Quick Reaction Special Projects (QRSP)

Abstract

QRSP funds the development of risk-reducing prototypes to expedite delivery of effective, affordable, and critically needed technologies and warfighting concepts that maintain the Department’s advantage against peer and near-peer competitors. These lower-cost prototypes and QRSP’s innovative business processes give the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E)) the agility to quickly explore new disruptive technology areas that have the potential for immediate, game-changing impacts. QRSP also enables the Department of Defense (DoD) to identify innovative solutions from small and non-traditional businesses not normally engaged by the DoD to address gaps and identify emerging technology trends. Providing innovative small and non-traditional businesses the opportunity to engage with various government audiences enables the DoD to quickly harness innovative solutions that could solve DoD challenges. Project selection is guided by department-level strategies and priorities, such as the Joint Warfighting Concept, the National Defense Strategy, and DoD’s modernization areas. Needs are identified and prototype projects are funded throughout the year of execution to demonstrate the feasibility of new technologies, enable integration into larger systems, and deliver affordable capabilities faster than standard acquisition cycles. With an emphasis on joint and interagency partnerships, QRSP matures capability options to anticipate and inform new acquisition pathways in addition to formal requirements and acquisition processes. Investing in high risk/high reward concepts, QRSP projects are typically phased with clear developmental milestones. This approach enables QRSP to rapidly mature innovative technologies; quickly identifying technological dead ends and prioritizing investment in projects demonstrating results. Individual projects generally span twelve to twenty-four months and typically at a cost of less than $1.000 million per phase. Recent success stories and significant transitions of note include: • Virtual Raptor developed a suite of artificial intelligence (AI)-based tools to perform data analysis. Virtual Raptor’s tools can identify, visualize, and share phenomena, anomalies, and patterns in large and complex sets of mission data. The program successfully transitioned to the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Special Operations Command. • Smart Sensor is an autonomous sensor platform that significantly accelerates the time it takes to conduct object identification, target recognition, and placement of effects on target tasks. The Smart Sensor capability successfully transitioned to the U.S. Air Force.

Document Details

• Document Type: Project
• Publication Date: Oct 01, 2023
• Source ID: 720_0603338D8Z_3_0400_PB_2023

Tags

Readers

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

Technology Areas

• AI & ML
• AI & ML - DoD AI Strategy