SOFWERX, in collaboration with USSOCOM’s Directorate of Science and Know-how (S&T), will host the sixteenth Innovation Foundry Occasion (IF16), 20-22 August 2024, in both Lexington KY, or at SOFWERX in Tampa, FL, (ultimate dedication might be made by the top of June), which intends to convey collectively Particular Operations Forces (SOF), business, academia, nationwide labs, authorities, and futurists in an exploration, design pondering, facilitated occasion to help USSOCOM in decomposing future eventualities and missions.
The theme of IF16, ‘Contested Logistics in Future SOF Operations’ will discover the challenges of resourcing elements, elements, and provides on the level of want for the untethered SOF operator.
The way forward for warfare calls for innovation in provide and sustainment functionality to maintain tempo with large-scale, multidomain fight towards peer adversaries. The depth of future conflicts might result in fast depletion of stockpiles and sources, and deployments to distant places removed from established provide hubs will necessitate unconventional options for resupply, native procurement, and point-of-need manufacturing. This presents new challenges and alternatives for SOF in addressing strategic-to-tactical distribution and provide gaps for the untethered operator. Predictive logistics, real-time wants evaluation, superior manufacturing, power independence, maneuverability, standardization, security, and high quality assurance will all require novel approaches. The confluence of domains and environments – and the pace and precision demanded of SOF operations – additional amplify these challenges.
To sort out these issues SOF and SOF Supporting Actions might want to additional research:
• A imaginative and prescient for the longer term challenges posed by contested logistics.
• Perceive and mitigate the dangers and vulnerabilities of contested logistics.
• Plans and insurance policies to allow operational benefit and exploit dual-use capabilities in a contested logistics surroundings.
• Capabilities to know and characterize adversarial actions in contested logistics.
• New ideas of operation to function in a variety of closely constrained contested logistics eventualities.
• Recruit and prepare for the skillsets required to function in future contested logistics environments.
On this effort, S&T is working with the Program Govt Workplace for Particular Operations Forces Assist Exercise (PEO-SOFSA) and the Expeditionary Assist Program Workplace.
S&T has developed and refined a singular course of, the Innovation Cycle, to interact know-how pioneers and leaders, and to find and develop excessive threat, progressive, and disruptive applied sciences for future on-boarding. The Innovation Foundry is the primary occasion within the Innovation Cycle and is the thought technology part. It will likely be adopted by a Fast Functionality Evaluation (RCA) to develop capabilities, and Built-in Know-how Sprints (ITS) to exhibit proofs of idea.
If you’re an knowledgeable in any of the next areas of curiosity or in associated fields, please think about collaborating in IF16:
• Superior power methods
• Superior supplies
• Additive manufacturing
• Synthetic intelligence
• Autonomous methods
• Electrical engineering
• Hybrid manufacturing
• Industrial engineering
• Infrastructure
• Stock administration
• Massive-scale, multi-material, and sensible 3D printing
• Logistics
• Machine studying
• Machine operations
• Manufacturing
• Materials science and engineering
• Mechanical engineering
• Modeling and simulation
• Precision manufacturing
• Manufacturing engineering
• Prototyping
• Robotics
• SOF operations
• Provide chain administration
• Sustainment
• Textiles
• Welding
Deliverables for the IF16 occasion will embody preliminary functionality ideas focusing on the outlined downside areas which can affect SOF forces and operations within the 2030 timeframe. These preliminary functionality ideas might be developed additional in a follow-on RCA occasion.
Submit NLT 05 July 2024 11:59 PM ET.
Additional particulars right here.
Each feedback and pings are at the moment closed.
