Request for Information on National Energetics Plan

This request for information (RFI) seeks to identify current and emerging technologies and technology-enabled future concepts and approaches in research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E), manufacturing, and acquisition and sustainment (A&S) of energetic materials and systems containing energetic materials. The Department of Defense (DoD) is soliciting this information to aid in an internal analysis and prioritization of investments as it composes a strategic National Energetics Plan (NEP). We anticipate using this information to also prioritize new, novel, or advanced approaches that will provide significant, enduring capability advantages to U.S Warfighters conducting operations against peer or near-peer adversaries in the future. This RFI seeks to glean information that will help DoD explore and develop new technologies, processes, policies, and approaches to advance a NEP that balances the Department’s investments among RDT&E, manufacturing, and A&S of energetic materials and energetic systems. We actively seeks ideas from the private sector, including firms and academic institutions outside DoD’s traditional orbit, and from within government. We also encourage submission of ideas from adjacent RDT&E areas that could lead to disruptive interventions—or strong enablers— for this domain. Submissions should describe the operational opportunity, discuss the enabling technologies, and specify methods for employing the idea. They should provide input on how to significantly scale and accelerate any or all of the focus areas described below while reducing the amount of time and resources that are typically required. Finally, they should focus on technology-enabled capabilities that could be matured and would be available to enter formal development in the next 5-10 years, offering significant operational advantage in the 2030-2035 time frame.