QuSecure, a leader in post-quantum cryptography (PQC), has been selected by AFWERX for a US$1.23 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II contract focused on Quantum-Resilient Encryption to address the most pressing challenges in the Department of the Air Force (DAF).
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and AFWERX have partnered to streamline the SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) process by accelerating the small business experience through faster proposal to award timelines, changing the pool of potential applicants by expanding opportunities to small businesses and eliminating bureaucratic overhead by continually implementing process improvement changes in contract execution.
The DAF began offering the Open Topic SBIR/STTR programme in 2018 which expanded the range of innovations the DAF funded.
Now, QuSecure will continue its journey to create and provide innovative capabilities that will strengthen national defence.
“Following our successful performance of the previous SBIR Phase I award, QuSecure is proud to continue with the Department of the Air Force’s efforts toward a more cybersecure national defence,” said Patrick Shore, Director of Strategy, Government for QuSecure.
“This award from the Air Force recognises QuSecure’s ability to help enhance our national security capabilities.”
The ARFL is the primary scientific research and development centre for the DAF.
The AFRL plays an integral role in leading the discovery, development and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for air, space and cyberspace force.
With a workforce of more than 12,500 across nine technology areas and 40 other operations across the globe, AFRL provides a diverse portfolio of science and technology ranging from fundamental to advanced research and technology development.
As the innovation arm of the DAF and a directorate within the AFRL, AFWERX brings cutting-edge American ingenuity from small businesses and start-ups to address the most pressing challenges of the DAF.
AFWERX employs approximately 370 military, civilian and contractor personnel at five hubs and sites executing an annual US$1.4 billion budget.
Since 2019, AFWERX has executed over 6,200 new contracts worth more than US$4.7 billion to strengthen the US defence industrial base and drive faster technology transition to operational capability.
QuSecure is a leader in post-quantum cybersecurity with a mission to protect enterprise and government data from quantum and classical cybersecurity threats.
Its quantum-safe solutions are pitched as providing an easy transition path to quantum resiliency across any organisation.
The company’s QuProtect solution is the industry’s first PQC software-based platform uniquely designed to protect encrypted communications and data with quantum-resilience using a quantum secure channel.
QuSecure has current customer deployments in banking/finance, healthcare, space/satellite, IT/data enterprises, data centres and various Department of Defence agencies.