The US Department of Defense is partnering with industry and academia on an initiative to advance the state of the art in software development tools and processes to sustain a government-owned ground vehicle operating system in a manner that is cost effective and efficient and can be scaled across various product lines.

A recent Stout Automotive Defect and Recall Report indicates the increase in software-based electronic defects is one of the most significant emerging maintenance trends in the automotive industry. The report revealed a record-breaking number of vehicle recalls based on software defects, for a total of 8 million–a higher total than the five previous years combined.

The overall objective of this initiative is to deliver a modern, cyber-secure, high-performance, supportable software baseline for sustainment that is maintained at a higher pace than legacy methods.

Using a specific advanced ground vehicle as a surrogate, this initiative seeks to pilot new advanced tools and processes using Development, Security, and Operation (DEVSECOPS), Agile, and advanced code resource environments to sustain a government-owned vehicle operating system in accordance with evolving mandates for continuous development, integration, and authority to operate (CI/CD/cATO).  These tools will also be used for validating, verifying, and developing new embedded system software development technologies and processes that can maximize system availability and reliability. Special emphasis will be placed on finding common tools and approaches to assess technical risk areas and accelerate development and sustainment cycles for solutions that can reduce costs and increase efficiencies for software maintenance activities.

If you feel your organization has the technical capabilities and would like to be considered for this project, please complete the form below and upload your organization’s technical capabilities statement.

Interested Submissions Due by 8/15/2023.

We encourage participation of Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs), including Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) and Women’s Business Enterprises (WBEs).