| Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration program | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1994–2006 (or FY95–FY07)[a] |
| 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[b] | US Atlantic | Defense Information |
| 2 | Cruise Missile
Defense, Phase I |
III | 74.2m | US Pacific | Navy | |
| 3 | High-Altitude
Endurance UAV |
II | 922.6m | US Atlantic | Air Force | |
| 4 | Joint Countermine | III | 402.1m | US Atlantic | Navy | |
| 5 | Kinetic Energy Boost-
Phase Intercept |
II | 40.0m | Air Combat | Air Force | |
| 6 | Low-Life-Cycle-Cost
Medium-Lift Helicopter |
II | 800K | Military Sealift | Navy | |
| 7 | Medium-Altitude
Endurance UAV (Predator) |
II | 128.4m | US Atlantic | 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 | Army | |
| 11 | Synthetic Theater
of War |
I | 174.2m[c] | US Atlantic | 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 | Army |
| 2 | Battlefield Awareness
and Data Dissemination |
I | 113.4m | US Atlantic | Defense Information | |
| 3 | Combat Identification | II | 92.7m | US Atlantic | Army | |
| 4 | Combat Vehicle
Survivability |
II | 48.6m | III Corps | Army | |
| 5 | Counterproliferation I | III | 123.3m | US European | Air Force, Defense Special | |
| 6 | Counter Sniper | II | 1.0m | US Army | Army | |
| 7 | Joint Logistics | I | 168.3m | US Atlantic | Navy | |
| 8 | Miniature Air-launched
Decoy |
II | 45.0m | Air Combat | Air Force | |
| 9 | Navigation Warfare | II | 83.4m | US Atlantic | Air Force | |
| 10 | Semi-Automated
IMINT Processing |
I | 123.2m | US Atlantic | Army, Air Force, DARPA, | |
| 11 | Tactical High-Energy | II | 117.1m[d] | Israeli Ministry | Israel | |
| 12 | Tactical UAV program | II | 131.3m | Army, Navy, | 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 | Army |
| 2 | Consequence
Management |
II | 3.2m | Army, Marine | Army, Marine Corps | |
| 3 | Counter-
proliferation II |
III | 303.0m | US European | Air Force, Navy | |
| 4 | Extending the Littoral
Battlespace |
III | 137.7m | US Pacific | Marine Corps | |
| 5 | Information
Operations Planning Tool |
I | 55.1m | US Central | Air Force | |
| 6 | Integrated Collection
Management |
I | 12.2m | US Atlantic | Defense Intelligence | |
| 7 | Joint Advanced Health
and Usage Monitoring System |
II | 15.5m | n.a. | Navy | |
| 8 | Military Operations in | III | 71.9m | US Special | Army | |
| 9 | Rapid Terrain
Visualization |
II | 54.6m | XVIIIth Airborne | 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 | Defense Information |
| 2 | C4I for Coalition
Warfare |
I | 20.0m | US European | Army | |
| 3 | High Power
Microwave |
II | 2.0m | US European | Army | |
| 4 | Information Assur-
ance: Automated Intrusion Detection Environment |
I | 75.1m | US Strategic | Defense Information | |
| 5 | Joint Biological
Remote Early Warning System |
III | 125.7m | US European | Army | |
| 6 | Joint Continuous
Strike Environment |
I | 15.9m | US European | Defense Information | |
| 7 | Joint Modular Lighter
System |
II | 26.5m | US Atlantic | Navy | |
| 8 | Line-of-Sight Anti-
tank |
II | 257.9m | US Central | Army | |
| 9 | Link 16 (tactical data
network for NATO) |
I | 3.3m | US Atlantic | Navy | |
| 10 | Migration Defense
Intelligence Threat Data System |
I | 11.4m | US European | Defense Intelligence | |
| 11 | Precision Targeting
Identification |
II | 23.0m[e] | JIATF East
(Joint Inter- agency Task Force East) |
Navy | |
| 12 | Space-Based
Space Surveillance Operations |
I | 21.5m | US Space | Air Force | |
| 13 | Theater Precision
Strike Operations |
I | 93.4m | US Forces Korea | Army | |
| 14 | Unattended Ground
Sensors |
II | 20.8m | US Central | 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:
It is anticipated that all ongoing ACTDs will be complete by FY09.
JCTD First introduced in the FY 2006 President's Budget"; "FY07 ACTD Candidates Submitted [in] Dec [2005] (__Note__): FY08 programs are referred to as ACTDs instead of JCTDs due to pending nature of the JCTD program, circa April 2006. Presumably once approved, it would have been updated to match. (__Editor Note__)
