As the U.S. Department of Defense accelerates AI adoption and digital modernization efforts, it is increasingly looking beyond traditional supercomputing infrastructure to support growing computational demands.
Parallel Works announced that it has been awarded a contract by the Department of Defense High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP) to provide a unified platform for accessing on-premises and cloud-based high-performance computing resources.
The agreement positions Parallel Works’ ACTIVATE High Security Platform (HSP) as a control plane connecting Defense Supercomputing Resource Centers (DSRCs) with commercial cloud infrastructure, allowing defense researchers, engineers, and acquisition teams to deploy workloads across multiple environments through a single interface.
Bridging defense supercomputers and the cloud
The contract reflects a broader shift in government computing strategy as agencies seek greater flexibility for AI, modeling, simulation, and data-intensive workloads.
Rather than relying exclusively on fixed supercomputing environments, users will be able to access both on-premises and cloud resources, test workloads on next-generation cloud infrastructure, and move applications between environments before new capabilities are integrated into Defense Supercomputing Resource Centers.
According to the company, the platform has been approved for Impact Level 5 (IL5), one of the highest non-classified security designations within the DoD, and supports environments handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) workloads.
AI and defense modernization drive demand
The award comes as defense organizations increasingly adopt AI-driven workflows that require access to scalable computing resources beyond traditional HPC environments.
Keith Obenschain, Chief Technology Officer of HPCMP, said growing demand for AI-enabled capabilities and digital modernization is creating pressure on legacy infrastructure.
The platform is intended to provide on-demand access to compute resources, reduce queue times, and enable defense teams to deploy mission-critical workloads more rapidly across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
Parallel Works says the platform supports major cloud providers including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.
Naval Research Laboratory among early adopters
As part of the initial implementation under the contract, the Naval Research Laboratory has deployed the platform to support weather forecasting workloads.
According to the company, the deployment automates complex forecasting workflows and helps orchestrate computing resources across secure hybrid environments, reducing deployment times and improving operational continuity.
The bigger picture
The contract highlights a growing trend across government and enterprise computing: the convergence of high-performance computing, AI infrastructure, and cloud orchestration.
As defense agencies seek faster access to advanced computing resources, platforms that can securely bridge on-premises supercomputers and commercial cloud environments are becoming increasingly strategic.
For Parallel Works, the HPCMP award represents an opportunity to extend its hybrid multi-cloud platform into one of the world’s most demanding computing environments, where performance, security, and scalability are equally critical.
