Submit your commercial solutions to solve national security challenges with the help from DIU.

Project G.I. (Prize Challenge) 

Background

Modern peer and near-peer threats are accelerating the development and deployment of advanced uncrewed systems (UxS) across all domains of warfare. These technologies are reshaping the character of war, specifically by democratizing the ability for persistent surveillance, precision targeting, electronic disruption, and low-cost mass effects at scale. As adversaries adopt UxS capabilities with increasing speed and sophistication, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) must identify, assess, and integrate next-generation UxS solutions at a faster pace to maintain tactical and strategic overmatch.

Furthermore, traditional requirement and acquisition timelines do not support the needs of our warfighters, the Services, or Combatant Commands. The Department of Defense requires a more agile and effective mechanism to evaluate emerging capabilities, embed end-users early in the product development cycle, and accelerate the prototyping and fielding of transformative technologies that can deliver operational advantage at speed.

Problem

DIU and its DoD partners seek “ready-now” uncrewed systems (UxS) solutions to enhance the speed and lethality for small, dispersed targeting-strike cells operating under Denied, Disrupted, Intermittent, and Low-Bandwidth (DDIL) conditions. Solutions should fundamentally improve how tactical formations sense, decide, and strike, independent of consistent communication or extensive logistical support.

UxS solutions interest include uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), electronic warfare (EW), and uncrewed ground vehicles (UGV). Companies are welcome to collaborate and submit joint proposals.

Attributes

Proposed challenge solutions must enhance a tactical formation’s lethality, survivability, or overall mission effectiveness within the specified Design Reference Mission (DRM). Submissions should feature mature, mission-ready—ideally mission-proven—capabilities that can participate in live evaluations within three months of this solicitation’s release. Companies should only submit when their solution meets this mission-ready standard. Future iterations will support related but separate DRMs, focused on expanded environments, units, or tactical missions. Submissions will be evaluated for overall utility to the broad interest areas and for specific applicability to the unique use cases for each specific DRM. The FAQ section provides additional details for specific DRM’s.

Solicitation, Competitive Process, and Iteration Overview

This challenge will allow for flexibility and scalability for DIU’s Project G.I. effort and will serve the needs of a variety of DoD customers. DIU intends to execute successive evaluations based on this AoI, with each “iteration” focusing on a specified DRM–with specific mission context, operational constraints, and desired attributes.

Each iteration will follow a three-phase competitive process:

• Phase 1 - Proposal evaluation and down selection. Eligible for up to $50K per company selected for Phase 2. 
• Phase 2 - Live demonstration event oriented on a specific DRM. Based on user feedback and evaluation during the demonstration event, vendors will receive notification of selection to Phase 3. Eligible for up to $500k per company selected for Phase 3.
• Phase 3 - Based on performance in Phase 2, end-user feedback, capability maturity, and available funding, the Government may pursue one or more of the following actions:
  • Provide cash prizes under 10 USC 4025 Prize Challenge authority to incentivize further maturation. Eligible for up to $3M per company for successful Phase 3 increments. 
  • Procure and deliver selected systems to partner units for extended testing, assessment, and training.
  • The Government may issue a Request for Prototype Proposal (RPP) and award a Prototype Other Transaction (OT) agreement for further prototyping.

Below are the current planned iterations, associated DRMs, and timelines. Submissions received after the deadlines listed below will be evaluated for other potential partner use cases.

Evaluation Criteria

Phase 1 –Proposal Evaluation

• Technical Viability and Alignment: Demonstrates technical feasibility and clear alignment with identified technical capability areas (listed below).
• Team & Company Viability: Demonstrated ability and expertise of the team/company to successfully develop, deliver, and sustain the proposed solution.
• Cost & Scalability: Cost, time, and other requirements or considerations needed to scale the capability.
• Quality of Proposal: A clear and thorough explanation of how the solution improves Soldier effectiveness in design reference mission.

Phase 2 – Live Demonstration and Pitch Evaluation (Phase 1 evaluation criteria plus the below)

• Operational Effectiveness: Demonstrated effectiveness of the solution under realistic operational conditions.
• End-User Feedback: Direct feedback and assessments from end users based on hands-on testing, observation, and interaction during live demonstrations.
• Quality of the Pitch: Effectively communicates the solution’s value to the mission and alignment with end-user needs; clearly addresses additional technical and business-related questions and details requested by the government.

Phase 3 - Award and User-Driven Iteration

• Unit-focused field assessments: Deliver selected systems to operational units for extended evaluation, training, and user-driven feedback. These efforts will support real-world assessment of the capability’s effectiveness, usability, and integration potential in representative mission environments. This Phase will require delivery of substantial numbers of systems shortly after completing Phase 2. Prizes awarded in Phase 3 will take into account the direct user feedback of operational units as they train and test systems and capabilities provided by vendors. 

Note: Additional evaluation criteria may be applied during Phases 2 and any follow on Phases in response to changing operational end user needs.

Technical Capabilities List:

To maximize relevance and competitiveness, proposed solutions should align as closely as possible with the following system preferences and evaluation priorities:

Architecture: Phase 1 and beyond criteria

• Standardization
• Interoperability / modularity / openness

Cybersecurity & Compliance: Phase 1 and beyond criteria

• National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Compliance
• If relevant, ability to provide a complete platform for third-party assessment

Platform Characteristics (as applicable): Phase 1 and beyond criteria

• Flight / operational performance
• Electromagnetic interference (EMI) resilience / radio(s) used / means of communication and Command and Control in an EMI environment
• Flight range and endurance
• Cargo capacity
• Modularity
• Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) resilience and alternative navigation capabilities
• Payloads (cargo and sensors the platform can host / platforms the payload can be hosted by / ability of software to work with multiple platforms)
• Weatherproofing (ingress protection, or IP rating)
• Setup / deployment time and effort
• Available Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) for additional Payloads (or SWAP required if “partial” solution or enabling payload) 
• Relevance to geographic and climactic environments
• Ability to supply at least 3 prototypes by the dates listed in the FAQ’s. Some capabilities will not need to have 3 prototypes due to their design or employment. If that is relevant to your submission, please note it. 

End user integration

• Describe your procedures to collaborate with end users and integrate their feedback. 

Business & Market Analysis: Phase 1 and beyond criteria

• Current production rate
• Cost (provide a range of pricing to accommodate different volumes, payloads, training, and warranty options)
• Ability to provide at least 3 fully operational examples by Day 1 of the DRM window your submission is for and 2 trained operators
• Lifetime delivered sales of the proposed solution

Operator Feedback: Phase 2 and Phase 3

• Ease of use
• Learning curve
• Ability to address current capability gaps
• Impact on unit Tactics, Techniques, Procedures (TTPs)

Demonstrations at the event will occur in all relevant conditions and all submissions will be tested and operated by a designated team of DoD end users to the maximum extent possible. As with any test event, the possibility of damage or destruction exists. Companies understand that DoD and participants are not liable for accidents and will be required to sign a waiver to participate. 

To maximize participation, DIU will acquire a blanket exception to policy waiver for all participating submissions that require one.

Pitch Deck Submission Requirements:

Teams will submit a pitch deck outlining their solution that addresses the features above. Pitch decks should meet the following format requirements:

• Sized 16:9 (1920x1080 pixels)
• Horizontal presentation
• PDF file
• Maximum 8 slides plus 1 slide for each of the specific DRM’s you are applying to
• Link to a recorded video of your solution in real life operation and using the functionality proposed.

If selected to attend the event, companies shall provide training documentation and materials ahead of time to allow at least three DoD operators to complete the recommended training before the event. 

There is no guarantee that submissions will be selected. If invited, companies may incur costs not covered by the Prize Award and should be willing and able to do so. 

Feedback to Phase 2 selectees will be provided at the conclusion of each Phase 2 DRM. 

NDAA compliance and cybersecurity will be verified if selected as a winner of the Prize Challenge before any sort of prototype contract will be issued. 

FAQ’s and additional details on the Design Reference Missions for demonstrations can be viewed in the FAQ’s. 

Background Information:

Information about DIU and the DIU Blue UAS List and Blue UAS Framework can be found here https://www.diu.mil/blue-uas. 

An example of cybersecurity evaluation that may be conducted on winning submissions can be found here: https://dronewolf.darkwolf.io/intro 

About the Defense Innovation Unit

The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) strengthens national security by accelerating the adoption of commercial technology in the Department of Defense and bolstering our allied and national security innovation bases. DIU partners with organizations across the DoD to rapidly prototype and field dual-use capabilities that solve operational challenges at speed and scale. With offices in Silicon Valley, Boston, Austin, Chicago and Washington, DC, DIU is the Department’s gateway to leading technology companies across the country.

Intellectual Property Considerations:

Applicants retain ownership of existing Intellectual Property (IP) submitted under this Challenge and agree that their submissions are their original work. Applicants are presumed to have sufficient rights to submit the submission. For any submission made to the Challenge, you grant DIU a limited license to use this IP for testing and evaluation for efforts specifically related to the Challenge. DIU will negotiate with individual competitors in the event additional usage, integration, or development is contemplated.

Other Transaction Authority:

This DIU Challenge public announcement is an open call to small businesses and non-traditional defense contractors seeking innovative, commercial technologies proposed to create new DoD solutions or potential new capabilities fulfilling requirements, closing capability gaps, or providing potential technological advancements, technologies fueled by commercial or strategic investment, but also concept demonstrations, pilots, and agile development activities improving commercial technologies, existing Government-owned capabilities, or concepts for broad Defense application(s). As such, the Government reserves the right to award a contract or an Other Transaction agreement for any purpose, to include a prototype or research, under this public announcement. The Federal Government is not responsible for any monies expended by the applicant before award and is under no obligation to pursue such Other Transactions.

Satisfying Competition Requirements:

This DIU Challenge Open Call Announcement is considered to have potential for further efforts that may be accomplished via FAR-based contracting instruments, Other Transaction Authority (OTA) for Prototype Projects 10 USC 4022 and Research 10 USC 4021, Prizes for advanced technology achievements 10 USC 4025, and/or Prize Competitions 15 USC 3719. The public open call announcement made on the DIU website is considered to satisfy the reasonable effort to obtain competition in accordance with 10 USC 4025(b), 15 USC 3719 (e) and 10 USC 4022 (b)(2). Accordingly, FAR-based actions will follow announcement procedures per FAR 5.201(b).

DIU reserves the right to cancel, suspend, and/or modify the Challenge, or any part of it, for any reason, at DIU’s sole discretion.

Problem Statement

U.S. Navy assets generate vast amounts of multi-source tactical data from various platforms, including space-based, shipboard, and airborne assets, as well as unstructured data (intelligence reports, watch logs, etc.) produced by sailors. Currently, Maritime Operations Centers (MOCs) must manage and analyze large volumes of multi-source data generated across the fleet to make critical resource allocation decisions for geographically dispersed fleet and national assets.

Desired Functional Attributes

The Navy seeks commercial AI/ML applications that accelerate the convergence of MOC-destined data inputs (e.g. intelligence reports, satellite-derived data, and existing common operational picture tools, etc.) to improve situational awareness for operators, and optimize existing decision support tools by offering track confidence scoring and real-time recommendations to assist commanders in allocating geographically dispersed resources (e.g. satellites, aircraft, vessels, etc).

Selected participants will work alongside government engineers and end-users while partnered with ashore operators. Companies are welcome to apply individually or in partnership. Vendors are required to include use cases of their solutions in decision support settings as part of their submission.

The following outlines the capabilities of desired applications. Submissions should provide examples of actual project work indicating the ability to develop and deploy such applications: 

1. Watchfloor Workflow Automation: 
   1. Connect to third-party software and data platforms through APIs to deliver data-driven and workflow automation models that are specifically developed for MOC use cases (e.g. validation rules to standardize data entry, automated routing of workflows to reduce manual mission approvals, dynamic updates for mission critical assets/resources etc)
   2. Vendors should/must offer past instances where their solutions implemented standardized API protocols (e.g. RESTful APIs with OAuth 2.0 authentication and HTTPS encryption) and data exchange schemas (e.g. JSON, XML, etc) 
2. Track Confidence Determination:
   1. Develop and deploy machine learning (ML) models to generate track confidence scores taking into account MOC-level user interests in platform/system-level health, historical accuracy of platform/system-level reporting, and ever-evolving operational contexts
   2. Propose methods to generate confidence scores and intervals for predictions that incorporate dynamic inputs (e.g. asset/platform health metrics, user inputs, etc) into the scoring architecture
   3. Deliver threshold-based alerts to end-users (e.g. when confidence scores fall below user-defined thresholds)
3. Sensor and Resource Optimization:
   1. Generate sensor and resource allocation recommendations - accounting for communication bandwidth conditions, geographic constraints, sensor reliability, past model performance, watchstander availability, etc. to inform MOC Commanders of asset/resource availability and readiness
   2. Vendors should describe how models can deliver a range of outputs based on time constraints, and allow end-users to dictate the degree of feasibility or optimality, depending on the time available to process the solution
4. Trust with the Warfighter; Modularity for the Force
   1. For the above applications, provide natural language-based model tuning that allows MOC end-users to interactively adjust objective functions, factors, and constraints (e.g. asset/resource downtime, readiness, and availability, etc), while ensuring that the model’s decision-making process is maximally interpretable and/or explainable
      1. Vendors should/must cite their demonstrated ability to deliver interfaces that expose model parameters to end-users to allow the modification of mission-specific factors (e.g. downtime thresholds, readiness criteria etc);
      2. Vendor interfaces should also enable end-users to adjust constraints (e.g., bandwidth limits, sensor/asset reliability weights), and explain how adjusting constraints impacts outputs (e.g. resource allocation)
      3. Vendors must supplement specified methods with training modules to establish and maintain trust with end-users
   2. Offer modular, open-architecture AI applications capable of integrating into existing and future DoD systems and interfaces. Application designed with modular components such that core logic, data ingestion and output, and user interface are decoupled to support users and workflows across DoD
   3. All Proposals must align with DIU's Responsible AI Guidelines and other DoD AI frameworks. Companies are encouraged to read the guidelines and develop a plan for implementation, which may be presented as part of the submission.

Desired Technical Attributes

• Enable role-based access control (RBAC) and cross-domain data sharing
• Support containerized, hardware-agnostic deployment
• Ability to operate to the maximum extent possible in Denied, Disrupted, Intermittent and Limited Impact (DDIL) bandwidth areas
• Solutions should support deployment on government or contractor-provided infrastructure and allow for operations across different classification levels (IL5/IL6/IL7) while preventing unauthorized access to data
• Solutions must comply with NIST 800-171.
• Provide documented capabilities, limitations, and explainability for developed models

Companies must have experience deploying on classified networks and ability to perform work in these environments and cleared personnel who can work up to TS/SCI (teaming arrangements will satisfy this requirement). It is encouraged that submissions highlight experience with controlled environments, such as deployments in GovCloud or any classified data/environments (https://public.cyber.mil/dccs/). Preference will be given to companies whose solutions have been deployed on IL6 or higher or have an equivalent Authority to Operate (ATO).

Companies are expected to demonstrate their solution in an unclassified environment as part of Phase 2 of the Commercial Solutions Opening.

The Government may seek to team companies with complementary solutions under the umbrella of this AOI; or in coupling of other AOIs’ issued within the DIU. Selected vendors may be required to engage in partnerships with other vendors to achieve Government objectives.

Problem Statement

To maintain superiority in the evolving maritime domain, the U.S. Navy seeks to enhance the warfighting capabilities of its next-generation surface destroyers. These vessels must remain adaptable and lethal against both conventional and asymmetric threats.

Achieving this requires a compact, lightweight, and highly efficient power generation system capable of supporting increasingly demanding high-power electrical loads, such as advanced sensors, directed energy weapons, and propulsion systems. A transformative power and propulsion architecture is essential to meet these operational and technical demands.

Surface Ship Attributes:

• Length Between Perpendiculars: 160 – 180 meters
• Beam Overall: 22 – 25 meters
• Full Load Displacement: 13 – 15K tonnes
• Maximum Speed: 30+ Knots
• Endurance Speed: 16 Knots
• Up to 40MW of Electrical power generation, in excess of ship service requirements at 16 knots
• Increased range, time-on-station, and reduction in annual fuel-burn over legacy Navy destroyers

Desired Solution

The Navy seeks proven Integrated Power System technology to inform and de-risk power and propulsion design for the next generation Navy destroyer. Solution providers selected for prototype should expect to deliver a software-based Integrated Power and Propulsion (IPS) architecture model and ship IPS test assets to the Navy’s land-based testing facility.

Power and propulsion architecture proposals must incorporate integrated power distribution capabilities to support the full range of mission demands to include propulsion, power generation and distribution, auxiliary and damage control systems, combat systems, and energy storage. Solution architectures should account for power quality management, dark ship mitigation, casualty power, and electric start for proposed engine types.

All proposed solutions must be capable of conforming to applicable Navy maritime (or equivalent commercial) standards for safety, performance, and environmental conditions. In early prototyping, a “design to” work plan can be adopted, while physical testing and verification will be required in development phases to demonstrate compliance. Solutions must ultimately meet relevant shock, vibration, noise, EMI, enclosure, power, thermal management, and battery safety requirements as defined by authoritative military specifications and NAVSEA guidance.

Successful solutions should consider:

• Diesel Fuel Marine (DFM) will be the primary fuel source; Nuclear Power or Ammonia will not be considered
• Different motor and drive technologies to achieve ideal Integrated Power System (IPS) architecture
• Provision of a very high operational availability (Ao)
• Survivability with graceful degradation
• Signatures Performance (i.e. acoustic radiated noise, radar-cross section, and magnetic signature)
• Lifecycle and sustainment burden, as well as flexibility for future upgrades
• Secure supply chains for all components

Prototype

Execution Stage 1: Modeling and Simulation

Successful vendors will deliver a software-based system model compatible with the Navy’s preferred modeling & simulation software (Matlab Simulink, real-time compatible) utilizing real (not idealized or generic) vendor models of equipment. Models should characterize component-level and system-level performance (i.e. impedance characteristics, response to step and ramp inputs, behavior under extreme terminal conditions) and support system-level integration for the purpose of real time porting and Controller Hardware and Power Hardware-in-the loop (CHIL/PHIL) applications.

Execution Stage 2: Hardware in the loop evaluation

Select architectures will undergo land-based testing at Navy partner facilities. Prototype test assets to include commercial-off-the-shelf energy storage, generators, converters, control systems, propulsion motor drives (with load), mechanical systems, and other components as defined by the architecture modeled in Stage 1.