Photon aFlux LLC (Photon aFlux), a Small Business (SB) Joint Venture (JV) formed pursuant to the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Mentor-Protégé Program, consists of member companies Torch Technologies, Inc. (Torch; Mentor) and Crossflow Technologies, Inc. (Crossflow; Protégé). As a Mentor-Protégé JV, Photon aFlux formally maintains SB status while inheriting the past performance and capabilities of both member companies.
Crossflow and Torch have created a series of Joint Ventures with each one being aligned toward a specific contract vehicle, market, or customer.
Photon aFlux has submitted a proposal as a prospective Prime Contractor for the U.S. Army Space & Missile Defense Command (USASMDC) Design, Development, Demonstration, and Integration II Domain 2 (D3I2 D2) Total Small Business Multiple Award (MA) Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract.
D3I2 D2:
The Design, Development, Demonstration, and Integration II (D3I2) Domain 2 (D2) Information Integration, Data Exploitation and Enhanced Warfighter Capabilities Domain is a 100% Small Business Set-Aside (SBSA) acquisition that supports the USASMDC mission and is the follow-on to the current D3I multiple award indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (MAIDIQ) contract. The follow-on D3I2 D2 requirements include a combination of the current D3I Domain 2 and Domain 3 contract vehicles.
Design
Team Photon aFlux employs a Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) design approach. This methodology ensures alignment of components with system objectives, reducing technical risk and facilitating integration with other system elements.
Development
Our team employs a multi-disciplined technical development methodology, as defined in JV member Torch’s certified AS9100D QMS and CMMI-DEV ML3 systems engineering process to minimize schedule risk and sustain high levels of system performance in rapidly evolving and dynamic requirements. These development processes and procedures follow a proven methodology combining MBSE systems engineering principles with modern software development practices to rapidly execute technology development initiatives by translating requirements, KPPs, and SysML system models from the design phase into hardware and software prototypes for the purpose of enhancing current and future warfighting capabilities.
Integration
Photon aFlux understands and has extensive experience in integrating components and subsystems into a system and merging systems into SoSs. Early definition of interfaces between components and systems is the most critical part of any integration effort because a successful interface architecture will maintain integration schedules and eliminate costly rework. Our approach emphasizes the use of M&S, MBSE, communication protocols, and thorough integration planning – all proven to abate integration risk through testbeds, testing, and network security implementations.
Demonstration, Testing, and Execution: Team Photon aFlux brings both breadth and depth of experience of planning, conducting, and analyzing results of demonstrations, tests, and experiments. Our team leverages extensive experience planning and executing successful real-world and test events across the Army, Navy, Air Force, MDA, and CCMDs.
Assessment, Evaluation, Verification, and Wargaming
As Department of War (DoW) migrates integrated architectures through JADC2 strategies, understanding Joint All-Domain-Operations systems becomes more important than ever. From engineering to campaign-level analysis, our team has decades of experience across DoW and USASMDC (e.g., NCR mission, Army AMD, C-sUAS, strategic missile defense, space, and HA systems and concepts). Systems knowledge depth includes current day, future, and special access capabilities.
Information Superiority
We understand that Information Security and Superiority on the battlefield, whether on land, sea, air, or in the realms of cyberspace, is an essential part of the American stratagem for victory. We support IT secure infrastructure, secure development of code, integration of network security, and protection in connection of systems, encryption of data both at rest and in transmission; these actions support building the backbone of any interoperable web of systems keeping the Warfighter ahead of the adversary.
Training and Exercise
Our team’s in-depth understanding of training and exercises allows us to continue to provide subject matter expertise to USASMDC and its customers’ priorities in space, space superiority, ground-based missile defense, and HA capabilities. With decades of experience, we develop, integrate, analyze, and implement solutions to meet performance objectives and mission functions utilizing HW/SW training tools within both live and virtual environments. We leverage other governmental agencies best practices to address DOTMLPF-P requirements and update collective tasks and associated force design activities ensuring USASMDC meets training and exercise requirements in support of Combatant Commands.
Limited Quantity Production
Our team leverages the Torch TIPC facilities rapid prototyping capabilities (Agile software development, 3D printing, metal fabrication, optics characterization and calibration, and electronics fabrication) and associated lab spaces to provide easily configured testbeds for developing, fabricating, building, and integrating systems and groups of systems. We possess the required knowledge concerning production of a system or subsystem in limited quantity to provide articles for the purposes of research, development, and/or test and evaluation to establish an initial production baseline, or to permit an orderly increase in the production rate.
Systems Safety
Photon sbFlux leverages safety engineering and system safety methods and techniques in order to prevent, eliminate, and control safety hazards and risks in system testing, operation, and manufacturing processes.
Logistics and Transportation
Our team possesses an in-depth understanding of the system reliability, availability, and maintainability (RAM) needs, physical and logistical requirements for movement, transportation limitations, and special systems needed for accomplishment of activities and/or delivery requirements.
Operations
Within the context of Research and Development, Photon sbFlux possesses an in-depth understanding of components through system sustainment, life cycle, and configuration management. Our team has expertise in integration and implementation of upgrades within developed systems.