Emerging Technology
PR Newswire | August 24, 2023
Umbra, a leader in advanced space radar technology, announced it has been selected by AFWERX for a SBIR Phase II contract in the amount of $1.25 million focused on Space-Based Moving Target Indication (MTI) to address the most pressing challenges in the Department of the Air Force (DAF). Umbra will leverage its market leading wide-bandwidth, affordable space systems, uniquely operating in paired flight, to develop and demonstrate Maritime and Ground MTI (MMTI and GMTI) capabilities. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and AFWERX have partnered to streamline the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) process by accelerating the small business experience through faster proposal to award timelines, changing the pool of potential applicants by expanding opportunities to small business and eliminating bureaucratic overhead by continually implementing process improvement changes in contract execution. The DAF began offering the Open Topic SBIR/STTR program in 2018 which expanded the range of innovations the DAF funded and as of August 9, 2023, Umbra accelerated its journey to create and provide innovative capabilities that will strengthen the national defense of the United States of America.
"With the end of the JSTARS program, Umbra understands the national imperative to develop a multi-domain replacement capability with a strong space-based element," said Jason Mallare, Vice President of Government Programs and Strategy. "Commercial space systems which can be developed and rapidly deployed offer a differentiated and robust method to contribute to this critical mission need. Umbra is committed to partnering with AFWERX, the broader DAF, as well as other DoD and IC stakeholders. We intend to bring the best Umbra has to offer, including affordable spacecraft and ground infrastructure, and market leading SAR technology."
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.
About Umbra
Umbra is a technology company that offers intelligence data as a service to commercial and government customers. Our cutting-edge products help customers solve complex business and security challenges. Umbra is a U.S.-owned and operated company headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, and has a presence in Austin, Texas, and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit https://umbra.space.
About Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)
Sole organization leading the planning and execution of U.S. Air Force & U.S. Space Force science & technology programs. Orchestrates a world-wide government, industry & academia coalition in the discovery, development & delivery of a wide range of revolutionary technology. Provides leading-edge warfighting capabilities keeping air, space and cyberspace forces the world's best. Employs 10,800 military, civilian and contractor personnel at 17 research sites executing an annual $4B budget. For more information, visit: www.afresearchlab.com.
About AFWERX
The innovation arm of the DAF and a directorate within the Air Force Research Laboratory brings cutting edge American ingenuity from small businesses and start-ups to address the most pressing challenges of the DAF. Employs approximately 325 military, civilian and contractor personnel at six hubs and sites executing an annual $1.4B budget. Since 2019, has executed 4,671 contracts worth more than $2B to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base and drive faster technology transition to operational capability. For more information, visit: www.afwerx.com.
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Emerging Technology, Cybersecurity
PR Newswire | July 24, 2023
IMB Partners ("IMB"), a leading middle market private equity firm specializing in utility, industrial, and government contracting services ("GovCon"), today announced its strategic investment in eTelligent Group ("eTel"), a premier provider of emerging technologies and program management solutions to the U.S. Government.
Founded in 2005, eTel has been leading the enterprise-wide transformation of critical business systems by managing the implementation and engineering of emerging technologies. Today, the company delivers digital transformation services primarily to the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS"), utilizing capabilities that include agile software development, DevSecOps, IT Program Management Office (PMO), cybersecurity, web services, and big data. eTel has become a principal thought leader and solutions evangelist to the IRS, now positioned as the second-most active prime contractor on the IRS IT-EPMSS BPA contract vehicle.
"We are excited to hit the ground running with the highly-skilled and experienced team of professionals at eTel," says Norman Yu, Director at IMB Partners. "The eTel team has laid some very impressive groundwork, and IMB sees a great opportunity to grow, diversify, and strengthen the business both inside and outside of the IRS. eTel is the partner we have been looking for, and we are ready to roll up our sleeves with eTel and further our commitment to serving the GovCon sector."
With IMB's investment, eTel will be able to dedicate additional resources to professionally scale the overall organizational infrastructure and capabilities to undertake larger contracts. Additionally, this partnership will propel eTel to explore potential acquisitions to help diversify the customer base and build upon existing capabilities to best serve the U.S. Government.
"Over the past 18 years, we have built a high performing team of industry leading professionals that are committed to our core company values of serving with excellence," says Ritesh Bansal, Managing Partner of eTel.
"The proof is in our customer feedback: we're nimble, more efficient, and more responsive in delivering exceptional service. And now, with this partnership with IMB, we will have the means to extend the same exceptional service to more customers across new categories and invest significantly in building our strategic and operational framework," says Rohit Aggarwal, Managing Partner of eTel.
About eTelligent Group
eTel provides a proven team of talented IT professionals that provide reliable solutions for business & information technology management and services. eTel delivers IT services, agile and DevOps development, big data services, IT program management, and cyber security services. Working as a trusted partner of the Federal Government, eTel holds itself to the highest industry standards, including CMMI Level 3 and PMBOK. Learn more at etelligent-group.com.
About IMB Partners
Founded in 2010, IMB is a private equity sponsor focused on investing and partnering with management teams to grow lower middle market companies serving government agencies and electric and gas utilities. IMB believes that diversity is an asset and takes an entrepreneurial approach to building companies of scale. IMB seeks platform investment targets with $10-$250 million in revenue. Learn more at imbpartners.com or connect with us on LinkedIn.
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Government Business
PR Newswire | July 05, 2023
DroneShield Ltd has been awarded a follow-on 2-year R&D contract with a total value of $9.9 million by a Five Eyes Department of Defence (DoD). Approximately $4.5 million is due in the September and December 2023 quarters. Five Eyes refers to the defence/intelligence alliance between the US, Canada, UK, Australia and NZ.
The award follows DroneShield materially completing the $3.8 million contract announced 4 June 2021 with the DoD, with a final milestone payment expected this month.
Oleg Vornik, DroneShield's CEO, commented, "Follow-on contracts are the ultimate customer measure of our performance. As an Australian sovereign industrial capability business, DroneShield is proud and pleased to continue undertaking multi-year contracts of increasing size with this customer."
"This is the largest long-term contract received by DroneShield to date, significantly larger than the earlier, $3.8 million contract. The 2-year term locks in cash receipts over a period of time. Further larger contracts are anticipated following completion of this phase."
"In the current uncertain geopolitical environment, there is a significant focus by the Five Eyes Governments to procure from defence industrial capability champions within their network of countries. Having deep engineering and research capability, TRL9 products and a track record of working with Defence, places DroneShield in a favourable position for ongoing work."
Operational Update
Following a strong $7 million cash receipts 1Q23 quarter, DroneShield is on track for an all-time record 2Q23 quarter and continuing on a trajectory for another record year for cash receipts in 2023. Further detail will be provided in the next 4C quarterly, due to be released later in July.
Significant progress on manufacturing, operations and inventory scale-up to support additional anticipated orders for remainder of 2023. DroneShield is currently finalizing the location for a larger industrial site to move its Sydney operations to enable the growth.
With the $11 million contract announced in December now fully delivered and paid for, DroneShield is progressing the inventory build of the second $11 million order announced in January, expected to be delivered later this year.
Current order book (committed and binding customer purchase orders) of approximately $29 million, an all-time record.
Over $200 million qualified opportunities pipeline (in addition to the order book), across approximately 80 projects.
Ongoing record demand for counterdrone / C-UAS equipment, underscored by the events in Ukraine and increasing defence and security budgets globally.
In addition to military and intelligence communities, significant engagement with critical infrastructure plants, airports and other civilian customers.
About DroneShield Limited
DroneShield provides Artificial Intelligence powered platforms for protection against advanced threats such as drones and autonomous systems. We offer customers custom counterdrone (or counter-UAS) solutions and off-the-shelf products, designed to deliver highly effective capabilities for multiple missions and use cases. Our customers include military, government, law enforcement, critical infrastructure, and airports globally.
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Cybersecurity
PR Newswire | September 01, 2023
Aquia Inc., a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) specializing in cloud and cybersecurity professional services, today announced it has been awarded a subcontract from Omni Federal to support its 3-year contract with the United States Department of Defense's (DoD's) Platform One Cloud Native Access Point (CNAP).
CNAP is a cloud-based enterprise security framework with a zero trust architecture core that enables collaboration across the DoD landscape. The solution allows for simplified access to Amazon Web Services (AWS) GovCloud (IL 2/4/5) environments through a device-based zero trust approach to access. The platform removes the need for additional Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), Non-Classified Internet Protocol Router Network (NIPRNet) routing, and Defense Information Systems Agency Cloud Access Point (DISA CAP). It also enables the United States Air Force (USAF) to continue to advance its zero trust maturity, aligning with the cybersecurity executive order (EO) 14028 and federal and DoD zero trust strategies.
"We feel privileged to support Platform One's CNAP team as they spearhead the transformation of cybersecurity practices within the U.S. government," said Savannah Burke, associate security engineer, Aquia. "During my time at AWS, I provided guidance and technical insight on cloud best practices to enterprise customers, and I look forward to bringing that expertise to the United States Air Force."
This effort is one of several of Aquia's projects supporting Platform One services. Aquia also supports Platform One's Party Bus and Big Bang teams.
About Aquia Inc.
Aquia Inc. is a developer-centric company passionate about the intersection of security and velocity. We maintain a strong bias towards transformational work that disrupts the status quo — delivering elegant, modern solutions to cutting-edge cybersecurity problems.
Founded by military veterans in 2021, we are a Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB). Our team has decades of experience driving transformational change across the public sector, enterprise businesses, and top-tier technology companies.
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