2020 Nuclear Deterrence Operations

Cancelled. Reboot in 2021, date TBD. Stay tuned to this page for updates.

The Air Force (AF) Nuclear Deterrence Operations (NDO) Service Core Function (SCF) community of experts are sponsoring the 2020 NDO Independent Research and Development (IR&D) Technology Interchange Meeting (TIM) at Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque, NM. The invitation is open to all industry IR&D participants, including large and small businesses, as well as academia.

The 2020 AF NDO IR&D TIM will include AFGSC’s three main mission areas as well as crosscutting topics that may be applicable to more than one area or future applications not specific to the currently defined sub-mission areas. The following are the currently defined sub-mission areas and some examples of potential crosscutting areas of significant interest: (note, refer to the electronic library for some specific topics stakeholder interest)

Supporting crosscutting topic areas that also are areas of interest as they apply to current and future systems include (but not limited to): cyber security, base and asset defense (to include convoy operations), Modeling and Simulation (M&S) capabilities (physics and engineering models for extreme environments, and mission and campaign level applications supporting system-of-system analytics supporting architectural trades), test and evaluation methods/alternatives, strategic grade radiation hardened electronics or resilience methods.

The electronic library contains documents detailing nuclear enterprise stakeholder areas of interest that may be useful in nominating IR&D projects.

Nuclear Command, Control and Communications (NC3): concerned with assured, secure, and timely communications connectivity between national command authorities and executing strategic systems.

Strategic Deterrence – Air (SDA): encompasses all aspects of the development and sustainment of air delivery platforms and the air delivered strategic systems (standoff and tactical systems).

Strategic Deterrence – Ground (SDG): encompasses all aspects development and sustainment of ground based strategic systems (currently MM III and GBSD). This includes technologies supporting maneuvering reentry systems, and penetration aids (PENAID) and countermeasures (CM). (Note: refer to electronic library for topic and classification guidance)

With respect to shaping strategic futures, our interchange will focus on the first of the three objectives: Develop and Deliver Transformational Strategic Capabilities. The strategic capabilities are defined as: Global Persistent Awareness

1. Resilient Information Sharing
2. Rapid, Effective Decision-Making
3. Complexity, Unpredictability, and Mass
4. Speed and Reach of Disruption and Lethality

Though in this context “Strategic” does not exclusively refer to nuclear systems, to achieve strategic deterrence across the continuum of conflict through escalation and achieve de-escalation will require applying these concepts to strategic systems while exploiting advanced conventional systems to enhance strategic operational effectiveness (Conventional Nuclear Integration – CNI).

Global Persistent Awareness:
- Support continuous and timely knowledge of adversaries throughout the operating environment via distributed sensing across all domains.
Resilient Information Sharing:
- Coordinate across all Joint Force assets through assured communications and precise positioning, navigation, and timing information resilient to any denial methods.
Rapid, Effective Decision-Making:
- Increase the speed of battlespace understanding and decision- making to act faster than any adversary.
Complexity, Unpredictability, and Mass:
- Overwhelm adversaries with complexity, unpredictability, and numbers through a collaborative and autonomous network of systems and effects.
Speed and Reach of Disruption and Lethality:
- Rapidly disrupt and neutralize dynamic and mobile targets using new methods to attack with speed and global reach.

Table 1. Technological Opportunities and Challenges Within the Five Strategic Capabilities

STRATEGIC CAPABILITY	TECHNOLOGICAL OPPORTUNITY	STRATEGIC CHALLENGES
GLOBAL PERSISTENT AWARENESS	Distributed, multimodal sensing New sensing modalities: laser and multistatic radar, hyperspectral sensing, and quantum field sensing Small satellites and low-cost launch Cyberintelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance Enabling microelectronics, photonics, and materials	Persistence and access through distributed concepts Expanding the modalities of sensing to capture all observables Integrated multidomain sensing and information exploitation
RESILIENT INFORMATION SHARING	Software-defined, agile systems with real-time spectrum awareness Mesh networking and topology management Distributed ledgers and robust encryption Alternative navigation: vision- based, celestial, and magnetic Quantum science: cold-atom accelerometers, atomic clocks, and quantum entanglement	Backbone of collaborative autonomous systems Move from platform-centric data links to resilient, networked communications architecture Provide self-contained, precise positioning, navigation, and timing resilient to any jamming
RAPID, EFFECTIVE DECISION-MAKING	Artificial intelligence: machine learning and machine-based reasoning Predictive data analytics Data fusion and visualization Autonomous electronic and cyberwarfare agents Cognitive integration and human- machine teaming	Increased autonomy in tactical-to- strategic environments High level of trust required for lethal combat application Overcoming unpredictability and uncertainty in combat Organic, artificial intelligence platform for broad application
COMPLEXITY, UNPREDICTABILITY, AND MASS	Low-cost air and space platforms Agile digital and additive manufacturing Collaborative autonomy and swarming Risk-based certification Multidomain command and control	Shift to large numbers of collaborative systems providing synergistic, multidomain effects Need heterogeneous mix of capable, trustworthy, autonomous systems
SPEED AND REACH OF DISRUPTION AND LETHALITY	Hypersonic flight: scramjet propulsion, high-temperature materials, controls, and experimentation Low-cost, networked cruise missiles and smart munitions Microwave and laser-directed energy Cyberwarfare	Mature, affordable hypersonics into a pervasive capability Penetrating weapons with long range, numbers, stealth, and maneuver Integrated cyberoperations, electronic warfare, and artificial intelligence Sustained experimentation

Participation

Planning Schedule

Disclaimers

Electronic Library

If you are interested in participating Please send expression of interest to the following email address: dtic.belvoir.ecm.list.nuclear@mail.mil. Once we receive your expression of interest, we will send additional instructional data on how to nominate IR&D projects. If you do not hear back from the IR&D planning team within one week, please resend the original email.

Date of Posting - Window opens for IR&D project nominations by industry

17 Jan 2020- Window closes for IR&D project nominations by industry
17 Mar 2020- Send industry invitations to present at the face-to-face meeting
8 May 2020- Industry submits read-ahead briefs
18-22 May 2020- Execute NDO IR&D TIM

Please note dates listed are subject to change. Stay tuned to the Defense Innovation Marketplace webpage, https://defenseinnovationmarketplace.dtic.mil/technology-interchange-meetings/nuclear-tim/, for updates. Thank you and we look forward to these government-industry technology engagements.

The government is not obligated to enter into a contract with industry as a result of this technology interchange meeting or from meeting dialogue. Data exchanges as a result of these dialogue activities follow No Foreign Nationals (NOFORN) and International Traffic Arms Regulations (ITAR) restrictions. Some information we intend to share may be classified or unclassified and will not be approved for unlimited public release. Note: Government technical support contractors may be a part of the team of SMEs at the event, and company-to-company Non-Disclosure Agreements may be necessary. Please address any questions about the technical intent of the engagement, the reference documents, or processes used for this event to our team at dtic.belvoir.ecm.list.nuclear@mail.mil.

Air Force Science and Technology Strategy (PDF)

Distro D Documents - Limited Distribution The links below will take you to the content access notification webpage. If you already have approved access, click the link under Nuclear Deterrence.

2020 NDO IR&D TIM Stakeholders Topic Areas of Interest [DISTRO D - Limited Distribution]
ICBM Advanced Reentry Systems Concepts and Assessments Security Classification and Declassification Guide (SCG) [DISTRO D - Limited Distribution]

Cancelled. Reboot in 2021, date TBD. Stay tuned to this page for updates.

“Air Force that dominates time, space, and complexity

in future conflict across all operating domains

to project power and defend the homeland.”

AF Science and Technology Strategy 2030

Strategic Capability Goals:

Five Strategic Capabilities