December 07, 2021
#21-20

CHARLESTON, S.C. – On behalf of the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR), Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic awarded an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) for its Information Warfare Research Project (IWRP) 2 to Advanced Technology International (ATI), of Summerville, South Carolina, for consortium management on Nov. 9 with a ceiling limit of $500 million and a five-year period of performance (PoP).

“The IWRP concept has proven to be an effective way to rapidly prototype information warfare solutions and get capabilities into our warfighters hands,” said Peter C. Reddy, NIWC Atlantic executive director. “Technology is continually evolving, and to stay ahead of the adversary, we need to be agile and fast. Using IWRP 2 to collaborate with traditional and non-traditional industry partners will ensure we can continue to empower innovation and the advancement of technology at the speed of relevance. The possibilities will be endless.”

IWRP 2 allows the use of an alternative acquisition process, called an OTA, which works to streamline the acquisition processes, develop prototypes, and rapidly provide advanced technologies to the fleet. As the consortium management firm, ATI provides NAVWAR the mechanism to reach a wide range of both traditional and non-traditional defense contractors across a variety of information warfare technology areas to address specific information technology challenges through prototype development.

The consortium will also facilitate competition for individual prototypes projects initiated by NAVWAR that align to its technology needs, in addition to providing the ability to move their technology ideas from concept to prototype in rapid succession to support the needs of Sailors and Marines.

“We are proud to continue supporting NAVWAR and IWRP consortium members in their collaborative efforts to develop and deliver innovative technology solutions to the most demanding information warfare challenges,” said Chris Van Metre, President and CEO of ATI. “The award of the IWRP 2 OTA sets the stage for this highly successful government-industry-academia collaboration to build on the achievements of IWRP’s first three years. ATI is ecstatic to be part of this team.”

When the project originally launched in 2018, IWRP received a $100 million ceiling and a performance period running through summer 2021. By June 2020, the IWRP team had allocated 100 percent of the ceiling — an aggressive feat, considering the 36 months allotted for the project. In July 2020, the ceiling was increased by $400 million with Navy approval and received a two-year PoP extension, resulting in a total of $500 million ceiling limit and a five-year PoP.

“We are excited that we have an award for IWRP 2 and look forward to a continued partnership with the IWRP consortium members to deliver technology to our Nation’s fighting force,” said Lisa Rosenbaum, IWRP agreements officer and NIWC Atlantic non-FAR agreements lead.

Based on projected prototype awards for the next two years and the current workflow for IWRP, the $500 million ceiling limit will be reached ahead of the 5-year PoP.

“We intend to build upon the success of IWRP and leverage collaboration with traditional and non-traditional partnerships in order to drive innovation and solve challenging problems the warfighter faces,” said Jee Youn Fickling, IWRP program manager, NIWC Atlantic. “IWRP 2 continues to promote rapid prototyping for information warfare technology focus areas to strategically align with the critical needs of the fleet.”

IWRP 2 covers all of the major scope areas associated with information warfare, including: cyber warfare, cloud computing, data science and analytic technologies, assured communications, enterprise resource tools, autonomy, mobility, assured command and control, integrated fires, battlespace awareness, model-based systems engineering, on-demand manufacturing, development, security, and operations (DevSecOps), artificial intelligence/machine learning, and elegant design and user experience, the last two being new technology focus areas to meet the demand and interest.

“IWRP 2 will encourage a two-way exchange of information and ideas between consortium members and the government to bring the best solutions to the fleet,” said Kevin Charlow, NIWC Atlantic deputy executive director. “This collaboration of innovation will be invaluable to give Sailors and Marines the advantage.”

An IWRP Industry Day is planned for Dec. 15 starting at 10:00 am with Bradley Goodrich, deputy director of NavalX, as the keynote speaker. This virtual industry day will be the first to include request for prototype projects under IWRP 2.  The event will include four Requests for Prototype Projects (RPPs), two Pre-Solicitation Collaborations (PSCs), and one Technical Collaboration Exchange (TCE).

Industry or government organizations interested in learning more about IWRP 2 or the upcoming virtual industry day can visit www.theiwrp.org.

As a part of Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, NIWC Atlantic provides systems engineering and acquisition to deliver information warfare capabilities to the naval, joint and national warfighter through the acquisition, development, integration, production, test, deployment, and sustainment of interoperable command, control, communications, computer, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, cyber and information technology capabilities.

United States Navy
Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic
Public Affairs and Corporate Communications Office
Contact: Sara Corbett, sara.corbett@navy.mil
Desk: 843.614.7311
Alex Jackson, james.a.jackson6@navy.mil
Desk: 843.218.3248