The U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) is seeking information from qualified sources for the Tactical X Event 2026 (TXE-26), aimed at exploring advanced technologies in identity intelligence and exploitation. The focus areas include facial recognition, speaker identification, SOF site exploitation applications, rapid DNA profiling, and artificial intelligence/machine learning analytics, all intended to enhance operational capabilities for Special Operations Forces. This initiative is critical for improving mission planning, execution, and intelligence analysis in various environments, with a timeline for responses due by January 30, 2026, and subsequent vendor presentations scheduled for March 2-6, 2026. Interested parties can contact Kyle Spaulding at kyle.m.spaulding3.civ@us.navy.mil for further details and must submit their responses through the USSOCOM VULCAN platform.

**1. General:** This Request for Information (RFI) is not a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, quotations, or obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services, but for planning purposes only. This RFI is to gain knowledge of potential qualified sources and to explore industry capabilities. Your response to this RFI will be treated as information only. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the Government will arise as a result of contractor submission to this announcement or the Government use of such information. The information provided may be used by the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) in development of its acquisition strategy, statement of work/statement of objectives, and performance specifications. Interested parties are responsible for adequately marked proprietary or competition sensitive information contained in their response. The Government does not intend to award a contract based on this request for information or to otherwise pay for the information submitted in response to this RFI.

**2. Purpose:**

**A.** USSOCOM, Special Operations Forces-Acquisition Technology and Logistics (SOF AT&L), Program Executive Office-Tactical Information Systems (PEO-TIS), Program Management Office-Identity Intelligence and Exploitation (PMO-I2E) seeks information on specific technology areas to gain knowledge of, explore, and identify potential methodologies and available capabilities in the examination of Facial Recognition, Speaker Identification and Voice Matching, SOF Site Exploitation (SSE) Application, rapid Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA), and Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Analytic.

**B.** Specific areas of interest:

**(1) Facial Recognition Capabilities:** Solution should provide facial recognition to accurately identify individuals within a range up to 100 meters, regardless of environmental conditions, amount of light, and background noise. Solution must be able to detect, identify, and process faces in real-time, seamlessly integrating with current and legacy identity intelligence databases and systems. Solution should support diverse camera resolutions and processing environments, from mobile devices to stationary high-resolution cameras.

**(2) Speaker Identification and Voice Matching Capabilities:** Solution should be capable of capturing, identifying, verifying, exploiting, transmitting, and storing audio recordings containing speech, from real-time and post-event voice samples. Solutions should be able to perform identification efforts on samples containing speech, by one or more speakers, including noise (data of no interest to the transaction, whether speech, non-speech voice data, or non-voice data) pertaining to a single, perhaps unknown, individual for intelligence purposes. The capability must integrate with existing databases and/or repositories and be interoperable with other identity intelligence tools/platforms.

**(3) SOF Site Exploitation (SSE) Application Capabilities:** Solution must encompass three environments: SSE Mobile Environment, SSE Admin Planning Environment, and SSE Admin Post-Mission Environment; streamlining mission planning to post-mission reporting. The three environments must enable seamless integration, rapid data dissemination, and enhanced situational awareness allowing SOF to efficiently plan, execute, and analyze Identity Intelligence with continuity across operations.

**a.** SSE Mobile Environment: Solution must enable rapid documentation, exploitation, and identification of people and materials. Solution must integrate with existing and future SOF software platforms. Solution must be equipped with tools for documenting and linking collected exploitable material & biometric records, as well as include audio capture, talk-to-text transcription & tactical questioning card functionality. Solution should enable real-time translation capability, photo & video capture with chain-of-custody documentation, as well as ability to integrate facial recognition into the platform. All collected data must be disseminated in real-time across SOF devices.

**b.** SSE Admin Planning Environment: Solution must enable pre-mission planning and configuration with open API framework for integration of mission-critical software, tools & data and customizable documentation to generate reference graphics, notes, and targeting folders. The capability must support uploading and linking of reference materials during mission execution and AI/ML models to edge or fog environments with an intuitive user interface.

**c.** SSE Admin Post-Mission Environment: The capability must support immediate dissemination to the greater SOCOM enterprise & Intelligence Community as well as enhancing the Find, Fix, Finish, Exploit, Analyze process. The capability will consolidate all SSE activities into a centralized system for intelligence reporting and dissemination. Solution must allow captured data to be put into a single authoritative repository, priority data to be highlighted for focused analysis, and streamlined export & dissemination workflows for post-mission reports and intelligence tool ingestion. Solution must allow for customizable reporting to include generation of debrief templates, post-mission reports, and .csv exports tailorable to mission requirements.

**(4) Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) Capabilities:** Solution must enable operators to rapidly capture, digitize, and generate a digital DNA profile for an individual. The digitized DNA files are compared against a local database, as well as one or more reach-back authoritative databases, to support a decision to hold or release the target within 24-hours. DNA profiles generated should be compatible with current FBI CODIS core loci standards for STR markers and exportable in a format suitable for ingestion into CODI-compliant or equivalent national DNA databases. The capability must be able to operate in austere and forward deployed environments as well as remain fully mission capable while in storage. The associated consumables must have an extended shelf life when stored at standard room temperature and shall not require refrigeration, freezing, or other dedicated climate-controlled storage. Routine system upkeep shall be limited to minimal, operator level maintenance, and shall not require specialized environmental controls or frequent servicing. Consumables must be efficient in cost, use, and waste. (5) Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Analytic Capabilities: Solution must incorporate Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning to enhance processing, exploitation, and dissemination (PED) of data extracted from Unmanned Systems (UxS) encounters, other collected exploitable materials, and relevant Open Source Intelligence (OSINT). The solution must automate the categorization, analysis, fusion, and reporting of OSINT and data from multiple modalities (e.g., UxS, biometrics, CELLEX, DOCEX, MEDEX) to identify changes in Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTP), identify intelligence gaps, and reduce operator cognitive load.

**C.** All hardware/equipment submitted for the evaluation shall be production models and capable of performing specific core mission sets conducted by Identity Intelligence and Exploitation (I2E) SOF Operators either on the objective or on a forward operating base-like environment.

**D.** While un-released commercial devices that meet most of the capabilities are allowed, the expectation is that all devices will be final product versions and meet the capabilities detailed in the scenarios that align with approved mission profiles and establish statistical confidence in the results.

**E.** Mission profile evaluation may consist of two independently conducted events:

**(1)** Technical Evaluation (TE) to confirm the quality and accuracy of device performance and output.

**(2)** Operational Test and Evaluation (OT&E) to evaluate training, determine usability and suitability for SOF operators in a realistic environment.

**F.** Responses to this RFI may be used by USSOCOM, SOF AT&L, PEO-TIS, and PMO-I2E to identify potential hardware and equipment solutions for participation in the further evaluation of market information and/or ascertain potential market capacity to provide services consistent in scope and scale with those described in this notice.

**3. Timeline:** The Tactical X Event-2026 (TXE-26) is scheduled from December 2026 through August 2026 in the greater Tampa, Florida area. The preliminary schedule of events (subject to change) is as follows:

**A. NLT 30 January 2026 – RFI Response.** Responses must be submitted directly through the USSOCOM VULCAN platform by accessing this link: https://www.vulcan-sof.com/login/ng2/submission?collectionUuid=1deebb97-4c72-492c-869f-1985addb1776. If you do not yet have a Vulcan account, please click “Join the Ecosystem” to create one. Once securely inside of the Vulcan ecosystem you can navigate to the open call titled ‘USSOCOM Tactical X Event 2026 (TXE-26)’ to review the full instructions and submit your solution(s). All submissions must be UNCLASSIFIED. For any TXE-26 process and/or programmatic questions, reach out to the SOCOM Engagement team at eSOF@socom.mil. For technical questions about how to use the Vulcan platform, please reach out to support@vulcan-sof.com.

**B. 2 - 6 March 2026 – Vendor Presentations**. Manufacturers/Vendors present their proposed white papers, equipment and demonstrate the equipment’s capabilities of interest. eSOF presentations will be conducted at 1925 East 2nd Avenue, Suite 102, Tampa, Florida 33605. Specific coordination information will be provided by eSOF when briefing dates and times are scheduled. Proceeding to the next portion is based solely upon best agency need and requirements. Subject to change based upon agency need.

**C. 17 March 2026 – TE Invitations.** Invitations will be sent to select Manufacturers/Vendors to participate in the TE event. While the I2E Program will provide feedback to all Manufacturers/Vendors who participated in the eSOF presentations, only those devices that the I2E-PMO judges to have the best potential to meet the mission profile evaluation will be invited to participate in the TE event. All Manufacturers/Vendors will be provided a Vendor Loan Agreement (VLA) as the I2E will request a minimum of five (5) complete systems for the duration of the events with a designated device delivery date. Subject to change based upon agency need.

**D. 27 March 2026 – Manufacturers/Vendors Accept Invitations**. Deadline for Manufacturers/Vendors to notify USSOCOM SOF AT&L, PEO-TIS, PMO-SSE of their intent to participate in the TE and return the completed VLA’s for their devices and any associated items. Subject to change based upon agency need.

**E. 10 April 2026 – Device Delivery to USSOCOM**. Manufacturers/Vendors deliver (on-loan) fully functional devices and associated items for technical assessment. Manufacturers/Vendors also provide necessary technical information to support USSOCOM’s safety review process. Subject to change based upon agency need.

**F. 13 – 17 April 2026 – TE Training.** Manufacturers/Vendors train USSOCOM testers and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) on the use of their device(s) to support TE of their device(s). Training will be limited to eight hours per device and must include proper use of the device and troubleshooting. Vendors will be expected to train the USSOCOM evaluators and SMEs to the point where the evaluators and SME can confirm expected levels of performance. Manufacturers/Vendors will be offered the opportunity to conduct the same training for operators participating in the OT&E portion of TXE-26. Subject to change based upon agency need.

**G. 20 April - 1 May 2026 – TE Event.** USSOCOM Evaluators will conduct a TE of the Manufacturers/Vendors devices to ensure they perform to the standards and levels as presented. Manufacturers/Vendors may be asked to provide reach back support during TE. Proceeding to the next portion is based solely upon best agency need and requirements. Subject to change based upon agency need.

**H. 13 – 24 July 2026 – OT&E Event.** USSOCOM evaluators and SMEs conduct  
the OT&E with the participation of SOF operational personnel. Vendors will be asked to conduct training of their devices during the first week but will not participate in the actual operator driven events conducted jointly by USSOCOM and the Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC). Subject to change based upon agency need.

**I. NLT 28 August 2026 – Device Return.** All Manufacturers/Vendors equipment returned. Subject to change based upon agency need.

**4. Disclaimers:** THERE IS NO SOLICITATION PLANNED AT THIS TIME. This request for information does not constitute a request for proposals; submission of any information in response to this market research is purely voluntary; the Government assumes no financial responsibility for any costs incurred; and the Government will not provide responses to any questions.

**5. Points of Contact:** Any questions under this RFI may be emailed to **socom.sofatl.tis.pmoi2e.dl@socom.mil.**

USSOCOM Tactical X Event 2026

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