Air Force Explore Opportunity Call
Background
The Air Force Science and Technology (S&T) Strategy (April 2019) drives coordinated efforts to provide Airmen the scientific and technological advances needed to deter war and protect vital national interests. The strategy seeks to enhance Air Force technological advantage and military superiority during a time of great power competition through 2030 and beyond. Aligned with the National Defense Strategy, it calls for a rapidly innovating force with disruptive capabilities powered by scientific and technological advances. Through sustained commitment to the goals outlined in the Science and Technology Strategy, the Air Force will set an unmatched pace in the delivery of transformational capabilities to Joint warfighters in support of national defense.
Vision
The guiding vision of the Strategy is an Air Force that dominates time, space, and complexity in future conflict across all operating domains to project power and defend the homeland. It calls for unmatched pace of action, seeks unparalleled awareness, reach and effect, and drives the force to harness the power of complexity to enhance resilience in contested environments and to impart overwhelming confusion on adversaries. Air Force science and technology will propel the transformational operational capabilities that will make this vision a reality.
The Air Force has identified five strategic capabilities that directly support this guiding vision:
• Global Persistent Awareness
• Resilient Information Sharing
• Rapid, Effective Decision-Making
• Complexity, Unpredictability, and Mass
• Speed and Reach of Disruption and Lethality
The transformational science and technology that will advance solutions along these capabilities will aim for significant technical achievements that demonstrate the viability of leap-ahead capabilities. See Air Force Science and Technology Strategy.
Air Force (AF) Explore Opportunity Call
AF Explore Opportunity Call consists of a three step process to identify, and potentially fund, the maturation of transformational Capability Ideas that address three AF Explore Functional Challenges (Appendix #1) while advancing one, or more, of the five Air Force Strategic Capabilities. In order to realize the vision of the Strategy, AF Explore is seeking transformational Capability Ideas from the nation's best and brightest innovators in industry, academia, government, non-profits and other non-traditional partners. Please see associated website www.afexplore.com.
Capability Ideas include an associated Idea Maturation Plan which consists of aggressive, short-duration applied research and development efforts to assess operational viability and demonstrate feasibility of transformational warfighter capabilities, including their associated business and use cases. Idea Maturation Plans can demonstrate operational viability and feasibility of the Capability Idea through various approaches including, but not limited to: modeling & simulation, military utility experimentation, exercise participation, technical analysis, technology/concept maturation, risk reduction activities, and subject matter expertise input.
AF Explore Organizational Inbox, Email afexplore@us.af.mil - Joel Watson, Contracting Officer, Email joel.watson@us.af.mil
