Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration

An Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) enables the evaluation of mature advanced technology for usage by the United States military. These demonstrations allow technology evaluation earlier and cheaper than is possible through the formal acquisition of new production capabilities. They must be sponsored by an operational user with approval and oversight from the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Advanced Systems and Concepts.^[1]

Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration program
Active	1994-2005
Branch	Used by US Army, Marine Corps, US Navy, US Air Force
Type	Defense acquisition program
Role	Reduce time to field improved technology, incorporate user into development process

No ACTDs have been initiated since 2005, when the deputy under-secretary initiated the follow-on Joint Concept Technology Demonstration program to emphasize multiservice technology development and improved planning for transition to operations.^[1]

Some of the Congressional Budget Office assessments, such as the CBO 1998 Memorandum,^[2] 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.

Lists of programs

The following lists of ACTDs are separated into which year they were selected and approved during.

Fiscal year 1995

ACTDs Selected in Fiscal Year 1995

Fiscal Year[2]	Title	Class*	Total Expected Cost (1995–2003: mil, K)	User/Sponsor	Lead Service or Agency
Oct. 1994 (FY 1995)	Advanced Joint Planning	I	40.5m[a]	US Atlantic Command	Defense Information Systems Agency
	Cruise Missile Defense, Phase I	III	74.2m	US Pacific Command	Navy
	High-Altitude Endurance UAV	II	922.6m	US Atlantic Command	Air Force
	Joint Countermine	III	402.1m	US Atlantic Command	Navy
	Kinetic Energy Boost- Phase Intercept	II	40.0m	Air Combat Command	Air Force
	Low-Life-Cycle-Cost Medium-Lift Helicopter	II	800K	Military Sealift Command	Navy
	Medium-Altitude Endurance UAV (Predator)	II	128.4m	US Atlantic Command	Air Force
	Precision/Rapid Counter-MRL	III	86.3m	US Forces Korea	Army
	Precision SIGINT Targeting System	I	45.4m	US Forces Korea	Navy
	Rapid Force Projection Initiative	III	567.8m	XVIIIth Airborne Corps	Army
	Synthetic Theater of War	I	174.2m[b]	US Atlantic Command	None
	*Class I = software development projects; class II = traditional platforms; class III = systems-of-systems Abbreviations: UAV - Unmanned aerial vehicle MRL - Multiple rocket launcher SIGINT - Signals intelligence

Fiscal year 1996

ACTDs Selected in Fiscal Year 1996

Fiscal Year[2]	Title	Class*	Total Expected Cost (1995–2003: mil, K)	User/Sponsor	Lead Service or Agency
Oct. 1995 (FY 1996)	Air Base/Port Biological Detection	III	19.7m	US Central Command, US Pacific Command	Army
	Battlefield Awareness and Data Dissemination	I	113.4m	US Atlantic Command	Defense Information Systems Agency
	Combat Identification	II	92.7m	US Atlantic Command	Army
	Combat Vehicle Survivability	II	48.6m	III Corps	Army
	Counterproliferation I	III	123.3m	US European Command	Air Force, Defense Special Weapons Agency (DSWA)
	Counter Sniper	II	1.0m	US Army Infantry School	Army
	Joint Logistics	I	168.3m	US Atlantic Command, US European Command	Navy
	Miniature Air-launched Decoy	II	45.0m	Air Combat Command	Air Force
	Navigation Warfare	II	83.4m	US Atlantic Command	Air Force
	Semi-Automated IMINT Processing	I	123.2m	US Atlantic Command	Army, Air Force, DARPA, National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA)
	Tactical High-Energy Laser	II	117.1m[c]	Israeli Ministry of Defense	Israel
	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: UAV - Unmanned aerial vehicle IMINT - Imagery intelligence

Fiscal year 1997

ACTDs Selected in Fiscal Year 1997

Fiscal Year[2]	Title	Class*	Total Expected Cost (1995–2003: mil, K)	User/Sponsor	Lead Service or Agency
Oct. 1996 (FY 1997)	Chemical Add-On to Air Base/Port Biological Detection	III	3.2m	US Central Command, US Pacific Command	Army
	Consequence Management	II	3.2m	Army, Marine Corps	Army, Marine Corps
	Counter- proliferation II	III	303.0m	US European Command	Air Force, Navy
	Extending the Littoral Battlespace	III	137.7m	US Pacific Command	Marine Corps
	Information Operations Planning Tool	I	55.1m	US Central Command	Air Force
	Integrated Collection Management	I	12.2m	US Atlantic Command	Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)
	Joint Advanced Health and Usage Monitoring System	II	15.5m	n.a.	Navy
	Military Operations in Urban Terrain	III	71.9m	US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM)	Army
	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: n.a. - not applicable

Fiscal year 1998

ACTDs Selected in Fiscal Year 1998

Fiscal Year[2]	Title	Class*	Total Expected Cost (1995–2003: mil, K)	User/Sponsor	Lead Service or Agency
Oct. 1997 (FY 1998)	Adaptive Course of Action	I	19.3m	US Atlantic Command, US Pacific Command	Defense Information Systems Agency
	C4I for Coalition Warfare	I	20.0m	US European Command	Army
	High Power Microwave	II	2.0m	US European Command	Army
	Information Assur- ance: Automated Intrusion Detection Environment	I	75.1m	US Strategic Command	Defense Information Systems Agency
	Joint Biological Remote Early Warning System	III	125.7m	US European Command	Army
	Joint Continuous Strike Environment	I	15.9m	US European Command	Defense Information Systems Agency
	Joint Modular Lighter System	II	26.5m	US Atlantic Command	Navy
	Line-of-Sight Anti- tank	II	257.9m	US Central Command	Army
	Link 16 (tactical data network for NATO)	I	3.3m	US Atlantic Command	Navy
	Migration Defense Intelligence Threat Data System	I	11.4m	US European Command	Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)
	Precision Targeting Identification	II	23.0m[d]	JIATF East (Joint Inter- agency Task Force East)	Navy
	Space-Based Space Surveillance Operations	I	21.5m	US Space Command	Air Force
	Theater Precision Strike Operations	I	93.4m	US Forces Korea	Army
	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: C4I - command, control, communication, computers, and intelligence

Although they are not represented in this section, additional ACTDs indeed followed those listed above (during FY 1999–2006).^[1]

Outcomes

The following programs were completed under the Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration framework:

• Global Hawk^[3]
• JSTOW ACTD as part of Joint Semi-Automated Forces

• DarkStar^[3]
• JPADS^[4]

Notes

1. Includes $5.2 million added from fiscal year 1996 funds, i.e. the next year.
2. Excludes an additional $4.6 million to be provided by the United Kingdom.
3. Excludes an additional $64.7 million to be provided by Israel.
4. Excludes an additional $2.4 million to be provided by the United Kingdom.