The co-location at Imperial College London and coordination with ISST will make it prime for embedding AFRL scientists and engineers working on shared research interests as well as hosting workshops, conferences and meetings with new partners.

The I-HUB space will provide the same benefits to its tri-service partners — the international offices of the Office of Naval Research Global and the Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command — making it a key Department of Defense resource for international science collaboration. “Forging trusted relationships with world-renowned researchers requires an enduring presence, collaboration and space to innovate together,” said ONRG Commanding Officer Capt. James Borghardt. “The I-HUB at Imperial will certainly continue the tri-service enduring presence in London while improving our ability to collaborate and our access to innovation leaders.”

Thomas Mulkern, the deputy director of CCDC-Atlantic, added “From a US Army CCDC perspective, the strategic co-location with academia, industry, U.S. DoD and UK government is crucial to solving Army challenges. We look to build trust in the London innovation ecosystem through proximity and this trust will enable collaboration opportunities.”

The journey to the I-HUB was a long and unprecedented one. Since World War II, the Air Force, Army and Navy had occupied several offices at another downtown London building. The space was incredibly affordable but came at a high operating cost. The lease was nearing its end and the owners wished to repurpose the prime real estate. As an accommodation for ending the lease early, they offered to find comparable space.

Following a year of negotiations and a series of agreements among the owners, the UK Ministry of Defence, and the Air Force Civil Engineering Center, all the signatures were in place to allow EOARD, ONRG, and CCDC to move into Imperial College London’s I-HUB for the next nine years at no operating cost to the DoD.

Additionally, AFRL is working plans to embed two employees from the Information Directorate at the new facility as early as this fall.

“These employees will serve as researchers and liaisons to the various universities and institutions across the UK to leverage global research partnerships and rapid innovation opportunities,” said Lt. Col. Logan Mailloux, AFOSR’s chief of staff and one of EOARD’s nine international program officers. “For example, the UK is investing heavily in secure hardware design, artificial intelligence and quantum sciences; all of which are of tremendous interest to us.”

As an added benefit to the location, the new space is operated by the International Workplace Group, a company that specializes in managing flexible workspaces. By joining their network, the tri-services gain hosted access to 3,300 working locations worldwide that can further the international science and research reach of the U.S. tri-service enterprise.

The three services expect to host a ribbon cutting once lockdown restrictions have been eased.