We’re contracting with companies offering solutions in a variety of areas – from autonomy and AI to human systems, cyber and telecom, and space.
We’re Focused On:
Artificial Intelligence
Accelerating the DoD’s operational readiness, strategic reasoning, and ability to anticipate adversary intent by adapting commercial AI/ML solutions to the DoD’s data and analysis problem sets.
Lines of Effort:
Machine Learning Predictions: Whether a task requires understanding years of historical data ,tracking real-time performance from millions of sensors or integrating in publically/commercially-available data sources, AI can improve mission readiness while reducing costs by isolating critical signals from noise. With data-enabled predictions and forecasts, DoD can fix systems before they break, inform target identification, support real-time threat assessments, assess supply chain vulnerabilities, and enhance post-disaster damage responses.
Responsible AI Development: Commercial AI systems offer impressive solutions to the DoD’s most pressing challenges. Our portfolio ensures that these models and techniques are planned, developed, and deployed with the highest standards of ethical AI development in mind. Our AI applications may vary by mission area, but each application is built to reflect a common commitment to fairness, accountability, and transparency through each stage of the development cycle. We spend time both building acquisition processes to do this efficiently and effectively as well as running programs to bring the latest commercial tools focused on these areas into the Department.
AI Infrastructure: As AI systems are developed and deployed with increasing frequency, the DoD must stay on the cutting edge of data, software, and hardware infrastructure. Foci in this area include data management, Machine Learning Operations (MLOps) tools, advanced approaches to resource-efficient training and deployment, post-deployment AI system monitoring, and cutting-edge hardware.
Emerging AI Technologies: AI technology is moving faster than it ever has, and our portfolio aims to ensure that DoD is able to responsibly leverage emerging AI technologies at the speed and scale of relevance. Areas of recent interest include generative AI, large foundation models, and efficient approaches to edge computation for AI systems.
Artificial Intelligence Featured:
We're Focused On:
Autonomy
Accelerating the adoption and scaling of trusted commercial autonomy and improving our ability to counter adversarial systems
Lines Of Effort:
Small UAS Increasing access to tactical drones, lowering procurement barriers, and supporting the U.S. drone industrial base. Click here to learn more.
Counter UAS Delivering defensive systems to detect, track, identify and defeat adversarial UAS.
Maritime Autonomy Increasing domain awareness, hazard defeat, and resilient logistics.
Mission Autonomy Optimizing AI/ML and autonomous learning behaviors, artificial agents, and simulation environments to enable operations in contested battle areas
Logistics Streamlining supply chains and reducing human exposure during hazardous logistics operations
Manufacturing Producing safer, faster, and more cost-effective construction scale additive manufacturing and 3D printing capabilities
Ground Mobility Advancing commercial AV technology to improve safety systems, fuel economy, increase force protection, and reduce boots on the ground.
Autonomy Featured:
We're Focused On:
Cyber and Telecom
Securing and protecting the DoD's computer networks, warfighting systems, critical infrastructure and information from attacks to enable communications and enhance situational awareness.
Lines Of Effort:
Assess Threats Identify and assess cyber threats to help secure DoD systems, enhance situational awareness, and better understand adversaries.
Secure Develop secure systems to ensure the DoD can continue operations in the face of disruptive or destructive cyber attacks.
Defend Defend DoD systems from cyber attacks that attempt to adversely affect the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of these systems.
Enable Field capabilities that enable the DoD to attack and exploit the weaknesses of an adversary’s military and related networks.
Cyber and Telecom Featured:
We're Focused On:
Emerging Technology
Advancing initiatives derived from multi-disciplinary, deep-tech offerings.
Lines Of Effort:
Quantum Sensing for Strategic DoD Missions: Sensors designed at the atomic level offer the promise of significant improvements in precision, accuracy, and sensitivity compared to classical sensors, enabling key warfighting missions: precision weapon employment, position, navigation, and timing (PNT), communications, intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR), and electronic warfare.
Hypersonics: DIU started the Hypersonic and High-Cadence Airborne Testing Capabilities (HyCAT) initiative in early 2023 to address the need for low-cost, high-cadence test capabilities for the hypersonic community. DIU will continue to support the hypersonic community of interest by on-boarding new performers and novel solutions critical to hyprsonics.
Advanced materials: We are focused on developing technologies around materials and propulsion, nanotechnology, photonics, microelectronics, additive manufacturing and quantum information science.
Emerging Technology Featured:
We're Focused On:
Energy
Leveraging advancements in the commercial sector to strengthen resilience on military installations and enhance operational energy capabilities.
Lines of Effort:
Installation Resilience Optimizing energy generation, storage and delivery to ensure installation infrastructure is smart, secure, and efficient
Operational Energy Enhancing the range, duration and efficiency of military platforms to optimize performance in contested environments and extreme conditions.
Energy Featured:
We're Focused On:
Human Systems
Optimizing the human system and its enabling platforms through enhanced equipment, innovative training, and novel health applications
Lines Of Effort:
Lethality Optimizing current capabilities and introducing new technology to continuously improve the warfighters ability to shoot, move, and communicate.
Survivability Leveraging biotechnology and biomedical applications to enhance warfighter performance, recovery, and threat detection capabilities.
Readiness Introducing technology that advances warfighter training, personnel management, and testing capabilities to enhance force readiness.
Human Systems Featured:
We're Focused On:
Space
Developing on-demand access to space, persistent satellite capabilities, and broadband space data transfer
Lines Of Effort:
Peacetime Indications & Warnings Improve situational awareness and support decision makers by leveraging small, low-cost imaging satellites with a range of sensing modalities to build our capacity and broaden our focus for pattern-of-life analysis.
Responsive Access to Mission-Designated Orbits Adopt commercial launch-as-a-service to improve flexibility to launch various payloads from air, land or sea; enable precision delivery of payloads to prescribed orbits with minimal delay; and increase launch cadence and capacity to ensure responsive access to space.
Reduced Latency Communications & GPS Resiliency Provide a scalable means to meet the future needs of DoD satellite control networks and enable Service members to navigate on the ground through GPS denied and/or degraded signal environments.
Hardware-to-Software Transformation Modernization Modernize critical legacy hardware systems using new, adaptable approaches, such as software-defined systems, that extend the life of hardware, improve capabilities, and eliminate the challenge of parts obsolescence.
Multi-Orbit Operations & Logistics Provide low-cost, responsive access to exotic orbits as well as new nodes for logistics and in-space developmental tests.