“When the battlefield tests every system, victory goes to those who built their logistics together — before the first shot was fired.” — Gen. (Ret.) Stanley McChrystal

“If your logistics cannot survive under constant drone and missile attack, your strategy fails — no matter how advanced your weapons are.” — Dr. Robert Mantz, Senior Official for Contested Logistics Technologies (paraphrased, DoD, 2026)

I’m Rashid Miraj, D.Sc., founder of Miraj Consulting LLC, working to bridge academia, primes, and DoD via CRADAs, BAAs, and OTAs. This Special War Edition examines urgent, real-world lessons from active conflicts in Ukraine and the Iran-Gulf theater — where adversaries are actively weaponizing logistics disruptions — and translates them into immediate opportunities through DoD’s Contested Logistics Technologies (LOG) CTA.

SBIR/STTR reauthorization advances: Senate passed S. 3971 by voice vote on March 3, 2026; House passed March 17, 2026 (345-41). The bill was presented to the President on April 2, 2026 and is currently awaiting signature. It is expected to be enacted imminently, with potential automatic enactment if unsigned by mid-April.

This special edition builds on Edition #5 by focusing on how current battlefield realities are accelerating LOG priorities and creating urgent transition pathways for universities, labs, and innovators.

Link to Edition #5 (LOG overview): https://www.mirajconsulting.com/p/miraj-tech-transition-pulse-5

Let’s accelerate America’s tech edge — together.

Please note shared URLs are current as of April 8, 2026; search the site if moved.

Search SAM.gov for “Contested Logistics” or “resilient sustainment” + “BAA” to identify urgent opportunities tied to current conflict lessons. https://sam.gov/search/?

Join SOSSEC or NCMS (free/low-cost) to access rapid LOG-related OTA solicitations. SOSSEC: https://sossecinc.com/join

The DoD designates Contested Logistics Technologies as a core Critical Technology Area to ensure sustainment can survive and adapt under peer-level attack.

Ongoing conflicts are providing live validation and acceleration:

LOG is led by Senior Official Dr. Robert Mantz, whose decades of experience in energy storage, advanced power systems, and technology transition are now directly applied to making sustainment survivable in modern conflict.

Senate passed S. 3971 by voice vote on March 3, 2026; House passed March 17, 2026 (345-41). The bill was presented to the President on April 2, 2026. It is currently in the 10-day review period (excluding Sundays) and is expected to become law no later than April 14, 2026, either by signature or automatic enactment (absent a veto). The reauthorization would extend the programs through September 30, 2031, with reforms including strengthened due diligence, new 'strategic breakthrough' Phase II awards up to $30 million, and reduced administrative burden.

Immediate Next Steps for Technologists

Universities are responding to the realities of drone and missile warfare by developing new approaches to decision-making, autonomous resupply, and hardened supply networks that go beyond traditional logistics models.

Recent efforts, as described on their program pages, include:

These programs shift the focus from static planning to dynamic, combat-resilient systems that can operate effectively when traditional command-and-control links are severed.

Case Study Spotlight

MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics – Deep Knowledge Lab
Researchers are developing AI-driven models that simulate logistics flows under persistent electronic warfare and physical attacks on ports and depots. The work emphasizes maintaining “decision superiority” even when data links are intermittent. https://ctl.mit.edu/research/deep-knowledge-lab-supply-chain-and-logistics

Practical takeaway for researchers

Incorporate real-world jamming and drone-swarm scenarios from Ukraine and the Gulf into your proposals to demonstrate how your technology addresses warfighter pain points that have emerged in the last 30 days. This framing has proven effective when engaging DLA and service logistics commands.

To move university and lab innovations into rapid deployment against the threats seen in Ukraine and the Gulf, several vehicles are particularly well-positioned right now:

Core DOD BAAs

A full list of active Army, Navy and Air Force BAAs related to Contested Logistics is provided in the APPENDIX.

High-Priority OTAs for War-Relevant Prototyping

Technologist Tip

When preparing outreach, explicitly reference recent events (e.g., “AI-enabled Lancet strikes on Ukrainian convoys” or “Iranian drone attacks on Gulf ports”) in your one-page brief. This shows direct alignment with urgent operational needs.

Both China and Russia are actively aiding Iran’s logistics and military sustainment through an interconnected “Axis of Evasion” — a sanctions-busting network of supply chains, dual-use components, and procurement routes.

China’s Role: Beijing serves as Iran’s primary sanctions-evasion lifeline, supplying critical dual-use components, electronics, engines, and rocket-fuel precursors (including sodium perchlorate) that power Iran’s Shahed-style drones and ballistic missiles. Chinese entities have facilitated large-scale transfers of drone parts, navigation systems (including BeiDou receivers), and missile-related chemicals sufficient to fuel hundreds of strikes. This support flows through complex procurement networks and front companies, allowing Iran to rapidly reconstitute its arsenal after battlefield losses.

Russia’s Role: Moscow is providing upgraded drone technology, tactical expertise, and even reverse-flow shipments of improved Shahed/Geran-2 variants (battle-tested in Ukraine) back to Iran. This includes enhanced navigation, electronic warfare resistance, and targeting modules derived from Russia’s own wartime adaptations. Russia has also shared satellite imagery, drone employment tactics, and intelligence support, while facilitating logistics via the Caspian Sea route for components and materials.

Together, this forms a self-reinforcing production ecosystem: Iran supplies designs and operational experience, China provides components and procurement channels, and Russia contributes manufacturing know-how and upgraded systems. The result is accelerated Iranian capability to sustain drone and missile barrages against Gulf energy infrastructure, ports, and shipping routes.

Cross-references to supporting CTAs:

These live conflicts demonstrate that resilient, data-driven, and distributed sustainment is no longer a planning exercise — it is a decisive warfighting requirement in great-power competition.

Key References

Secondary References

The wars in Ukraine and the Iran-Gulf theater have dramatically increased demand for talent capable of designing, operating, and sustaining logistics systems under constant drone, missile, and electronic warfare threats. DoD needs professionals who can combine traditional supply chain expertise with skills in AI-enabled decision-making, autonomous resupply, jamming-resistant communications, and cleared operations in contested domains.

Our Talent Bridge initiative is prioritizing pipelines that deliver cleared or clearable talent with hybrid skills in logistics engineering, data analytics, autonomy, and decision architecture. We are actively working with HBCUs, MSIs, veteran transition programs, and first-gen STEM students to build this specialized workforce.

Priority Talent Profiles for LOG in 2026

Professional Societies:

Leading College Programs:

2026 Opportunities – Act Now

Talent Bridge Action:

If you have LOG-related research or prototypes (especially those addressing drone/missile threats or jamming-resilient sustainment), reply to [email protected]. We can help match cleared or clearable talent and connect your work directly to DLA and service logistics commands.

The following events offer direct opportunities to discuss war-derived logistics lessons and connect with DoD stakeholders:

Ongoing Monitoring:
Watch for rapid “lessons learned” industry days from DLA and the services as they incorporate observations from Ukraine (AI-drone logistics strikes) and the Gulf (drone/missile attacks on energy and port infrastructure). Many will lead to new OTA or BAA calls.

Edition #7 (Mid April, 2026) will focus on Quantum and Battlefield Information Dominance (Q-BID) and how it enables resilient logistics (i.e., superiority in information operations, including quantum technologies) that allow warfighters to operate effectively in degraded, denied, or contested information environments.

Which LOG-related project or capability in your lab could address the logistics vulnerabilities we’re seeing in Ukraine or the Gulf? Reply today with a short description — I’ll help map it to the right PM, OTA, or lab partner.

Let’s keep moving — take one action from this edition today.

Rashid Miraj, D.Sc. | Miraj Consulting LLC | [email protected] |
@MirajConsult | www.linkedin.com/in/rashid-miraj | 571-201-7594

Readers: Always verify current response dates and calls on SAM.gov, as they can change quickly. Please note shared URLs are current as of April 8, 2026; search the site if those links become invalid and have moved or been eliminated.

Active Army BAAs:

Active Navy/Marine Corps BAAs:

Active Air Force BAAs