Mark your calendar for 24-28 March 2025!
During the week of 24-28 March 2025, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), on behalf of the DoD Space Community of Interest (COI), will host a virtual technology interchange meeting (TIM) with industry partners invested in space-related technologies. This invitation is open to all domestic (US) partners with IR&D and other corporate investments in science and technology, including large and small businesses, academia, National Labs, and FFRDCs with a current certified DD Form 2345 (Military Critical Technical Data Agreement).
Intent, Background, & Scope
The intent of this virtual engagement is to give industry/corporate partners an opportunity to provide government subject matter experts from varying backgrounds in space -- space domain awareness; space-based sensing; space access, mobility, and logistics; space spectrum warfare, space superiority, etc., -- insight into their relevant IR&D investment projects. Additional objectives of this technology exchange include increasing awareness, opening collaboration opportunities, and seeking alignment between industry’s IR&D investments and US Space Force high-priority science and technology needs, and to inform DoD relevant R&D, acquisition and sustainment roadmaps.
Background: US space advantage is facing ever-increasing challenges driving the need to reoptimize for Great Power Competition. Many nations have recognized US military space advantages and are moving aggressively to mirror/surpass and to disrupt/deny US and allied capabilities. These efforts extend across civil/commercial/military space capabilities supporting US space power & its application in peace/crisis/conflict. Key challenges include our nation’s eroding space S&T advantage in education, personnel, infrastructure and investment. This erosion continues as allies, competitors, potential adversaries increase space S&T focus and investments within increasingly Space interconnected/global research ecosystems.
Scope: The Space IR&D TIM has high interest in understanding the industry landscape of Science and Technology relative to three principal pillars of operational capabilities & their supporting pervasive S&T areas:
C3 Pillar: The space element for the integrated, Combined Joint All Domain Command and Control (C-JADC2) system providing from, in, and through space advantage in Battle Management Command and Control (BMC2), Battlespace Awareness, and Decision Support. The Battlespace is increasingly global/complex/fast-moving/progressive and is extending above geosynchronous equatorial orbit (GEO). Success in the battlespace requires DoD’s integrated/interconnected cross-domain capabilities.
Multi-Domain Sensing Pillar: Critical, space-based and terrestrial, space supporting information sources/systems required for military information advantage in space/cross domains. Challenges to US Military Information Advantage are driven by increases, for example, in the number and diversity of threats to information systems.
Space Superiority Pillar: Military operations to project/maintain US Space Advantage in space/cross domains. Space superiority ensures freedom of action in space for the United States and its Allies and, when necessary to defend against threats, denies an adversary freedom of action in space. Superiority includes a range of capabilities to include Combat power, Space logistics, rad hard electronics, laser & cyber protections, and other capabilities that are resident or employed to protect, defend, or defeat threats while preserving U.S. freedom of action in the space domain.
Interested? Here’s What to Do
Send your expression of interest and company’s DD2345 to AFRL.HQ.IRDPM@us.af.mil as soon as possible. Once your expression of interest is received and DD2345 validated by our planning team, you will receive a reply with additional (controlled unclassified) technology need information and instructions for submitting one-page project summaries. Project summaries are due no later than 1200 Pacific Time, 17 Jan 2025. Each company may submit up to 5 projects per pillar.
If you don’t receive acknowledgement from the planning team within three business days, please resend the original email.
Planning Schedule
For planning purposes, a high-level schedule of milestones is provided and please note, dates and activities listed below are subject to change.
| Date | Activity |
|---|---|
| 01 Nov 2024 | Window opens for Companies Expressing Interest to Submit Project Summaries |
| 17 Jan 2025 | Window closes for Project Summary Submittal |
| 24 Jan 2025 | Government SMEs Begin Evaluating Submitted Project Summaries |
| 14 Feb 2025 | SME Evaluations End |
| 19 Feb 2025 | Invitations sent to selected companies to present at Virtual (CUI) TIMs; invitation will include briefing template |
| 12 Mar 2025 | Industry briefings due |
| 25-27 Mar 2025 | Conduct Virtual 2025 Space TIMs via MS Teams |
| 08 Apr 2025 | Action Items & Feedback to participants |
Security
All information submitted for this virtual interchange must be unclassified. Entry into all one-on-one sessions will be limited to the presenter (and team) and appropriate government SMEs.
Protection of proprietary data and intellectual property is paramount, and all participants must treat project summaries and government-provided technical need information as Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI, formerly For Official Use Only). All information protection protocols will be enforced throughout the Space IR&D TIM planning and execution process.