S²MARTS Accelerates EW and Seeker Innovation with PROTEAN Initiative

The Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (OUSW(R&E)) has awarded the Prototyping Research and Operations for Tactical Electromagnetic Warfare and Advanced Networking (PROTEAN) program to the Technology Service Corporation (TSC) through Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Crane’s Strategic and Spectrum Missions Advanced Resilient Trusted Systems (S²MARTS) Other Transaction Agreements (OTA). This effort will advance Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations (EMSO) on behalf of the Department of War (DoW).

The PROTEAN program was created to establish a first-of-its-kind Electronic Warfare (EW) and seeker solution framework. This initiative addresses a long-standing gap in how vendors bring Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations payload, such as seekers, sensors, and other spectrum-dependent technologies, for technical evaluation and integration into the U.S. Navy’s unmanned platforms.

To better understand current industry capabilities, OUSW(R&E) needed a way to connect with industry innovators early in the acquisition process. Therefore, OUSW(R&E) tapped into the S²MARTS OTA consortium, managed by the National Security Technology Accelerator (NSTXL), to directly engage with its pre-vetted pool of defense contractors. To facilitate these critical connections, NSTXL’s S²MARTS team hosted two virtual events for PROTEAN, including “Project TALX,” where a government technical lead clarified program goals and expectations through a presentation and live Q&A session. These events prepared participants to submit well-informed proposals, ultimately leading to the award of PROTEAN to TSC.

As of September 2025, TSC is developing a standardized framework for prototyping, testing, and transitioning advanced EW and seeker capabilities from industry and academia to operational programs and the fleet. The objective is to provide a standardized and integrated approach to system development, testing, and evaluation, and to include a clear transition path that will ensure alignment with fleet requirements.

The successful award of the PROTEAN prototype demonstrates the power of public-private collaboration in shaping the future of defense technology. By uniting OUSW(R&E)’s mission with S²MARTS’ dynamic industry network, this effort establishes a foundation for continued innovation and faster transitions of critical EW and seeker solutions to the field.

About S²MARTS

The Strategic & Spectrum Missions Advanced Resilient Trusted Systems (S²MARTS), managed by NSTXL, is the premier rapid OT agreement vehicle for the Department of War (DoW) in trusted microelectronics, strategic & spectrum mission, and other critical mission areas. The Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), Crane Division created S²MARTS to grow and engage an elite network of innovators, shorten the path to defense prototype development, and advance national security efforts.