DHS Science and Technology Directorate’s Post

🚨 Attention Founders and Startups 🚨 Join the Defense Innovation OnRamp Hub: Arizona for our next founder event on August 8th in Phoenix. Come learn from industry expert Sonia Vohnout give a deep dive into DoD SBIR/STTRs. Event: Founder Series: SIBR/STTR Date: August 8th Time: 11:00am to 1:00pm During the luncheon, you will have the opportunity to: 💡 Learn about the objectives, phases, and funding opportunities specific to the DoD SBIR/STTR programs. 🚀 Explore effective pathways to transition from R&D to market-ready defense technologies. 🔓 Discover best practices for formatting strategic partnerships with defense contractors, research institutions, and government agencies. 🔍 Identify other funding programs and resources available to support defense-related innovations and enhance project success. 🥗 Network with fellow founders and representatives from the Department of Defense Who Should Attend: Individuals interested in DoD programs, emerging founders, startups, technology investment, academia and research in defense technology are encouraged to attend. 🔗 Register: https://lnkd.in/gNtkvRGx Don't miss this opportunity to connect with fellow innovators and accelerate your business growth.   #DualUseTechnology #NationalSecurity #DoD #Innovation #Founders #SWMAC #defenseinnovation #SBIR #STTR 

Unlock the enlightening perspectives of our Senior Vice President, Victoria Virasingh on forging connections between government, technologists, academia, and beyond! Dive into her insights by clicking below! #NobleReachFoundation

Tomorrow is #SmallBusinessSaturday! As SDA reflects on fiscal year 2023 and the success we’ve had working with small businesses, we also look to the future. SDA will post updated Small Business Opportunities throughout FY 2024, in partnership with AFWERX and SpaceWERX, as we identify specific technical topics for industry consideration. SDA’s SBIR/STTR efforts enable small businesses to explore their technological potential and provide the incentive to profit from its commercialization. We look forward to continuing our relationships with small businesses and discovering more new space interests in the coming year. For more information about SDA and how we partner with small businesses, check out our small business webpage here: https://lnkd.in/eZVwRgTB #SemperCitius #space #smallbusiness #industry #newspace #defense

🚀 Thrilled to be part of the 2023 SpaceNews Icon Awards! 🌌 Honored to be a part of the dynamic team at the Commercial Space Office (COMSO) within the Space Systems Command. The SpaceNews Icon Awards recognize those shaping the global space economy, and COMSO is at the forefront of bringing revolutionary commercial space capabilities into national security. 🛰️✨ 🌐 About COMSO: Under the leadership of Col. Richard Kniseley, COMSO is a trailblazer, fostering collaboration between the U.S. Space Force and the dynamic commercial space industry. In an era where the space domain is vital for strategic competition, COMSO is the one-stop shop, streamlining efforts to integrate cutting-edge commercial space technologies. 💡 Why COMSO? Strategic Shift: Moving away from building everything in-house to leveraging commercial innovation. Rapid Adaptability: Aligning entrepreneurial energy with national defense priorities. Engaging Industry: Creating an open dialogue to solve government challenges and tap into the robust commercial marketplace. While challenges exist, COMSO stands resilient, reshaping defense procurement practices one step at a time. The team is determined to expose Space Force members to cutting-edge commercial capabilities, fostering mutual understanding between government needs and private sector innovation. Excited about the future and the role COMSO plays in advancing the integration of commercial space solutions in national security! 🌌🛰️ Not to mention working with an A++ team at the SSC Front Door -- Minh Jones, Loretta Childers, MBA, PMP®, Monica, TP, and Victor Vigliotti! https://lnkd.in/g_nxpZ4g #SpaceNewsIconAwards #SpaceInnovation #COMSO #SpaceSystemsCommand #SpaceForce #NationalSecurityInnovation

There are few communities as enduring, organic and eclectic as the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum in the national security space. Inherently nebulous, the organization is defined by the will, force and focus of the individuals that make up the virtuous insurgency. From dual use tech developers to funders and front line practitioners, there are few communities of practice as well connected, entrenched and permissive. Rank, background or profession has little consequence, and all have an equal voice, as long as the focus is on positive disruption of the status quo. In this day and age as our areas of operation are drastically changing, how we think about force readiness, deterrence and establishing operational presence must evolve concurrently with the times. Join us at the upcoming Defense Entrepreneurs Forum event in Alexandria this coming November 9th-10th to get a taste for why human relationships, cross sector partnerships and informal networks are such a vital part of our national security ecosystem. The #DEF team looks forward to hosting the community alongside our partners Globally and Building Momentum Request an invite: www.def.org/def-2023 Michael Snyder, Jay Long Jen Sovada Joshua Marcuse Dr. Marina Theodotou Stanton Hubbard, William Treseder Jer McKoy Mikey Stewart Ian Eishen Whitney McNamara Meagan Metzger Michael Madrid Jamaal "Jay" Sampson 🎯 Joy Angela Shanaberger Prescott Paulin Jim Perkins Adam Hesch John Cogbill, Clint Hinote #defense #entrepreneurship #community #network

We are a month out from #DEF2023. Many of us are deciding if we can/should attend. Let me offer some encouragement. I believe we will look back on this conference as a turning point in the movement. The world is changing rapidly, and so is the national security community. Our #natsec institutions are changing. New leaders are emerging, communicating change as their core message. Our operational concepts are changing, disrupting stale doctrine. Our defense industrial base is changing. New participants have opportunities to disrupt the established conglomerates like never before, and we see struggles within the conglomerates themselves. The perspectives of our #Allies and partners are changing. Integration and cooperation has never been more widespread. The political landscape is changing. Maybe the only bipartisan issue remaining is meeting the challenge of #China. It's not far enough, or fast enough, but things are changing. Moreover, there is no centralized force that can stop this change. To be sure, many are still incentivized to resist #disruption, but they are increasingly isolated and irrelevant. They rightly sense that the forces of disruption are larger than they are. The fear of change is real, but so is the fear of what happens if we don't change. Now, the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum is needed more than ever, as we build on this positive momentum. DEF serves as the focal point for the network of innovative leaders that are reinventing defense. There is great power in this network. In it, leaders can find a community of like-minded disrupters with a deep sense of purpose. We can learn from each other. We can support and challenge each other. We can enjoy the

Kratos Defense and Security Solutions announces Visionary Sponsorship at Creative Disruptors in the Desert conference Kratos Defense & Security Solutions is proud to announce the Company will be a Visionary Sponsor of Creative Disruptors in the Desert, The Creative Defense Foundation’s inaugural conference to be hosted in La Quinta, CA, from February 23-24, 2024. Creative Disruptors in the Desert will bring together National Security leaders, US entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs, and innovative technology companies like Kratos to address the institutional, cultural, policy, and legal barriers impeding innovators from bringing their technologies, speed, agility, and cost effectiveness to US National Security. Creative Disruptors in the Desert is a conference for intrapreneurial and entrepreneurial industry and government leaders who recognize that a dramatic transformation is needed to secure US National Security competitiveness, which perfectly aligns with Kratos’ mission. Kratos has sponsored Creative Disruptors in the Desert at the highest available level to promote critical conversations between government and industry about leading-edge technical solutions to support our national defense. #Defence #US #Security #USNationalSecurity #DesertConference #Government https://lnkd.in/eDbbs7ym

🌐 Reflecting on DODIIS Worldwide 2023 🌐 The DODIIS Worldwide 2023 Conference, held from December 12th to 14th at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon, was an insightful event, embodying the theme "Chaos to Clarity." Set against the backdrop of Portland's vibrant '90s culture and its contrasting issues of poverty, homelessness, and drug addiction, the conference was a poignant reminder of the complex world we navigate. While the conference felt scaled down compared to previous years, reflecting broader economic challenges, the focus on crucial themes remained undiminished. The necessity of strong partnerships across allied countries, industry, academia, and national labs was a recurring message, highlighting the critical role of collaboration in addressing global issues. The conference also reinforced the Intelligence Community's (IC) role as a fundamentally data-centric organization, emphasizing the importance of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) and Zero Trust Architecture. A significant part of the discussions revolved around the People's Republic of China (PRC) as a pacing challenger in strategic competition, underscoring the urgency in addressing the emerging threats and complexities in global defense. The Machine-Assisted Analytic Rapid-Repository System (MARS), while a notable topic in the past, was given less prominence this year, possibly due to its development challenges and shifting timelines. Above all, DODIIS Worldwide 2023 highlighted the invaluable role of its participants. The opportunity for networking remained a crucial element, with valuable discussions from organizations like Peraton, Northrop Grumman, and Second Front. The expo provided an excellent platform for learning about the capabilities of various industry partners and their potential contributions to the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community. In conclusion, DODIIS Worldwide 2023, though somewhat constrained in scale, successfully maintained its focus on critical discussions and networking. The event highlighted the importance of collaborative efforts and a data-driven approach in intelligence and defense, especially in the context of the escalating strategic competition with the PRC, encapsulating the theme of moving from "Chaos to Clarity." For a deeper dive into the sessions I attended, check out my detailed notes and summaries on my blog: https://lnkd.in/eyQ-2AE9. #DoDIIS23 #DODIISWW2023 #IntelligenceCommunity #DataCentric #AIDefense #Networking #StrategicCompetition #CyberSecurity #MARS #ZeroTrust #DefenseInnovation

Can you believe that when I encounter an accessibility barrier, that task is likely to take me more than twice as long as if it had been accessible? Check out more on this research from AFB!

It was an honour hosting the first Estonian Defence Tech meetup this week! 🇪🇪 My logic is simple: 1. Estonia needs to invest more in defence. 2. Defence tech can be great economically for Estonia. First – The safer Estonia is, the more attractive we become to foreign capital and international talent. Estonia has already grown its defence spending to 3% of GDP, but with Russia investing 7.5% in 2023 we also need to scale up. Second – Defence has been a notoriously difficult sector for startups, due to +5 year procurement cycles and little funding available. That is now changing as defence forces need to rapidly adopt modern software enabled platforms. As we have seen in other sectors, startups move far faster than legacy primes, so investor interest is ramping up. Our technology community has the talent, capital and connections to build billion dollar companies. The purpose of these meetups is to now connect them with our defence sector to replicate that success and make the world safer. I haven't seen such excitement in a long time, with more than 300 people wanting to attend so Ragnar is already preparing for the next event in April. Looking forward to see how this energy converts into actual companies!