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| Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration program | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1994–2006 (or FY95–FY07)[lower-alpha 1] |
| Branch | Used by United States Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force |
| Type | Defense acquisition program |
| Role | Reduce time to field improved technology, incorporate user into development process |
The Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) program was a Department of Defense research and evaluation initiative for mature, advanced technology for United States military usage. These demonstrations allowed for cheaper and earlier evaluation of technology and systems than the formal acquisition process.[1]
An ACTD must be sponsored by an operational user, with approval and oversight from the now-terminated role of Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Advanced Systems and Concepts, or DUSD(AS&C), previously titled the Deputy USD for Advanced Technology, or DUSD(AT).[1][2]
The follow-on Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) program was initiated by the deputy under-secretary in 2005.[2] The new JCTD framework emphasized multiservice technology development and improvements in planning. ACTDs were replaced by JCTDs during about a three year span from 2005 to 2008. During 2006, the final round of ACTDs were up for selection, and in September 2006 the winning projects received their formal approval.[3] All remaining ACTDs continued to be funded, though, and were expected to conclude by 2008.[2]
The following lists of ACTDs are separated into which year they were selected and approved during.
| Fiscal Year[1] | # | Title | Class* | Total Expected Cost
(1995–2003: mil, K) |
User/Sponsor | Lead Service or Agency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 1994
(FY 1995) |
1 | Advanced Joint
Planning |
I | 40.5m[lower-alpha 2] | US Atlantic
Command |
Defense Information
Systems Agency |
| 2 | Cruise Missile
Defense, Phase I |
III | 74.2m | US Pacific
Command |
Navy | |
| 3 | High-Altitude
Endurance UAV |
II | 922.6m | US Atlantic
Command |
Air Force | |
| 4 | Joint Countermine | III | 402.1m | US Atlantic
Command |
Navy | |
| 5 | Kinetic Energy Boost-
Phase Intercept |
II | 40.0m | Air Combat
Command |
Air Force | |
| 6 | Low-Life-Cycle-Cost
Medium-Lift Helicopter |
II | 800K | Military Sealift
Command |
Navy | |
| 7 | Medium-Altitude
Endurance UAV (Predator) |
II | 128.4m | US Atlantic
Command |
Air Force | |
| 8 | Precision/Rapid
Counter-MRL |
III | 86.3m | US Forces Korea | Army | |
| 9 | Precision SIGINT
Targeting System |
I | 45.4m | US Forces Korea | Navy | |
| 10 | Rapid Force
Projection Initiative |
III | 567.8m | XVIIIth Airborne
Corps |
Army | |
| 11 | Synthetic Theater
of War |
I | 174.2m[lower-alpha 3] | US Atlantic
Command |
None | |
| *Class I = software development projects; class II = traditional platforms; class III = systems-of-systems
Abbreviations:
| ||||||
| Fiscal Year[1] | # | Title | Class* | Total Expected Cost
(1995–2003: mil, K) |
User/Sponsor | Lead Service or Agency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 1995
(FY 1996) |
1 | Air Base/Port
Biological Detection |
III | 19.7m | US Central
Command, US Pacific Command |
Army |
| 2 | Battlefield Awareness
and Data Dissemination |
I | 113.4m | US Atlantic
Command |
Defense Information
Systems Agency | |
| 3 | Combat Identification | II | 92.7m | US Atlantic
Command |
Army | |
| 4 | Combat Vehicle
Survivability |
II | 48.6m | III Corps | Army | |
| 5 | Counterproliferation I | III | 123.3m | US European
Command |
Air Force, Defense Special
Weapons Agency (DSWA) | |
| 6 | Counter Sniper | II | 1.0m | US Army
Infantry School |
Army | |
| 7 | Joint Logistics | I | 168.3m | US Atlantic
Command, US European Command |
Navy | |
| 8 | Miniature Air-launched
Decoy |
II | 45.0m | Air Combat
Command |
Air Force | |
| 9 | Navigation Warfare | II | 83.4m | US Atlantic
Command |
Air Force | |
| 10 | Semi-Automated
IMINT Processing |
I | 123.2m | US Atlantic
Command |
Army, Air Force, DARPA,
National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) | |
| 11 | Tactical High-Energy
Laser |
II | 117.1m[lower-alpha 4] | Israeli Ministry
of Defense |
Israel | |
| 12 | Tactical UAV program | II | 131.3m | Army, Navy,
Marine Corps |
Army | |
| *Class I = software development projects; class II = traditional platforms; class III = systems-of-systems
Abbreviations:
| ||||||
| Fiscal Year[1] | # | Title | Class* | Total Expected Cost
(1995–2003: mil, K) |
User/Sponsor | Lead Service or Agency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 1996
(FY 1997) |
1 | Chemical Add-On to
Air Base/Port Biological Detection |
III | 3.2m | US Central
Command, US Pacific Command |
Army |
| 2 | Consequence
Management |
II | 3.2m | Army, Marine
Corps |
Army, Marine Corps | |
| 3 | Counter-
proliferation II |
III | 303.0m | US European
Command |
Air Force, Navy | |
| 4 | Extending the Littoral
Battlespace |
III | 137.7m | US Pacific
Command |
Marine Corps | |
| 5 | Information
Operations Planning Tool |
I | 55.1m | US Central
Command |
Air Force | |
| 6 | Integrated Collection
Management |
I | 12.2m | US Atlantic
Command |
Defense Intelligence
Agency (DIA) | |
| 7 | Joint Advanced Health
and Usage Monitoring System |
II | 15.5m | n.a. | Navy | |
| 8 | Military Operations in
Urban Terrain |
III | 71.9m | US Special
Operations Command (USSOCOM) |
Army | |
| 9 | Rapid Terrain
Visualization |
II | 54.6m | XVIIIth Airborne
Corps |
Army | |
| *Class I = software development projects; class II = traditional platforms; class III = systems-of-systems
Abbreviations:
| ||||||
| Fiscal Year[1] | # | Title | Class* | Total Expected Cost
(1995–2003: mil, K) |
User/Sponsor | Lead Service or Agency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 1997
(FY 1998) |
1 | Adaptive Course of
Action |
I | 19.3m | US Atlantic
Command, US Pacific Command |
Defense Information
Systems Agency |
| 2 | C4I for Coalition
Warfare |
I | 20.0m | US European
Command |
Army | |
| 3 | High Power
Microwave |
II | 2.0m | US European
Command |
Army | |
| 4 | Information Assur-
ance: Automated Intrusion Detection Environment |
I | 75.1m | US Strategic
Command |
Defense Information
Systems Agency | |
| 5 | Joint Biological
Remote Early Warning System |
III | 125.7m | US European
Command |
Army | |
| 6 | Joint Continuous
Strike Environment |
I | 15.9m | US European
Command |
Defense Information
Systems Agency | |
| 7 | Joint Modular Lighter
System |
II | 26.5m | US Atlantic
Command |
Navy | |
| 8 | Line-of-Sight Anti-
tank |
II | 257.9m | US Central
Command |
Army | |
| 9 | Link 16 (tactical data
network for NATO) |
I | 3.3m | US Atlantic
Command |
Navy | |
| 10 | Migration Defense
Intelligence Threat Data System |
I | 11.4m | US European
Command |
Defense Intelligence
Agency (DIA) | |
| 11 | Precision Targeting
Identification |
II | 23.0m[lower-alpha 5] | JIATF East
(Joint Inter- agency Task Force East) |
Navy | |
| 12 | Space-Based
Space Surveillance Operations |
I | 21.5m | US Space
Command |
Air Force | |
| 13 | Theater Precision
Strike Operations |
I | 93.4m | US Forces Korea | Army | |
| 14 | Unattended Ground
Sensors |
II | 20.8m | US Central
Command, US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) |
Air Force | |
| *Class I = software development projects; class II = traditional platforms; class III = systems-of-systems
Abbreviations:
| ||||||
Although not represented in this section, additional ACTDs indeed followed those listed above (during FY 1999–2006).[2][4]
Some of the Congressional Budget Office assessments, such as the CBO 1998 Memorandum,[1] reviewed the ACTD program's progress since its initiation in 1994 up until the 1998 assessment. The memorandum summarized the results as "From 1995 through 1998, DoD has spent $3.2 billion on 46 ACTDs. The $3.2 billion represents about 2 percent of DoD’s entire budget for research and development during that time." The memorandum provided some details about the 46 ACTDs as of 1998, and highlighted the Medium-Altitude Endurance UAV (the Predator drone) as on its then successes, having transitioned into a formal DOD Acquisition Program.
The following programs were completed under the Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration framework: