DOD Hosts Showcase Allowing Stakeholders to Demonstrate New Technologies

The Department of Defense hosted the first of several Joint Interagency Field Experimentation technology showcases from Feb. 6 to 8 in California.

JIFX, held four times a year, is part of the Pentagon’s initiative to support technology maturation by partnering with military branches, combatant commands and other defense organizations to enable the development of early-stage prototypes.

Held through a partnership between the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering and the Naval Post Graduate School, the event provided stakeholders an opportunity to demonstrate new solutions and technologies, allowing the Pentagon to identify, influence and mature an early prototype into next-generation capabilities, Defense .gov reported.

DOD Undersecretary Heidi Shyu, a past Potomac Officers Club speaker and 2024 Wash100 winner, said the collaboration between the Department of Defense and the private sector is helping address challenges faced by the agency with technology and security.

Shyu has been leading the department in ensuring it has the necessary technologies amid a technological race with adversaries. Speaking at the Potomac Officers Club’s 10th Annual Defense R&D Summit in early February, she said that the Pentagon’s Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve program shows the agency’s commitment to supporting military technology development.