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Revolutionary Advances in Ceramic Armor Systems: Adept Armor Founder Jake Ganor Publishes New Methodology

Thursday, June 27th, 2024

Jake Ganor’s latest research article, “A Facile Method for the Estimation of Ceramic Performance in Light Armor Systems,” has been recently published by The American Ceramic Society.

Tulsa, Okla. (June 2024) – Jake Ganor, the founder of Adept Armor, the most innovative company in leading performance body armor, has published a research article titled “A Facile Method for the Estimation of Ceramic Performance in Light Armor Systems” with The American Ceramic Society. This article introduces an innovative empirical equation that offers a significant advancement in the prediction of ballistic performance for ceramic armor materials. For professionals in law enforcement, military, security, and defense industries, this article presents a significant leap forward in the development of lightweight, high-performance ceramic armor.

Key Insights Include:

• Challenges with Traditional Methods: Traditional ballistic armor development has relied heavily on finite element models, which are computationally intensive and often fail to accurately predict the performance of ceramics, especially novel materials.

• Novel Empirical Equation: The new methodology provides a simpler, more cohesive way to estimate ballistic performance from mechanical properties, addressing the limitations of previous models.

• Performance Correlation: This approach successfully defines performance relations between different ceramic materials and identifies which mechanical properties correlate with ballistic efficacy.

• Implications for Development: The novel equation enables rapid development and optimization of more effective ceramic armor materials, marking a pivotal shift in armor material science.

Understanding and applying this new methodology can lead to more effective protective gear, enhancing the safety and performance of personnel in the field. Read the full article here: ceramics.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ces2.10227.

For more information on Adept Armor and its range of innovative protective solutions, visit its website.

Explore Adept Armor Body Armor plates:

• Colossus™ – Beyond RF3 – Level IV Body Armor

• Thunder – RF2

Posted in Armor, Press Release, Research | 1 Comment »

Army Leverages Army SBIR and xTech Prize Competitions to Secure AI Pipeline

Saturday, June 15th, 2024

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army Small Business Innovation Research and xTech Programs collaborate with artificial intelligence innovators to find and scale solutions across the Army. Led by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, Army SBIR and xTech prize competitions support a secure, Army-ready AI pipeline.

In March 2024, Mr. Young Bang, ASA(ALT) principal deputy, announced the ASA(ALT) AI Implementation Plan, that kicked off with a 100-day sprint. The plan aims to deliver a single, coherent approach to AI across the Army, aligning multiple, complex efforts within 100 and 500-day execution windows, and establishes the baseline to continuously modernize AI and contributing solutions as technologies rapidly evolve.

The Army SBIR and xTech Programs’ initiatives are at the forefront of these efforts to drive digital transformation and deliver required AI capabilities across the Army.

As the 100-day window concludes this summer, the Army is outlining a plan that leverages the outcomes of the 100-day sprint to adopt industry solutions without competing with commercial vendors. However, there are inherent risk factors associated with the adoption of AI solutions.

“Some of the obstacles include looking at and understanding AI risks such as poison data sets, adversarial attacks and trojans,” Bang said. “Developing AI in a controlled, trusted environment owned by the Army or Department of Defense can make addressing these risks easier.”

Bang and his team have prepared an initial AI Layered Defense Framework called #DefendAI to help tackle the risks associated with third-party algorithms, while helping to operationalize industry AI technologies. His team is looking to collaborate across industry and academia to evolve the framework and prioritize capability exploration and implementation in support of Army programs, such as Project Linchpin, which is building an operational pipeline of trusted AI solutions.

Initiated by Program Executive Office Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors, Project Linchpinaligns with Bang’s AI risk evaluation efforts. Bharat Patel, Project Linchpin-Sensor AI product lead, noted that the program aims to deliver commercial capabilities to the Army by applying fundamental concepts such as test and evaluations, and adopting an AI risk framework.

“It’s your infrastructure, it’s your standards, it’s your governance, it’s your process. All those areas are things that we’re taking on, because that’s how you can tap into the AI ecosystem and that’s how you deliver capabilities at scale,” Patel said.

ASA(ALT) is progressing with the AI Implementation Plan and its alignment to Project Linchpin to prepare the Army for AI at scale. As these initiatives ramp up, the Army SBIR and xTech Programs are strategically focused on leveraging excellence in the private sector to speed up the Army’s broad adoption of AI.

Army SBIR’s AI funding

The Army SBIR Program collaborates with small businesses and Army customers to align innovative solutions with Army priorities. It awards more than $350 million annually to reinvigorate the Army’s technology ecosystem, and is prioritizing and funding cutting-edge AI solutions.

The program has invested nearly $102 million in active AI projects in fiscal year 2024, distributed among approximately 75 small businesses across the country, and aims to align small businesses with the Army’s larger AI pipeline through funded AI initiatives.

In FY24, Automated Detection and Prevention solutions received $30 million in Army SBIR investments, representing 29% of the program’s AI and machine learning portfolio by the number of awards. Within this framework, the Army categorizes technologies as automated systemic-based controls that stop threats and predict the next attack for improved prevention.

There are currently 20 active Army SBIR Automated Detection and Prevention awards with organizations such as PEO IEW&S; PEO Simulation, Training and Instrumentation; and Army Test and Evaluation Command.

Army SBIR investments in FY24 have directly supported Army programs such as Project Linchpin, with two awards made in FY24 and 16 additional planned to start in FY25. The Joint Program Executive Office Armaments and Ammunition also recently leveraged $48 million in Army SBIR funding to modernize munitions manufacturing processes using AI.

Looking forward to FY25, Army SBIR’s AI/ML portfolio is projecting upwards of $105 million in AI funding. Six AI-focused solicitations are slated for release this summer, which will comprise approximately $55 million of the FY25 funding. Several of the solicitations, which include an AI/ML open topic solicitation, align to Project Linchpin thrust areas, amongst other potential Army transition partners.

xTech’s scalable AI

In late 2023, Bang requested that Dr. Matt Willis, the director of Army Prize Competitions and Army SBIR Program, and his team leverage xTech prize competitions to scale AI. This led to the launch of xTechScalable AI in December 2023, which sought innovative AI solutions from U.S.-based small businesses with scalable solutions to defend against adversarial AI threat vectors.

Leveraging prize competition authorities, xTech offers cash prizes along with opportunities for participants to receive direct feedback on their solutions, plus mentorship and networking opportunities with Army customers to help accelerate their unique AI solutions towards Army capabilities. xTech competition winners find themselves well-positioned to compete for follow-on contracts, such as Army SBIR awards.

xTechScalable AI was not the first competition aligning AI with Army needs. Earlier in the year, the xTechPrime competition funded two Army SBIR contract awards to inform Project Linchpin pipeline tools and services, totaling almost $4 million.

The xTechScalable AI competition is following a similar track, offering up to $370,000 in cash prizes and $8 million in follow-on Army SBIR contract awards for critical AI solutions. Through these competitions, 150 small businesses received exposure and feedback from Army customers and experts, and introductions to follow-on contract opportunities to continue the development of their AI solutions for the Army.

“xTech is a valuable mechanism for identifying and nurturing scalable, commercial AI solutions to strengthen the Army’s security framework,” Willis said. “Paired with ASA(ALT)’s vision, we can operationalize AI to enhance data accuracy and combat cybersecurity threats.”

xTechScalable AI 2 launched in March 2024 and focuses on identifying small businesses with game-changing technologies that can feed into Project Linchpin’s operational AI pipeline. The competition offers up to $603,000 in cash prizes and opportunities post-competition to submit proposals for a Phase I or Phase II Army SBIR contract valued at up to $250,000 and $2 million, respectively.

xTech will host the finals at the Association of the United States Army Annual Meeting and Expo in October. Additionally, xTech will hold more AI-focused competitions in the coming year, including several AI-focused Technical Grand Challenges.

Commercial vendors and small businesses have made quick progress in developing and implementing AI capabilities. As part of ASA(ALT)’s AI Implementation Plan and the upcoming 500-day execution window, Army SBIR and xTech are adopting AI solutions and preparing them for operational use in a secure, government-owned environment.

“Army SBIR and xTech are committed to strategically investing in areas where we can leverage the excellence of the private sector and transition technologies to Army programs such as Project Linchpin,” Willis said. “We have the funding and processes in place to drive industry collaboration and investment opportunities for these large-scale Army efforts.”

About the programs

The Army SBIR Program offers Phase I contract opportunities to U.S.-based small businesses showing commercial viability, feasibility and technical merit. It also offers Phase II and Direct to Phase II contracts to vendors with mature technologies meeting Phase I qualifications.

The Army SBIR Program releases contract opportunities on an ad-hoc basis to address current and expected Soldier needs. The program will promote new contract releases via solicitation announcements and email. For more information, please visit the Army SBIR website.

Established in 2018, the Army xTech Program offers prize competition opportunities for entities including nontraditional vendors direct exposure to Army laboratories, program executive offices, program managers and end-users. Participants receive feedback from Army DoD stakeholders and have access to training, mentorship and networking, and opportunities to win non-dilutive cash prizes.

For current and upcoming competitions, visit the xTech website.

By Anna Volkwine, Office of Army Prize Competitions and Army SBIR Program

Posted in AI / ML, Army, Contracts, Guest Post, Research | Comments Off on Army Leverages Army SBIR and xTech Prize Competitions to Secure AI Pipeline

Accelerator for Innovative Minds (AIM) Genomic Non-Specific Operational Matchmaking Enabled Systems (GNOMES)

Wednesday, May 22nd, 2024

AIM is a collaborative initiative led by DoD in the CWMD and CBRNE space. The goal of AIM is to demonstrate an enduring Hybrid Accelerator model in coordination with Industry, non-traditional partners, and SMEs to develop technology, build networks/relationships, and develop processes targeting specific Warfighter problem spaces as identified by AIM government collaborators. AIM requests information from Industry, Academia, Laboratories, and non-traditional partners on approaches, products, and/or services to support CWMD technology requirements. Once these are reviewed, the collaborative DoD group intends to align transition pathways across the full technology maturation spectrum.

The Chemical and Biological Defense Program’s vision through AIM is to identify capabilities which provide insight of chemical and biological (CB) contested environments. The objective is to develop a system with maximum utility for the warfighter to overcome current limiting factors in providing awareness of biological agents/compounds in a far forward, resource-limited environment.

Submit NLT 09 June 2024 11:59 PM ET.

Details here.

Posted in CBRNE, Research, SOF | No Comments »

MATBOCK Monday: It’s Alive!

Monday, April 22nd, 2024

In March of 2022, MATBOCK secured a contract to develop and deliver this revolutionary Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, Hybrid Electric Vehicle, or “JLTV HEV”. The JLTV HEV not only elevates our military’s silent watch capability but produces massive amounts of power on the battlefield. Above, you will find a video of it driving out of the garage for the first time. Please stay connected with us for future updates and releases as we make monumental paradigm shifts in this technology space.

Learn more about our R&D Programs here: www.matbock.com/pages/hybrid-electric-vehicle-programs

Posted in Advertiser, Guest Post, Mobility, Power, Research | 5 Comments »

R&D Project Award from Five-Eyes Government for DroneShield

Wednesday, April 3rd, 2024

DroneShield has been awarded an approximately $900k R&D contract from a Five-Eyes Government. The contract is notable in that it specifically aims to leverage the potential of the DroneSentry-X Mk2 and aims to provide an initial set of software tools to enhance end-user capabilities in the Counter-UAS Electronic Attack domain.

Anechoic chamber of the type to be installed in the DroneShield Sydney facility in mid 2024

This contract aligns closely with DroneShield’s current technology roadmap. Software controlled multi-channel wide band disruption allows for not only optimised channel management, frequency management, power usage and optimisation but also the addition of custom waveforms targeted at various threats.

Advancements in drone protocols designed to move away from RF interference as well as work in high noise, high clutter environments means that traditional methods of disruption may become less effective over time. With a software approach to disruption the ability to adapt the disruption to stay one step ahead of the technology has become paramount of successful disruption systems.

Angus Bean, DroneShield CTO, commented: “DroneShield’s radio frequency jamming capability has been recognised globally as highly effective in defeating nefarious drones. This new contract highlights that the DroneSentry-X Mk2 is a step-function in smart-jamming capabilities. We are looking forward to delivering on the capabilities the Defense users are looking for.”

Oleg Vornik, DroneShield CEO, added: “DroneShield products are considered to be market leading by many governments around the world. We pride ourselves on setting the global benchmark. This new contract represents the start of an entirely new generation of disruption capabilities.”

Posted in Contracts, International, Press Release, Research | Comments Off on R&D Project Award from Five-Eyes Government for DroneShield

AFRL’s XQ-67A Makes 1st Successful Flight

Thursday, March 14th, 2024

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFNS) —

The Air Force Research Laboratory’s Aerospace Systems Directorate successfully flew the XQ-67A, an Off-Board Sensing Station, uncrewed air vehicle Feb. 28, at the General Atomics Gray Butte Flight Operations Facility near Palmdale, California.

The XQ-67A is the first of a second generation of autonomous collaborative platforms. Following the success of the XQ-58A Valkyrie, the first low-cost uncrewed air vehicle intended to provide the warfighter with credible and affordable mass, the XQ-67A proves the common chassis or “genus” approach to aircraft design, build and test, according to Doug Meador, autonomous collaborative platform capability lead with AFRL’s Aerospace Systems Directorate. This approach paves the way for other aircraft “species” to be rapidly replicated on a standard genus chassis.

This new approach also responds to the challenge of Great Power Competition by speeding delivery of affordable, advanced capability to the warfighter.

“This approach will help save time and money by leveraging standard substructures and subsystems, similar to how the automotive industry builds a product line,” Meador said. “From there, the genus can be built upon for other aircraft — similar to that of a vehicle frame — with the possibility of adding different aircraft kits to the frame, such as an Off-Board Sensing Station or Off-Board Weapon Station.”

So, what is an autonomous collaborative platform?

“We broke it down according to how the warfighter sees these put together: autonomy, human systems integration, sensor and weapons payloads, networks and communications and the air vehicle,” Meador said.

“We’ve been evolving this class of systems since the start of the Low Cost Attritable Aircraft Technologies initiative,” he added.

The major effort that initially explored the genus/species concept was the Low Cost Attritable Aircraft Platform Sharing, program, which fed technology and knowledge forward into the OBSS program that culminated with building and flying the XQ-67A, Meador said.

“The intention behind LCAAPS early on was these systems were to augment, not replace, manned aircraft,” said Trenton White, LCAAPS and OBSS program manager from AFRL’s Aerospace Systems Directorate.

In late 2014 and early 2015, the initial years of the LCAAT initiative, the team began with some in-house designs, for which Meador credits White, who led the studies early on that evolved into the requirements definition for the Low Cost Attritable Strike Demonstrator, or LCASD, Joint Capability Technology Demonstration. The LCASD team defined, designed, built and tested the XQ-58 for the first time in 2019.

“The first generation was XQ-58, and that was really about proving the concept that you could build relevant combat capability quickly and cheaply,” White said.

The OBSS program built upon the low-cost capability that LCASD proved by leveraging design and manufacturing technology research that had taken place since the first generation and was directed to reduce risk in the development of future generations, White added.

“We had always intended from the start of LCAAT to have multiple vehicle development spirals or threads of vehicle development,” White said. “Then once the vehicle is proven ready, you can start integrating stuff with it, such as sensors, autonomy, weapons, payloads and electronics.”

With the XQ-67A, the team is using the platform-sharing approach or drawing leverage from automotive industry practices.

“We are looking to leverage technology development that’s been done since XQ-58, since that first generation,” White added.

With advancements in manufacturing technology since the XQ-58, the team aimed to use that system and the technology advancements to create a system design with lower cost and faster build in mind.

“It’s all about low cost and responsiveness here,” White said.

The team began discussing LCAAPS in 2018, focusing on the notion of “can we provide the acquirer with a new way of buying aircraft that is different and better and quicker than the old traditional way of how we build manned aircraft,” Meador said. “Which means we pretty much start over from scratch every time.”

Instead, the team considered the same approach that a car manufacturer applies to building a line of vehicles, where the continuous development over time would work for aircraft, as well.

“It’s really about leveraging this best practice that we’ve seen in the automotive and other industries where time to market has decreased, while the time to initial operating capability for military aircraft has increased at an alarming rate,” White said.

With this genus platform, White said a usable aircraft can be created faster at a lower cost with more opportunities for technology refresh and insertion if new models are being developed and rolled out every few years.

AFRL harnesses science and technology innovation for specific operational requirements to ensure meaningful military capabilities reach the hands of warfighters. The XQ-67 is the first variant to be designed and built from this shared platform, White said.

“The main objectives here are to validate an open aircraft system concept for hardware and software and to demonstrate rapid time-to-market and low development cost,” he added.

This project looked at incorporating aspects of the OBSS and the OBWS to different capability concepts. The OBSS was viewed as slower while carrying sensors but have longer endurance, while the OBWS was considered faster and more maneuverable, with less endurance but better range.

“We wanted to design both of those but figure out how much of the two you can make common so we could follow this chassis genus species type of approach,” Meador said.

XQ-67A has been just over two years in the making, moving quickly through the design, build and fly process. While the team initially worked with five industry vendors, AFRL decided at the end of 2021 to exercise the opportunity to build the General Atomics design.

This successful flight is initial proof that the genus approach works, and aircraft can be built from a chassis.

“This is all part of a bigger plan and it’s all about this affordable mass,” Meador added. “This has to be done affordably and this program — even though there’s an aircraft at the end that we’re going to get a lot of use out of — the purpose of this program was the journey of rapid, low-cost production as much as it was the destination of a relevant combat aircraft.”

This signals to other companies that there is a new approach to constructing an aircraft, moving away from the conventional method of starting from scratch, Meador said.

“We don’t have the time and resources to do that,” Meador said. “We have to move quicker now.”

By Aleah M. Castrejon, Air Force Research Laboratory Public Affairs

Posted in Air Force, Guest Post, Research, UAS | Comments Off on AFRL’s XQ-67A Makes 1st Successful Flight

SOFWERX STEM Showcase 2024

Monday, March 4th, 2024

The SOFWERX STEM Showcase 2024 is an opportunity for high school juniors and seniors and college-age students to see a variety of technology demonstrations and discover career pathways and internship/employment opportunities. SOFWERX, in collaboration with the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), Industry Partners, and local Universities, Colleges, and Trade Schools will host?a 1-day STEM Showcase for students on 10 May from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM ET at the SOFWERX facility in Tampa, FL (Ybor City).

Request to Exhibit NLT 22 March 2024 11:59 PM ET

Students RSVP NLT 03 May 2024 11:59 PM ET

Posted in Research, SOF | Comments Off on SOFWERX STEM Showcase 2024

SOFWERX – AIM G-NOMES Collaboration Event

Monday, February 26th, 2024

SOFWERX, in collaboration with the USSOCOM, U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center (DEVCOM CBC), the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), and the Accelerator for Innovative Minds (AIM) Genomic Non-Specific Operational Matchmaking Enabled Systems (GNOMES) Team, will host a collaboration event on 23 April 2024, leveraging their hybrid accelerator model to provide awareness of biological agents/compounds in a far forward, resource-limited environment. This event will provide opportunities for direct dialogue with Industry, Academia, Warfighters, and Government Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to lower the barrier to working with the DoD and accelerate disruptive technologies and processing to the field.

For full details, visit events.sofwerx.org/aim-gnomes

Please request to Attend NLT 19 March 2024 11:59 PM ET.

Posted in Disruptive Tech, Medical, Research, SOF | Comments Off on SOFWERX – AIM G-NOMES Collaboration Event