ETHEREAL FORGE SAM.gov Message 20260825.pdf

ETHEREAL FORGE: Call for Participation – Test & Evaluation of Advanced Electromagnetic Warfare (EW) Capabilities

DRAFT – Notice Type: Special Notice Agency: Department of the Air Force / U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) Office: Joint Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations Center (JEC)

Disclaimers & Administrative Information

Managed by Partnership Intermediary Agreement (PIA): This initiative is being managed and facilitated in partnership with the Nebraska Defense Research Corporation (NDRC) in accordance with Title 15, United States Code, Section 3715 (15 U.S.C. Section 3715).

No Guarantee of Follow-On Contracts: This Special Notice is issued solely for market research, capability evaluation, and acquisition planning purposes. Participation in ETHEREAL FORGE does not constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that a procurement action will be issued. There is no guarantee of follow-on contracts, awards, or funding resulting from participation in this evaluation. The Government will not reimburse any costs associated with submitting information or participating in this event.

Security Requirement: All selected participants must possess the capability to process, store, and transmit Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) in accordance with National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-171 (NIST SP 800-171) standards.

1. Overview & Background

USSTRATCOM's JEC invites industry, academia, government, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), University A iliated Research Centers (UARCs), laboratories, and qualified mission partners to participate in ETHEREAL FORGE. This initiative accelerates the identification, integration, assessment, and transition of advanced EW capabilities.

ETHEREAL FORGE provides a structured, no-cost evaluation environment, including laboratory and anechoic chamber testing, to help participants refine their solutions, improve integration readiness, and demonstrate mission relevance with direct feedback from government technical evaluators and experienced operators.

For more information, see the o icial announcement here:

https://www.stratcom.mil/Media/News/News-Article-View/Article/4526846/us-strategic-command-launches-ethereal-forge-to-field-advanced-electromagnetic/

2. What We Are Looking For

We seek novel and innovative Advanced EW solutions that demonstrate the potential for technical maturity and a credible path toward integration.

The areas of interest listed below are not exhaustive. We encourage the submission of other novel, high-impact EW concepts, technologies, and capabilities not explicitly listed here, as they may still qualify for the evaluation campaign.

Capability Area

Description of Interest

Cognitive & Adaptive EW

Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning (AI/ML) enabled analysis, decision-making, and rapid mission adaptation.

Distributed & Integrated E ects

Machine-to-machine coordination and collaborative e ects across multi-domain platforms.

Advanced Hardware

Advanced Radio Frequency (RF) hardware o ering low Size, Weight, Power, and Cost (SWaP-C), wideband capabilities, and high dynamic range. Electro- Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) and Directed Energy (DE) capabilities are of interest, though government capacity to support testing for these specific modalities is highly limited.

Threat Resilience

Capabilities targeted against priority challenges such as adaptive radars, software-defined threats, and degraded environments.

Other Innovative EW Concepts

Any other novel, high-impact EW hardware, software, or architectural solutions that align with the JEC transition goals but fall outside the categories listed above.

3. Key Participation Requirements

Requirement Category Minimum Threshold / Parameter

Maturity Target Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4-7.

Standards & Frameworks

Strict conformance to the Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) Technical Standard and the Agile Mission Suite Government Reference Architecture (AMS-GRA) software standard is required. Alternative consensus-based standards are subject to approval. Deviations are restricted to extraordinary, highly compelling cases where performance benefits decisively outweigh the loss of modular open systems interoperability. Software capabilities must successfully integrate into a Government-provided, MOSA-aligned software framework. Alternate frameworks will be considered pending compliance with MOSA technical standard(s) and negligible impact to ETHEREAL FORGE events or resources.

Hardware/Integration

Software Defined Radios (SDRs), Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR), and Directed Energy (DE) integration. Due to constrained government support capacity, participants bringing these capabilities must furnish their own hardware or high-fidelity software proxies.

Security & Compliance

STIG compliance and DEVSECOPS documentation; delivery of technical specifications, interface documentation, and Static Application Security Testing / Dynamic Application Security Testing (SAST/DAST) reports. Full compliance with Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) safeguarding protocols (DFARS CMMC Level 2).

Constraints Disclosure Explicit disclosure of all proprietary rights, licensing limitations, and International Tra ic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) / Export Control boundary considerations..

4. Anticipated Campaign Sequence

We expect this evaluation to execute as a progressive, gated technical campaign completed over an anticipated six-month window:

• Phase 1: Initial virtual integration and interface onboarding.

• Phase 2: Hardware-in-the-Loop (HWIL) verification to ensure baseline system readiness.

• Phase 3: High-fidelity simulated laboratory environments.

• Phase 4: Advanced anechoic chamber testing against representative threat baselines.

• Phase 5: Dynamic threat-relevant operational field assessments.

• Phase 6: Technology Readiness Assessment (TRA) of the participating EW capability and transition to fielding for immediate operations.

This phased approach allows the overall timeline to remain agile and accommodate shifts in schedule, while still o ering a clear, rigorous path from initial onboarding to live evaluation. Specific scheduling details and test support files will be provided to participants upon successful onboarding.

5. Submission Philosophy

"The most useful submissions will be those that are ambitious in vision, disciplined in technical description, and realistic about maturity, dependencies, and risk."

6. How to Participate & Contact Us

To request the o icial ETHEREAL FORGE Submission Package (including the Quad Chart template, capability questionnaire, and detailed instructions), please reach out directly to the event team.

We welcome and recommend early digital engagement and inquiries to discuss technical alignment before formal submission. You can meet the ETHEREAL FORGE Team in person at the 2026 Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) Summit (22-24 September) and/or attend our virtual Questions and Answers (Q&A) session tentatively scheduled for mid-October.

PIA Points of Contact: Curtis "Beaker" Hornbeak, Timothy Ferracci Government Program Manager: Lt Col Duc “GUI” Bui Response Deadline: 10 October 2026 Email: ETHEREAL_FORGE@mail.mil