The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)) announced the next round of projects to receive funding via the pilot program to Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT). These projects are the first to be selected during FY24 with additional selections expected following an appropriation.
The purpose of the APFIT pilot program is to expeditiously transition technologies into production, and to accelerate the fielding of needed technologies to the warfighter, with priority given to technologies developed by small businesses and nontraditional defense contractors. The benefits of this pilot program will be to deliver war-winning capability earlier than scheduled, while contributing to the viability of small business and nontraditional defense contractor vendors. APFIT is an additional tool the DoD can use to propel innovative capabilities across the "Valley of Death" and accelerate fielding into the hands of warfighters.
"It was important to get a head start on the first round of FY24 projects as we await a full appropriation because of the critical capabilities they offer to the warfighter. We must continue to move fast in order to maintain our technological advantage against our adversaries," said Heidi Shyu, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. "APFIT now has a proven track record of accelerating capabilities by many years, and our warfighters will greatly benefit from accelerated feilding of the capabilities we're announcing today. We look forward to a full appropriation so we can award additional funding for APFIT projects."
The National Defense Authorization Act of FY22 established APFIT under the Secretary of Defense as a competitive, merit-based program for innovative and mature technologies and products that can meet warfighter demands but lack the necessary funding to transition the capability into the production phase.
The U.S. Congress funded $100 million for APFIT in FY22 and increased funding to $150 million in FY23. In those two years, twenty-one DoD programs were selected to receive APFIT funding to procure innovative technologies from these small businesses and nontraditional defense contractors. While awaiting an appropriation before making additional selections, the APFIT program will provide FY24 Continuing Resolution (CR) funds to the following projects:
- Accelerated Procurement of Maritime Expeditionary Standoff Response Advanced Capability Modules (APMAC) – $11.95M, U.S. Marine Corps.
- ARCHER Airborne Threat Detection & Tracking – $13.55M, U.S. Air Force.
- Electronic Intelligence Modernization Upgrade (EIMU) Production – $14.40M, U.S. Navy.
- Micro Identify Friend or Foe (IFF) – $10.10M, U.S. Marine Corps.
About USD(R&E)
The Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E) is the Chief Technology Officer of the Department of Defense. The USD(R&E) champions research, science, technology, engineering, and innovation to maintain the United States military's technological advantage. Learn more at www.cto.mil, follow us on Twitter @DoDCTO, or visit us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/ousdre.