SES and Intelsat announced on April 30 an agreement for SES to acquire Intelsat through the purchase of 100% of the equity of Intelsat Holdings S.a.r.l. for a cash consideration of $3.1 billion (€2.8 billion) and certain contingent value rights. The combination will create a stronger multi-orbit operator with greater coverage, improved resiliency, expanded suite of solutions, enhanced resources to profitably invest in innovation, and benefit from the collective talent, expertise, and track record of both companies. The combination will deliver greater value for customers and partners, as ..read more

The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) seeks information regarding innovative signal processing algorithms and sensing approaches used to characterize the D-region of the ionosphere (60–90 km). Responses are due by 5:00 p.m. Eastern on June 17. Currently, the D-region is characterized by remote sensing of very low frequency (VLF) signals and comparing that propagation with modeling results. However, this approach is highly nonlinear and fits the definition of an ill-posed problem in that itis quite difficult to solve and does not yield a unique one-to-one correspondence b ..read more

On May 1, Vienna, VA-based Exovera, a technology and open-source data provider, announced it will unveil advanced updates to its AI-enabled analytical platform, exoINSIGHT, at Special Operations Forces (SOF) Week 2024. New capabilities will arm government and commercial users with a larger volume of curated data holdings from key geopolitical areas, enhancing their strategic advantage in critical technology, supply chain, and research domains. With the addition of up to one million new records daily, exoINSIGHT will provide customers with access to a broader range of information aimed at ident ..read more

Pro-Russia hacktivists are conducting malicious cyber activity against operational technology (OT) devices and critical infrastructure organizations are encouraged to implement mitigations, according to a Fact Sheet released on May 1 by the National Security Agency (NSA), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Energy (DOE), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), the U.K. National Cyber Secur ..read more

On May 1, Reston, VA-based Leidos announced that it was recently awarded a contract by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s (NGA) Exploitation Services Program to sustain and modernize geospatial processing for increased efficiency and interoperability. The single award, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract, referred to as Maru, has a ceiling value of $206 million, if all task orders are exercised over a five-year period of performance. “Geospatial analysts and data scientists face a deluge of data at a demanding pace,” said Roy Stevens, Le ..read more

On April 30, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued a request for information (RFI) for the upcoming Technology Innovation Discovery Event (TIDE) 2024. Applications are due by 5:00 p.m. Eastern on June 14. The purpose of this RFI is to identify technologies from private industry, Government research and development (R&D) organizations, and academia for inclusion in the annual TIDE 2024. TIDE 2024 is invitation-only and structured similarly to a trade show with opportunities for showcasing limited prototype functionality. The DoD and U.S. interagency partners use TIDE to identify and influe ..read more

On April 30, Reston, VA-based SOSi announced it was awarded a new contract worth approximately $19 million by the U.S. Army Enterprise Services Agency for declassification and records management technical support services. As the prime awardee on this contract, SOSi will provide technical, analytical, and database-related support for the modernization and cloud migration of the Army Records Information Management System (ARIMS) and its family of applications. The services include application programming and lifecycle management, systems and network administration, cybersecurity, and infrastruc ..read more

On April 30, Godspeed Capital Management LP announced the acquisition of Willbrook Solutions, Inc. by SAS, its recently launched space engineering, defense, and communications technology solutions platform. The transaction marks the first addition to the growing SAS platform, expanding its capabilities in the missile defense industry. Founded in 2006, and based in Huntsville, AL, Willbrook is an innovative analytical solutions provider to the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), NASA, Department of Defense (DoD), and commercial space customers. Willbrook’s dedicated ..read more

On April 30, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) released the Annual Statistical Transparency Report (ASTR) Regarding the Intelligence Community’s (IC) Use of National Security Surveillance Authorities for Calendar Year 2023. The report, published every year since 2014, provides the public with statistics and context regarding the government’s use of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act authorities, National Security Letters, and other national security authorities. This report provides insights into the rigorous, multi-layered oversight framework that governs the ..read more

On April 26, Thoma Bravo, a software investment firm, announced it has reached an agreement with the board of directors at Darktrace, a global leader in cybersecurity artificial intelligence, on the terms of an all-cash acquisition of the entire issued, and to be issued, ordinary share capital of Darktrace. The offer represents a premium of 20% over Darktrace’s closing share price of 517 pence, which is the last trading day prior to the announcement, 148.1% to the IPO price of 250 pence per Darktrace Share on 30 April 2021; and 44.3% to the volume-weighted average price of 429.9 pence per Dark ..read more