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Responses Due By

2026-09-24 23:59:59 US/Eastern Time

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Space Threat Intelligence Synthesis Engine


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Project Description

Problem

Today’s space and missile threat information is spread across a variety of sources. Existing tools struggle to distinguish closely spaced objects, track emerging threats, and keep threat models current. A more effective approach is needed to give operators and automated systems a clear picture. The resulting insights must be available quickly enough to inform time-sensitive operational decisions.


The Department of War is looking for AI-based software tools to turn fragmented sensor data into a continuously updated understanding of space and missile threats fast enough to drive operational decisions.


Desired Solution Attributes

The desired solution will ingest and fuse massive streams of multi-source data, including live video, satellite imagery, radar and sensor feeds, geospatial data, and classified intelligence reports. By automating advanced cross-data correlation, the architecture aims to uncover hidden patterns, complex operational relationships, and predictive threat behaviors far beyond the capabilities of human analysis alone. Designed around open standards, the solution will continuously update weapons-system performance models in real time. It will deliver dual outputs: intuitive, human-readable visualizations for frontline operators and low-latency, machine-to-machine APIs to drive automated command-and-control (C2) workflows.


Compelling solutions must have:   

   

AI/ML Core Capabilities

  • Leverage AI/ML, computer vision, predictive analytics, semantic technologies, or knowledge graphs to combine Multi-INT feeds into unified situational awareness.
  • Ensure outputs feature transparent reasoning, confidence scoring, and data provenance.
  • Ensure capture of decision-support analytics into workflows and training models, output in non-proprietary formats.
  • Provide documentation for Government evaluation of algorithms, models, training/test data, and generation procedures.

Threat Characterization & Attribution

  • Improve detection, classification, and attribution timelines, assigning events to specific threat actors, platforms, or patterns.
  • Provide high-confidence notifications among closely spaced or co-located objects in degraded data environments.

System Speed, Latency Considerations

  • Ingest, enrich, and correlate structured, unstructured, streaming, geospatial, imagery, video, and intelligence data streams.
  • Operate across high-speed/low-volume and low-speed/high-volume threat scenarios with real-time, low-latency processing.
  • Latency (Data Time of Arrival to Display/Query): Threshold of 5 seconds with an objective of 2 seconds.
  • Throughput: Nominal rates of ~20–30 MB/min with burst handling up to ~5 GB/min.
  • Store and retrieve multi-year data to support historical, real-time, and post-event analysis.

Security, Infrastructure & Enterprise Interoperability

  • Deliver scalable DevSecOps, classified data protection, CUI management (performance and tagging), and access controls supporting multi-partner operations.
  • Deploy containerized, cloud-native architectures that permit independent component upgrades.
  • Comply with NIST SP 800-171, integrate PKI certificate-based authentication where needed, and enforce zero Critical/High CVEs (zero CVEs preferred).
  • Maintain interoperability with government data pipelines, C2 architectures, mission systems, and visualization tools through modular reuse.

Future Sustainment

  • Generate actionable, confidence-scored alerts supporting analyst-in-the-loop, human-on-the-loop, or automated workflows.
  • Offer a clear path from near-term prototype demonstration to enduring mission workflows with value-added capabilities.

Solution Differentiators include:


AI/ML Core Capabilities

  • Capability to generate or use synthetic data, modeling, simulation, or digital representations to evaluate current and future threat scenarios.
  • Demonstrated ability to evaluate and validate model performance against representative operational test cases, algorithms, and benchmark data libraries.

Threat Characterization & Attribution

  • Demonstrated track record or benchmark metrics showing significant speed and accuracy improvements in event detection, characterization, and attribution compared to existing baseline systems.

System Speed, Latency Considerations

  • Low-latency processing suitable for real-time or near-real-time situational awareness.
  • Ability to store and retrieve multi-year data for pre, current, and post analysis. 
  • Proven empirical performance maintaining sub-2-second latency and system stability under peak burst data conditions (~5 GB/min).

Security, Infrastructure & Enterprise Interoperability

  • Advanced MLOps and continuous model lifecycle management supporting automated deployment, monitoring, retraining, and sustainment in operational environments.

Future Sustainment

  • Mission-Critical Support: Mature sustainment model capable of maintaining 24/7 availability, rapid incident resolution, and resilient operations during degraded conditions.


Vendors are welcome to apply individually or in partnership. The Government may also request teaming arrangements amongst solution providers. Vendors are expected to demonstrate their solution in an unclassified test environment as part of the Commercial Solutions Opening.


Vendor Solution Brief Submission Options 


Vendors have flexibility in how they submit their solution briefs, which can be proposed either independently and/or through a teaming arrangement. Vendors who choose to provide a teaming arrangement must identify and should elaborate on the role each partner will play in the solution.    

   

Process 


Submissions will be evaluated in accordance with CSO HQ084520SC001 available on https://DIU.mil and https://SAM.gov. Vendors selected for Phase 2 will receive an amplification letter with expanded details to help inform their Phase 2 pitches. Those vendors will be expected to provide their Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) cost breakdown. The vendorsʼ Phase 2 pitch shall address the Phase 2 evaluation factors contained in CSO HQ084520S C001. DoW requires companies without a CAGE code to register in SAM https://SAM.gov if selected for an agreement award. The Government recommends that prospective companies begin this process as early as possible.

Eligibility Requirements

Eligibility 


This solicitation is open to U.S. and international vendors. Vendors are reminded that in order to utilize an Other Transaction agreement, the requirements of 10 USC 4022 must be satisfied. Specifically reference 10 USC 4022(d), which requires significant contribution from a nontraditional defense contractor, all participants to be small business concerns, or at least one third of the total cost of the prototype project is to be paid out of funds provided by sources other than the Federal Government. 

To be eligible for award, vendors shall ensure they can obtain and maintain a Facility Security Clearance (FCL) and assign personnel cleared at the Top Secret / Sensitive Compartmented Information level for the duration of the agreement as well as any future production agreement or subsequent contract issued under Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR). 


Awarding Instrument


This Area of Interest solicitation will be awarded in accordance with the Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) process detailed within HQ085420SC0001 DIU CSO, posted to SAM.gov in March 2020. 


Follow-on Production 


Companies are advised that any prototype Other Transaction (OT) agreement awarded in response to this Area of Interest may result in the award of a follow-on production OT agreement or contract without the use of further competitive procedures. The follow-on production OT agreement or contract will be available for use by one or more organizations in the Department of War and, as a result, the magnitude of the follow-on production OT agreement or contract could be significantly larger than that of the prototype OT. As such, any prototype OT will include the following statement relative to the potential for follow-on production: "In accordance with 10 U.S.C. § 4022(f), and upon a determination that the prototype project, or portions thereof, for this transaction has been successfully completed, this competitively awarded prototype OT agreement may result in the award of a follow-on production OTA or contract without the use of competitive procedures.ˮ


Awarding Process

DIU

Before You Submit

What we recommend you include when you submit a solution brief.

When you submit to a DIU solicitation, we'll ask you to include a solution brief. Here's some guidance about what that entails.

Potential Follow-On Production Contract for Prototype Other Transaction Agreements

Companies are advised that any Prototype Other Transaction (OT) agreement awarded in response to this solicitation may result in the direct award of a follow-on production contract or agreement without the use of further competitive procedures. Follow-on production activities will result from successful prototype completion.

The follow-on production contract or agreement will be available for use by one or more organizations within the Department of Defense. As a result, the magnitude of the follow-on production contract or agreement could be significantly larger than that of the Prototype OT agreement. All Prototype OT agreements will include the following statement relative to the potential for follow-on production: “In accordance with 10 U.S.C. § 4022(f), and upon a determination that the prototype project for this transaction has successfully been completed, this competitively awarded Prototype OT agreement may result in the award of a follow-on production contract or transaction without the use of competitive procedures.”

2023 Other Transaction Guide

Common issues with submissions

If you are having problems uploading your AOI submission to DIU, it may be one of these common issues with submitting, click here for solutions to common submission issues.

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Submission Form
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Company Information
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Submitter Information

Is your company headquarters address different from your company address?


Is your company a partially or wholly owned subsidiary of another company?


Is your company currently operating in stealth mode?



Is this your company's first submission to a Defense Innovation Unit solicitation?
This applies to solution briefs submitted in response to project-specific solicitations.


Is your company registered in Systems Award Management (SAM.gov) and assigned a current Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code?


Solution Brief

Solution briefs must be saved as a PDF that is 10MB or smaller. Papers should be approximately 5 or fewer pages and slide decks should be approximately 15 or fewer slides.

Upload (1) One Solution Brief Document* (max size 10mb)
I certify that this submission contains no data designated higher than "Controlled Unclassified Information" (CUI). Submissions with CUI and "FOUO" material may be accepted.


Any agreement awarded off of this solicitation will include language requiring your company to confirm compliance with Section 889 of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Pub. L. 115-232). If you are not able to comply with the law, the Government may not be able to award the agreement.

We Work With You

If we think there’s a good match between your solution and our DoD partners, we’ll invite you to provide us with a full proposal — this is the beginning of negotiating all the terms and conditions of a proposed prototype contract.

After a successful prototype, the relationship can continue and even grow, as your company and any interested DoD entity can easily enter into follow-on contracts.

Our Process

  1. We solicit commercial solutions that address current needs of our DoD partners. (View all open solicitations and challenges.

  2. You send us a short brief about your solution.

  3. We’ll get back to you within 30 days if we’re interested in learning more through a pitch. If we're not interested, we'll strive to let you know ASAP.