USSOCOM Rapid Capability Assessment (RCA17) Event 2026

SOFWERX and ICWERX, in collaboration with USSOCOM’s Directorate of Science and Technology (S&T) and the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) Directorate of Science & Technology (DS&T), will host the seventeenth Rapid Capability Assessment event (RCA17) in Chantilly, VA, with the theme 'Field-Forward Operations – Future Challenges for SOF and the IC in Data Dense Environments'. Participants at RCA17 will develop, describe, and assess capabilities for the future needs of SOF and CIA operators and analysts in the 2035 timeframe for global forward, potentially austere, areas. The event will bring together experts from industry, academia, and national laboratories, to collaborate with Special Operations Forces (SOF) and CIA personnel to decompose the IF17 outputs through facilitated exercises using systems engineering frameworks.