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byline: Sydney Lake

BAE Systems wins $247M Space Force contract

Arlington-based defense contractor BAE Systems announced Wednesday it has received a $247 million U.S. Space Force contract to design and manufacture an advanced GPS receiver and semiconductor.

Work on the contract will be performed for the Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center. The technology will provide positioning, navigation and timing capabilities during missions.

“This program enables us to further develop our core M-Code technology to deliver high-performance, next-generation GPS capabilities,” Greg Wild, director of navigation and sensor systems at BAE Systems, said in a statement. “Our M-Code receiver and next-gen [application-specific integrated circuit] will enable secure and reliable military GPS capabilities in a broader range of platforms.”

BAE Systems’ precision strike business has developed more than 1.5 million GPS devices on more than 280 platforms worldwide. Work on the contract will be performed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

BAE Systems Inc. is an independent U.S. subsidiary of England-based BAE Systems plc, one of Europe’s top defense contractors. BAE Systems Inc. employs approximately 35,100 people across the U.S., U.K., Sweden and Israel. The company generated $11.4 billion in 2019 sales.

 

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Tysons tech company buys Md.-based cybersecurity firm

Tysons-based tech company Applied Insight announced Wednesday it has acquired Hanover, Maryland-based cybersecurity firm Bridges Inc. 

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Applied Insight is backed by private equity firm The Acacia Group and provides cloud, data and cyber services to federal government customers. Bridges also provides network security and analytics services using artificial intelligence.

“This is a true game changer because it means we can now deliver end-to-end hybrid and multicloud solutions, from infrastructure to actionable insight,” Applied Insight CEO Dede Dascalu said in a statement. “[Bridges’] cyber and analytics expertise, combined with our cloud infrastructure and emulation products and managed services, will help customers more effectively process and integrate vast amounts of classified and open-source information.”

Baird served as exclusive financial adviser to Bridges on this transaction.

 

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MicroStrategy ups the ante on bitcoin investment

Tysons-based business software company MicroStrategy Inc. is going all in on its bitcoin strategy: The company announced Wednesday it would raise $900 million from a convertible senior notes offering set to close on Friday.

On Tuesday, the company announced a $600 million offering, which it upped to $900 million on Wednesday. Proceeds from the offering are intended to be used to buy more bitcoin, which the company has been gobbling up since last summer. 

Through cash holdings conversions and debt offerings, MicroStrategy, led by cryptocurrency advocate Michael Saylor, has bought hundreds of millions worth of bitcoin, almost all within the last six months. With bitcoin hitting an all-time high price of $50,000 on Wednesday, the company’s 70,000-plus bitcoin are worth more than $3.6 billion — more than double MicroStrategy’s purchase price.

But while the value of bitcoin continues to rise, MicroStrategy during the past two days has seen a drop in its stock share prices. On Tuesday (when the company announced the $600 million debt offering), MicroStrategy saw a 7% drop, closing at $955 per share. The stock price has continued its decline on Wednesday, dropping to $941.80 as of 4 p.m. MicroStrategy’s stock price hit an all-time high on Feb. 9, when it was worth more than $1,270 per share.

In August 2020, MicroStrategy announced that it had converted $250 million from its cash holdings into more than 21,000 bitcoins, making it one of the first public companies to use cryptocurrency for cash holdings. Saylor said MicroStrategy would keep its bitcoin holdings in its corporate treasury reserve — which he said would be the principal holding in its treasury reserve strategy. The company in September 2020 then announced it had purchased $425 million worth of bitcoin.

By December 2020, MicroStrategy closed a convertible debt offering by raising $650 million, which it said it plans to use to increase its bitcoin holdings.

 

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The Breeden Co. names multifamily, CRE director

Virginia Beach-based real estate developer The Breeden Co. announced Wednesday that Bonnie Moore has been promoted to director of operations for the company’s multifamily and commercial real estate divisions.

Moore has been The Breeden Co.’s director of multifamily operations for more than 20 years. In her new role, she will oversee the departments’ operations, property inspections, compliance regulations and vendor and contract negotiations.

“The combination of streamlining our operational efforts with Bonnie’s proven strategies made this decision an easy one,” The Breeden Co. Chief Operating Officer Tim Faulkner said in a statement. 

Moore joined the company in 1991 as a property manager in the multifamily division. 

 

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Herndon contractor employee receives Intelligence and National Security Alliance award

Herndon-based satellite company HawkEye 360 Inc. announced Wednesday that Darek Kawamoto, its principal engineer for algorithms, has been honored with the Edwin H. Land Industry Award by the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA). Of the six honorees receiving INSA Achievement Awards this year, Kawamoto is the only Virginia contractor employee being honored.

The Edwin H. Land Industry Award recognizes early-to-mid-career contractors or non-government employees for their “excellent contributions to the intelligence, homeland security or national security community.”

Kawamoto is the inventor of two HawkEye 360 patents that convert radio frequency signals from space into geolocated signal data. Founded in 2015, HawkEye 360 offers three main products including its signal mapping product RFGeo, its survey product RFMosaic and its analytics product SEAker.

“We value him not just for his superb technical abilities but for his persistence, innovativeness and commitment to team success,” HawkEye 360 CEO John Serafini said in a statement. “He is an incredible asset for HawkEye 360 and, as this award suggests, for the nation.”

The INSA will recognize this year’s honorees during a virtual event Wednesday. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Deputy Director Stacey Dixon will deliver the keynote address.

 

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Northrop Grumman passes early stage of $85B Air Force ICBM contract

Falls Church-based Fortune 500 defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. announced Tuesday it underwent the first major design review — a key baseline — for the Air Force’s $85 billion Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) contract.

In September 2020, Northrop Grumman announced the Air Force had awarded it the first $13.3 billion phase of the expected $85 billion contract, under which the company will perform weapon system design, qualification, test and evaluation and nuclear certification to replace and modernize the country’s current Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) nuclear weapon system. 

On Tuesday, Northrop Grumman announced it had “successfully conducted” the first design review for the engineering and manufacturing (EMD) baseline in November 2020. The EMD assesses the technical baseline of the project, including user requirements, program data and configuration elements. The EMD event lasted three days and was held virtually for more than 100 people from Northrop Grumman and the Air Force. 

“Achieving this milestone demonstrates our team’s commitment to deliver a safe, secure and reliable system to the U.S. Air Force on-schedule and on-budget,” Steve Lunny, Northrop Grumman vice president of the GBSD program, said in a statement. “Our team is applying a digital engineering approach that will produce a modern strategic deterrent capability for our nation and its allies.”

Following the EMD phase, Northrop Grumman will then begin producing and delivering a modern and fully integrated  ground-based ICBM nuclear weapon system by 2029. The next phase of the project is the integrated baseline review.

Before the Air Force awarded Northrop Grumman the contract last year, the company had been the sole competitor after The Boeing Co. announced in July 2019 that it had withdrawn its proposal. 

The company has formed a team of more than 10,000 people to help build the modernized weapons system infrastructure for the new missiles. Team members include companies in the defense, engineering and construction industries such as Aerojet Rocketdyne, Bechtel Corp., Clark Construction, Collins Aerospace, General Dynamics, HDT Global, Honeywell, Kratos Defense and Security Solutions, L3Harris, Lockheed Martin and Textron Systems, along with other small and medium-sized businesses.

Northrop Grumman employs more than 90,000 people and reported $33.8 billion in 2019 revenue.

 

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Averett University hires VP for philanthropy

Averett University announced Wednesday it has hired Melissa Wohlstein as vice president for philanthropy, effective Tuesday.

Wohlstein has nearly 20 years of experience in higher education settings. She most recently served as the associate vice president of development at Hollins University.

“With her existing connections to Virginia and her commitment to Averett’s mission, she will provide thoughtful and inspiring leadership as we embark on many bigger and bolder fundraising initiatives,” Averett University President Tiffany M. Franks said in a statement.

Wohlstein has also served as senior director of constituent relations for the College of Veterinarian Medicine at the University of Georgia, vice president for institutional advancement at Radford University, associate vice president for development and campaigns at Georgia Southern University and senior director of development and alumni affairs for the College of Health and Human Performance at the University of Florida.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in theater and English from the University of Alabama and her master’s degree in public administration from the University of Central Florida.

 

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Herndon satellite company names chief strategy officer

Herndon-based satellite company HawkEye 360 Inc. announced Wednesday it has hired Kari A. Bingen, a former deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence and security, as its chief strategy officer.

Bingen held her role with the Department of Defense from May 2017 through January 2020. In her new role, she will focus on space policy as well as the radio frequency (RF) data and analytics markets.

“HawkEye 360 is creating new possibilities with commercial RF capabilities and shaking up traditional business models for the better,” Bingen said in a statement. “Our national security will benefit from such commercial innovation.”

Bingen also previously served as the policy director for the House Armed Services Committee. She earned her bachelor’s degree in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“Few people have the same depth of knowledge about space and intelligence policy as Kari Bingen,” HawkEye 360 CEO John Serafini said in a statement. “Both her technical expertise and prior service in the highest levels of the U.S. government make her a superb fit to guide our strategy.”

Founded in 2015, HawkEye 360 offers three main products including its signal mapping product RFGeo, its survey product RFMosaic and its analytics product, SEAker.

 

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Reston cybersecurity firm names CFO

Reston-based LookingGlass Cyber Solutions Inc. announced last week it has hired Dana Mariano as its chief financial officer.

With more than 20 years of cybersecurity experience, Mariano has overseen acquisitions of three early-stage tech companies to public entities, including Invincea to Sophos; NetWitness to RSA Security; and CareFusion to CardinalHealth.

“As we prepare for LookingGlass’s next phase of growth, it was crucial for us to find an experienced CFO who understands cybersecurity businesses, financial markets and operational excellence,” LookingGlass CEO Gilman Louie said in a statement. “Having previously worked with Dana, I know that she has all of those skills and more.”

Mariano earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of New Hampshire and her law degree from George Mason University.

Founded in 2009, LookingGlass provides cybersecurity services and employs more than 300 people.

 

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Vienna tech firm names cybersecurity services VP

Vienna-based tech firm Alpha Omega Integration LLC announced last week it has named Kevin Thomas as vice president of cybersecurity services.

With more than 20 years of business management and IT architecture and engineering experience, Thomas previously worked for Reston-based Fortune 500 defense contractor Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) and McLean-based Fortune 500 global management consulting company Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.

“As one of the Washington, D.C., region’s fastest-growing companies, the demand for our cybersecurity-focused services has increased,” Alpha Omega President and CEO Gautam Ijoor said in a statement. “We needed a versatile, entrepreneurial-minded leader to head the expansion of our cybersecurity services. Kevin, with his proven track record of ensuring client success, is that leader.”

In 2020, Alpha Omega was recognized as one of the state’s fastest growing companies. The company was founded in 2014 and provides IT and business consulting services.

 

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