The Electronic Warfare Branch of the US Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Cyber & Networks Directorate (AFLCMC/HNJW) has revealed work to develop a modular, upgradable Next Generation Aircraft Protection system based upon open architecture standards.
In a five-year Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) call posted in December, the Directorate said it was seeking “to identify eligible vendors that are capable of developing part (or all) of this Next Generation Aircraft Protection system.” The CSO is open to a broad spectrum of organizations, including traditional and non-traditional defense contractors, small businesses and research institutions.
According to the Directorate, the Next Generation Aircraft Protection project is seeking to harness innovation to rapidly develop technologies of novel capabilities, and to characterize new technologies and system concepts that provide evolutionary, revolutionary, and disruptive capabilities for the US Air Force through systems requirements development, prototyping, studies, and demonstrations. Four areas of interest have been identified: system architecture, modeling, and simulation; the detect layer (sensing); the decide layer (processing); and the defeat layer (countermeasures and effectors).
To realize its ambitions, the Cyber & Networks Directorate is seeking industry partners that have experience in the following areas: advanced sensor technologies (including but not limited to radio frequency sensing (HF-EHF), optical sensing (infrared, visible, ultraviolet) to include laser warning receivers, and acoustic sensing); advanced processing (hardware, software, and algorithms); and advanced countermeasures (kinetic and non-kinetic), including but not limited to RF and electro-optical countermeasures, as well as emerging technologies such as high power microwave and other directed energy technologies.
System or subsystem submissions must have demonstrable compliance with Agile Mission Suite Government Reference Architecture or include a technical roadmap showing the pathway to compliance. Questions and proposals can be sent to [email protected]. – R. Scott
