured Microelectronics Prototypes (RAMP) using Advanced Commercial Capabilities Project the State-of-the-Art Heterogeneous Integration Prototype (SHIP) program. The RAMP program awards went to Microsoft and IBM. The SHIP program made awards to Intel Federal and Qorvo.

*** According to the 2020 Survey on the Future of Government Service from the Partnership for Public Service and others, just 32% of federal executive surveyed agreed that their agencies' recruitment plans meets the needs of its workforce. About 60% agreed that "an inadequately skilled workforce is a significant obstacle to fulfilling their agency's mission."