Air Force to host industry day to enhance information security

The Air Force will meet with defense contractors next month to consider the upcoming 2024 broad agency announcement for the Networking the Fight program, which is meant to encourage and secure information sharing across several domains, according to a notice published Tuesday.

The event is set to take place on Feb. 15 and will be hosted virtually by the Air Force Research Laboratory. It is intended to “discuss specific areas of interest, promote an early exchange of information, and provide an opportunity for both the Government and Industry to gather more information prior to the submission of white papers,” the posting said.

It describes three major focus areas for rapid integration. They include:

• Next Generation Cross Domain Solution
• Highly Dynamic Red/Black Networking
• Modeling, Simulation, and Analysis

The meeting comes as the service is rapidly outlining its priority research areas in 2024, with companies due to respond to a market survey by Feb. 2 about whether they are qualified to engineer or design several breakthrough technologies, from artificial intelligence to advanced missile propulsion devices, for the 2024 Air Dominance broad agency announcement.

The Air Force said in Tuesday's posting that the industry day will be unclassified and that participation in the talks does not reflect a commitment of any kind, including for a proposed contract. Companies are asked to team together to meet the requirements where possible.

“This research will develop [a] capability to transmit and manage information flows seamlessly across various physical domains, including air, space and ground,” the service said in the notice. “By integrating these technologies, the goal is to strengthen information sharing and collaboration in tactical environments, ultimately enhancing mission success.”