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THE FEDERAL WARFARE SYSTEMS LABORATORY 

E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y 

THE WHAT. 

“Our competitive military advantage has been eroding. We are facing increased global disorder, 

characterized by a decline in the long-standing rules-based international order.”

2018 National Defense Strategy 

This global shift ushers in a high-stakes epoch. Without commensurate change, the Department of Defense 

cannot achieve the pivot velocities required to stay ahead of our adversaries. 

THE SO WHAT. 

“The current bureaucratic approach, centered on exacting thoroughness and

minimizing risk above all else, is proving to be increasingly unresponsive.”

2018 National Defense Strategy 

Why this matters – from 1945 to 1974, the mean time to develop a new aircraft from program start to Initial 

Operational Capability (IOC) was five years. In 1975, the DoD 5000-series acquisition policy was published. 

Since then, time-to-IOC has increased at rate of approximately five years per decade. Exempli gratia: 

The F-18 achieved IOC in 11 years (1985), the B-2 in 16 years (1996), and F-22 in 19 years (2005)1. 

In 2016, after over two decades of development, the F-35 achieved IOC. In the time it took F-35 to undergo 

testing and evaluation, the Chinese J-20 underwent nine hardware/software iterations (ultimately converging 

on a mature platform). Even scarier, in that same time, six major IADS threat generations were fielded1. 

Warfighters are, by nature, imperfect at capturing physical or functional needs in writing. This is attributed 

to problems of scope, understanding, or requirement volatility. In response, the aforementioned acquisition 

policy was created to ensure exacting thoroughness2 and abate risk. Also, as seen, the results came at cost. 

WHAT RIGHT LOOKS LIKE. 

“Prototyping and experimentation should be used prior to defining requirements.”

2018 National Defense Strategy 

No amount of policy modification () will correct this problem. The boundaries of the known marketplace 

(DoD 5000-series, JCIDS, & PPBE) are well defined and unilaterally accepted – yielding limited freedom of 

maneuver to reconcile inefficiency. This environment can be characterized as a ‘Red Ocean.’

It is possible, however, to approach the issue externally – from the vantage of an unknown, uncontested 

marketplace which exists ‘pre-requirement.’ In this space, cumbersome approval chains, wasteful 

applications of resources in uncompetitive space, or overly risk-averse thinking that impedes change2 can be 

eliminated by virtue of the unregulated nature of the space. Touch-points to Milestone B are reduced. Access 

and knowledge (e.g. STEM, Acquisitions, Contracting, & Financial) at the warfighter level are raised. And 

new MWS Federal Laboratories and Laboratory Accreditation Programs are created. This, is a ‘Blue Ocean.’

Tierney Philosophical Razor: To change a system, a requirement cannot exist that the system must 

change. The value of this model is that it does not demand any modification to existing DoD 5000-series, 

JCIDS, and/or PPBE systems. Implementation is external and seamless. 

Why this works – direct Warfighter integration. MWS Federal Laboratories empower Warfighters with 

the access and knowledge required to rigorously mature requirements to well-vetted, high-TRL solutions –

reducing risk, compressing milestones to field, and front-loading the system to mitigate unknown-unknowns. 

1

HAF AF Rapid Acquisition Authorities: A Summary 2

Excerpts from the 2018 National Defense Strategy 

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THE FEDERAL WARFARE SYSTEMS LABORATORY 

E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y 

Differentiation from current approaches. AFWERX, Defense Innovation Unit, and similar programs are 

inspiring efforts designed to kindle emerging businesses which develop technologies with promising defense 

application. Although these companies are involved with the warfighter as part of the process, they are not 

integrated. Access (to Authorization Officials, operators, weapon systems, program engineers, cyber security 

expertise, industry partners, etc.) and knowledge (of requirements, Tactics/Techniques/Procedures, 

government acquisitions, program management, contracting, STEM, etc.) remains limited. For this reason, 

the burden to shepherd these technologies from concept to field remains with the warfighter. Additionally, 

they must compete with incumbent efforts (backed by a robust industrial base) for funding and sustainment. 

THE HOW. 

“Individuals and interactions over processes and tools. 

Working systems over comprehensive documentation...[and] as a primary measure of success.”

agilemanifesto.org 

Old World. Mated diagram showing JCIDS and Defense Acquisition Process – as it exists today. 

New World. New Federal Warfare Systems Laboratories are introduced. These laboratories are specialized 

to specific defense systems and provide a standardized means to meet the 2018 National Defense Strategy 

(NDS) directive that, “prototyping and experimentation should be used prior to defining requirements.”. 

Their mission, ‘Compress time-to-field of advanced technologies at a speed relevant to the Warfighter.’

Their vision, accomplish their mission through the ‘Confluence of Warfighter, Developer, and Acquirer,’

vertically integrated under the same operational roof. 

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THE FEDERAL WARFARE SYSTEMS LABORATORY 

F E D E R A L W A R F A R E S Y S T E M S L A B O R A T O R Y P R O C E S S V I E W 

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THE FEDERAL WARFARE SYSTEMS LABORATORY 

VALUE. 

The Federal Warfare Systems Laboratory construct exploits an unregulated space that exists left of 

“Requirement,” as defined by the Department of Defense (DoD) Directive 5000.01. Business would

characterize this environment as an uncontested market space – a proper “Blue Ocean.” Under this

framework, advanced technologies can be developed or integrated to determine technical feasibility (“Is it

possible?”). Embedded developers then hand the technology to the Warfighter to determine operational

utility (“Isit useful?”). This process continuously cycles between development and operations, with a fluidity

impossible to realize by current DoD processes. End-state is achieved when the technology has evolved to a 

high-Technology Readiness Level (TRL), Warfighter-useful solution. At this point, the technology graduates 

normally into the Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System and Defense Acquisition System 

(DoD Directive 5000.01 and DoD Instruction 5000.02) as a vetted, mature requirement. In this way, the 

acquisitions process is compressed, and cost offsets realized, by (a) front-loading development with the enduser & (b) abatement of the problems of scope, understanding, and volatility associated with the requirements 

process. As a Federal Science & Technology laboratory, and in accordance with the Chairman of the Joint 

Chiefs of Staff Instruction (CJCSI) 5123.01H , “For evolutionary technologies that support an expeditious

deployment of successful weapon system component or technology prototypes IAW reference m, JCIDS is 

flexible enough to consider entry at Milestone B.”

EVIDENCE THIS IS REAL. 

U-2 Federal Laboratory successes –

 First in DoD: In-flight Pilot-AI teaming (First Flight: 2020DEC15). Utilized the Zero 

algorithm to demonstrate two onboard workers (Pilot and ‘ARTU’) – each with individual, 

competing missions, a shared common resource, and human actions unknown to AI. Dr. Roper 

(SAF/AQ) challenged the U-2 Fed Lab on 10 Nov 20. Time from challenge to response: 35 days. 

 First in DoD: In-flight Software Update (First Flight: 2020OCT16). Uploaded and deployed 

mission critical software in-flight on a U-2. End-end data transfer leveraged operationallyrepresentative U-2 ground-air link architecture. Dr. Roper (SAF/AQ) challenged the U-2 Fed Lab 

in-person (13 Oct 20) to achieve this milestone. Time from challenge to response: 2 days, 22 hours. 

 First in DoD: In-flight utilization of Kubernetes (First Flight: 2020SEP22). Container 

orchestration / processing distribution across four single-board computers onboard a U-2S in-flight. 

 Advanced Virtualized Enterprise Reconfigurable Architecture (AVERATM; First Flight: 

2019NOV13). Microservices-based, containerized open software architecture. 100% Governmentowned. OMS/UCI-compliant. First line of code to U-2 flight with operational sensor in 4 months. 

 Fusion Algorithms for Sensor Error Reduction (FASERTM; First Flight: 2020SEP01). Inflight, entity-level, multi-modal sensor fusion to increase object classification and localization 

accuracy and improve assigned confidence scores using non-Boolean Logic. Manages probability 

distribution uncertainties. Features uncertainty bias/weighting based on electron cloud model. 

 Simulation-based Heuristic Assessment of Divergent Options for Warfare (SHADOWTM; First 

Flight: 2020SEP01). In-flight, low-SWAP simulation. Injects real and synthetic scenario-based 

data, refined via tunable uncertainty modulation. Intent to appropriately stress the system with 

without complex, individual IA efforts. Portable to any Major Weapon System in the DoD. 

 Automatic Target Recognition (First Flight: 2019NOV13). SAR and EO/IR ATR developed and 

trained by Sandia National Laboratories. Trained against COCOM-prioritized targets. Training 

features historic, practical, and synthetic methods in partnership with the U-2 Federal Laboratory. 

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THE FEDERAL WARFARE SYSTEMS LABORATORY 

A C C R E D I T A T I O N 

TYPES OF LABORATORIES. 

There are several types of laboratories in the U.S. Government – all derive from different statutory authorities. 

First are Federally Funded Research & Development Centers (FFRDCs) – also called National 

Laboratories (48 U.S.C. § 35.017). These are Public-Private Partnerships with the U.S. Government. The 

second are University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs; 10 U.S.C. § 2304). These are established by 

the Under Secretary of Defense (R&E) and are DoD research centers affiliated with universities. Finally, 

there are Federal Research Laboratories (Title 15 U.S.C. § 3710 & 10 U.S.C § 2500). These are established 

by Federal Agencies, and must be, “a facility or group of facilities owned, leased, or otherwise used by a 

Federal agency, a substantial purpose of which is the performance of research, development, or engineering 

by employees of the Federal Government.” The U-2 Federal Laboratory is a Federal Research Laboratory. 

UNDERSTANDING ACCREDITATION. 

Laboratories are not accredited – only laboratory processes are accredited. Put another way, the service 

that a laboratory performs is accredited – not the organization itself. Laboratory Accreditation Programs 

(or LAPs) are necessary for laboratories to develop the management and technical schema required to govern 

testing operations. LAPs also set requirements to standardize the competence, impartiality, and operational 

consistency of laboratories. In the U.S., the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) 

exists under the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST; Department of Commerce) to provide 

unbiased, third-party evaluation to accredit laboratories (in their respective fields) in accordance with the 

International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 17025 standard (Testing and Calibration Laboratories). 

THE 20TH LABORATORY ACCREDITATION PROGRAM IN THE U.S. GOVERNMENT. 

Currently, NVLAP offers 19 separate LAPs (e.g. Calibration, Biometrics, etc.). None, however, best address 

the needs of Federal Major Weapon Systems. To reconcile this gap, the U-2 Federal Laboratory proposed, 

and has been approved by NIST/NVLAP to establish the 20th LAP in the U.S. Government, entitled – the 

‘Federal Warfare System(s) LAP.’ This LAP will be available to all new Federal Laboratories in the DoD, 

and more than 700 accredited testing laboratories in the United States. The scope of this LAP, in terms of 

services proposed for inclusion (in accordance with NIST Handbook 150-2016, 2.1.3.1), is detailed below: 

(1) System Integration Testing (SIT; answers, “Is it possible?”): The testing of a system as the 

aggregate of many subsystem components and/or elements. The system(s) tested may be composed of 

hardware, software, and/or hardware with embedded software. Proposed methods will adopt a 

continuous integration model with established configuration controls, integration entry/exit criteria, and 

will: 

 Verify that the system(s) meets requirements; and 

 Validate that the system(s) performs in accordance with pre-defined use cases. 

Following SIT, passing systems are forwarded to Operational/User Acceptance Testing. 

(2) Operational/User Acceptance Testing (OAT/UAT; answers, “Is it useful?”): The testing of 

systems post-SIT in collaboration with MWS Operators (e.g. airplane pilots). OAT/UAT test cases will 

include operational logic evaluations and representative environmental conditions. MWS Operators will 

be the primary stakeholders of these tests. OAT/UAT will have established entry/exit criteria and will: 

 Verify that the system meets user acceptance criteria as defined by MWS Operators in common 

operator language; and 

 Verify that the system meets operational acceptance criteria as defined by functional and nonfunctional requirements. These requirements cover attributes including, but not limited to: 

functional stability, portability, and reliability. 

Concurrent to OAT/UAT, systems are evaluated (via modeling & simulation) to derive objective value. 

Passing systems are exited to Milestone B, as MWS program requirements, or by other means. 

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THE FEDERAL WARFARE SYSTEMS LABORATORY 

A C C R E D I T A T I O N 

NVLAP | POTENTIAL LAP ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. 

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THE FEDERAL WARFARE SYSTEMS LABORATORY 

A C C R E D I T A T I O N 

FEDERAL REGISTER | PUBLIC WORKSHOP ANNOUNCEMENT. 

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THE FEDERAL WARFARE SYSTEMS LABORATORY 

R E Q U I R E M E N T 

PROVENANCE OF THE NEED.

The Report of the Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, on H.R. 5515 / FY 2019 

National Defense Authorization Act (H. Rept. 115-676; p.72), states, “The committee has continuing 

interest in the Department of Defense laboratories...their responsiveness to Department of Defense 

requirements, and maximizing their expertise and reach. The Department’s laboratories are integral to the 

Department’s ability to retain capability in areas where the private sector has no commercial interest, and 

ensuring that commercial solutions are adapted for warfighter needs in a timely manner so that the United 

States remains dominant in the land, air, sea, space, and cyber domains. The committee recommends that 

the Department better enable laboratories and centers to embrace an open and innovative posture, while 

simultaneously becoming more active in the Department’s requirements process.”

The 2018 National Defense Strategy (NDS), P.11, furthers this thought by directing that, “prototyping and 

experimentation should be used prior to defining requirements.” This is intended as a method to streamline

rapid, iterative approaches from development to fielding. The NDS (P. 10; Organize for Innovation) directs 

Department leaders to, “adapt their organizational structures to best support the Joint Force.”

The Congressionally-mandated response to the 2018 NDS (Providing for the Common Defense: The 

Assessment and Recommendations of the National Defense Strategy Commission; P. 65), Recommendation 

No. 7, states that, “The Secretary of Defense should... make maximum use of...government R&D labs.”

In accordance with the CJCSI 3170.01(2)(a)(1) (Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System; 

JCIDS), “Prior to entering the JCIDS process...assess capability requirements and associated capability 

gaps and risks.” MWS stakeholders are responsible for assessing capability gaps, risks, and generating 

requirements germane to that weapon system. To meet 2018 NDS intent, MWS stakeholders now require a 

capability to prototype and experiment prior to requirement generation. 

In response to the aforementioned Congressional and Defense policies, the U-2 Federal Laboratory was 

organizationally established – compliant with Title 15 U.S.C § 3710a(d)(2)(A), Title 10 U.S.C § 2500(5), 

and Air Force Instruction (AFI) 61-301 (The Domestic Technology Transfer Process and the Offices of 

Research and Technology Applications) and AFI 1-2 (Commander’s Responsibilities). 

THE IMPERATIVE. 

“Discover the Future.”

Lt. Col. Matthew ‘Chaos’ Nussbaum

Excerpts from the 2018 National Defense Strategy –

“Delivering performance means we will shed outdated management practices and structures while 

integrating insights from business innovation. 

If current structures hinder substantial increases in lethality or performance, it is expected that 

Service Secretaries and Agency heads will consolidate, eliminate, or restructure as needed.”

Change is not optional – it is expected. 

What if we fail to change? How much time is left? 

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