Science and Technology Opportunities

The official proposal submission website for the Department of Defense (DoD). The DoD announces the opening of the following SBIR and STTR funding opportunities:

• Air Force X23.6 CSO

DAU is leading the effort to help the Department measure the innovation readiness of the Defense Acquisition Workforce and provide training and resources to develop and improve their readiness skills.

The United States Air Force (USAF) is seeking modern capabilities to rapidly establish distributed operations in hostile environments around the world. This effort addresses an important aspect of Agile Combat Employment (ACE), a scheme of maneuver that shifts operations from centralized, physical infrastructures to a network of smaller, dispersed locations, providing flexibility for friendly forces and complicating circumstances for adversaries. Before proceeding further, watch this video to learn more about the ACE concept and how it relates to Expedient Basing. 

 
The USAF recognizes that future USAF operating locations will need to be lean, versatile, scalable, sustainable, and resilient. The Expedient Basing challenge aims to significantly reduce base setup response times from weeks or months to just hours or days without degradation of operational capacity to swiftly execute missions.

 
We encourage participants in this Challenge to offer technological and innovative solutions for experimentation and/or feasibility study, as well as developed solutions. In either case, we’re interested in understanding all underlying technologies upon which a solution relies.

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Geospatial Research Laboratory announces a Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) which aims to find technology that pioneers geospatial solutions for the Warfighter.  This CSO contains broadly defined areas of interest that align with the lab’s mission to expand innovative geospatial solutions.  While some of these areas of interest are geared toward meeting individual program requirements, the Government reserves the right to award contracts from this CSO to meet requirements of ERDC’s Geospatial Research Laboratory (GRL) at other locations with similar mission focus areas. 
​
The CSO Solicitation document provides additional details and instructions.

The Inspiring Doctrinal Innovation Essay Prize Challenge

The contest is inspired by the words of CSAF General Charles Q. Brown who stated that he is “…relying on every Airmen to understand the lessons of doctrine, and then draw on them to innovate and incorporate concepts and technologies that will develop [and] shape future doctrine.” To meet the CSAF’s intent, the LeMay Center for Doctrine and Education has partnered with MGMWERX and other organizations under Air University to host an essay contest. The IDI contest offers a variety of incentives include a cash prize for the top paper and publication for up to the top 20 papers. Airmen will have the opportunity to have their ideas read and shared through a larger audience and inspire a new generation of doctrinal development.

We have three NSIN Hirethon opportunities now live! Don’t miss a unique opportunity for accelerated recruitment with the Department of Defense. Apply by August 5, 2022.

The NSIN Hirethon is an accelerated recruitment program that connects STEM talent with Department of Defense (DoD) organizations seeking candidates for civil service.

Current Hirethon Opportunities

• Data Scientists - Begin or transition your career as a data scientist with the Army’s Network Enterprise Technology Command (NETCOM), while advancing your cyber skills and leadership opportunities, working with information technology and systems responsible for defending the Army’s networks during operations. Applications close Aug. 5.
• Electronics/Electrical Engineers - Use your STEM expertise to provide intelligence and statistical analysis for the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC), while discovering and characterizing threats in multi-domain operations, driving weapon system acquisitions, and informing national defense policies. No military experience is required. Applications close Aug. 5.
• Senior Level Interdisciplinary positions - The Air Force Research Laboratory’s Small Business Office seeks two senior level (DR-04) interdisciplinary positions in AFRL/SB overseeing the AFRL Regional Hubs centered at Purdue University in West Lafayette IN and Cornell University in Ithaca NY. Applications close Aug. 5.

Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs -- In partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory and Universities Space Research Association, the United States Space Force announced the establishment of a new University Consortium Research Opportunity addressing space science and technology challenges today.

The research focus areas for this UCRO will include Beyond Geostationary Earth Orbit (xGEO) Operations and Space Domain Awareness (SDA); and will facilitate applied research to develop transformational space domain technology. This ground-breaking initiative advances capabilities that can be transitioned and integrated into current and future USSF space systems.

The xGEO Operations and SDA team will be comprised of at least three research institutions, including a lead university. The teams of universities selected are encouraged to collaborate and partner with other universities, AFRL, DARPA and industry to address space research, development, and demonstration needs.

The lead research institution will also be able to manage the research of any xGEO Operations and SDA subtopics. Additionally, the teams will also support future technology vectors and horizon scanning on emerging and forward-leaning technologies through a systematic assessment of potential future threats and technology surprises.

The xGEO Operations and SDA UCRO will focus on technologies needed to ensure continued and enhanced capability across all space areas (including moons and planets) for the U.S. military and civil operation. While many of these technologies are applicable to other orbital regimes or even other domains, this opportunity will focus on specifically addressing challenges related to space object tracking and beyond geostationary orbit operations.

A notice of intent regarding the UCRO opportunity and anticipated request for proposal is accessible via https://afrlscholars.usra.edu/urep