The House and Senate Armed Services Committees (HASC/SASC) and the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Defense (HAC-D/SAC-D) continue to host hearings on Department of Defense (DOD) policy and budget.  While the request and hearing processes for the fiscal year (FY) 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and defense appropriations bill are following the traditional annual timeline, respective committees will not begin formal negotiations or announce draft text until the President’s full budget request is released at the end of May.   

This year, the NDAA will likely focus on policies to compete with China, tackle DOD’s role in the climate crisis, and bolster nuclear modernization activities.  Both authorizers and appropriators have already made topline spending a serious point of contention, with Republicans stating that the Administration’s proposal for relatively flat funding for DOD is insufficient to prepare for emerging threats from China and other adversaries.  HASC and SASC plan to draft and markup respective versions of NDAA in early summer with votes in each chamber shortly thereafter.  Both the House and Senate will need bipartisan support to pass the respective bills and, ultimately, the conference negotiation.  Similarly, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees await the President’s full budget request as well as negotiation between Republicans and Democrats on topline spending levels before drafting and marking up the 12 appropriations bills.   

SASC Examines S&T, DOD Tech Transfer Activities in Recent Hearing 
Congress is examining new and existing policies to ensure that the Department of Defense (DOD) science and technology (S&T) enterprise maintains its leadership over adversaries, as seen in an April 21 Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) hearing.  Members on the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities heard testimony from the following witnesses: 

Subcommittee Chair Mark Kelly (D-AZ) highlighted in his opening remarks the importance of supporting foundational research, citing how key commercial and military technologies-- such as radar, precision weapon systems, GPS, the internet, and even the mRNA vaccines critical to the COVID-19 response-- originated from DOD-funded basic research conducted decades ago.  He and Ranking Member Joni Ernst (R-IA) focused the hearing on the witnesses’ assessments of U.S. standing in key emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, quantum, hypersonics, directed energy, advanced manufacturing, and others, as well as what new policies are needed to remove roadblocks and enable innovation.  Senator Tim Kaine asked whether provisions in the fiscal year (FY) 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that established the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E)) and the Under Secretary for Acquisition and Sustainment (USD(A&S)) actually benefitted DOD or if it had created more issues, to which Major General George noted he felt that the collaborations with USD(R&E) have been successful. 

Senate Appropriators Examine Defense Innovation and Research Enterprise 
The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense (SAC-D) held a hearing on April 13 to examine the Department of Defense’s (DOD) innovation and research enterprise.  The Subcommittee heard testimony from Ms. Barbara McQuiston, performing the duties of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E)), and Dr. Stefanie Tompkins, Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). 

Senators expressed the importance of investing in defense research and development (R&D) and science and technology (S&T) to maintain technological dominance over adversaries.  However, both McQuiston and Tompkins deferred to the Secretary of Defense for questions about the fiscal year (FY) 2022 President’s Budget Request’s (PBR) inadequacy in addressing current threats.  McQuiston’s reticence may stem from her role as performing the duties of—not even Acting—USD(R&E).  This, plus the Biden Administration’s nomination of a new Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (USD(A&S)) ahead of a new USD(R&E), indicates the possibility that she may be replaced in the future (likely) or that USD(R&E) may even be recombined with USD(A&S) (less likely).

Key technology investments discussed included artificial intelligence (AI), hypersonics, quantum science, autonomy, space technology, and microelectronics.  SAC-D Chairman Jon Tester (D-MT) highlighted that DOD’s challenge of potential conflict with China should be key driver of future R&D and S&T efforts.  The full recording of the hearing can be found here, and a list of SAC-D Members can be found here.  The full analysis from Lewis-Burke can be found here. 

NATIONAL SECURITY NEWS

President Biden Releases “Skinny” Budget; Proposes Flat Funding for DOD 
President Biden released his first budget to Congress, setting the stage for a long, contentious fight over his proposed flat funding for the Department of Defense (DOD). The full budget is expected to be released at the end of May, but the President’s now-released “skinny budget” proposal would provide $753 billion for defense spending—a $13 billion or 1.7 percent increase over the FY 2021 enacted level, and $769 billion in non-defense spending—a $123 billion increase or 16 percent increase over the FY 2021 enacted level.  The DOD priorities outlined in the skinny budget request align with the Biden Administration’s broad goals of renewing America’s commitment to research and development, tackling the climate crisis, and countering 21st century challenges and threats.  The budget request notes that DOD will prioritize funding for emerging technology priorities and divest from legacy systems.   

This would be the first time in more than a decade that non-defense spending would exceed defense spending, exemplifying a sharp contrast compared to the Trump Administration, which prioritized defense spending and proposed major cuts to other domestic programs, such as public health, climate and clean energy, and education.  The relative flat funding for DOD diverges from the 3 to 5 percent annual increases put forward by the Trump Administration, and Republicans have criticized the budget request as insufficient for DOD to prepare for emerging threats, including competition with potential adversaries such as China and Russia. 

Though full details are not yet available, Lewis-Burke expects the DOD Research, Development, Test, & Evaluation (RDT&E) accounts and science and technology (S&T) sub-accounts to be funded above the FY 2021 enacted level of $107.1 billion.  The FY 2022 full budget request may include $125 billion for RDT&E with increased funding for basic research (6.1) and later stage development and prototyping (6.4).  The increase in S&T funding would address the national security technical priorities that the Biden Administration presented in the March 2021 Interim National Security Strategic Guidance.  Those technical priorities include AI, quantum, clean and resilient energy to solve climate change, next generation telecommunications (5G) infrastructure, space, cybersecurity, and manufacturing and supply chain resilience.  A comprehensive analysis of the Biden Administration’s “skinny” budget proposal for FY 2022 can be found here.

Intelligence Community Details Threats, Future Trends in New Reports  

Biden Names USD(R&E) Pick and Other National Security Nominees 
In the last month, President Biden announced a slew of top Pentagon and other national security officials, most recently naming his pick for Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E)), Heidi Shyu.  Shyu, who served as Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology under President Obama.  Before her stint in the Pentagon, Shyu was a member of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, serving twice as the board’s vice-chair.  Shyu’s nomination is not expected to face significant opposition, as Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed (D-RI) praised Shyu and other candidates as “a dynamic slate of nominees who will help safeguard the nation, support our service men and women, and help lead the Pentagon into the future.” 

Other recent nominations include:

In addition to these nominations, Colin Kahl was confirmed by the Senate to become the next Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, after a bruising confirmation process.  Kahl was grilled by Republicans for his role in shaping the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, known as the Iran Deal, as well as a number of tweets criticizing the Republican Party.  
 

---

DOD Announces FY 2021 Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program
The Department of Defense’s (DOD) Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (OLDCC) released the first notice of its two-step funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for the fiscal year (FY) 2021 Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program (DMCSP).  The DMCSP is designed to spearhead long-term investments in “critical skills, facilities, research and development, and small business support” to strengthen manufacturing capabilities and national security in designated defense manufacturing communities.  Key factors in competitive proposals will include direct alignment with DOD priorities including the National Defense Strategy, the Fiscal Year 2020 Industrial Capabilities Report to Congress, and DOD Research and Engineering modernization priorities.  The program also seeks to complement the DOD-sponsored Manufacturing Innovation Institutes program and industry- and association-initiated Industry 4.0 efforts, as well as “leverage the whole of federal government resources to amplify the execution of its proposed activities.” 

The program has been allocated $25 million for FY 2021, with individual grants up to $5 million per award. Proposals must match at least 20 percent of the proposed program. DMC designations last for a period of five years with the option to renew designations for two additional two-year periods.  OLDCC must receive full proposals no later than June 15, 2021 at 5:00 PM PT.  If designated, OLDCC will assign Project Managers to winning consortia on or about August 14, 2021 for the submission of a grant application. Consortia composed of members from “academia, defense industry, defense industry and association-led organizations, non-profit organizations, State and local government organizations and various combinations” are eligible to apply for DMC designation.  

Sources and Additional Information: 

Air Force Announces Solicitation for Brain-Inspired Computing Center of Excellence (COE) 
The Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) released a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for a University Center of Excellence (COE) in Brain-Derived Neuromorphic Computing with Intelligent Materials.  Through this FOA, the Air Force seeks to develop high-efficiency computing systems with cognitive and learning abilities that can meet the ever-growing data demands facing the military.  This effort will also provide training and experience in this growing field to the next generation of Air Force and Space Force scientists.  AFOSR is looking for multidisciplinary teams of researchers with a variety of skills to address the program’s research objectives, and notes its preferences for proposals with multiple approaches that will provide the Air Force with increased opportunities for information and technology transfer.  Proposers are encouraged to reach out to and coordinate with AFOSR and the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) prior to submitting a proposal.  AFOSR will host a virtual Proposer’s Day on May 3, 2021, and pre-registration for the event is required to attend.  

White papers, while not required, are encouraged and may be submitted until June 1, 2021 at 11:59 PM ET.  AFOSR expects to respond to submitted white papers with feedback by July 1, 2021.  Full proposals must be submitted through www.grants.gov by August 16, 2021.  AFOSR intends to make one award in the form of a grant of up to $1 million per year for a base period of three years with the option to extend the COE for an additional two years. 

Sources and Additional Information: 

NSF Releases Solicitation for Resilient and Intelligent NextG Systems (RINGS)  
The Resilient and Intelligent Next-Generation Systems (RINGS) program seeks to accelerate research in areas that will have significant impact on Next Generation (NextG) wireless and mobile communication, networking, sensing, and computing systems, along with global-scale services, with a focus on greatly improving the resiliency of such networked systems among other performance metrics.  The goal of the RINGS program is to “approach the design of NextG network systems from a different perspective by considering resilience as the primary consideration while aiming for superior performance.” The RINGS program complements the current NSF research portfolio that supports basic research of individual emerging topics, including artificial intelligence (AI)/ machine learning (ML), edge computing, radio communications, innovative transmit/receive technologies, and effective spectrum utilization.  

Full proposals are due by July 29, 2021. The anticipated total funding amount is $37.5 million to $40 million.  NSF anticipates making 36-48 awards, each up to $1 million total and up to three years in duration.  NSF will hold a webinar on this solicitation in May, although the date is yet to be announced.  This solicitation is aligned with NSF plans to increase partnerships with other federal agencies and industry partners. 

Sources and Additional Information:  

AFOSR Releases FY 2022 Young Investigator Program (YIP) BAA   
The Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) released its fiscal year (FY) 2022 broad agency announcement (BAA) for the Young Investigator Program (YIP).  This popular program provides early career university faculty a path into the Air Force’s research enterprise through multi-year grants.  Proposals should address areas outlined in AFOSR’s BAA, “Research Interests of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.”  Proposals may be submitted for one of four research areas:  

• Engineering and Complex Systems  
• Information and Networks  
• Physical Sciences  
• Chemistry and Biological Sciences  

White papers are due May 31, 2021.  If selected, full proposals should be submitted by July 12, 2021 at 11:59 PM ET.  Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the program officer for the applicable technical area to discuss their proposal prior to submitting.  AFOSR anticipates making 40 awards funded at a maximum of $450,000 for a three-year base period with a limit of $150,000 annually.  This BAA is open to faculty who have received their PhD on or after April 1, 2015.  Note that AFOSR makes awards to institutions, not individuals.  Additional eligibility and instructions can be found in the full BAA.   

Sources and Additional Information:

• Find the full solicitation at www.grants.gov under number “FOA-AFRL-AFOSR-2021-0006.” 
• Find a complete list of AFOSR research areas and program officers at www.grants.gov under number “FA9550-19-S-0003.”
• Find additional AFOSR funding opportunities here. 

DARPA Releases BAA for Computational Cultural Understanding (CCU) Program 
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Information Innovation Office (I2O) released a broad agency announcement (BAA) for the Computational Cultural Understanding (CCU) program.  The CCU program’s goal is to improve a Department of Defense (DOD) operator’s situational awareness and interactional effectiveness through the development of natural language processing technologies. DARPA seeking research to fill the inadequacies in current machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI), focusing on language processing technologies that can operate within the “emotional, social, and cultural norms that differ across societies, languages, and group affinities.”  The program is separated into three technical areas (TA):  

• Technical Area 1 – Sociocultural Analysis  
  • Task 1 – Sociocultural Norm Discovery  
  • Task 2 – Cross-Cultural Emotion Recognition  
  • Task 3 – Communicative Change Detection  
• Technical Area 2 – Cross-Cultural Dialogue Assistance  
• Technical Area 3 – Data Creation for Development and Evaluation  

A proposal may address a single TA or a combination of TA1 and TA2.  A Proposers’ Day is being held on April 30, 2021 and full proposals are due no later than June 16, 2021 at 12:00 PM ET.  DARPA is anticipating multiple awards for TA1 and TA2 but only one award for TA3, but funding amounts for each TA have not been released.  Additional information on specific research topics, eligibility, and instructions can be found in the full BAA on www.grants.gov under funding opportunity number “HR001121S0024” or here.  

Army Releases BAA for NSA Quantum Computing Collaboration    
The Army Research Office (ARO), in partnership with the National Security Agency’s (NSA) Laboratory for Physical Sciences (LPS), released a multi-year Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) seeking proposals for collaborative qubit research.  ARO and LPS seek disruptive fundamental research to improve the current state of quantum computing and qubit development, and will fund a range of project proposals and graduate fellowships that provide opportunities to leverage the infrastructure and researchers at LPS.  This is a multi-year BAA and will be open until April 30, 2026.  Full proposals should be submitted before June 1 to be considered for funding during the respective fiscal year.  The full ARO solicitation can be found here, or at www.grants.gov under Funding Opportunity Number “W911NF-21-S-0009.”  More information, including specific research interests for this year can be found in Lewis-Burke’s analysis here.  
 

Navy Releases FOA for STEM Education and Workforce Program 
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) released a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for the Navy’s STEM Education and Workforce Program.  The FOA is seeking proposals addressing STEM experiences and outcomes in the communities of secondary education, post-secondary, informal science, and the current naval STEM workforce. 

Applicants should consider the impact of diversity, equity, and inclusion in their proposals, as outreach and inclusion of underrepresented communities will be used as part of the proposal evaluation criteria.  ONR intends to award between 15 to 20 grants with a maximum of $200,000 per year for up to 3 years.  White papers must be submitted before May 28, 2021 at 11:59 PM ET, and full proposals are due by invitation only no later than October 8, 2021 at 11:59 PM ET.  Academic, non-profit, and industry organizations, as well as University Affiliated Research Centers (UARC) are eligible to submit applications.  The full STEM Workforce Program FOA can be found here or on www.grants.gov under funding opportunity number “N00014-21-S-F004.”

U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center Releases 2021 Funding Opportunities 
The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) has issued a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for various research areas that are priorities of the research laboratories in the ERDC.  The labs in the BAA include: 

• Coastal and Hydraulics Lab (CHL) 
• Geotechnical and Structures Lab (GSL) 
• Reachback Operations Center (UROC) 
• Environmental Lab (EL) and the Information Technology Lab (ITL) in Vicksburg, Mississippi 
• Cold Regions Research and Engineering Lab (CRREL) in Hanover, New Hampshire 
• Construction Engineering Research Lab (CERL) in Champaign, Illinois 
• Geospatial Research Laboratory (GRL) in Alexandria, Virginia 

The background and research interests of each lab can be found in the full BAA announcement.  All entities are eligible, but U.S. government facilities and organizations will not be considered for this BAA.  ERDC encourages Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Institutions (MIs) to submit proposals.  Steps to submit pre-proposals and proposals for each laboratory can be found in the full BAA announcement.  This BAA will remain open until February 28, 2022.  More information can be found in the full BAA announcement on www.grants.gov under funding opportunity number “W912HZ-21-BAA-01" or here.

DARPA Releases Quantum Benchmarking BAA  
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office (DSO) released a Quantum Benchmarking broad agency announcement (BAA) seeking research proposals that quantify the long-term utility of quantum computers.  Proposals should focus on either: 

• “the creation of application-specific, hardware-agnostic benchmarks for quantum computer utility” or  
• “hardware resource estimation for quantum computers” 

With this research, the program will develop new quantum benchmarks to measure progress in the field and solve a series of problems, such as: 

• “Compiling a list of specific utility-driven application instances from a variety of application domains 
• Grouping these application instances according to common core enabling computational capabilities 
• Developing novel test procedures for quantifying progress towards these core enabling computational capabilities
• Using all of the above to create scalable, robust multi-dimensional benchmarks that can act as guidestars for research and development aimed at long-term, real-world utility for a variety of application domains 
• Creating tools for estimating the primary quantum hardware resources and ancillary classical hardware resources needed to achieve a specific level of benchmark performance” 

The Quantum Benchmarking program is broken into two phases and two technical areas (TA): 1) Hardware-agnostic benchmark creation, and 2) Hardware-specific resource estimation.  Funding depends on the TA being addressed.  All Institutions of higher education, non-profits, and state and local governments are eligible to apply.  

DARPA DSO plans to hold a Proposers Day on April 20, 2021 to provide additional information on the Quantum Benchmarking program and BAA.  Proposers are strongly encouraged to submit an abstract via https://baa.darpa.mil/ by May 11, 2021 at 4:00 PM ET.  Full proposals should be submitted here no later than June 22, 2021 at 4:00 PM ET.  The full BAA announcement can be found on www.grants.gov under solicitation number “HR001121S0026” or here.  In addition to the BAA, DARPA also released a separate request for information (RFI) for the quantum benchmarking program, which can be found here.

CDMRP Releases Additional FY 2021 Solicitations
The Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) is currently accepting research proposals for the following fiscal year (FY) 2021 research topics:

• Autism 
• Bone Marrow 
• Breast Cancer 
• Epilepsy 
• Gulf War Illness 
• Kidney Cancer 
• Lung Cancer 
• Lupus 
• Military Burn
• Neurofibromatosis
• Orthotics and Prosthetics Outcomes 
• Ovarian Cancer 
• Peer Reviewed Alzheimer's 
• Peer Reviewed Cancer 
• Peer Reviewed Medical 
• Peer Reviewed Orthopaedic 
• Prostate Cancer 
• Spinal Cord Injury 
• Tick-Borne Disease 
• Tuberous Sclerosis Complex 

All open funding opportunities and pre-announcements are available here.  Interested applicants can subscribe for real-time updates, including forthcoming solicitations here.   

Acquisition Innovation Research Center Releases Open Call for Research Proposals 
The Acquisition Innovation Research Center (AIRC) released an informal call for proposals in multiple topics relating to innovation and workforce at the Department of Defense (DOD).  AIRC, founded in September 2020, serves as the research arm of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (USD(A&S)).  The Center is seeking proposals to develop innovative new practices and ideas to address DOD’s challenges and to build its network of acquisition professionals across the country.  Under this call, AIRC is looking for proposals that address five priorities:  

• workforce upskilling under continuous change 
• management and business knowledge representation for decision-making 
• aligning workforce and organizational incentives for agility and innovation 
• innovative test approaches to enhance organizational agility  
• return-on-investment from digital transformation 

Multiple proposals are expected to receive seed funding of up to $100,000 for phase I funding.  A limited number of proposals that are selected under phase I will receive phase II funding between $200,000 and $1 million.  Proposals must be submitted through the AIRC website by May 14, 2021 at 11:59 PM ET.  The full call for proposals can be found here, and more information on AIRC can be found here.

WHAT WE'RE READING
 
U.S. Joins Cooperative Engagement Program for Polar Research   
C4ISRNET discusses an international agreement to deepen science and technology cooperation in the polar regions.  The International Cooperative Engagement Program, signed between the U.S and seven allied nations, will identify cooperative research efforts that will allow the U.S. and allies to safely and securely operate in polar regions amid a changing climate.  The agreement will initially prioritize environmental, human performance, and platforms and situational awareness related research.  The Office of Naval Research (ONR), through ONR Global, will play a major leading role in the Unites States’ participation in this effort.  A notable objective of the agreement is to ensure the safety and security of the region from adversaries such as China and Russia as the Arctic become more accessible to economic and military activities.  Read more here.

The Case for Legislation to Out-Compete China  
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) released a report calling for an advanced industry and technology strategy to remain competitive against China and other rivals.  The report discusses Congress’ recent focus on strengthening the nation’s advanced industries and technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, semiconductors, etc.  To succeed in this goal, ITIF suggests that Congress depart from economic thinking of the past and focus on modernizing the government’s role in industry and technology advancement.  ITIF also recommends passing and funding the Endless Frontier Act, which includes increased funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), as well as expanding the research and development tax credit.  Read more here.

Senators Push Legislation to Boost Quantum Computing at DOD    
C4ISRNET reports on introduction of the QUANTUM for National Security Act and Quantum Network Infrastructure and Workforce Development Act, legislation that would boost quantum computing efforts at the Department of Defense (DOD).  Introduced by Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and John Thune (R-SD), the legislation would aim to improve DOD’s workforce in quantum computing and create a number of pipeline programs between DOD and private industry.  The legislation would also integrate defense research priorities as an amendment to the 2018 National Quantum Initiative Act, which jumpstarted coordinated quantum research efforts at civilian science agencies like the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Department of Energy’s Office of Science.  Quantum computing research has become a growing interest at the Pentagon, given the potential ability of quantum computers to break traditional encryption methods.  Read more here.