FA9453-21-S-0001-Call016 - Space Strategic Technology Institute (SSTI) - Space Cyber-Cognitive Overmatch (SCCO)

The Department of the Air Force Materiel Command Research Laboratory (Air Force Research Laboratory) seeks disruptive research and development across cyber and electromagnetic spectrums, distributed space architectures, and human-machine teaming to achieve space cyber-cognitive overmatch, with white papers due August 13, 2026 at 1100 Mountain Daylight Saving Time.

The procurement carries a university-led consortium structure requirement: the lead institution must be a university, and the minimum team comprises three accredited universities with at least 50 percent of awarded funds flowing to partnered institutions. Eligible participants include universities, for-profit entities, non-profit organizations, state and local governments, and small businesses; large businesses exceeding 1,000 employees and federal agencies are ineligible. FFRDCs, service academies, and foreign-owned organizations are prohibited. Non-U.S. citizens and foreign national faculty may participate with a filed waiver and documented justification of unique skills; green card holders are eligible without waiver.

Work is performed throughout the United States at the Controlled Unclassified Information level. Only U.S. citizens may access AFRL facilities and U.S. Government IT networks unless the Contracting Officer grants a waiver. Foreign travel requires prior approval, and the Government reserves unlimited rights to all data.

The Government anticipates awarding one or more contracts from a total of $25 million in federal funding, with individual awards varying in amount and performance periods up to 60 months (57 months of technical effort plus 3 months for final reporting). Awards may be made as FAR-based contracts or assistance instruments (grants or cooperative agreements); cost-type contracts require DCAA-approved accounting systems. Anticipated award start dates are 3 to 6 months following white paper submission. Pre-award costs are at the offeror's risk.

Technical scope encompasses eight focus areas: Threat Sensing, Detection, and Adaptive Response; Cyber-Hardening, Protection, and Supply Chain Security; AI, Autonomy, and Cognitive Execution; Human-to-Machine Teaming and Cognitive Interfacing; Distributed Compute and Quantum Architectures; Cognitive Electronic Warfare and Space-Enabled Cyber Tools; and Digital Engineering, Modeling, and Test and Evaluation. Proposals must employ multidisciplinary approaches and define current baselines while demonstrating superiority over existing state-of-the-art approaches.

Evaluation weighs Relevance to AFRL Needs and Scientific and Engineering Viability and Project Plan each at 27 percent, Problem Definition and Value/Cost Benefit to Air Force each at 8 percent, and Proposal Quality at 3 percent. Hardware and test bed implementations are highly desired but not required. No specific Technology Readiness Level requirement applies. Questions are due July 10 with a questions and answers webinar on July 15. Full proposals follow white paper selection. The NAICS code is 541715 and PSC code is AC11.