Active

Contract Opportunity

Title: Counter Multi-Domain Uncrewed Systems: Counter-Autonomy/Counter-Artificial Intelligence (AI) Needs Statement

Multi- and cross-domain Uncrewed Systems (UxS) continue to be a threat to U.S. forces around the world. This threat is expanding in all domestic and international regions. As outlined in the 2022 National Defense Strategy it is imperative that we pace the threat. Further, this threat is no longer just in the aerial domain, but also from ground, subterranean, sea, and undersea domains. Near-peer adversary nations are rapidly incorporating robust UxS capabilities into their military formations, and non-state actors are using UxS to increase their asymmetric advantage. The incorporation of autonomy into UxS increases the threat due to UxS improved navigation in highly cluttered environments, extended operating duration, and circumvention of traditional indication, warning, and defensive systems.

To defend the homeland and protect our military forces against this multi-dimensional threat, the Department of Defense (DoD) is looking for technologies that will support an effective layered defense against UxS with advanced autonomy or artificial intelligence. This Needs Statement is seeking information about technologies from private industry for inclusion in future capability demonstrations, experimentation events, and ultimately, the rapid fielding of solutions for protecting and enabling the force to mitigate this threat. The technologies should provide capabilities that:

• Counter the effectiveness of an autonomous UxS swarm by impacting the ability of UxS to detect (e.g., decoys, camouflage, and countering computer vision).


• Impact and impede UxS navigation through passive and active effectors (e.g., barriers, artificially modified terrain, and access control points).


• Protect or rapidly recover from physical and electronic UxS attacks by employing traditional kinetic, directed energy, and control link attacks in combination to defeat individual or multiple UxS platforms in rapid succession without exhausting defensive capabilities.


• Provide assessment capabilities to measure the efficacy of the above approaches.

The DoD Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD (R&E)) Innovation & Modernization (I&M) Office, in coordination with the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Matters (DASD (NM)), the Joint Staff/J8 (Force Protection Division), the Test Resource Management Center (TRMC), and the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division will conduct an Innovation Outreach Solutions Meeting focused on countering multi-domain UxS, counter autonomy, and counter artificial intelligence. This event is seeking solutions that can support a layered defense against multiple and cross-domain UxS operating in small numbers or as an autonomous swarm. Solutions can include technologies for enhanced detection, classification, tracking, identification, autonomous defense, and passive defeat. Topic areas with example needs are provided below.

The Innovative Outreach Solutions Meeting provides selected companies with an opportunity to make short technical presentations to government representatives about their potential solutions on or around mid-July 2023. Results of this effort inform decision-makers about emerging and available technology solutions that enhance or improve operational capabilities. The technology areas of primary interest include:

Novel Sensor Technologies for enhanced detection, classification, tracking, and identification of UxS and swarms of UxS. These are solutions that can generate or fuse critical information to detect and classify UxS threats at increased distances, faster, and with increased confidence across multiple domains. Solutions may include:

• Traditional sensors (e.g., optical, electronic, and acoustic) and any novel sensing systems that provide increased performance.


• Sensors, algorithms, and techniques to enable advanced identification and classification of possible threats, including swarm command and control vulnerabilities.


• Capabilities to track and maintain custody of potential threats.


• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) for improved classification, increased detection, and to recommend potential countering solutions.


• Solutions to enable dynamic detection and tracking of underwater systems in shallow and cluttered environments (e.g., near land and among congested shipping traffic), is of particular interest.


• Capabilities to seamlessly detect, classify, and track UxS that transition from one domain to another (e.g., from underwater to onshore).


• Methodologies, metrics, and techniques to assess UxS sensing technology efficacy.

Autonomous Defensive Technologies that support Counter-Autonomy and Counter-AI Technologies against platforms operating alone, as part of a group, or swarm. Solutions could include technologies to:

• Counter autonomous navigation systems or sensors necessary to determine location.


• Selectively prevent, spoof, or control high-bandwidth communication links and coordination among individual UxS and operators.


• Impact effectiveness of on-board AI systems, potentially in conjunction with passive defenses (see below).


• Methodologies, metrics, and techniques to assess countering technology efficacy.

Passive Defeat Capabilities that prevent effective operations of UxS with advanced autonomy and AI threats. Passive defeat solutions could prevent the detection of a protected site or platform, prevent access, divert autonomy or AI focus to less critical areas, or defer or delay threats by reducing algorithm confidence or impeding operations. Solutions could include technologies to:

• Exploit vulnerabilities in AI algorithms (e.g., artificial signatures to muddle or defeat detection algorithms).


• Control signatures of infrastructure or platforms by effecting “appearance” in thermal, optical, radio frequency, or other methods.


• Introduce physical decoys, electronic image injections on electro-optical sensors, or other techniques to confuse AI targeting.


• Create physical or other barriers that prevent access to protected areas or platforms.


• Methodologies, metrics, and techniques to assess passive defeat capability efficacy.

Application Process

Companies interested in participating in the Innovation Outreach Solutions Meeting should submit one (1) application to the I&M Office (formerly the Rapid Reaction Technology Office) via email to osd.pentagon.ousd-atl.mbx.rrto-innovation@mail.mil. Only one application per company is permitted, NOT one application per topic area or company business unit.

The following information is required in the application. All application information must be contained in the body of the email. No attachments are allowed.

1. Email subject line: IO Counter Autonomy Solutions Meeting


2. Company name


3. Website address


4. Point of Contact (POC), email, and phone number, and alternate POC (if desired)


5. One succinct single paragraph description (100 words or less in length and no bullets) of the technology that the company plans to discuss if they are selected to present at the Innovation Outreach Solutions Meeting. This description must focus on the technology and the envisioned use of that technology and must not be a description of the company.


6. Select the one technology area of the three technology areas above (Novel Sensor Technologies, Autonomous Defensive Technologies, Passive Defeat Capabilities) that BEST fits your technology solution. Do not apply for multiple technology areas.

All applications must be received on or before 5:00 PM EDT, 12 May 2023. Submission of an application does not guarantee an invitation to the Innovation Outreach Solutions Meeting.

Selected companies are responsible for their travel and all other expenses associated with participation in the Innovation Outreach Solutions Meeting. The DoD does not guarantee funding or follow-up work to selected and/or participating technology developers but may provide developers additional follow-on opportunities for pilot projects based on applicability and other factors.

Attachments/Links