Anna Forrester
The U.S. Air Force has issued a broad agency announcement for a $9.7 million funding opportunity in support of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Super Hard and Deeply Buried Facility Identification and Characterization program.
The BAA posted Tuesday on FedBizOpps stated that the AFRL Information Directorate seeks technologies and techniques for the functional assessment, location and characterization of hard and deeply buried targets.
According to the notice, potential partners are required to submit white papers on capabilities and perform underground testing for HDBTs, investigation on concealment technologies as well as underground facility research and development work.
Future proposals should focus on techniques for signature emulation, cybersecurity and mission planning related to the use of HDBTs, the Air Force said.
The service said it plans to award $4.3 million for work in fiscal 2016, $3.3 million for fiscal 2017 and $2.1 million for fiscal 2018.
John Keller of Military & Aerospace Electronics reports Wednesday that the program comes amid concerns over hidden underground facilities housing nuclear weapons in the wake of the Iran nuclear deal.
