DARPA

In four years, researchers funded by the U.S. military may develop a working prototype of a system that allows for a nonsurgical interface between the human brain and technology. Such a system could improve brain control of unmanned vehicles, robots, cybersecurity systems and mechanical prosthetics while also improving the interface between humans and artificial intelligence (AI) agents.

The University of Southern California, Marina del Rey, California, was awarded a $19,843,137 cost-no-fee contract for a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency research project. Work will be performed in Marina del Rey, California; Arlington, Virginia; and Columbia, Maryland, with an expected completion date of August 2023. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funding in the amount of $2,905,000 are being obligated at time of award. The contract was a competitive acquisition under a broad agency announcement and nine offers were received. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HR0011-19-C-0084).

Raytheon Co., Goleta, California, was awarded a modification to exercise an option totaling $8,263,421 to previously awarded contract HR0011-19-C-0010 for a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency research project. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract from $4,334,736 to $12,598,157. Work will be performed in Goleta, California; Waltham, Massachusetts; Irvine, California; Oxnard, California; and Joplin, Missouri, with an expected completion date of November 4, 2020. Fiscal year 2018 and 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $6,723,915 are being obligated at time of award. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity

Paradromics Inc.,* Austin, Texas, is being awarded a contract option in the amount of $8,275,758 from a previously awarded cost type of contract. Support includes development of a neural interface system capable of performing continuous, simultaneous full-duplex (read and write) interaction with at least one thousand neurons in regions of the human sensory cortex. The option builds on the designs and prototypes developed from the base award, and provides in vivo animal testing and human studies. The option has a one-year period of performance from July 12, 2019, through July 11, 2020. Work will be performed at the contractor's facilities in Austin, Texas.

Systems & Technology Research, LLC*, Woburn, Massachusetts, has been awarded a $7,043,368 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification (P00007) to previously awarded contract HR001118C0004 for a research project for undersea sensing systems. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $19,273,602 from $12,230,234. Work will be performed in Woburn, Massachusetts (8%); Arlington, Virginia (8%); Groton, Connecticut (81%), Middletown, Rhode Island (1%); and Seattle, Washington (2%) with an estimated completion date of March 2020. Fiscal year 2019 research and development funds in the amount of $7,043,368 are being obligated at time of award.

Achieving and maintaining hypersonic flight—Mach 5 and above—remains a major challenge, but officials at U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory envision a day when hypersonic technologies are developed and deployed much more quickly and affordably than is currently possible.

The X-60A hypersonic flight test vehicle is central to that goal. The Generation Orbit system will be used to test technologies at hypersonic speeds. The idea is to increase the frequency of flight testing while lowering the cost of maturing hypersonic technologies in relevant flight conditions.

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory LLC, a not-for-profit University Affiliated Research Center, Laurel, Maryland, has been awarded a ceiling $100,000,000 modification (P00003) to previously awarded indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract HR0011-17-D-0001 for engineering, development and research capabilities. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $198,000,000 from $98,000,000. Work will primarily be performed in Laurel, Maryland, with an expected completion date of November 2021. IDIQ task orders can extend an additional six months until May 2022. No funds are being obligated at time of award.

Agile Defense Inc.,* Reston, Virginia, has been awarded a $7,157,890 modification (P00042) to previously awarded task order HR0011-15-F-0002 for unclassified information technology services. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the task order to $139,054,004 from $131,896,114. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia, with an expected completion date of June 2019. Fiscal year 2019 research and development funds in the amount of $7,157,890 are being obligated at time of award. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity. *Small Business

Galois Inc., Portland, Oregon, was awarded a $9,925,508 modification to previously awarded contract HR0011-18-C-0013 for the System Security Integrated Through Hardware and firmware (SSITH) program. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $16,553,298 from $6,627,790. Work will be performed in Portland, Oregon (88 percent); Menlo Park, California (7 percent); Framingham, Massachusetts (4 percent); and San Francisco, California (1 percent), with an expected completion date of March 2020. Fiscal year 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $2,949,500 are being obligated at time of award.