Merger-born Novetta promptly grows by M&A

In March 2012, the private equity firm Arlington Capital Partners, which had become a major investor in White Oak Technologies Inc. acquired FGM Inc. and merged the two companies to create Novetta Solutions, a provider of national security technology services.

Within its first six months Novetta completed two acquisitions with Arlington’s backing – White Cliffs Consulting LLC (WCC) in August and International Biometric Group LLC (IBG) in September 2012, to expand its offerings.

Which trends should you be on the lookout for?

At Deltek’s Clarity event last week, the market research firm gave an overview of its annual survey, highlighting trends that will be present in the coming year.

The purpose of the survey, which is called Clarity, “is really to provide a back-base baseline for industry,” said Warren M. Linscott Jr., vice president, Deltek GovCon Product Strategy & Management.

Cyber gets a $1B boost in 2014 defense budget

By increasing its budget for cyber-warfare, the U.S. military is expanding its offensive cyber capabilities, including the ability to blind an enemy’s radar or shut down its command systems in the event of war, according to USA Today. The cyber-operations budget rose from $3.9 billion to $4.7 billion in the proposed 2014 defense budget that came out last week.

Pragmatics wins $2M ENCORE II order to support defense spectrum organization

Pragmatics has won a $2 million task order with the Defense Information Systems Agency for systems engineering and other services in support of its defense spectrum organization.

This task order was awarded under the ENCORE II task order contract.

Pragmatics will support the agency’s Defense Spectrum Organization – Command and Control requirement for a spectrum requirements and reallocation analysis.

Boeing wins $17.7 contract mod for precision laser guidance sets

Boeing Co. has won a $17.7 million contract modification to produce 1,496 precision laser guidance sets for the Navy, Air Force, and the governments of Saudi Arabia and Japan.

This contract combines purchases by the Navy and Air Force with purchases by Saudi Arabia and Japan under the Foreign Military Sales program, the Defense Department said in an announcement.

Rockwell Collins wins $85M contract to augment Army helicopters

Rockwell Collins has won a $85 million contract to provide eight types of spare part items for radio receiving sets, low-frequency automatic direction finders and tactical navigation systems for Army helicopters.

Work is expected to be completed by April 18, 2016, and will take place in Iowa, according to the Defense Department announcement.

U.S. considers how to confront China over cyber attacks

The United States is beginning to put its foot down in light of the recent escalation of the conflict with China over cyberspying, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Obama administration has begun considering a slew of options related to how the country should confront China, including trade sanctions, diplomatic pressure, indictments of Chinese nationals in U.S. courts and cyber countermeasures.

Give your boss your FB password? Yes, under CISPA

A last-minute amendment to CISPA that would have prevented employers from asking for employees’ Facebook passwords has been blocked, according to The Huffington Post. CISPA, or the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, has been a topic of contention especially in recent days, as the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill on April 18.

Pragmatics taps new VP, GM of civilian business

Pragmatics has named Christopher Hegedus vice president and general manager of its federal civilian division, where he will manage and lead all aspects of the company’s service to customers.

Such customers include the State and Homeland Security Departments, the Federal Aviation Administration, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and other federal agencies, the company said in a release.

Hegedus will report to chief operating officer Joe Brock.

He comes to Pragmatics from Science Applications International Corp., where he most recently managed a portfolio of federal customers and served as a senior program manager.

Protest decisions loom for NetCents losers

The big question bouncing around the market is whether or not the Air Force got it right this time in awarding its $6.9 billion NetCents 2 Products contract.

This is the second time the Air Force has made awards for the mandatory contract. Last year, the contract went to nine companies, but the Air Force pulled back after 11 other companies filed protests.