The Army that fought and won World War II relied on commercial industry and civilian ingenuity for the machines and technology that enabled Allied victory. Army investments and civilian know-how set the stage for the high-tech revolution that continues to fuel global markets over seventy years later. Today, as the accelerated rate of technological change in areas like artificial intelligence, robotics and autonomy, and power and energy presages unprecedented opportunities and threats, the Army seeks to renew its commitment to the revolutionary ideas and civilian research and development partnerships that will ensure the safety and prosperity of the nation in the years to come.
United States Army Futures Command (AFC) is focused on modernizing the Army and focuses on seven priorities:
AFC's cross-functional teams (CFTs) are the Army’s vehicle for force modernization, ensuring capability overmatch for Army forces on future battlefields.
While the Army plays a unique role in our society to deploy, fight, and win decisively against any adversary, anytime, and anywhere, many of the technologies that the Army relies on to accomplish this mission are being propelled by the civilian world. Army modernization priorities related to manned and unmanned vehicles, space systems, sensing, networks and connectivity, data visualization and gaming, space, and human performance monitoring (to name a few) all have substantial overlap with civilian sources, uses, and markets.
To capitalize on opportunities for breakthrough research and development in key civil-military technology areas relevant to the Army’s modernization priorities, AFC has established the Army Applications Lab (AAL) to capitalize on the extended marketplace of ideas in government, academia, industry, and civilian innovation ecosystems and lead the research and development of disruptive innovations – i.e., technology demonstrators and early-stage products that revolutionize Army capabilities and corresponding civilian industries and create a first-mover advantage for the Army across a full spectrum of missions.
The three main lines of effort associated with this BAA are discovery, acceleration, and translation of disruptive technology applications:
Solutions consistent with these three functions and reflective of priorities, technical challenges, and problems associated with the FFME will be solicited through this BAA.
AAL is seeking technologies that address a wide range of Army needs consistent with CFT capability focus areas and associated programs and lines of effort as well as potentially disruptive new capabilities that augment or enhance Army capability overmatch. A key focus for AAL is to identify and transition new technologies, methodologies, and concepts related to:
