Space Strategic Technology Institute (SSTI): Space Cyber-Cognitive Overmatch (SCCO)
Backs a university-led consortium with up to $25 million to build transformative cyber, AI and quantum technologies that protect and strengthen U.S. military space systems.
The lead applicant must be a university managing a consortium of at least three universities, which receives the award and distributes at least 50% of the funds to the other institutions through subawards; industry, nonprofit and small-business collaborators are welcome but cannot lead. It runs as a two-step process โ a White Paper and cost estimate first, then a full proposal only for teams the Gโฆ
The call wants research that fundamentally changes how military space systems sense threats, defend themselves, and operate in contested environments, not incremental advances. Technical areas include cyber threat sensing and response, cyber-hardening and supply chain security, AI and autonomy, human-machine teaming, distributed and quantum computing, cognitive electronic warfare, and digital engineering, though applicants may propose other technologies that fit DoD needs.
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