DOD relies on its research laboratories and test facilities as well as industry and academia to develop new technologies and systems that improve and enhance military operations and ensure technological superiority over adversaries. Yet, historically, DOD has experienced problems in bringing technologies out of the lab environment and into real use. At times, technologies do not leave the lab because their potential has not been adequately demonstrated or recognized. In other cases, acquisition programs—which receive the bulk of DOD’s funding in research, development, testing and evaluation of technology—are simply unwilling to fund final stages of development of a promising technology, preferring to invest in other aspects of the program that are viewed as more vital to success. Other times, they choose to develop the technologies themselves, rather than rely on DOD labs to do so—a practice that brings cost and schedule risk since programs may well find themselves addressing problems related to technology immaturity that hamper other aspects of the acquisition process. And often, DOD’s budgeting process, which requires investments to be targeted at least 2 years in advance of their activation, makes it difficult for DOD to seize opportunities to introduce technological advances into acquisition programs. In addition, it is challenging just to identify and pursue technologies that could be used to enhance military operations given the very wide range of organizations inside and outside of DOD that are focused on technology development and the wide range of capabilities that DOD is interested in advancing. In recognizing this array of challenges, DOD and Congress have established a number of “technology transition” programs, each with a particular focus. (See table 1.) The Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) program, for example, was initiated by DOD in 1994 as a way to get technologies that meet critical military needs into the hands of users faster and at less cost than the traditional acquisition process. Under this program, military operators test prototypes that have already been developed and matured in realistic settings. If they find the items to have military utility, DOD may choose to buy additional quantities or just use the items remaining after the demonstration. In 1980, DOD established the Foreign Comparative Testing (FCT) Program to identify, evaluate, and procure technologies that have already been developed and tested in other countries—saving DOD the costly burden of maturing the technology itself. Other programs include those that seek to quickly identify and solve production problems associated with technology transition (the Manufacturing Technology Program—MANTECH) and to partner with the commercial sector in completing projects that are useful to both military and industry (the Dual Use Science and Technology program). Even taken together, however, these programs represent a very small portion of DOD dollars spent on applied research and advanced technology development—about $9 billion annually—and considerably less of total money spent on the later stages of technology development, which includes an additional $60 billion spent on advanced component development and prototypes, largely within weapons acquisition programs. As such, they cannot single-handedly overcome transition problems, but rather demonstrate various ways to ease transition and broaden participation from the industrial base. Three of the more recent initiatives include the TTI and DACP, both established by Congress in fiscal year 2003, and the Quick Reaction Fund, established by DOD the same year. TTI is focused on speeding the transition of technologies developed by DOD’s S&T programs into acquisition programs, while DACP is focused on introducing innovative and cost-saving technologies developed inside and outside DOD. The Quick Reaction Fund is focused on field testing technology prototypes. All three programs are managed by DOD’s Office of Defense Research and Engineering, which reports to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. Together, these three programs received about $64 million in fiscal year 2005–a fraction of the $9.2 billion DOD invested in applied research and advanced technology development the same year and a relatively small budget compared to some of the other transition programs. Nevertheless, DOD has been increasing its investment in these programs and plans to further increase it over the next few years. (See figure 1.) Table 2 highlights similarities and differences between DACP, TTI, and Quick Reaction Fund. Table 3 provides examples of projects that have already been funded. The three transition programs, which are being implemented consistent with congressional intent, reported that benefits can already be seen in many projects, including improvements to performance, affordability, manufacturability, and operational capability for the warfighter. While such benefits may have eventually been achieved through normal processes, program officials believe the three transition programs enabled DOD to realize them sooner due to the immediate funding that was provided to complete testing and evaluation as well as attention received from senior managers. DOD officials also emphasized that these programs are calling attention to emerging technologies that have the potential to offer important performance gains and cost savings but, due to their size and relative obscurity, may otherwise be overlooked when competing against other, larger-scaled technologies and/or technologies already deemed as vital to a particular acquisition program’s success. Another benefit cited with the DACP is an expansion of the Defense industrial base, because the program invites participation from companies and individuals that have not been traditional business partners with DOD. Nevertheless, it is too early for us to determine the impact that these programs have had on technology transition. At the time we selected projects to review, few projects had been completed. In addition, the programs had limited performance measures to gauge success of individual projects or track return on investment over time. The following examples highlight some of the reported benefits of individual projects. Host Weapons Shock Profile Database—DOD spends a significant amount of time and resources to test new accessories (e.g., night vision scopes) for Special Operations Forces weapons. Currently, when new accessories are added, they must go through live fire testing to determine if they work properly and will meet reliability standards. This process could take several months to complete as the acquisition office must schedule time at a test range to complete the testing. Program officials must also identify and pay for an expert to conduct the testing and pay for ammunition that will be used in the test. The DACP is funding the test and evaluation of a database that will simulate the vibration or shock of various machine guns in order to test new accessories for that gun. This will eliminate almost all of the testing costs mentioned above and greatly reduce the amount of time needed for testing. The project office estimates that it will save almost $780,000 per year in ammunition costs alone. Enhanced Optics for the Rolling Airframe Missile—The Rolling Airframe Missile is part of the Navy’s ship self-defense system to counter attacks from missiles and aircraft. However, the missile experiences operational deficiencies in certain weather conditions, and the program has had problems producing components for the optics. The DACP is providing funding to a small business to test and evaluate a new sapphire dome and optics for the missile to resolve these problems. Program officials estimate that program funding will accelerate the development of a solution 1 to 2 years earlier than anticipated. If the DACP project is successful, an added benefit will be that the dome material will be readily available from manufacturers in the United States instead of a single overseas supplier, as is currently the case. Water Purification System— For tactical situations in which deployed troops do not have quick and easy access to potable water, the pen will allow soldiers to treat up to 300 liters of any available, non-brackish water source on one set of lithium camera batteries and common table salt. The pen eliminates the risk of the soldiers’ exposure to diseases and bio-chemical pollutants. TTI funding was used to purchase approximately 6,600 water pens for distribution to the military services. In addition, TTI funding enabled this item to be placed on a General Services Administration schedule, where approximately 8,600 additional water pens have been purchased by DOD customers. DOD and the company that produces the pen donated hundreds of these systems to the tsunami relief effort in Southeast Asia. Dragon Eye—The Dragon Eye is a small, unmanned aerial vehicle with video surveillance capabilities used by the marines. To address the concerns over a chemical and biological threat to troops in Iraq, the Quick Reaction Fund funded the integration of a small chemical detection and biological collection device on the Dragon Eye. The low- flying Dragon Eye can tell troops in real time where and when it is collecting samples, and in cases where a plume is detected, it can determine the direction the plume is moving. According to program officials, Quick Reaction funding allowed the chemical and biological detection capability to be developed 2 years ahead of schedule. The technology was available to a limited number of Special Operations Forces at the beginning of the Iraqi conflict. Despite the evident benefits of certain projects, it is too early to determine the programs’ impact on technology transition. At the time we selected projects for review, only 11 of 68 projects started in fiscal years 2003 and 2004 had been completed, and, of those, only 4 were currently available to warfighters. These include one TTI project—a miniaturized water purification system that is now being offered through a General Services Administration schedule to the warfighter—and three projects under the Quick Reaction Fund, including the Dragon Eye chemical and biological sensor, planning software used by Combatant Commanders dealing with weapons of mass destruction targets, and special materials that strengthen unmanned aerial vehicles. Since the time we selected projects, 20 have been reported as completed and 13 have been reported as available to warfighters. The latest project completion information by program is shown in Table 4. It is important to note that, even though 20 TTI and Quick Reaction Fund projects are considered to be complete, not all of the capabilities have reached the warfighter. For example: The T58 Titanium Nitride Erosion Protection is a TTI project that has transitioned to an acquisition program but has not yet reached the warfighter.