U.S. Air Force awards $150M for cross-domain communications tools

Owl Cyber Defense Solutions LLC, based in Columbia, Maryland, has been awarded a $150 million contract by the U.S. Air Force for advanced research and development in secure communications technologies.

The award, issued under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, supports a range of projects intended to improve multi-domain information sharing across classified and unclassified networks.

According to the Department of Defense, the contract includes the delivery of multiple software releases and system upgrades, including continued development of the Voice and Video Cross Domain Solution, XD Vision, and Cross Domain Full Motion Video (CD-FMV) for the Minerva user community.

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The contract was issued as a sole-source acquisition and will run through July 29, 2030. Initial funding of $10,000 from Fiscal Year 2025 research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) accounts was obligated at the time of award.

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), located in Rome, New York, is managing the contract.

In a release, DoD said the effort aims to deliver secure, real-time data sharing tools capable of supporting joint and coalition operations in complex, multi-domain environments.

The technology suite under development by Owl Cyber Defense is designed to allow authorized users to access, share, and view classified and sensitive video and voice data across security domains without risking compromise. The effort includes software, hardware, technical documentation, and installation and maintenance of the current systems deployed at existing customer sites.

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