NGA’s Project Aegir Hits the Streets
The U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has opened its first CSO, or commercial solutions opening, in which industry can offer approaches for identifying, monitoring and tracking illicit maritime vessel activity in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) area of responsibility (AOR).
The solicitation is part of the NGA’s so-called Project Aegir.
The $1.5 million pilot program is open from May 6-24. After that, multiple selected vendors or groups of vendors will have the opportunity to pitch their solutions to NGA officials at the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) headquarters in Mountain View, California, between June 24-28.
If the initial program is successful, Project Aegir will become a major acquisition effort, the agency reported in a May 6 statement. Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth, USN, director of the NGA, announced the venture at the 2024 GEOINT Symposium in Kissimmee, Florida, on Monday.
"The CSO project underscores our commitment to (1) staying ahead of evolving threats, and (2) supporting frontline efforts against IUU [illegal, unreported and unregulated] fishing, illicit trafficking, and other activities that pose threats to global security," he said, according to his published speech.
Over the last several years in particular, the NGA has worked to pull in more commercial capabilities, with the construction in 2021 of its Moonshot Laboratories in St. Louis, an unclassified innovation hub for industry collaboration. That same year, the NGA made the decision to allow its analysts for the first time to use commercial solutions as primary sources in their geospatial intelligence work.
Officials see Project Aegir as the next step in pursuing “immediate access” to commercial analytics and unclassified intelligence products, the agency stated.
“Project Aegir marks a significant milestone in NGA’s ongoing efforts to enhance maritime security and combat illegal activities on our seas,” said Director of NGA Commercial Operations Devin Brande. “By working with the commercial sector, we can drive automation that enables more rapid collections, allowing those on the front lines to move at speed to stay ahead of evolving global security threats.”
The CSO project underscores our commitment to (1) staying ahead of evolving threats, and (2) supporting frontline efforts against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, illicit trafficking, and other activities that pose threats to global security.
The agency wants the multiple-vendor approach under Project Aegir to result in the development of a robust commercial sensor architecture to track illegal maritime activities, given the rise in such illegal fishing and nefarious vessel activity, especially by the People’s Republic of China, which has a negative economic and social impact on smaller island nations in the region.
“Commercial vendors will work collectively to establish tasking algorithms for tipping and queuing a diverse array of sensors, conduct analysis and deliver wholly-unclassified, shareable intelligence of illicit maritime activities in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility," the agency noted.
Interested companies should visit sam.gov for the specific submission guidelines for Project Aegir CSO.
“Together, NGA and DIU have a collaborative record of success in accelerating the fielding of commercial technology to our joint and partner nation warfighters," DIU Space Portfolio Director Steve Butow said. "This project further exemplifies the spirit of the Department of Defense's new Commercial Space Integration Strategy that was released earlier this month."
