Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering

An extra-large Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) uncrewed underwater vehicle prototype recently demonstrated first-of-its-kind capabilities in the waters off Southern California. After the Manta Ray UUV was rapidly assembled in the field from modular subsections, testing showed that it’s ready to advance toward real-world operations, possibly saving naval facilities valuable pier space.

Maynard Holliday, who performs the duties of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Critical Technologies (CT), and several CT leaders, recently visited Andreessen Horowitz – a16z – a venture capital firm that connects entrepreneurs, executives, and investors with industry experts, engineers, and others in the technology ecosystem, who hosted the “American Dynamism Factory Tour.” The tour gave Holliday and his team the opportunity to visit several innovative companies, including Apex - Spacecraft Manufacturing, Castelion, Hadrian, Northwood, and Radiant Space Systems, Inc. where they learned how these organizations are prototyping and scaling new technologies that could be used for national defense. For more information on American Dynamism, visit: https://lnkd.in/ehSdudYp

It is a DOD priority to help innovative, qualified companies survive the valley-of-death and ensure leap-ahead technologies turn into defense capabilities that will keep our troops safe and mission-effective. The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs are leading the charge in this endeavor. Tectus Corporation, located in Saratoga, California, and funded in part by SBIR/STTR – America’s Seed Fund – has developed an image display so small it can fit on a contact lens, which can potentially help warfighters more rapidly access and integrate critical information on the battlefield and during training exercises. Earlier this month, Maynard Holliday, who performs the duties of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Critical Technologies, visited Tectus to learn how it is creating cutting-edge micro-LED technology and its potential applications to support the DoD mission. For more information about DoD SBIR/STTR Program Office and how it can help companies more successfully navigate the defense space, visit https://www.sbir.gov/about

R&E’s FutureG deputy director, Marlan Macklin, recently participated in a fireside chat at the Embassy of Sweden during its inaugural, bilateral Cyber and Digital Dialogue in Washington, D.C. The event took place less than two months after Sweden became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Macklin shared R&E’s perspective on 5G/FutureG and the role it plays in delivering advanced, interoperable defense technologies for allies and partners. NATO is the bedrock of trans-Atlantic security, and constant and open communication with key stakeholders, including partners and allies, is crucial in maintaining the United States’ security while also ensuring international order.

The TEM is an opportunity for industry to learn more about the Department of Defense’s drive to provide overmatch capabilities through prototyping and experimentation of technologies that support the Joint Warfighting concept.  Register at: https://lnkd.in/edNECdyg

Last week, R&E’s Future G principal director, Dr. Tom Rondeau, and Naval Postgraduate School president, Vice Adm. (Ret.) Ann Rondeau (no relation), met to kick off the FutureG Active Duty Opening Source Development (ADOSD) program. The partnership supports two FutureG and R&E priorities: rapid innovation through open-source software and workforce development, which are critical to successful integration of FutureG technologies into the operating force. It will leverage open-source software as the basis for graduate education and research to empower the active-duty FutureG workforce with the foundational knowledge they will need to support the goals outlined in the National Defense Strategy. “The FutureG mission is to advance and adapt cellular network technology for Combined, Joint All-Domain Command-and-Control operations (CJADC2), and the NPS mission to provide defense-focused graduate education for warfighter advantage, making us ideal partners to help support our warfighters’ needs,” Dr. Rondeau said.

R&E’s Digital Engineering, Modeling and Simulation (DEM&S) director, Daniel Hettema, kicked off the Idaho National Laboratory’s Digital Innovation Center of Excellence (DICE) Digital Engineering Conference in Idaho Falls last week, providing industry experts the latest news on the Department of Defense’s digital engineering initiatives. “DICE offered a space for productive conversations about digital engineering, enabling partnerships that drive innovation and excellence for next generation systems,” Hettema said. Maintaining partnerships with industry experts and academic stakeholders through events like the DICE conference is critical to building trust and transparency that help R&E and the DOD develop technologies for the Joint Force.

By 2050, 25 percent of the world's young population will be in Africa. Ensuring talented young people have access to research opportunities is paramount to groundbreaking scientific discoveries. Last week, R&E’s Basic Research Office director Dr. Bindu Nair and her team participated in the Department of State-hosted University Partnership Summit in Washington, D.C., where she provided keynote remarks to highlight partnership opportunities and successful collaborations between the United States and academic institutions in Africa. She emphasized the department’s commitment to fostering research partnerships with African nations and the impact African researchers have on the science and technology ecosystem. In addition to Nair’s discussions about the DoD's international funding efforts, including sponsorship of symposiums, research projects, and workshops in Africa, BRO representatives also met with researchers, encouraging them to leverage those efforts to create more science and technology partnerships.

The Department of Defense today announced the selection of seven DoD–university faculty teams to pursue fundamental social science research through the FY 2023 Defense Education and Civilian University Research (DECUR) Partnership, a program under the department's Minerva Research Initiative. DECUR falls within the Minerva Research Initiative, DoD's singular program to connect with the social science community for basic research on areas of particular relevance to U.S. national security. Through its network of faculty investigators, Minerva helps DoD better understand and prepare for future challenges, particularly those prioritized in the National Defense Strategy. More at: https://lnkd.in/dsV9q3Vw

There’s still time to submit an abstract for our Advanced Research Concept (ARC) topic, QUAntum Materials Engineering using eLEctrOmagNetic fields (QUAMELEON). QUAMELEON closes on June 3rd. This ARC topic explores engineered #light-matter interactions at the quantum level for enhanced quantum sensing & information processing. QUAMELEON is soliciting ideas to explore the following question: How can engineered light-matter coupling be used to control or enhance quantum materials by harnessing vacuum effects or few-photon external drives? To view the QUAMELEON ARC opportunity, visit the exploration announcement here: https://lnkd.in/e_8SwiyF. #quantumsensing #quantuminformationprocessing DARPA’s ARC program rapidly solicits and explores a high volume of promising new ideas for limited-scope investments. Projects focus on answering high-risk/high-reward “what if?” questions and assessing the impact of further investment on problems of importance to national security. To learn more about all open ARC topics, visit https://www.darpa.mil/ARC.