Technology Transition Program.

Abstract

The Technology Transition Program (TTP) provides funding to demonstrate and evaluate technologies to enable or accelerate their transition to acquisition programs of record and operational use. It addresses the gap that exists between when a technology is first demonstrated and when it can be successfully acquired as an operational capability. This gap is often referred to as the technology transition "valley of death." TTP bridges that gap by funding promising concepts for a period of one to two years, allowing technology integration and demonstration to continue beyond the laboratory. It allows acquisition program managers (the capability developers and providers) and warfighters (the capability recipients and end users) to integrate, prototype, and demonstrate candidate technologies and assess them in an operational environment. As a result, the warfighters can assess the capability first-hand and accurately fund the follow-on acquisition program during the next budgeting cycle ("try before you buy"). TTP includes research and development funds for the following transition activities: (1) prototyping (both full-scale and sub-scale to include competitions) of promising, high-priority concepts and technologies in an operational environment to lower acquisition risk by raising the technology readiness level; (2) performing pre-acquisition systems engineering to facilitate transition of concepts and technologies from a demonstration program (e.g., Advanced Technology Demonstrations (ATDs), Joint Capability Technology Demonstrations (JCTDs)) into acquisition programs of record; (3) assessing external interface requirements of candidate concepts, technologies, and demonstration projects to better understand true engineering costs resulting from insertion of new technologies into the AF enterprise architecture; and (4) capturing data through information technology tools and databases to help formulate technology transition acquisition strategies and gather proposals for technology and prototype development that have the potential for application to the performance of the military missions of the Department of Defense. This program supports national industrial base resources, engineering design teams, and maintains the intellectual capital of government and industry. TTP is specifically designed to deal with technology transition opportunities throughout the fiscal year as they arise, resulting in a prioritized distribution of TTP funding over the course of the entire execution year. Although analogous to major investment programs, the TTP process allows the AF flexibility to transition innovative concepts and initiatives to the warfighter annually in a manner that coincides with the development of the President's Budget. Candidate projects will receive TTP approval and funds based on identified and demonstrated operational impact, cost savings, project development, production feasibility, lifecycle costs, project risk and cost of delay. The TTP will nominate projects to the AF Service Acquisition Executive (SAE) for final approval. Potential sources of projects include, but are not limited to Joint Expeditionary Force Experiments, Joint Experimentation, ATDs, JCTDs, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Science and Technology, and Independent R&D efforts. This effort is Budget Activity 4, Advanced Component Development and Prototypes, since it involves system specific efforts that help expedite technology transition from the laboratory to operational use.

Document Details

• Document Type: R2 Budgetary Justification
• Publication Date: Oct 01, 2011
• Source ID: 0604858F_4_3600_PB_2011
• Change Summary Explanation: The FY 2010 President's Budget submittal did not reflect FY 2011 through FY 2015 funding. A detailed explanation of changes between the two budget positions is not provided because it cannot be made in a relevant manner.
• Service Agency Name: Air Force

Entities

Organizations

• United States Air Force

Tags

Communities of Interest

• Advanced Electronics
• Human Systems
• Materials and Manufacturing Processes
• Space
• Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

• Acquisition
• Air Force
• Artificial Satellites
• Collateral Damage
• Command And Control
• Cost Analysis
• Costs
• Demonstrations
• Engineering
• Environment
• Guided Projectiles
• Information Systems
• Prototypes
• Systems Engineering
• Test And Evaluation
• Training
• Transitions

Readers

• Defense Technology Research and Development.
• Enterprise Information Systems Architecture and Joint Command Capability Interoperability Support.
• Military Science and Technology Research and Modernization.