2018 Nuclear Deterrence Operations (NDO)

Independent Research & Development (IR&D) Technology Interchange Meetings

7-11 May 2018

Mark your calendars!
Don't miss the opportunity to meet with the Department of Defense's (DoD's)
team of nuclear experts in the Spring of 2018!

During the week of 7-11 May 2018, our renowned nuclear weapons technology experts plan to engage with industry on addressing innovation, Science and Technology (S&T) advancements, and IR&D investments vital to meet the needs of our nuclear community to keep us relevant and on the winning edge in this critical area. The event will be held at the Phillips Conference Center, located at Kirtland Air Force Base, NM. The Air Force NDO Service Core Function (SCF) Capability Working Group, includes key units from the Air Force Global Strike Command, the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, and the Air Force Research Laboratory, along with several other DoD and non-DoD agencies.

Nuclear Deterrence

Ensuring the safety, security, reliability, and effectiveness of the enduring stockpile

This webpage provides an overview of NDO SCF team interest in engaging with industry regarding Nuclear Weapons S&T. The data presented on this webpage is linked to the announcement made in the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) announcement. Only one announcement is anticipated for this event in the FBO site. Any further detail adjustments and updates will only be posted on this webpage, with a flagged “Addendum 1, 2 …” note on the top of this webpage.

This initiative is led by the Air Force Global Strike Command as the lead integrator for the NDO service core function. During the engagement, we will discuss details of companies’ IR&D investments focused on nuclear deterrence innovation and breakthroughs, addressing many of the challenges facing our Air Force efforts in the following capability development areas:

  1. Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications (NC3): Capability development efforts associated with effectiveness of NC3 capability to support global planning and execution
  2. Strategic Deterrence -- Air (SDA): Capability development efforts associated with standoff weapon capability [Air-Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) and Long-Range Standoff (LRSO)] and bomber sustainment and modernization
  3. Strategic Deterrence -- Ground (SDG): Involves capability development efforts associated with sustaining and modernizing the Minuteman III and any future ICBM deterrent capability, to include enablers (e.g., helicopters)

Electronic Library relevant to the Event

Key assumptions of Nuclear Deterrence

  • Rationality
  • No objective is worth dying
  • Cost/benefit calculus
  • Mutual vulnerability - MAD
  • Deterrence is a process spread over many stages
  • Perceptions are the key
  • Credibility is fundamental for effective functioning of deterrence

Relevant documents to industry, related to critical capability investments, will be added to this page. Stay tuned to this website.

If you are interested in participating

Please send expression of interest to the following email address: dtic.belvoir.ecm.list.nuclear@mail.mil. The NDO Team email is composed of several subject matter experts (SMEs) planning and executing the event. Stay tuned to this webpage. Necessary updates will be provided in the upcoming weeks, as details become finalized. If you do not hear back from the IR&D planning team within one week, please resend original e-mail. 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. We will work to provide you timely responses.

Sharing your NDO IR&D Projects

Once we receive your expression of interest, we will send additional instructional data to submit nominated IR&D topics. Follow our instructions and nominate relevant IR&D topics and corporate investments to the NDO team who determines the final selection of projects to be addressed in the meetings. Submit the industry abstracts to the Defense Innovation Marketplace using the link "Submit your IR&D abstracts here" in the box below. Follow the input format, and submit your IR&D project nominations, with any attachments no later than February 12, 2018.

SUBMISSIONS

Submit your IR&D abstracts here: https://www.defenseinnovationmarketplace.mil/input/irad/inputFormHome.htm

Nominated projects shall reside in the secure IR&D database. Each IR&D topic summary submitted into the IR&D database will generate an eight-digit (Example: 18001111) Record Number as a unique identifier. The nomination process will be complete once an email with the Record Number(s) of your submission(s) to dtic.belvoir.ecm.list.nuclear@mail.mil using the excel spreadsheet you received when expressing interest in this event. If the IR&D data being nominated is already in the database, you will not need to re-enter this data.

Simply email a list of the Record Number(s) (total limit of 30 with no more than 10 in any one Key technical areas) to the same dtic.belvoir.ecm.list.nuclear@mail.mil email address February 12, 2018. Submission of these records does not guarantee participation in the event. If this is your first time responding to an announcement, obtaining the required access to the IR&D database may take one week. To obtain access to the IR&D database, please visit http://www.defenseinnovationmarketplace.mil/industry.html. Nominations received after the closing date and/or not initially submitted to the IR&D database shall NOT be accepted.

Disclaimers

The government is not obligated to enter into a contract with industry as a result of this Innovation Summit or from summit 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. Please recognize dates and locations listed are subject to change. Please stay tuned to subsequent announcement updates. Thank you and we look forward to these government-Industry technology engagements.

Feedback/Contact

This model of exchanging information on the Marketplace is more dynamic, informative and will lead to more promising technology collaborations in the future. Email the AF Nuke Deterrence Operations team with your feedback on the site and its content, and to receive further updates on this event and others.

Feedback email: nucleardeterrence@defenseinnovationmarketplace.mil