SOFWERX in conjunction with Dcode is presenting Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) 101 on 19 January 2022.
Dcode’s procurement experts and USSOCOM leaders will walk you through how SBIRs and STTRs are being leveraged and the value this funding can provide as your company looks to grow.
RSVP NLT 18 January 2022 11:59 PM ET.
Visit events.sofwerx.org/dcode.
The GAO has released a new report on USSOCOM’s Preservation of the Force and Family Program which boasts a budget of about $80 million in FY 2021.
The program offers a holistic system of care that targets physical, psychological, spiritual, and other areas of well-being. However, key program terms aren’t well defined, making it unclear how subordinate commands will carry the program out and achieve its goals.
What GAO found is that although SOCOM has established minimum requirements for its Preservation of the Force and Family (POTFF) program to improve the readiness and resilience of Special Operations Forces (SOF) and their families, it has not clearly defined a key term—integrated and holistic system of care—to guide implementation of its efforts across the five POTFF domains (see figure). SOCOM officials interpret this key term differently and SOCOM guidance does not provide clarity on how subordinate commands should implement activities to achieve it. Without defining an integrated and holistic system of care or how to achieve it, SOCOM leaves interpretation of the term to subordinate commands and is unable to establish a standard for POTFF’s essential coordination functions or activities against which it can assess efforts to help SOF and their families.
GAO is making five recommendations, including that SOCOM update its guidance to define its objective to coordinate POTFF programs, establish an allocation model that uses program data, develop a deployment strategy that aligns with its updated allocation model, and develop guidance for POTFF data that aligns with SOCOM’s strategy for managing data. DOD concurred with all five of these recommendations.
Read the report here:
www.gao.gov/products/gao-22-104486
SOFWERX, in collaboration with USSOCOM PEO SOF Warrior (PEO-SW), will host an Assessment Event (AE) 22-24 February 2022 to identify solutions for a situational awareness and messaging capability through a Hyper-Enabled Awareness Kit (HEAK).
Technology Focus Areas
• Blue Force Picture
• Basic Messaging
• Check-in Messaging
• Quick Reference Navigation
• Mission Payload
• Workflow Configurator
• Mission Planner
• Wired and Wireless Capability
Submit NLT 24 January 2022 11:59 PM ET, with details at events.sofwerx.org/heak.
Research projects at the University of Ulm provide insights into the digital “radar of the future”.
Taufkirchen/Germany, December 9th, 2021 – Sensor solution provider HENSOLDT is strengthening its cooperation with institutions from science and research. In a presentation at the HENSOLDT site in Ulm, scientists of the Institute for Microwave Technology at the University of Ulm presented the results of four research projects that HENSOLDT will incorporate into the further development of its product portfolio.
“The pace of technology development in electronics and sensor technology is increasing all the time,” says Dr Jürgen Bestle, Chief Technology Officer at HENSOLDT. “That’s why it’s extremely important for a sensor house like HENSOLDT to stay in close contact with research and absorb new findings.”
The work, supervised by professors Christian Waldschmidt and Christian Damm and commissioned by HENSOLDT, investigated various aspects of so-called next-generation “digital radars”. “Fully digital front-ends and multi-static radar systems that can be realised with them will expand the possibilities for sensing in the same way as the introduction of AESA radars has done in the last 10 to 20 years,” the participating experts from HENSOLDT’s development division are convinced.
The project cooperation with the University of Ulm, which started in 2021, is part of a comprehensive initiative within which HENSOLDT works together with research institutes, universities and colleges, evaluates further cooperation opportunities and supports young scientists in establishing a network in industry.
At HENSOLDT’s Ulm site, around 2,500 employees are involved in the development and production of complex safety electronics, including radars, electronic protection systems and high-frequency electronics. The majority of employees are engineers and technicians, and around 120 young people are currently undergoing training.
The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) has been a leader in Army innovation for decades, and the Spec. 4 Peter M. Guenette EagleWerx Applied Tactical Innovation Center promises to play a major role in future warfighter transformation.
Soldiers, Families and community members toured the facility firsthand Dec. 7 during a ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony at 89 Screaming Eagle Blvd., where they learned about EagleWerx’s capabilities and bottom-up approach to innovation.
“We all know that transformation starts with the people who are executing, and the Soldiers are the ones closest to the problem,” said Capt. Lauren Hansen-Armendariz, deputy innovation officer, 101st Abn. Div. “They understand it the best, and that’s exactly why EagleWerx exists – to be able to give Soldiers what they need so they can make improvements.”
EagleWerx gives Soldiers direct access to a wide range of capabilities including entry-level artificial intelligence, robotics equipment, 3D printing, engineering support and educational workshops to solve problems. Its employees can also connect Soldiers with collaborative partners such as Vanderbilt University, Middle Tennessee State University and U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, or CCDC.
Major General JP McGee, commanding general, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and Fort Campbell, said EagleWerx is an important step forward for the installation because it empowers Soldiers to adapt and excel in future conflicts.
“Innovation is not about a technology,” McGee said. “It is about a spirit within our Soldiers and leaders, and it needs to be established and fostered before a crisis, before we are at war. A site like this named after one of our heroes, Peter Guenette, represents our tangible investment into establishing innovation as an enduring part of the culture of the 101st.”
Guenette served with 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile), during the Vietnam War and received a posthumous Medal of Honor citation for his efforts on the battlefield. During a firefight in the Quan Tan Uyen Province May 18, 1968, he smothered the blast from a hand grenade with his body to protect his fellow Soldiers, saving at least three others at the cost of his own life.
The installation later dedicated the Guenette Arts and Crafts Center to his memory in 1975, and the building retained his name after it was re-established into EagleWerx.
“It evolved into something pretty awesome,” said Michael Guenette, Spec. 4 Guenette’s brother. “It was awesome before as an arts and crafts center, and as the war in the Middle East started it was good for helping Soldiers who had PTSD work on projects. And now this is a great evolution. My brother was a science guy, he really was, so I think it’s a great thing. Keeping his name on the building is important, and this base honors heroes like Peter.”
Guenette was among several guests at the facility’s ribbon cutting and dedication given a guided tour, where Soldiers from across the installation highlighted partnerships and projects being developed through EagleWerx.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Ron Billingslea, 101st Division Sustainment Brigade, said EagleWerx will allow the unit to push its additive and subtractive manufacturing capabilities to the next level.
“Additive manufacturing, in layman’s terms, is the ability to create parts, one-off pieces or test molds so we can test or figure out a problem and create a solution without having to expend a lot of materiel,” Billingslea said. “Right now, we’re looking at problems that we’re tracking across the board, like long lead times on parts for vehicles that are down or one-off pieces that will get everyday use from Soldiers.”
The Lifeliners use 3D printing capabilities and computer aided design, or CAD, files to produce those parts that can be used to repair broken equipment on the battlefield quickly instead of waiting for third parties to deliver materiel. CAD files for specific parts can also be uploaded into a database and shared across the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force.
“We’re going to partner up with EagleWerx to be able to build products we can prototype here,” Billingslea said. “When we send a CAD file back to the forward line of troops, they can run that program to make sure it’s optimal to what we need in the field. In doing that, we build a network and create a partnership with EagleWerx as a hub for forces across the U.S. platform.”
In addition, Billingslea is planning to facilitate classes at EagleWerx to teach Soldiers and local students the basics of CAD, additive and subtractive manufacturing. Soldiers can use that instruction to gain a better understanding on how those capabilities can help them, while students can position themselves for success in the military or a trade.
Educational programming is a major component of EagleWerx, and the facility has already hosted a number of classes since its soft opening in August.
“I took part in a design thinking workshop on suicide prevention,” said Spc. Seth Johnson, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Abn. Div. “The solution we came up with is currently in the process of being implemented in the division, and it’s sort of like an Eagle Day 2.0 where one day out of every month you do cohesion building exercises among your squad. We reiterated the importance of that, how it affects people and how they feel about it when it’s done regularly.”
Approximately 30 Soldiers from across the installation participated in the workshop and formed two teams to pursue different solutions. Johnson said he appreciates the chance to get involved and looks forward to seeing what future workshops can develop.
“It makes you feel like you have an impact on the Army and the ability to solve problems that affect people at your level,” he said. “I think EagleWerx is going to produce great things and given the opportunity I’d be happy to come back and work on more projects.”
Other classes hosted at EagleWerx are made possible through support from community and Army partners. Bull Holland, Advancing Concepts Office Operations, CCDC Army Research Laboratory, recently led three teams of Soldiers through the H4X Lean Acquisition Innovation Course, a five-week graduate-level course, using EagleWerx as a venue.
“What we’ve done for these Soldiers is put together a class that teaches the same lean innovation methods that we teach in American Psychological Association [APA] schools and other graduate programs around the country,” Holland said, adding he has taught the same course at North Carolina State University. “Instead of us trying to find the right place to engage Soldiers in each different brigade, EagleWerx centralizes Soldiers from across the division into one spot and gives people like myself a place to plug in.”
Soldiers who completed the course at EagleWerx used entrepreneurial skills to develop requirements for new “see through wall” capabilities, electromagnetic sensors and air assault planning based on problem statements provided to each group.
“Our problem statement was that as technology progresses, our electronic footprint keeps increasing through emissions of energy and it’s something potential adversaries could exploit and use against us,” said Staff Sgt. Patrick Frisbie, electronic warfare noncommissioned officer in charge, 1st BCT. “That’s something that we want to develop tactics, techniques and procedures to mitigate.”
As an electronic warfare NCOIC, Frisbie is familiar with that problem and has practical experience with looking for electromagnetic signals to trace enemies. He and his classmates used that experience to identify cost-effective technologies the division could eventually use to reduce energy emissions down to the company level.
“Soldiers all have their own particular insights and they know the problems they face the best,” he said. “This gives them a space to come down if they have an idea. Even if it’s a simple modification to a piece of equipment that already exists, they have professionals here that can put them in touch and make things happen.”
Ultimately, EagleWerx is intended to help Soldiers find the resources to solve problems at any scale and build a culture of innovation across the division.
“Innovation does not start with me,” McGee said. “It is not a top-down driven endeavor; it starts with our people closest to the challenge – our Soldiers who are at the tip of the spear. Our vision is that all Screaming Eagle Soldiers are empowered to inform, accelerate and integrate innovative solutions and models in order to prepare the 101st for the future fight.”
Story by Ethan Steinquest
Fort Campbell Public Affairs Office
SOFWERX has put out word that the USSOCOM Science and Technology Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) 22.1 submissions will open 12 January 2022.
Special Areas of Interest
PHASE I:
SOCOM221-001: Low SWaP Tactical Ultra-Secure Communications System
DIRECT TO PHASE II:
SOCOM221-D002: Ultra-Compact Long Range Machine Gun Optic
SOCOM221-D003: Miniature Aiming Ranging Laser
SOCOM221-D004: Advanced Precision-Variable Power Scope
(Link to all DoD SBIRs www.dodsbirsttr.mil)
SBIR Process Timeline
01 December 2021: Topics and instructions posted
12 January 2022: DoD begins accepting proposals
TBD: Virtual Industry Q&A sessions
10 February 2022: Solicitation closes and proposals evaluations/award starts
By 6 months after award: Phase I complete
For Phase 1 Topics only: If appropriate, an RFP may be provided with a typical 30-day proposal timeline at or around the end of Phase 1
To lean more visit events.sofwerx.org/sbir22.1.
The Defense Innovation Unit released its initial “Responsible AI Guidelines” document Nov. 15, with intent to operationalize the Defense Department’s ethical principles of artificial intelligence into its commercial prototyping and acquisition efforts.
“DIU’s RAI guidelines provide a step-by-step framework for AI companies, DOD stakeholders and program managers that can help to ensure that AI programs are built with the principles of fairness, accountability and transparency at each step in the development cycle of an AI system,” Jared Dunnmon, PhD, technical director of the artificial intelligence/machine learning portfolio at DIU said.
The DIU team has spent the last 18 months working with researchers at the Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute, and speaking with industry partners, the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, academia and government officials, and testing these guidelines in order to solicit helpful feedback, Dunnmon said. They are intended specifically for use on DIU programs.
The aim of the guidelines, he said is to:
? Accelerate programs from the outset by clarifying end goals, alignment of expectations, and acknowledgment of risks and trade-offs.
? Increase confidence that AI systems are developed, tested, and vetted with the highest standards of fairness, accountability and transparency.
? Support changes in the way AI technologies are evaluated, selected, prototyped and adopted in order to avoid potential bad outcomes.
? Elicit questions and conversations that are crucial for AI project success.
The guidelines provide examples of how responsible AI considerations can be put into practice in real-world programs, in an effort to create a user-friendly and more easily understood document that expedites the process, Dunnmon said.
“Users want so they can trust and verify that their tools protect American interests without compromising our collective values,” John Stockton, co-founder of Quantifind, a software technology company, that provided DIU feedback on the guidelines during their prototype project said. “These guidelines show promise for actually accelerating technology adoption, as it helps identify and get ahead of potentially show-stopping issues. We’ve found that leaning into this effort has also served us well outside of government, by strengthening internal controls and producing transparency and patterns of trust that can also be leveraged with all users, both public and private.”
To view the guidelines, visit: www.diu.mil/responsible-ai-guidelines.
Successful Fourth Deployment Results in Airborne Recovery of Gremlins Air Vehicle to C-130
An unmanned air vehicle demonstrated successful airborne recovery during the DARPA Gremlins program’s latest flight test deployment last month. During the deployment, two X-61 Gremlin Air Vehicles (GAV) successfully validated all autonomous formation flying positions and safety features before one GAV ultimately demonstrated airborne recovery to a C-130.
“This recovery was the culmination of years of hard work and demonstrates the feasibility of safe, reliable airborne recovery,” said Lt. Col. Paul Calhoun, program manager for Gremlins in DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office. “Such a capability will likely prove to be critical for future distributed air operations.”
During the final experiment, the team refurbished an X-61 vehicle and conducted a second flight within 24 working-hours. In addition, many hours of data were collected over four flights including air vehicle performance, aerodynamic interactions between the recovery bullet and GAV, and contact dynamics for airborne retrieval. Unfortunately, one GAV was destroyed during the flight tests.
“Airborne recovery is complex,” said Calhoun. “We will take some time to enjoy the success of this deployment, then get back to work further analyzing the data and determining next steps for the Gremlins technology.”
Safe, effective, and reliable air recoveries promise to dramatically expand the range and potential uses of unmanned air vehicles in conflict situations. The GAVs can be equipped with a variety of sensors and other mission-specific payloads. They can also be launched from various types of military aircraft, keeping manned platforms safely beyond the range of adversary defenses. After air retrieval, the GAVs can be refurbished by ground crews to prepare them for another mission within 24 hours.
Dynetics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Leidos, is developing the Gremlin vehicles.
– DARPA
