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“Death Valley” by the Government Accountability Office (Source: GAO-21-202).
National Defense Magazine contextualizes “Death Valley” as follows: “TThe defense technology community spends a lot of time complaining about the “valley of death,” a term that refers to the place where Defense Department-funded new technologies fail to get into the hands of warfighters because they can’t transition from prototypes. to a real product” (1).
According to the DoD, the recently announced pilot program to Accelerate the Acquisition and Development of Innovative Technologies (APFIT) is an additional tool that the DoD can use to advance innovation capabilities in “Death Valley” and in the hands of the warfighter. “
The Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)) announced the first batch of projects to receive funding: ‘APFIT has great promise to change the way the Department procures solutions for future generations. This pilot program is well-positioned to be a key asset as we continue to work to bridge Death Valley,” said Heidi Sheu, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. The ten companies being funded will fill critical capacity gaps. Without APFIT, their innovative technologies may take longer to reach the hands of our warfighters.’” (2)
In the first round of funding, 10 DoD program offices will receive $10 million in APFIT funding to purchase technologies from vendors for the following projects:
- Augmented Reality Tactical Assault Kit for US Special Operations Command to “enable more effective, networked, distributed, immersive mission planning and exercises in a realistic environment,” from the firm Elian.
- A semi-autonomous unmanned aerial system capable of providing a resilient data carrier with modular payload capability and providing targeting information to the Air Force from Shield AI. The ad specifically lists the company’s V-Bat drone.
- Anti-jam radio links from Pacific Antenna Systems LLC and Naval Systems Inc.
- Acquisition of “architecture” data to automate the transfer and integration of US and related sensor data to enable the Space Force to acquire 90 operational resources.
- Real-time “sensor data transformation” from Meroxa for Space Force.
- Lightweight wide vision night vision aviation goggles with high quality and USSOCOM weight reduction from Aviation Specialists Unlimited.
- A low-cost, weapon-armed UAS from Orbital Research to demonstrate drop-sliding munitions for the military.
- Procurement of Advanced Sensor Package from Arete Associates Navy.
- Atmospheric Plasma Coating Removal System for the Navy from Atmospheric Plasma Solutions.
- Lightfield Directing Array is a secure product for the Missile Defense Agency from Bright Silicon Technologies.
- Rapid analysis of risk exposure for the Defense Innovation Division from Philips Healthcare. Under this project, DIU will purchase 3,800 smart watches loaded with algorithms to detect infectious diseases “2+ days in advance, enabling early treatment and identification of infected persons.” (2) (3)
What next?
Opportunities for your organization through this pilot program may include:
- “The goal of the APFIT pilot program is to rapidly transition technologies — prioritized by small businesses and/or informal defense contractors — from pilot programs, prototype projects, and research projects to production.
- The benefits of this pilot are contributing to the viability of small businesses and traditional defense contractor suppliers, delivering war-winning capabilities ahead of schedule.’
In addition, DOD is not the only government agency struggling with the “valley of death”. Does your organization have stronger working relationships or strategic partnerships with other agencies? Who are the stakeholders that you might find to put a program similar to APFIT on the DoD? Or, there is a DoD decision maker tasked with expanding APFIT in a government-wide or interagency manner.
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