ROME, N.Y. – U.S. Air Force researchers are asking industry to develop prototype cyber warfare and cyber security systems for quick transfer to operational military systems to enable U.S. and allied forces to dominate all enemies in cyberspace.
Officials of the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate in Rome, N.Y., have issued an advanced research announcement (FA8750-25-S-7005) for the Advanced Cyber Effects for Strategic Operations (ACESO) program.
Researchers are asking industry to develop prototype command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence (C4I) and cyber technologies that are ready to turn over to deployed military systems.
These C4I and cyber technologies should be high-impact, affordable, and game-changing technologies for air, space, and cyberspace forces that involve cyber warfare, cyber security, cyber mission assurance, resiliency, and effects on U.S. adversaries.
Offensive and defensive cyber
Offensive and defensive cyber operations can be carried out independently, or integrated with other operations, and ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of vital command and control (C2) networks -- including the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Information Network (DODIN).
Cyber operations encompass the physical network, the logical network, and the cyber-persona layers that consist of information technology devices that help U.S. and allied cyber forces operate in cyberspace while denying the adversary the same.
Researchers are focusing on cyber assured and zero-trust infrastructure; DODIN battlespace organization; command, control, and communications (C3); situational awareness and mission assurance; delivery of effects-based defenses ; cyber ISR operations ; cyber operational preparation of the environment (C-OPE); cyberspace effects operations; and signals intelligence (SIGINT), electronics warfare (EW) and cyber operations technologies.
Tell me more about military cyber operations ...
- Military cyber operations seek to protect, exploit, or disrupt computer information and data networks, and range from defending military networks and critical infrastructure against cyber attacks to offensive actions to cripple enemy information systems. Cyber operations have three parts: offensive, defensive, and support. Offensive cyber operations involve disrupting or damaging adversaries' networks, while defensive operations focus on safeguarding one's own systems. Support includes gathering cyber intelligence. Cyber operations can target communication systems, weapons networks, or civilian infrastructure, and often complement traditional military actions. Given the increasing reliance on digital warfare, military cyber operations have become an essential component of modern defense strategies.
Areas of interest include cloud and cloud-agnostic architectures; code analysis and evaluation; cyber modeling and simulation; decision support for cyber missions; design frameworks; evaluation and measurement techniques; formal methods; mobile and embedded device security; telematics; methods for non-traditional cyber security; data security in untrusted environments; cyber situational awareness and risk estimation; standards for information exchange, trusted hardware and software; virtualization; and zero trust computing.
Applications of interest include cyber deterrence; global strike; cyber threat assessments; command, control, and communications (C3); cyber intelligence; surveillance and reconnaissance; analytical fusion; disruptive information technology; cyber mission platforms; next-gen cyber operations technology; data embedding; cyber stealth and persistence; artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in the cyber domain; and deny, degrade, disrupt, destroy, and manipulate (D4M).
Military systems for deploying these cyber technologies military programs of record with cyber components; shared, commercial, private, and government cloud computing; embedded computing hardware and firmware; mobile and bring-your-own-device systems; industrial control systems and supervisory control and data acquisition (ICS/SCADA); Internet of Things (IoT); automation systems; tactical systems; and wired and wireless networks at the enterprise and tactical levels.
Key objectives
Key objectives include strengthening the security of U.S. cyber assets; defending against adversarial cyber advancement; and developing cyber intelligence technologies.
Companies interested should email white papers no later than 30 Sept. 2029 to the Air Force's Tanya Macrina at [email protected]. Those submitting promising white papers may be invited to submit full proposals. Several contracts should be awarded, and funding will be about $190 million each year from 2026 to 2030.
Email technical questions and concerns to Tanya Macrina at [email protected], and business questions or concerns to Amber Buckley at [email protected]. More information is online at https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/0cb29e01f076424483400498d53dca55/view.
