JSOC to release information about 2016 technology and capability needs

By Loren Blinde April 3, 2016

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On April 1, the Office of the Secretary of Defense posted a notice about the upcoming JSOC events. (Solicitation Number: RRTO-20160401-W-JSOC-EVENTS-NEEDS-LIST)

The Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) has assembled 2 versions of SOF Technology and Capability Needs, a SECRET listing of approximately 100, and a subset of approximately 40 needs at the UNCLASSIFIED level. The lists will be available for release to Industry, Academia, and National Labs in April 2016. JSOC will follow up the release of the Needs Lists with two events:

Appropriate personnel will be available this year at SOFIC 2016, 23-26 May 2016 in Tampa, FL to discuss JSOC UNCLASSIFIED gaps during the four Program Executive Office – SOF Warrior (PEO-SW) briefing tracks. Exact times/locations for PEO-SW conference session are TBD, but will be available at: http://www.sofic.org/Pages/Default.aspx.

JSOC will host a Capabilities Solutions Event in concert with PEO-SOF Warrior’s annual Special Operations Forces Warrior Industry Collaboration (SOFWIC) event to be held TBD in October 2016 timeframe.

The JSOC mission is to conduct studies; training; exercises; research, development, testing, and evaluation; and acquisition and procurement to ensure interoperability among special operations forces (SOF), general purpose forces, and interagency and foreign partners. JSOC has assigned and attached subordinate units and may deploy to support Geographic Combatant Commander’s training, exercises, activities, and operations.

It is JSOC’s desire to inform and influence industry’s internal investment decisions in areas that address SOF’s most sensitive and urgent needs. Many in industry have expertise, capacity, funding, and a desire to better understand and invest in SOF unique needs.

Factors that make this unique collaboration opportunity attractive include: 1)Increasing Military Budget Austerity – SOF is a judicious transition partner whose future resourcing is among the most well-preserved of the military Services. It is JSOC’s desire to improve collaboration in an era where budget austerity tends to erect barriers to open communication. 2) Intellectual Property (IP) – The commercialization of dual-use (government/ commercial) technology can reduce costs to the government, but government contracting IP clauses can restrict industry’s ability to capitalize on their own IP. Our proposed collaboration model preserves and protects industry’s ownership of their intellectual property.

OBJECTIVE:
The purpose of this Special Notice is threefold: one, to provide Industry the ability to request the 2016 JSOC Capability Needs list in order to help focus industry research and development decisions toward JSOC’s unique needs; two, to provide an overview of the planned events for 2016; and three, to briefly discuss various ways of industry engagement with SOCOM and JSOC.

JSOC’s Technology Needs listing includes multiple needs in each of the following functional areas:
1. Breaching
2. Communications
3. Electronic Warfare
4. Fire Support
5. Information Technology
6. Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance
7. Knowledge Management
8. Lighten the Load
9. Mobility
10. Scalable Effects Engagement/Non-Lethal
11. Power and Energy
12. Soldier Survival
13. Target Engagement
14. Visual Augmentation
15. Other Need Areas

JSOC plans to provide Industry representatives with several engagement options including, but not limited to, submitting responses to the SOCOM Broad Area Announcement (BAA), participating in SOF AT&L hosted Capability Collabortion Events (CCEs) at SOFWERX, submitting applications to participate in SOCOM Technical Experimentation (TE) events, Vendor Loan Agreements (VLA), and entering into a Collaborative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with SOCOM/JSOC.