A History of the Department of Defense Federally Funded Research and Development Centers.

Abstract

Between the onset of World War II and 1991, more than 70 centers were created that came to be known collectively as Department of Defense (DoD) Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs). The maximum in existence at any one time was 43, in 1972. An ongoing sequence of DoD reviews has affirmed a continuing need for some FFRDCs. Other FFRDCs have been either discontinued because they were no longer required or, far more commonly, decertified as FFRDCs and allowed to continue, whether on a not-for-profit basis or not, without the FFRDC mantle. Currently, there are 10 DoD FFRDCs. These can be categorized as study and analysis centers, systems engineering and integration centers, and laboratories. DoD study and analysis FFRDCs have had a special role in combat modeling and simulation. Their history over the past 50 years is the focus of this background paper, which forms part of the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) study of defense modeling and simulation. To provide perspective, some information on other DoD FFRDCs is included.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1995
Accession Number
ADA336049

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Airborne Warning And Control System
  • Defense Systems
  • Employment
  • Engineers
  • Jet Propulsion
  • Law
  • National Security
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • Operations Research
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Recreation
  • Space Systems
  • Systems Engineering
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Test Facilities

Readers

  • Defense Technology Research and Development.
  • Military Mobilization and Reserve Forces Studies.