Rapid Reaction Fund
Abstract
The Rapid Reaction Fund (RRF) produces innovative prototypes with a high potential for disruptive improvement, and transitions them to joint warfighters and Combatant Commands (CCMDs). RRF anticipates adversaries' exploitation of technology, including current and emerging commercial capabilities, and rapidly responds to new threats and opportunities. Project selection is guided by department-level strategies and priorities, such as the National Defense Strategy and the DoD’s modernization areas. Needs are identified and prototype projects are funded within 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. These lower-cost prototypes and innovative business processes give the USD(R&E) the agility to quickly explore new, higher-risk technology areas that have the potential for immediate, game-changing impacts. In prior years, RRF supported the creation of novel sensing systems; provided low-cost capabilities for small-footprint operations; expanded human, social, and cultural knowledge relevant to military decision making; increased small unit situational awareness; produced advanced biometrics and forensics capabilities; performed strategic multi-layer assessments; and, established a prototyping through non-traditional pathways outreach effort that facilitates better interactions with small, non-traditional companies developing innovative technologies. In FY 2019 and FY 2020, RRF will continue to support the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering and provide a hedge against technology risk by identifying and delivering near-term capabilities to support irregular warfare operations. Focus areas for RRF include: disparate data fusion; autonomous systems and behaviors; urban characterization for enhanced lethality; prototypes for interconnected sensors and command networks; novel manufacturing to rapidly field prototypes; and, novel applications of repurposed commercial-off-the-shelf and government-off-the-shelf technologies. Recent success stories and significant transitions of note include: • High Accuracy Video Object Classification (HAVOC): A prototype system that provided an automated, machine learning enabled, target recognition capability for expeditionary forces using a desktop computer. HAVOC transitioned to an intelligence community partner in 2018, and HAVOC technologies have been incorporated into Project Maven. • Wide-area Infrared System for 360-Degree Persistent (WISP) surveillance: WISP prototyped and implemented a long-wave infrared hemispherical sensor for surveillance and tracking of moving objects. This effort supports the counter-unmanned aerial systems mission by expanding the sensor’s field of view to 90 degrees elevation and refining the detection algorithms for the new targets. WISP transitioned to the U.S. Air Force. • Future Infrared Search and Track (FIRST): FIRST created a novel method of building optical sensors capable of staring over a wide field of view with high resolution. The advantages of this method include producing an image with more pixels than the focal plane array, decoupling the field of view from the aspect ratio of the focal plane, and extending the field of view beyond the optical design. The FIRST prototype transitioned to the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Office of Naval Research for follow-on testing, development, and deployment. • Social Network Aided Geolocation (SNAG): SNAG prototyped a suite of automated machine learning algorithms that accurately estimate geolocations for social media messages from location-indicative terms and metadata features. This capability provides location estimates for the large volume of social media content that is not explicitly geotagged. Geospatial analysis of social media has proven effective for identifying and tracking actors of interest as well as understanding local concerns and sentiments within an area of interest. SNAG transitioned to the Defense Intelligence Agency’s GOSSIP architecture, which is widely used across the intelligence community.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Project
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2020
- Source ID
- 828_0603826D8Z_3_0400_PB_2020
Related Documents
- Root: Quick Reaction Special Projects (QRSP)
- Child Accomplishment: Low Cost Innovative Projects (Projects less than one million dollars each)
- Child Accomplishment: Strategic Multi-Layered Assessment (SMA) Reach Back Cell
- Child Accomplishment: Faster Short Tandem Repeat (FaSTR) Human Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) Profiling System
- Child Accomplishment: Biometrics and Forensics Science and Technology for Identity Dominance
- Child Accomplishment: Prototyping Through Non-Traditional Pathways
- Child Accomplishment: Disparate Data Fusion, Analysis, and Applications for Networked Systems Focus Area
- Child Accomplishment: Autonomous Learning Systems and Behaviors Focus Area
- Child Accomplishment: Enhanced Lethality in the Contested Urban Environment Focus Areas
- Child Accomplishment: Rapid Prototyping for Systems and Applications of Interconnected Sensors and Command Networks Focus Area
- Child Accomplishment: Novel Manufacturing Focus Area
- Child Accomplishment: Prototyping Through Novel Reuse of Government/Commercial-Off-the–Shelf (G/COTS) Technologies Focus Area