12 Nov 2025

​

Systems Engineering Leader Selected for Competitive “Forcing Function” Program Supporting Drive for Speed, Agility, & Innovation in Multi-Domain Operations

​

“Our team is purpose-built to deliver fast, flexible capabilities that warfighters need now—not a decade from now."”— Phaedrus CEO Alex Ruiz

​

COLUMBIA, MD, UNITED STATES, November 12, 2025 -- Phaedrus LLC, a premier systems engineering firm specializing in complex systems lifecycle support, today announced it has been awarded a $25.3 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) for the Forcing Function program. The competitive contract, awarded following an open Broad Agency Announcement where Phaedrus prevailed over competing proposals, positions the company as a key contributor to the Department of Defense’s historic acquisition transformation now prioritizing speed, flexibility, and rapid capability delivery.

​

The five-year contract leverages Phaedrus’s deep expertise in systems architecture and technology transition to develop cutting-edge hardware, software, and network components at the critical intersection of electromagnetic warfare, cyber operations, communications, and positioning, navigation and timing (PNT). This work directly supports the Pentagon’s “Warfighting Acquisition System” priorities—accelerating technology integration, embracing commercial solutions, and delivering adaptive capabilities with wartime urgency.

​

“This award validates our commitment to the kind of agile, mission-focused systems engineering that the Department’s acquisition transformation demands,” said Alex Ruiz, CEO of Phaedrus LLC. “The Forcing Function program exemplifies the Pentagon’s new approach: competitive selection, rapid technology transition, multi-domain integration, and commercial-first innovation. Our team is purpose-built to deliver fast, flexible capabilities that warfighters need now—not a decade from now.”

​

Enabling the Warfighting Acquisition Vision

The contract scope directly aligns with the Pentagon’s transformation strategy announced in November 2025, which shifts from rigid, sequential acquisition processes to portfolio-based approaches emphasizing speed to capability through development timelines designed for rapid prototyping and transition rather than decade-long development cycles, commercial integration by leveraging commercial technologies and innovative contracting approaches, adaptive architecture that creates flexible systems able to evolve with emerging threats rather than becoming obsolete before deployment, and all domain operations with integrated capabilities spanning electromagnetic warfare, cyber operations, communications and PNT domains.

​

The Forcing Function program specifically addresses these priorities through the development of hardware, software, and network components and systems, creation of supporting frameworks, analysis tools, models and libraries, enablement of fast, flexible and balanced electromagnetic spectrum capabilities, and integration across electronic warfare, cyber operations, communications and PNT domains.

​

“The defense acquisition reforms prioritize getting innovative technology into warfighters’ hands faster, and that’s exactly what systems engineers do—we turn technology into operational capability,” said John Marx, Phaedrus Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer. “From concept design through transition and sustainment, our comprehensive lifecycle approach, combined with our strategic foresight expertise, enables us to architect solutions that remain relevant as threats evolve. The Forcing Function program lets us apply these competencies in advancing integrated electromagnetic warfare and cyberspace operations for Air Force and national security objectives.”

​

Systems Engineering as Acquisition Accelerator

As the Pentagon embraces portfolio-based acquisition and commercial-first policies, systems engineering expertise becomes increasingly critical for rapidly integrating commercial and military technologies, managing technical and programmatic risk in accelerated timelines, architecting enterprise-wide solutions that span multiple domains, ensuring interoperability across diverse systems and stakeholders, and maintaining strategic foresight to anticipate future requirements.

​

Work will be performed at Phaedrus’s headquarters in Columbia, Maryland, and at the Phaedrus South facility in San Antonio, Texas, with an expected completion date of November 25, 2030. The Air Force has obligated $900,000 in fiscal year 2025 research, development, test and evaluation funds at the time of award.