Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) plans to launch a global program through which university-based teams may compete for over $1 million by pitching quantum technologies. The International Quantum U Tech Accelerator competition will have 36 teams propose quantum projects in the areas of timing, information processing, computing, sensing and communications, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base said Friday.

Eighteen teams will get the chance to pitch for opportunities virtually or in person. The Office of Naval Research, AFRL Office of Scientific Research and the laboratory’s Information Directorate will provide basic research funds to the top qualifiers.

The actual event will take place from Sept. 1st through 3rd and is open to universities across the globe. The event will also feature fast-pitch sessions for parties from public, private and academic sectors. Innovare Advancement Center, and AFRL-led open innovation campus, will host the event.

“AFRL is committed to transformational areas of science and technology like quantum, and we are excited to bring together the world’s leading researchers and trailblazers across government, industry and academia,” said Brig. Gen. Heather Pringle, AFRL commander.

Interested parties may view requirements here.

Epirus, a venture-backed startup offering a counter-drone capability, has made an undisclosed strategic supplier agreement with Northrop Grumman to provide exclusive access to Leonidas, Epirus’ software-defined electromagnetic pulse system, Epirus reported on Monday. 

“UAS threats are proliferating across the modern battlespace,” said Kenn Todorov, vice president and general manager of Northrop Grumman’s Combat Systems and Mission Readiness division. “By integrating the Epirus EMP weapon system into our C-UAS portfolio, we continue maturing our robust, integrated, layered approach to addressing and defeating these evolving threats.”

Northrop Grumman will utilize Leonidas to augment its kinetic and non-kinetic solutions to counter small drones. The Army recently selected Northrop Grumman’s Forward Area Air Defense Command and Control software (FAAD-C2) as the interim C2 system to counter small drones. 

Epirus technology will integrate solid-state commercial semiconductor technology. The company’s offering can be adjusted to sanitize a volume of terrain or sky, creating a force field effect. Epirus systems will combine high-power microwave technology and artificial intelligence (AI) for enhanced targeting.

“We’re not just solving today’s swarm threat, we’re also looking to the future to understand how asymmetric threats will evolve,” Epirus co-founder and chief technology officer (CTO) Bo Marr. “Epirus is an agile startup, Northrop Grumman has defense prime contractor resources, and through this partnership we intend to deliver the best technology to the warfighter as fast as possible.”

Epirus has continued to receive recognition for the company’s innovative technology. In Sept. 2020, Epirus won a Small Business Innovation Research contract from the U.S. Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center as part of its AFWERX technology accelerator. 

The contract was for the Epirus’ novel architecture for using commercial off-the-shelf field programmable gate arrays, which are semiconductor devices commonly used in electronic circuits, as ultra-wideband radio frequency transceivers.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is an American global aerospace and defense technology company. With over 85,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military technology providers.

The U.S. Space Force and the U.K. defense ministry have carried out a demonstration of the Protected Tactical Waveform (PTW) over the U.K. government’s Skynet satellite system, the Air Force reported Friday.

The July 13 demonstration conducted using a multiband test terminal as part of the Protected Anti-jam Tactical SATCOM program showcased PTW’s anti-jam capability and data rates.

The Space and Missile Systems Center’s Development Corps oversees on behalf of the Space Force the PATS program, which seeks to provide anti-jam capability to the U.S. and international partner countries using PTW over multiple satellite platforms.

The Space Force is collaborating with other international allies to look for opportunities to integrate national satellite communications capabilities with PATS. The U.K. defense ministry’s Skynet delivers strategic communications services to the British armed forces and NATO troops involved in coalition tasks.

The Department of Energy (DoE) has completed the development of cooling equipment designed for exascale-class supercomputers.

The Exascale Class Computer Cooling Equipment Project reached the Critical Decision-4 milestone in May and was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday at Los Alamos National Laboratory, DOE said the same day. The project concluded 10 months earlier than scheduled with $20 million saved.

“High-performance computing continues to be key to the future of our science-based stockpile stewardship program, and completing this project ahead of schedule allows the enterprise to keep moving forward towards its next milestones,” said Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, administrator of DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration.

The resulting cooler technology will help LANL reduce the heat of exascale computers in the laboratory's strategic computing complex and the upcoming Crossroads supercomputer.