ATARC Federal IT Newscast

In this episode, host Brian Fox sits down with Dr. James Kirsch from the DEVCOM Aviation & Missile Center to explore how the military is modernizing its approach to technology deployment. They discuss the strategic shift toward rapid procurement, embracing calculated risk, and getting essential capabilities into the hands of warfighters faster. Learn why prioritizing speed and adaptability over long-term perfection is becoming vital to staying ahead of evolving battlefield threats.

This episode of the Space and Defense Innovation Launch Pad features Gordon Fogg and Brandon Frisco from MTSI discussing how to accelerate testing and evaluation for hypersonic and other advanced defense systems through better data sharing, interoperability, and metadata/standards. They explore the technical, policy, and cultural hurdles to breaking down data stovepipes across government, industry, and academia, emphasizing the need for organized, observable data as the true prerequisite for effective AI and large-scale analytics.

Department of Energy CIO Dawn Zimmer joins Tech Transforms to share how she’s modernizing legacy IT, breaking down decades-old data silos, and securely harnessing AI through initiatives like the Quanta data platform and Joulix. She explains her “speed of need” philosophy, baking cybersecurity in from the start while moving fast to deliver real-time decision support, cost savings, and smarter operations across the DOE.

This episode of Tech Transforms features Dave Raley, Chief Digital Business Officer at Marine Corps Community Services, unpacking Operation Stormbreaker, the Marine Corps’ cloud-native software factory and platform as a service. He explains how it slashes deployment timelines from 18 months to about 15 minutes per build by combining shared infrastructure, DevSecOps pipelines, and continuous authorization, helping federal mission owners and vendors securely deliver new capabilities faster.

This episode features Brian Monheiser discussing the rapid growth of the geospatial ecosystem in St. Louis, catalyzed by NGA’s new facility and long-term investment in related tech sectors. He explores how local universities, K–12 programs, nonprofits, and economic development groups are aligning around workforce development to support geospatial, defense, and advanced manufacturing needs in the region.