Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research & Engineering

The front door to the Joint Force's hardest problems.

The Mission Engineering & Integration Activity turns validated warfighter needs into combat-credible capability — and moves it to contract in months, not years.

See open problems
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Front door for industry
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Phases, problem to transition
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Mission-engineering teams
Months,
not years
Time to contract
The Front Door

One entrance. Two lanes in.

For years, industry faced a maze of fragmented entry points. The front door consolidates them: bring a problem-driven solution to MEIA, or a proven product to DIU.

MEIAProblem-driven engagement
You are here

Respond to the Joint Force's validated Key Operational Problems. MEIA runs the mission engineering, tests your solution against real operational conditions, and pulls the strongest forward.

  • Organized around top Operational Problems
  • Evaluated under realistic operational conditions
  • Direct line to acquisition integration
See open problems
DIUProduct-driven engagement
via DIU

Already built a commercial product? The Defense Innovation Unit runs open-topic, product-driven engagement to evaluate and adopt proven solutions at commercial speed.

  • Open-topic pitches for existing products
  • Commercial solutions, commercial timelines
  • A second lane through the same front door
Visit DIU
How It Works

From problem to program, engineered for speed.

MEIA the process moves a validated operational problem through six phases — each one narrowing the field to the solutions that actually perform.

  1. 1

    Operational Problem

    Start with a validated warfighter need — a top Key Operational Problem, not a vague requirement.

  2. 2

    Modeling & Simulation

    Frame the problem in a digital environment and quantify what 'good' actually looks like.

  3. 3

    Prototyping

    Build fast. Turn the most promising concepts into testable, hands-on prototypes.

  4. 4

    Experimentation

    Test against real operational conditions and the Department's top operational problems.

  5. 5

    Acquisition Integration

    Move winning solutions into programs through agile, iterative acquisition.

  6. 6

    Transition Funding

    Connect proven prototypes directly to transition dollars — defeating the Valley of Death.

The last phase is the whole point.

Proven prototypes connect directly to transition dollars, so capability crosses from demo to fielded system instead of dying in the gap between them — the Valley of Death, defeated.

The Activity

MEIA the organization: four teams, one mission.

Behind the process is a standing activity — the people and platforms that carry a problem from the field all the way to a fielded solution.

Operational Concepts

Translate warfighter problems into engineerable mission threads and clear measures of success.

Modeling & Simulation

Digital environments and mission-level analysis that separate signal from noise before a dollar is spent.

Due Diligence

Rigorous technical and operational assessment of solutions and the vendors behind them.

Digital Platforms

The data backbone and digital infrastructure that carry problems all the way to solutions.

Open Problems

Solve a Key Operational Problem.

MEIA engagement is organized around the Joint Force's top operational problems — concrete capability gaps, not open-ended requirements. If you can move the needle on one of these, the front door is open.

Space / EW

Resilient positioning, navigation & timing in contested environments

Respond to this problem
Maritime

Long-range maritime domain awareness

Respond to this problem
Air Defense

Counter-small-UAS at the tactical edge

Respond to this problem
C2 / Network

Assured command & control across the mission partner environment

Respond to this problem
Space / EW

Resilient positioning, navigation & timing in contested environments

Respond to this problem
Maritime

Long-range maritime domain awareness

Respond to this problem
Air Defense

Counter-small-UAS at the tactical edge

Respond to this problem
C2 / Network

Assured command & control across the mission partner environment

Respond to this problem
Space / EW

Resilient positioning, navigation & timing in contested environments

Respond to this problem
Maritime

Long-range maritime domain awareness

Respond to this problem
Air Defense

Counter-small-UAS at the tactical edge

Respond to this problem
C2 / Network

Assured command & control across the mission partner environment

Respond to this problem
Space / EW

Resilient positioning, navigation & timing in contested environments

Respond to this problem
Maritime

Long-range maritime domain awareness

Respond to this problem
Air Defense

Counter-small-UAS at the tactical edge

Respond to this problem
C2 / Network

Assured command & control across the mission partner environment

Respond to this problem

Representative problem areas shown for illustration. The live, posted list of Key Operational Problems lives inside the front door.

Browse posted problems
The way in

Bring us your solution.

If you can help solve the Joint Force's hardest problems, this is your entry point. Problem-driven, engineering-first, and built for speed.

Read the MEIA overview