The US National Security Agency (NSA) recently launched its Hybrid Compute Initiative, a cloud platform designed to enhance its secure GovCloud environment by integrating commercial cloud services through Amazon Web Services (AWS).
The new project, codenamed “WildandStormy,” officially went live earlier this year, supporting both NSA and Defense Department missions with a highly flexible, adaptable cloud infrastructure.
Announcing the launch at the DoDIIS Worldwide Conference in Omaha, NSA chief finance manager Jennifer Kron highlighted the platform’s mission to deliver scalable and reliable computing tailored for intelligence and defense needs. “This year it went live, and we are deploying missions with our partner,” she stated, adding that GovCloud now supports hundreds of programs across the NSA and broader intelligence community.
The Hybrid Compute Initiative focuses on finding the right computing solution for each unique mission, with options that span commercial cloud, C2E’s multi-vendor services, NSA’s own secure instances, hardware-as-a-service, and on-premises solutions.
By using this hybrid setup, the NSA has evolved its approach, moving from skepticism about cloud openness to a balanced model where each mission’s needs determine the ideal platform.
AWS won the project’s $10 billion contract in 2021, yet faced competition when Microsoft filed an appeal, challenging the NSA’s evaluation process. Following a thorough review, the NSA re-awarded the contract to AWS, a move underscoring AWS’s role in US intelligence infrastructure.
This hybrid platform aims to boost NSA’s performance, scalability, and reliability while embracing the agility of commercial cloud solutions. Existing NSA data infrastructure includes facilities such as the Bumblehive data center in Utah, along with several additional sites across the US and globally.
With the Hybrid Compute Initiative now fully operational, the NSA can better address evolving data demands, ensuring secure and flexible cloud support for its critical intelligence and defense missions.
