UNACORN Tactical Edge: Decentralized Federated Learning and Real-Time Data Assurance

The Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific is soliciting Phase 1 unclassified solution briefs under Area of Interest Call Notice 26-A002, part of the parent Commercial Solutions Opening N66001-26-S-C002. The initiative, titled UNACORN Tactical Edge: Decentralized Federated Learning and Real-Time Data Assurance, seeks to operationalize AI/ML capabilities across geographically dispersed tactical edge nodes, such as ships, submarines, and shore stations, that operate in contested and bandwidth-constrained environments. The government requires a decentralized federated learning framework deployed on small form factor appliances to allow local AI model training with lightweight updates to the cloud, as well as an AI-driven data quality and anomaly detection layer to remediate telemetry drift and corrupted feeds. Solutions must be capable of integrating across multiple security domains and comply with RMF-ICD 503 security standards. The procurement follows a multi-phase competitive process starting with a Phase 1 merit-based peer review focusing on innovation, relevance to the problem statement, and technical feasibility. Successful Phase 1 submissions may be invited to a Phase 2 pitch and demonstration, followed by a Phase 3 full technical and price proposal for potential award. Interested commercial entities, including small businesses and non-traditional defense contractors, must submit their solution briefs by September 28, 2026, at 15:00 PST via email to Lee Anderson. Submissions are limited to either a five-page text document or a fifteen-slide deck and must include a rough order of magnitude cost estimate and specific proprietary markings if applicable.