Air Force to participate in Albuquerque's Briefing with Industry 2014

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KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  The Air Force Research Laboratory is gearing up to take part in Albuquerque's Briefing for Industry 2014.  The event takes place Aug. 18-20.

Air Force officials said participation at the BFI represents an excellent venue for businesses to meet and discuss current opportunities and learn about research priorities directly with AFRL representatives. The BFI, hosted by the Professional Aerospace Contractors Association, is one of the key industry-hosted outreach events AFRL is participating in this summer.

AFRL relies on industry for mission-critical technology to ensure the capabilities of the U.S. Air Force are unparalleled. In fact, more than 60 percent of the Air Force's science and technology research and development are performed by universities and industry, including both large and small businesses.

"I believe these exchanges are extremely valuable to our science and technology enterprise. We need to hear from our industrial partners," said Maj. Gen. Tom Masiello, AFRL commander and keynote speaker. "The theme I want to convey is partnership. As the Air Force's innovation center, AFRL is the lens that focusses the national technical base to meet the Air Force's S&T needs. We do this by collaborating with industry, academia and other government agencies to conduct cutting-edge research which complements what we do in-house."

Locally, the AFRL Space Vehicles and Directed Energy Directorates, located at Kirtland, will have more than $250 million in contracting opportunities and 32 draft small business innovation research topics. AFRL's other directorates, located nationwide, will present their contracts worth several hundreds of millions of dollars. SBIR officials will be on hand to answer questions for interested small businesses. 

Maseillo said budget uncertainty makes it more important than ever for industry and defense officials to understand each other's capabilities and needs to smartly focus investment.

"We're doing our part to make every dollar count because it is a national security imperative," he said. "We are the world's greatest Air Force and AFRL works across all three domains -- air, space and cyberspace -- to ensure that the Air Force continues to maintain its preeminence as we know it today. This cannot be achieved without our talented workforce, industrial partners and our ability to invest wisely."

Air Force officials recommended industry and academic researchers seeking to learn more about business opportunities also visit the Defense Innovation Marketplace. The Marketplace is a centralized portal for industry to learn about Department of Defense science, technology and research and development investment priorities, capability needs and technology interchanges. The web address is http://www.defenseinnovationmarketplace.mil/.

BFI 2014 will take place at Hotel Albuquerque at Old Town. Only U.S. citizens who are either U.S. government employees or who have a valid DD2345 "Military Critical Technical Data Agreement," are eligible to attend. For more details on how to register and attend, visit PACA's website at http://pacanm.org/briefing-for-industry.

The Professional Aerospace Contractors Association of New Mexico promotes ties between the aerospace industry and government agencies in New Mexico. Members represent large and small businesses as well as minority, women-owned, and disadvantaged businesses in aerospace, defense and related industries.