ALEXANDRIA, Va. – U.S. Army researchers are asking industry to pursue 21 different kinds of data and technologies that involve locations or geographic areas on the Earth's surface -- also known as geospatial technologies.
Officials of the Army Geospatial Center in Alexandria, Va., issued a broad agency announcement (W5J9CQ25R0002) this month for the center's 2025 geospatial technological pursuits related to complex computer systems and software to manage geospatial information.
From industry, the Army wants to push the state of the art in 21 geospatial technologies areas, which are:
-- Army geospatial enterprise operations;
-- geospatial standards;
-- geospatial applications and services;
-- data model development;
-- test and certification;
-- army geospatial enterprise migration;
-- geospatial modeling and simulation;
-- geospatial experimentation;
-- cloud computing;
-- disconnected intermittent low-bandwidth;
-- geospatial architecture;
-- geospatial data center architectures;
-- geospatial content management methods;
-- advanced and engineering development;
-- emerging concepts and new technologies;
-- artificial intelligence (AI) techniques;
-- civil-military informatics;
-- joint information environment;
-- army and joint simulations;
-- great power competition; and
-- impact of resiliency challenges on global security and military operations.
Geospatial enterprise
Army geospatial computer enterprise operations focuses on technology, architecture, and processes for Army enterprise geospatial operations, from the individual platform to the theater level, and including support from outside theater.
Geospatial standards focuses on the appropriate standards to support geospatial information collaboration, content discovery, content delivery, and visualization among Army networks and systems, ranging from high-powered-to workstations and servers to handhelds and embedded applications.
Geospatial applications and services seeks to identify and define applications and services to support the Army Geospatial Center to enhance geospatial synchronization, enhance geospatial data systems, and decrease bandwidth requirements.
Data model development seeks to develop Army-wide geospatial data models that supports enterprise-wide geospatial services and geospatial-intelligence.
Tell me more about enabling technologies in geospatial intelligence ...
- Enabling technologies in geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) include advanced tools and systems that enhance the collection, analysis, and dissemination of geographic information. Key technologies include satellite imagery, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), remote sensing, and geographic information systems (GIS). AI and machine learning further elevate GEOINT by automating data analysis, detecting patterns, and providing predictive insights. Cloud computing allows for scalable data storage and faster processing, while real-time data integration supports dynamic decision-making. Big data analytics enables the fusion of diverse data sources, and augmented reality (AR) can provide immersive, interactive mapping. These technologies together improve situational awareness, mission planning, disaster response, and national security operations.
Test and certification seeks to test, validate, and certify technologies for Army acquisitions, and test geospatial applications in distributed and stand-alone environments.
Army geospatial enterprise migration seeks to address emerging technologies, standards, and challenges to Army, joint, and coalition operations.
Geospatial modeling and simulation seeks to create digital terrain databases for modeling and simulation, including verifying and validating digital terrain databases. This will undergo verification and validation on sample digital terrain databases.
Geospatial experimentation will identify and define policies, procedures, instrumentation, and technologies to conduct geospatial experiments, verify geospatial standards, and measure the performance of geospatial systems.
Cloud computing
Cloud computing will explore models of geospatial cloud computing and carry out experiments to validate the models. Research areas would include the best architecture to support geospatial cloud computing, how to store and index data in the cloud, and challenges for low-bandwidth and periodically disconnected users.
Disconnected intermittent low-bandwidth seeks to develop how to provide geospatial data and services under disconnected intermittent, and low-bandwidth network conditions.
Geospatial architecture seeks to develop architectures to exchange geospatial information using file-based exchange and web services across all echelons.
Geospatial data center architectures will focus on big data repositories like SIPR, NIPR, and JWICS, and find the most efficient ways to distribute geospatial data from a data center through all echelons to a soldier with a handheld.
Content management
Geospatial content management methods will develop geospatial content-management tools for Army users, identify technologies to access geospatial data.
Advanced and engineering development will conduct research on geospatial intelligence systems and architectures, and develop support systems for their fielding, operations, and maintenance.
Emerging concepts and new technologies will develop technologies that facilitate primary data acquisition, exploitation, and dissemination of geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) in austere and bandwidth-limited environments.
Artificial intelligence (AI) techniques will develop AI, machine learning, machine reasoning, pattern recognition, and natural language processing as an alternative way to tackle complex and dynamic problems in urban studies.
Civil-military approaches
Civil-military informatics will support advanced civil-military business intelligence and analytics for planning, analysis, and decision support capabilities.
Joint information environment will find ways to prototype, test, and evaluate the collection, processing, exploitation, and dissemination of data in the joint information environment.
Army and joint simulations seeks to integrate and demonstrate technologies to improve the representation of realistic synthetic environments in Army and joint simulations to include related military installations, monuments, and memorials.
Great power competition will study, prototype, test, and evaluate geospatial solutions for identifying, mapping, and making decisions. This includes doctrine development, organization changes, training, leadership impacts, and personnel requirements.
Resiliency challenges
Impact of resiliency challenges on global security and military operations seeks to measure the influence of resiliency challenges change on global security and military operations.
Companies interested should email white papers no later than 13 Oct. 2026 to the Army at [email protected]. Those submitting promising white papers may be invited to submit full proposals.
Email questions or concerns to Contracting Officer Haiyan Li at [email protected], or Contract Specialist Sharron Grayson at [email protected]. More information is online at https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/ad5c3bb83b6049cf936ee5d2021619a1/view.
