Direct Kinetic Solutions awarded funding for US Air Force missions

Direct Kinetics Solutions (DKS) has been selected by AFWERX for a Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI) Contract for the amount of $1.9 million, focused on the development of radioisotopic power technology.

This will be used to address the most pressing challenges in the USA’s Department of the Air Force (DAF), a relevant press release has said.

The COO and co-Founder of US-based DKS, Joanna Patsalis, who is Cypriot, welcomed the development in a LinkedIn post, saying: “News alert! 🚨 so proud of this huge achievement for Direct Kinetic Solutions, Everlasting Power! This marks the beginning for scaling our manufacturing and keep innovating.
Thank you to Audere Capital, Capital Factory and Seed Round Capital for trusting our vision and making this possible! ⚡️”

According to the press release, DKS was able to secure private funding in the amount of at least $1.9 million to activate TACFI. The effort will focus on enhancing the capability to manufacture the devices at scale, receive necessary certifications for distribution, and keep innovating by using a portfolio of isotopes and technologies.

The Air Force Research Laboratory and AFWERX have partnered to streamline the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) process by accelerating the small business experience through faster proposal to award timelines, changing the pool of potential applicants by expanding opportunities to small business and eliminating bureaucratic overhead by continually implementing process improvement changes in contract execution. The DAF began offering the Open Topic SBIR/STTR program in 2018 which expanded the range of innovations the DAF funded and now on February 29, 2024, Direct Kinetic Solutions will start its journey to create and provide innovative capabilities that will strengthen the national defense of the United States of America.

"We are thrilled to collaborate with AFWERX in the search for innovative alternatives that can enable the Air Force to perform longer seamless missions. It is our honor to work towards the shared goal of improving operational efficiency and pushing innovation forward," commented Ekhi Municategui, Co-founder & CEO, DKS.

Also read: Joanna Patsalis on why it’s time to start talking about radioisotopic power sources