Citing ACTDs as one of the principal enabling mechanisms for
fostering innovation within the Department of Defense,
Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology Paul G.
Kaminski today announced 18 new candidate programs to evaluate
mature technology to meet warfighter needs. The President's FY97
budget requests a total of $98.6 million for on-going and new
FY97 ACTD programs. This amount leverages nearly $1 billion in
underlying DoD military service and Defense Agency science and
technology investments.
More than 100 proposals were submitted by the military
services, theater commanders and Joint Staff. Review of the
proposed ACTDs was conducted by the military services and unified
commanders with the final recommendation from the Joint
Requirements Oversight Council. JROC also recommended
prospective user sponsors and lead services for the programs.
Information management technologies, system building blocks
to counter weapons of mass destruction, and technologies that
will enhance small unit capabilities and operations are
emphasized in the FY97 new start list.
Dr. Kaminski noted that, The ACTD program is at the
foundation of our promise to U.S. military personnel and
taxpayers to field equipment that provides a superior military
capability at an affordable cost. It emphasizes the ability to
reduce operational risk early in the acquisition process, to
compress acquisition cycle time, and to stimulate innovation are
some of the key prerequisites for bringing about a Revolution in
Military Affairs.' ACTDs allow technologists and operational
users to work together as a team to assess the usefulness of the
mature technologies. These demonstrations also provide
experienced military commanders with an opportunity to develop
the operational concepts that address current and future military
needs prior to major acquisition decisions and large dollar
commitments.
ACTDs also allow the services to quickly adapt and deploy
mature technologies for the growing number and variety of
military missions, according to Dr. Kaminski. The U.S. is
confronting a much wider range of military missions and potential
threats than even ten years ago. It is to our advantage to
confront threats with superior equipment, especially if the
technology already exists and can be quickly integrated into the
field. ACTDs offer direct and immediate solutions to urgent
theater needs.
The two-year-old ACTD initiative emphasizes user assessment
of technology prior to formal systems acquisition. Ten ACTDs
were initiated in FY95 and 12 were initiated in FY96. The
Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), now providing
surveillance support to the NATO Implementation Force in Bosnia,
was identified by Dr. Kaminski as one of the original FY95 ACTDs
and an example of the value of the DoD ACTD initiative.
Summaries of the FY97 candidate ACTDs are attached. They are:
Chemical Add-on to Biological Detection;
Counter Camouflage, Concealment, and Deception;
Counterproliferation II;
Cruise Missile Defense Phase II;
GEODSS Upgrade Prototype System;
Helo Advanced Health and Usage Monitoring;
Information Warfare Planning Tool;
Integrated Collection Management;
Military Operations in Urban Terrain;
Multimission Advanced Ground Intelligent Control;
Precision Targeting Identification;
Rapid Battlefield Visualization;
Sea Dragon;
Secure Personal Communication (cellular telephone) Systems;
Survivable Armed Reconnaissance on the Digital Battlefield;
Tactical Fiber Extension to the Global Grid;
Unattended Ground Sensors;
and
Wide Area Tracking System.
