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Michael Biddick Joins ManTech as VP of Enterprise Program Management, Standards & Quality Assurance

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Michael Biddick / LinkedIn

Home Artificial Intelligence Michael Biddick Joins ManTech as VP of Enterprise Program Management, Standards & Quality Assurance

Michael Biddick, a client satisfaction and technology consulting professional with over 20 years of experience, has been appointed vice president of enterprise program management, standards and quality assurance at ManTech.

The mission-focused technology services company said Monday Biddick will oversee the execution and quality assurance of its programs, including digital transformation, artificial intelligence, machine learning, cybersecurity and information technology, while ensuring compliance with business strategies and technological advancements.

Before joining ManTech, Biddick served as VP and managing partner at Gartner for almost four years. He supervised the growth and delivery of the national security consulting provider’s applied research offerings.

Biddick founded Fusion PPT in 2009 and served as the IT consulting company’s CEO for 12 years. He also spent a decade at Windward Consulting as executive VP and chief technology officer and as a strategic enterprise network consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE: BAH).

Bonnie Cook, EVP and chief performance officer at ManTech, said, “With a 25-year track record of proven expertise in tech consulting and entrepreneurship, Michael excels at building high-performing teams leveraging technology-enabled capabilities, software tools, effective performance measures and indicators to support client and program requirements.”

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Anthony Adinolfi Appointed VP of IT at DZYNE Technologies

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Anthony Adinolfi / DZYNE Technologies

Home Cybersecurity Anthony Adinolfi Appointed VP of IT at DZYNE Technologies

Anthony Adinolfi, a seasoned security adviser, has been selected as vice president of information technology at DZYNE Technologies, the executive shared on LinkedIn Saturday.

In his new role, Adinolfi will lead DZYNE’s cloud transformation and compliance initiatives while ensuring information systems, information security strategies and compliance strategies align with business objectives.

Adinolfi previously worked as Director of Information Technology at High Point Aerotechnologies, which was acquired by DZYNE in June, and as a security consultant at GuidePoint Security and Rapid7.

The security veteran spent eight years at Adjusters International Pacific Northwest as Director of IT and security and later Chief Information Security Officer. As CISO, he supervised the development of systems, policies, and procedures for security enhancement for the company and its clients.

Adinolfi held several other security-related roles, including 13 years as a security consultant at Black Pine Cyber, Systems Architect at Davis Wright Tremaine, Systems Administrator and Application Analyst at K&L Gates and Network Operations lead at RealNetworks.

Before joining the industry, Adinolfi was a paratrooper in the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and a mechanized infantryman in the National Guard. He also volunteered as a crew chief with the Snohomish County Helicopter Rescue Team and Snohomish County Search and Rescue.

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Mike Stucki Joins DTC as Business Development VP

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Mike Stucki / PR Newswire

Domo Tactical Communications has appointed Mike Stucki, a more than two-decade leader in the aerospace and defense market, as vice president of business development within the military sector.

Stucki announced his appointment at DTC in a LinkedIn post published Monday.

The U.S. Air Force Reserve lieutenant colonel most recently served as director of business development for Leonardo DRS’ land electronics business, where he led the capture and proposal process and was responsible for strategy and business development expansion through customer engagement efforts.

His industry career included time holding business development leadership positions at several companies, including Noble, Systel, L3 Wescam, ATK and Talent Alliance.

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AeroVironment Receives $743M Army Contract Ceiling Increase for Switchblade Systems

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Photo by AeroVironment

Home Contract Awards AeroVironment Receives $743M Army Contract Ceiling Increase for Switchblade Systems

The U.S. Army has awarded AeroVironment (Nasdaq: AVAV) an additional contract ceiling of $743 million to continue producing Switchblade loitering munition systems for the military branch and several allied countries, including Sweden, Lithuania and Romania.

The company said Monday the award includes a $54.9 million delivery order issued under the previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Switchblade systems and leverages the Army’s fiscal 2023 and 2024 funds and foreign military sales funds.

“This contract allows us to continue delivering Switchblade systems to the U.S. Army and allied partners at speed with upgraded capabilities based on real-time battlefield feedback,” said Brett Hush, senior vice president and general manager of loitering munition systems at AeroVironment.

The company will perform work in Simi Valley, California, through June 30, 2026.

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NASA Eyes Solicitation for $450M Construction Support IDIQ

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Photo by CHAIYA / Shutterstock

NASA plans to release a request for proposals for a potential five-year, $450 million procurement vehicle for construction support services.

According to a presolicitation published Friday, the proposed Western Regional Multiple Award Construction Contracts will be a total small business set-aside program and will cover construction work in Northern and Southern California.

Construction work under the indefinity-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract vehicle will occur at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center, Ames Research Center, NASA Office of JPL Management and Oversight and Edwards Air Force Base.

The contract may also include other locations, including Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex and Santa Susana Field Laboratory in California.

The space agency expects to issue the RFP by Nov. 1 and anticipates receiving offers by Dec. 13.

All contractual and technical questions or comments on the contract synopsis should be submitted on or before Oct. 25.

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‘Kind of Like Electricity’—Where DOD Stands With AI

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Margaret Palmieri/Department of Defense; Sean Moriarty/PrimerAI

The Department of Defense introduced its Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office, or CDAO, in early 2022, out of a dissatisfaction with the progress made by the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, known as the JAIC. In the two and a half years since the CDAO’s establishment, though, how much progress has the Pentagon made with this rapidly growing technology?

AI in the DOD: By the Numbers

Deputy CDAO Margaret Palmieri said at a recent conference that the DOD is currently utilizing more than 1,000 AI programs, fueled by about $1.5 billion in funding. Its uses include as an enabling agent for DOD staff and warfighters and for other technological systems.

“How do we look through our current portfolio, pull across the capabilities that may be in the research and development phase now, but have to get into the hands of operators, have to be tested and evaluated and trained, and make sure that we’ve got good pipelines to do that?” Palmieri said of where her and her office’s minds are currently on the subject.

Want to gain a deeper understanding of AI’s defense applications and the other technologies that are currently being researched and integrated? Register for the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Defense R&D Summit. This January event, now over a decade running, is a central gathering for contractors working with the DOD. Last year’s event featured Heidi Shyu as the opening keynote speaker. Don’t miss out!

An Opposing Viewpoint

At another recent conference, Sean Moriarty, CEO of PrimerAI, contended that the DOD isn’t taking full advantage of the AI opportunities available to it. He said “the gap is enormous” between the progress being made in the private sector and that of the government.

From Moriarty’s perspective, the DOD needs to come together and collectively embrace and deliver strategies that prioritize AI — as opposed to, potentially, just leaving it up to the CDAO.

“I think the big challenge upon us now is we recognize the world is increasingly dangerous. Can we actually get ahead, or is the necessary forcing function a terrible event which allows us to just rip out these barriers to innovation and response?” wondered the PrimerAI chief executive.

Effective AI Implementation in the DOD

Large-scale, reorienting geopolitical events have thus far influenced the DOD to take AI more seriously, Moriarty said. In the timeframe directly after Hamas’ retaliation against Israeli occupation of Palestine on Oct. 7, 2023, the Pentagon was able to tap into generative AI to help sort through and disregard misinformation and biased sources about the events.

Similarly, at the Potomac Officers Club’s GovCon International Summit on Thursday, U.S. Central Command Chief Technology Officer Schuyler Moore said large language models are doing valuable work as the first line of defense when determining if data is releasable to foreign allies or not. Before, human officials might have labeled a whole dataset as unfit for international eyes based off one small part of the intelligence, but now LLMs are able to be simultaneously faster and more thorough (though Moore assured the audience that human oversight would of course need to take place at a later stage.)

AI also serves a more subsidiary—and frankly, abstract—role at the DOD. In her remarks, Palmieri said, “AI is kind of like electricity. It’s not a specific thing. It’s an enabler of a bunch of different mission areas.”

To support this function, the CDAO deputy shared that the Defense Department is working on building up an AI-fluent workforce, equipping itself with the appropriate compute and putting in place effective learning models.

Save the date—Jan. 23—for the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Defense R&D Summit, where you’ll get to dialog with top DOD leaders about their most critical tech initiatives, including AI.

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GovCon Index Kept Rising Last Week

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Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index maintained a winning streak last week, closing 0.65% higher than the previous week. This increase lifted the average to $5,505.35.

GovCon Index gathers and displays data on the stock market performance of 30 major government contracting companies in real time. With this information, users can evaluate the financial standing of each tracked organization and gain key insights into the broad trends characterizing today’s GovCon market.

V2X claimed the top spot last week with gains of 8.52%. Palantir (+8.04%) came in second, and Honeywell (+5.65%) was third. Aerovironment, which grew by 3.45%, secured fourth place, and The Carlyle Group (+2.88%) achieved the fourth spot in the ranks.

GovCon Index had a slow start last week, but an increase of 0.44% on Tuesday reversed Monday’s losses. Though Thursday brought a drop of 1.05%, Friday’s 1.44% rise pushed GovCon Index up overall, marking its fourth consecutive week in positive territory.

Check out last week’s market reports for a closer look at daily GovCon Index performance. Visit GovConIndex.com to view the complete list of tracked companies.

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DOD Seeks Comments on Proposed JV Eligibility DFARS Amendment

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The Defense Acquisition Regulations System is seeking comments on its proposal to amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement.

According to the proposed rule published in the Federal Register on Thursday, the DFARS amendment would revise the joint venture eligibility requirements and nonmanufacturer rule applicability to contracts awarded under the partnership agreement between the Department of Defense and the Small Business Administration.

The revision aims to align the DFARS with the Federal Acquisition Regulation changes allowing joint ventures to submit responses to solicitations for program acquisitions processed under the agreement.

This proposed rule also includes removing the kit assembler rule set and the nonmanufacturer rule requirements in the DFARS to align with the FAR’s nonmanufacturer rule, which specifies the requirements for all socioeconomic categories.

The DOD invites small businesses and other interested parties to comment on the expected impact of the proposed rule on small entities.

Responses are due Dec. 9.

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The federal government is likely to receive a record number of FOIA requests again in 2024

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In recent years, the federal government has seen a sharp rise in the volume and complexity of Freedom of Information Act requests, creating an overwhelming challenge for government agencies.  

In fiscal year 2023, the federal government received an all-time high of 1,199,644 FOIA requests — a staggering 29% increase from the previous year. According to preliminary data from FOIA.gov, this surge shows no signs of slowing down. In the first three quarters of FY 2024, the federal government has already received more than 928,000 requests — an increase of more than 18% from the same period in the previous year. If the final quarter follows a similar pattern, the number of FOIA submissions will easily surpass 1.3 million for the year. 

This rising volume underscores the public’s increasing desire for transparency and accountability. However, the sheer number of requests is only part of the story. The complexity of these requests is also evolving, posing further challenges for government agencies already struggling with reduced staffing levels and outdated technologies. 

This perfect storm of expanding demand and stagnant capabilities has created significant backlogs across many agencies and significantly increased processing and litigation costs. These trends are forcing agencies to rethink how they handle public information requests, with many looking to advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence to alleviate the burden. 

Increased Complexity of FOIA Requests 

Today’s FOIA requests are more complex than ever. They often encompass large volumes of documents across multiple formats, including emails, PDFs, spreadsheets, and other file types. These requests can span years of data and involve multiple departments, agencies, and offices. 

Sorting through vast quantities of information, much of it sensitive or confidential, requires both time and specialized knowledge. The ballooning amount of data can quickly overwhelm government agencies, especially those that rely on manual document review processes. 

Many federal agencies are dealing with understaffing and outdated technologies that were never designed to handle the current FOIA workload. These limitations have led to mounting backlogs and delayed responses. While agencies are required by law to respond to FOIA requests within 20 working days, meeting this deadline has become increasingly difficult. 

In FY 2022, there were 206,720 backlogged FOIA requests. While FY 2023 saw a slight drop in backlogs to 200,843, the backlog surged again in the third quarter of FY 2024, reaching 222,328. This marks an increase of more than 10% and suggests that agencies are falling further behind, struggling to process requests quickly enough to meet demand. 

The costs of these delays extend beyond administrative burdens. Backlogs often result in litigation, as requesters who feel their FOIA requests are being unjustly delayed turn to the courts for redress. Increased litigation leads to higher legal costs for the government and further strains agency resources. 

Technology as a Solution 

Despite the challenges presented by the rising number and complexity of FOIA requests, this trend can also be viewed as a positive sign. It indicates a public that is actively engaged in the democratic process, seeking information to hold their government accountable.  As agencies seek solutions, “end-to-end” solutions that harness the power of AI to help manage and track requests and securely collect relevant information show the most promise in easing the burden of FOIA compliance.  

Manual document review — which involves reading, categorizing, and redacting sensitive information — is labor-intensive and slow. AI-driven tools, such as natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning, can greatly speed up this process by automating the search and analysis of vast datasets. 

AI tools can group and prioritize documents based on their relevance to the FOIA request, helping teams find the necessary information faster. They can also flag potentially responsive documents, reducing the need for manual searches. With AI, agencies can automate much of the document sorting and categorization work, allowing them to respond more quickly to FOIA requests and reduce backlogs. 

Moreover, AI can assist in maintaining the security of sensitive and confidential information, a critical concern for government agencies. Many FOIA requests involve documents that contain classified, personal, or legally protected information. AI systems can be trained to recognize these types of content and apply redactions automatically, helping ensure that sensitive information is not inadvertently released. 

Looking Forward: The Future of FOIA Processing 

As the federal government braces for what could be another record-breaking year of FOIA requests in FY 2024, the need for innovative solutions is clear. With the volume of requests expected to surpass 1.3 million and backlogs on the rise, agencies must adopt more efficient, technologically driven processes. Integrating AI-powered tools into FOIA processing could be a game changer, reducing backlogs, lowering costs, and improving accuracy. 

In a world where data continues to grow in size and complexity, leveraging technology is not just an option — it is a necessity for the future of government transparency. 

Amy Hilbert is Executive Vice President, Government at Casepoint, LLC., bringing 20+ years of experience supporting federal civilian and Department of Defense clients. Casepoint is a leading provider of data discovery and end-to-end FOIA solutions for government agencies. 

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NSF Accelerator Issues Solicitation for Southeast Anchor

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The National Science Foundation Convergence Accelerator has issued a solicitation aimed at establishing the regional anchor for the southeast region.

The NSF said Thursday the expansion into the southeastern United States, part of the three-year plan to expand to 10 regionally focused NSF Convergence Accelerators, is meant to drive advancement in research, innovation and workforce development and tackle societal and economic challenges within the area.

According to the notice, the NSF Convergence Accelerator is seeking an organization to serve as the southeast regional anchor. The selected party will supervise the implementation of the program’s model and oversee operations at the regional level as NSF’s representative. 

Only proposers from the southeastern U.S. are eligible for the funding opportunity. Interested parties have until Nov. 21 to submit their proposals.

Erwin Gianchandani, assistant director for NSF Technology, Innovation and Partnerships, or TIP, stressed the TIP directorate’s commitment to accelerating technology and innovation.

“With initiatives like the NSF Convergence Accelerator regionalization, we are sparking the development of cutting-edge technologies and delivering practical solutions for the everyday challenges Americans face, while also building a workforce comprising all Americans and fueling economic growth,” Gianchandani said.

Douglas Maughan, section head for the NSF Convergence Accelerator, added, “After a successful launch in the Midwest, we hope to continue to build momentum in the Southeast Region, seeking organizations with a diverse set of expertise and capabilities to implement our program.”