Rep. Ken Calvert
U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) on March 10 highlighted his $100 million warfighter innovation fund, which is intended for mature and validated technologies or products that can meet warfighter demands but have difficulty transitioning into a federal acquisition program.
The Agile Procurement Transition Pilot, which Rep. Calvert created, became law as part of the larger National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 signed into law in December 2021.
Rep. Calvert, ranking member of the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, said the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has a poor track record for transitioning innovative products or processes into their programs.
“Oftentimes this is due to a rigid budget cycle that does not allow the Services [House Armed Services Committee] to quickly put promising technology on contract,” he said. “Small businesses and innovators do not have the ability to weather the arcane acquisition cycles at the DOD, and this fund will give them a lifeline across the valley of death so that they can grow and scale to meet warfighter needs immediately.”
The congressman said he plans to closely track how DOD implements the Agile Procurement Transition Pilot fund to ensure it is used as intended by his subcommittee.
“The department and Services are at an inflection point: they must innovate and deliver capability more quickly, especially at a time when China and others seek to erode our military superiority,” said Rep. Calvert. “I wholeheartedly believe that given the tools, American ingenuity will win the day, every day.”
According to language included in the appropriations law, the Agile Procurement Transition Pilot will be managed by the DOD Deputy Secretary in collaboration with the vice chairman of the Joint Staff and the Service Acquisition Officials “to aid the warfighter, to transition technologies from pilot programs, prototype projects, and research projects to scale to capability, software, or service acquisitions.”
Awards made under the fund are limited to between $10 million to $50 million per fiscal year and for no more than three years, according to the bill’s language.
Additionally, the DOD Deputy Secretary must submit a report to the congressional defense committees no later than March 1 and Sept. 1 of each fiscal year in which the funding is appropriated to provide an overview on the capabilities being tested and the proposed path to scale innovative technologies, including successes and failures to date, the bill language says.