The Army Futures Command (AFC) is looking to the private sector for insight into a range of potential technology capabilities to deploy as part of AFC’s Technology Gateway program this fall, according to a Feb. 3 special notice published on Sam.gov.
The notice seeks input on tech ranging from autonomous delivery vehicles, to electromagnetic warfare and anti-drone capabilities.
AFC is looking to expand the Army’s ability to “experiment, evolve, and deliver technologies in real time to address urgent and emerging threats and expedite critical capabilities to the field to meet Combatant Commanders’ needs,” according to the notice.
The AFC is calling on industry to submit whitepapers outlining potential technology capabilities the service can deploy ahead of its Technology Gateway series.
The Technology Gateway series, slated for an October 2023 relaunch, is part of the Army’s Project Convergence effort – a broader campaign that began in 2020 to integrate emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics, and autonomy into plans for Joint Warfighting Concept and Joint All Domain Command and Control.
“[It’s] a collaborative experiment between industry partners and the Army to enable collective innovation and identify novel technology capabilities that help the Army achieve its modernization goals,” the notice explains.
The special notice asks for insight into solutions that utilize tools like autonomous technology to deliver large quantities of supplies at scale, including fuel and management systems, which would help efficiently oversee hundreds of autonomous capabilities simultaneously.
In addition, the notice request insight into tools to help defeat the targeting and delivery capabilities of loitering munitions drones and unmanned aerial systems.
The notice also requests ideas on solutions to help defend against electromagnetic warfare threats, innovative tools for surveying and securing river crossings, and innovations for multi-domain obscuration and maneuvering.
White paper submissions will go through a two-step evaluation process based on technical merit and operational merit reviews, with qualifying companies invited to Technology Gateway 2023 based on the final operational merit review.
Interested participants should submit whitepapers by March 31.
