Verus Research announces the appointment of Victor A. Gallardo as Director of Space and Autonomy. In his new role, Gallardo brings more than 15 years of experience working with the United States Department of Defense in logistics, contracting and space vehicles.

“We are thrilled to welcome Victor to our award-winning team of scientists and engineers. He has extensive experience with strategic domains in space warfare operations including initiatives in cislunar, cyber space, and autonomous operational resilience for tactical operations,” said Dan Treibel, chief operating officer for Verus Research. “Throughout his exceptional career, Victor has been well regarded for fostering collaborative relationships across diverse stakeholders including contracting and program management, Defense Department supply chain management, and multi-mission space operations.”

Gallardo joins Verus Research from the Air Force Research Laboratory where he served as an acquisitions program manager. Immediately prior, he was an acquisitions program manager and contracting officer representative for the United States Space Force’s Space Systems Command. In this role, he managed a portfolio worth more than $600 million that encompassed engineering, development, integration and sustainment at the Research and Development, Test and Evaluation Support Complex located at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, N.M. He also served as a contract specialist at the Air Force Research Laboratory.

Gallardo received a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland and a Master of Public Administration from the University of New Mexico. He is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Business Administration at Trident International University. Gallardo is also a certified Department of Defense mediator and served in the United States Marine Corps and the United States Air Force Reserve specializing in logistics and supply chain management.

“I am honored to join Verus Research to support the company and look forward to working with our team developing solutions that matter for our clients,” said Victor A. Gallardo, director of space and autonomy.

Verus Research has been awarded an 18-month, $2.5 million science & technology contract under the auspices of the Defense Department’s Test Resource Management Center (TRMC) to address the need for high power microwave (HPM) attack Instrumentation on medium unmanned aerial systems (UAS).

Under the program, Verus Research will develop a minimally-invasive HPM sensor for use on small group 1 & 2 UASs to support HPM counter-UAS weapon system testing on Defense Department test ranges.

In an impressively small package that is groundbreaking in its size and technical ability, HPM waveform characteristics will be captured in the air and telemetered to the ground. According to Verus Research Chief Technology Officer Dr. J. Mark DelGrande, “this development of novel, compact HPM instrumentation and hardened RF range communication is a specific strength of Verus Research’s technical offerings and will leverage many of the Company’s HPM sensor systems already fielded with customers today.”

Verus Research has been awarded a 5-year, $28 million contract for support under the auspices of the U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation (PEO-STRI).

This latest effort is known as ANKST (Airborne Non-Kinetic Systems for Test) and supports the Defense Department’s Test Resource Management Center investments in the test and evaluation (T&E) of emerging directed energy technologies. The program will address T&E needs in surrogate high power microwave (HPM) sources, associated instrumentation, and modeling & simulation.

An early focus for ANKST will be continued development of the Verus Research Reusable Recoverable Airborne Engagement (RRAE) program which seeks to fly an HPM T&E source on a recoverable airborne platform as a means of simulating air-to-ground HPM engagements.

According to Verus Research Chief Technology Officer Dr. J. Mark DelGrande, “this continued support of our PEO-STRI customer is a testament to the dedication our team members have put forward creating solutions that matter.”

The Space Vehicles Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has awarded Verus Research a Phase II Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) contract for the next iteration of Verus Research’s Satellite Software for Anomaly Monitoring (Sat-SAM) software.  This 2-year, $1 million effort will culminate in ground software that intakes satellite telemetry and runs analysis to detect, predict, and identify causal indicators for failures and anomalies.

To effect this outcome, Verus Research will work to improve our multivariate machine learning models, pattern recognition models, and correlation analysis to identify those causal relationships and trends with the outcomes depicted in our Sat-SAM user interface.

Verus Research’s academic partner, the University of Colorado Boulder, will work in parallel on model-based fault identification algorithms. Then, as the Verus Research team moves from concepts on the ground to implementation in space, the new and improved Sat-SAM software will run live on AFRL’s Navigation Technology Satellite-3 (NTS-3) flight experiment later this year.

The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), in conjunction with the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (Patuxent River), has awarded a $15.6M, 2-year contract to Verus Research to develop an agile, high-power microwave (HPM) test capability suitable for multi-frequency output in the X-band region of the RF spectrum.

The program, known as “Dual X-Band, represents a coordinated effort to employ cutting-edge technologies developed by the NRL to achieve both high power and agility from a solid state source.

This win extends Verus Research’s HPM development activities further into novel technology spaces. This outcome is largely the product of the relationship already developed between NRL and Verus Research on the Ultra-Wide Band project (also in support of the Naval Air Warfare Center).

According to Dr. J. Mark DelGrande, Verus Research Chief Technology Officer, “the deepening of this already robust relationship is a great example of how excellent execution for and team-building with our customers strengthens those relationships and enables future collaboration.”

Verus Research is again on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing private companies in America, the firm’s third consecutive year on the list.

Coming in at number 4,552 in the nation, Verus Research’s growth rate from 2019 through 2022 was 91 percent.

Verus Research is proud to join 4 other NM-based firms representing the Land of Enchantment on the list.

Please visit the Inc. 5000 site to see the full list.

Albuquerque Business First has again recognized Verus Research as a New Mexico “top private company” on the publication’s 2023 list, coming in at #22 overall.

This marks the third consecutive year for Verus Research to earn this honor.

To make this prestigious list, a company must be a privately owned and for-profit enterprise.

Verus Research ranked #24 in 2022.

Coverage can be seen at this location.

In a string of honors reaching back to 2016, Verus Research is again on the Flying 40 list of New Mexico’s fastest growing technology companies.

In this 26th anniversary year for the Flying 40, Verus Research came in at number 8 for fastest growing companies, posting 162 percent growth since the 2018 base year in the study.

Additionally, Verus Research came in at number 9 for total revenue.

The awards celebrate the success of the homegrown firms included on the annual list, while also drawing the state’s attention to the critical role New Mexico’s technology sector plays in diversifying the local economy.

Flying 40 awards are sponsored and presented by the New Mexico Technology Council.  You can find a complete list of this year’s honorees by visiting this link.

The U.S. Army’s Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation (PEO STRI) has awarded Verus Research a $203 million ceiling increase on its current indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract.  With an ordering period running through 2029, the contract, Test & Evaluation Non-Kinetic, or TEN-K, will enable Verus Research to further improve the U.S. Department of Defense’s ability to test the effectiveness of rapidly developing non-kinetic capabilities, including directed energy, electronic warfare, and nuclear systems.  This award represents the largest in Company history.

Work on this project will include the design and development of agile surrogate high-power microwave systems; specialized sensors, instrumentation, and diagnostics required to validate performance of non-kinetic systems; and continued development of the Company’s dense plasma focus capability.  All of these technical outcomes will serve to create enhanced and enduring capabilities for the nation’s major range and test facility infrastructure.

Dan Treibel, Verus Research’s Chief Operating Officer, noted that the award “affirms Verus Research’s industry-leading position in directed energy technologies and diagnostic systems” and is strong evidence of our customer’s “high level of satisfaction with our performance to date and innovative plans for the future.”

Please see the exciting coverage that aired on 3/28 and 3/29/2023.