SEPTEMBER 1, 2026 — The National Guard Bureau (NGB) has secured a $14.72 million award to field the Forward Operations Resilient Grid & Energy Environment (FORGE) system led by NGB’s Innovation Branch in partnership with the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) and Resilient Energy & Infrastructure (REI) serving as the primary industry performer.
FORGE addresses one of the military’s biggest operational vulnerabilities: keeping forces supplied with reliable electricity in places where fuel deliveries and infrastructure are under attack or simply don’t exist.
Currently, forward-deployed units rely heavily on traditional diesel generators, an operational tether that demands constant, high-risk fuel convoys. If a convoy is targeted or delayed, or if a generator fails, critical command, communication, and defensive systems immediately lose power. FORGE eliminates this single point of failure even in the most contested environments by linking generators, advanced batteries, and smart power management into a decentralized, self-healing network.
REI developed and manufactured the Rapid Deployment Hybrid Microgrid technology, while Amazon Web Services (AWS) provides the secure cloud and edge networking architecture that enables resilient energy monitoring and distributed command visibility.
“We designed FORGE as an open platform, not a closed product. It supports military as well as civilian communities and provides the foundation to rapidly integrate and evaluate emerging operational energy technologies, from advanced battery chemistries to next-generation perovskite solar cells, as they become available,” explained Andre Slonopas, Chief Engineer and Government Lead for the FORGE project.
The funding was awarded through the Office of the Undersecretary of War’s Research and Engineering (OUSW R&E) competitive Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT) program, which marks the second APFIT victory for the National Guard Bureau.
“It is amazing what you can do when you remove barriers to innovation and build meaningful partnerships. Finding a way to say yes to experimentation with microgrids has rapidly increased R&D that leads to fielding,” says BG Rusty McGuire, Assistant Adjutant General, Strategic Initiatives Virginia National Guard.
The NGB successfully secured its first award of the Ku/Ka Communications Suite during APFIT’s FY25 cycle. This milestone not only helped the Innovation Branch gain experience with the APFIT process but also continued the momentum of a proactive innovation culture throughout the 54 states and territories. “This mindset of decisive action and a willingness to accept risk and to think boldly is the core of the NGB’s Innovation formula,” says Lt Col Cristi Campbell, NGB Innovation Branch Chief.
The award of both systems demonstrates the National Guard Bureau’s holistic approach to modernization. These capabilities are complementary. The communications suite ensures information superiority for air assets, while the FORGE system provides power and endurance for ground forces’ command, control, and intelligence systems. Together, they position the National Guard as a leader in creating a more resilient, agile, and self-sufficient joint force, capable of operating effectively in both domestic emergencies and dispersed, high-threat combat environments.
Over the next decade, the transition from isolated generators to networked microgrids will fundamentally reshape Army National Guard operations. By reducing fuel convoy dependencies and dramatically extending mission endurance, FORGE ensures that dispersed forces can sustain critical command and defense systems during both combat deployments and domestic disaster response missions.
Production and supply chain scaling for FORGE will begin in late FY26, with initial systems scheduled for operational fielding by late FY27 to the 3rd Multi-Domain Task Force in the Philippines and Hawaii, to National Guard forces supporting multiple DSCA and DOMOP missions, and to select Operational and SOCOM units conducting forward operations.
By Chierren Denman
National Guard Innovation Branch