Apogee Research, LLC

In summer 2021 at DARPA, Jimmy and I began discussing new ways to expedite DoD’s adaption to adversary capabilities, tactics and strategies. We saw a delta between the lightening bolts connecting weapons systems on JADC2 PowerPoints and the dropped telemetry data from our operational weapons systems on the floor. We organized a series of multi-classification hackathons to increase the use of weapons data and prototype data-driven effects. We called this joint series BRAVO because we believed we could transform warfare by invalidating common assumptions about DoD’s operational data, just as Billy Mitchell did with battleships and AirPower a century ago through Project B. What we didn’t predict was that the DoD community would bring their own capabilities to create an incredible DoD innovation stage. I’m indebted to the supporters who welcomed our events into the defense community. After reflecting on the completion of BRAVO 11 Bits2Effects, it’s clear we have now entered Act 2. We are no longer as Rev calls it a “roaming motorcycle gang” – we have use cases and hackers from every military service, special operations, the intelligence community, industry, academia, American Citizenry and now three combatant commands. We had four star generals and civilians judging, and general officer starred technical leaders running teams and hacking on hardware/software problems. With the support of INDOPACOM, its components, and the Joint Staff, our events are on track to change the way we calibrate and adapt capabilities from operational theater data. In Act 2, we will increasingly align to DoD strategic priorities and missions. DoD initiatives like STITCHES, CENTCOM, Advana, LIMA, TAK, AFRL, USASOC and others are already using hackathons for platform evangelism/adoption and breaking DoD silos as predicted by my friend Harvard Business School Professor Andy Wu (https://lnkd.in/ejjncUh9). Allow me to close with a relevant, brilliant concept first articulated by Col Dave Blair. Centrally planned militaries like those found in autocracies are more effective against other centrally planned, predictable militaries. However, if a military pursues a deluge of strategies and concepts in a decentralized manner, a centrally planned actor cannot invest resources to counter them all. A hackathon is a holacracy, which pursues decentralized capability development without centralized governance or authority. BRAVO 11 was so massive that the staff couldn’t keep track of all the prototypes, nor will we be able to track all the effects produced (although we will try). If we cannot understand everything produced at BRAVO, our adversaries will similarly not be able to develop countermeasures. In a global power competition, the trials honed at BRAVO to expedite weapons adaption at such radical and decentralized scale will frustrate any centrally planned adversary. Apply for the next hackathons here - https://lnkd.in/exNrBnr3

Who loves hackathons and islands? How about a hackathon ON an island? The Office of the Secretary of Defense Chief Digital and AI Office, Defense Innovation Unit, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. Army Pacific Command, and the U.S. Air Force are hosting a multi-classification hackathon, 5-9 February 2024. The BRAVO 11 Bits2Effects hackathon will take place in Oahu, Hawaii, and is open to all U.S. citizens. No security clearance is required to participate, and applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Don't miss this opportunity to develop prototypes and tackle combatant command challenges using Indo-Pacific operational theater data! Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/essUMD3z #hackathon #AI #DefenseInnovation #BRAVO11Bits2Effects #DAFCDAO

Our Center for Defense Concepts and Technology, in partnership with Emerging Technologies Institute, hosted a symposium in which defense and industry leaders examined the technical dimensions of joint integration. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gt_647gn

I wanted to provide an update on the next OSD CDAO, INDOPACOM and DoD hackathon taking place in Hawaii. Federal employees, federal contractors, and any American citizen are all eligible to apply. We opened applications a week and a half ago. We have now reached over 60% capacity, which is record pace for these events, and applications are accelerating. If you were planning to apply or submit use cases, you should apply now as I cannot guarantee space. Use cases are solely submitted by SMEs or hackers who apply to the hackathon. As a consequence of demand (we expect to receive over 800 applications), we are working to secure additional equiptment. If you work for federal/DoD and are aware of excess federal compute capacity (specifically laptops and/or GPU servers), please reach out. We'd love to borrow your equipment, even if it is several years old and about to be replaced or already replaced. We are prioritizing additional applicants from the following communities right now - INDOPACOM, Marines, Space Force, Navy, and Intelligence Community. If you know folks who might help us reach these communities, please tag them or make the connection. The below image was computer generated and depending on feedback may serve as the representative image for the event. We tried to represent as many services as possible without the model generating errant image content. Hackathon Announcement -> https://lnkd.in/e7eXfQJJ Apply here -> https://lnkd.in/gWPc3q2j