The Space Rapid Capabilities Office already is seeing an impact from the congressional impasse on reauthorizing Pentagon use of Small Business Innovation Program grants, Director Kelly Hammett said.
Senate lawmakers are at an impasse over the Small Business Innovation Research program, a key program used by the Pentagon to provide seed funding for small firms.
Knowing when to build on commercial systems and when to develop something new can be the difference between parity and information dominance.
45 percent of AAL’s completed projects have “transitioned” into regular DoD programs, but AAL admits others “end up in the valley of death due to factors external to the project, even if the project meets all milestones and the technology solves the military problem.”
After lawmakers raised concerns about potential abuse, there was a "Herculean" effort to rewrite the legislation.
However the tech-focused small business program proceeds, some lawmakers are calling for change in how SBIR operates, according to documents obtained by Breaking Defense.
Sergio Gallucci, SCOUT co-founder and chief technology officer, told Breaking Defense that its new AFWERX contract is focused on demonstrating its software for integrating and streamlining unclassified data from multiple satellites.
The GPS network continues to prove its unmatched reliability, and it’s only getting stronger.
“My view isn't like, I'm going to magically unlock special secret approaches that haven't been touched before,” Deputy Defense Secretary Kath Hicks said Wednesday. “I think it's more about how you start to shift the incentives"
"There are so many building block technologies that need to happen first. So, it’s a bit silly, but the appeal of the theoretical end result is undeniable," says Teal Group's Richard Aboulafia.
A weather "data coverage gap exists in areas that we operate on a regular basis in the military," says Dan Stillman, director of marketing for Tomorrow.io's space and government division.
Congress and the new Pentagon leadership must act now and expand the program to the Army and Navy, and the defense agencies. Scaling the program up will not cure all the department’s innovation woes but it will send an important message to our next generation of entrepreneurs that the Pentagon really is open for business.
Reducing cognitive overload on warfighters while improving “time to trust” for autonomous systems is a matter of design.
“If you can give me a white paper in three weeks, I'll pay for your white paper in three weeks, if you can give me a prototype in three months, I'll [pay for] your prototype in three months,” said James Smith, SOCOM's acquisition chief.
Five small businesses won SBIR Phase II awards to build robotic arms to handle shells, software to manage ammo inventory, and other prototype technologies.
"I think we need something like a PEO that is wholly focused on commercial enterprise," says Air Force acquisition czar Will Roper.
The lab is also kicking off "a worldwide $1 million challenge that canvases the international quantum research community for novel solutions in the emerging field," AFRL says.