The Sling, a complicated vehicle-mounted 120mm cell mortar system seen right here, is one instance of a undertaking funded via Foreign Comparative Testing.
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PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. – The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Armaments Center seeks not solely to create new applied sciences for the warfighter, but in addition to leverage international applied sciences to get new capabilities into Soldiers’ arms sooner.
One extremely useful methodology of doing that is via the Foreign Comparative Test (FCT). This program connects mature applied sciences from international trade to the Department of War’s analysis and improvement facilities and acquisition workplaces to search out, assess and supply cutting-edge applied sciences.
The Armaments Center International Office works to advertise the FCT program by figuring out potential worldwide collaboration alternatives, supporting proposal improvement and necessities validation and guaranteeing proposals are compliant and totally supported by the undertaking managers and administrators that can handle them as a part of their acquisition methods. The workplace collaborates with the DEVCOM Science and Technology Advisory Committee, Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Agile Sustainment and Ammunition (PAE AS&E) and different related events to advertise collaboration and produce extremely rated proposals.
These proposals are then submitted to the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (OUSWRE) for consideration, with the intent of transitioning into a proper program of document and getting superior applied sciences into warfighters’ arms years sooner, and for a fraction of the price. This all avoids the prices and dangers of getting to restart testing, too, famous International Programs Manager Chirag Trivedi.
“By leveraging proven foreign solutions already in the production phase, we can effectively bypass lengthy and resource-intensive portions of the research, development, test and evaluation cycle,” defined Trivedi.
Proposal requests are normally submitted between October and December of every yr, with ultimate picks being made in or round May. To be thought-about, applied sciences should convey novel approaches to the sector, present important efficiency enhancements, and/or save deployment money and time. There are presently greater than 40 lively U.S. Army FCT initiatives with 16 associate nations, and the OUSWRE has funded these initiatives collectively for greater than $40 million.
The Armament Center contributes a big variety of proposals yearly – of the 12 accepted in 2025, the Armaments Center submitted eight, and of the seven accepted for 2026, the Armaments Center submitted 4, two of which have been collaborations with the PAE AS&E. Projects final between 12 and 30 months, with the U.S. navy providers accountable for testing and analysis, and usually the OUSWRE supplies between $600,000 and $1 million in funds, with a complete per-project common of $857,000.
Three forms of initiatives are utilized for FCTs. The comparative take a look at pits a number of articles towards one another and/or a set of navy necessities, whereas the qualification take a look at evaluates one merchandise towards navy necessities. Prototype analysis is carried out to display how possible a given expertise is at overcoming technical dangers whereas sustaining its navy utility.
According to former International Cooperation Branch Chief Stacy Poto, the FCT program permits the Armaments Center to work with worldwide companions who might have extra superior capabilities in sure areas. It additionally permits the middle to fill gaps the place there could also be part shortages. All the whereas, the middle and its allies acquire appreciable data, community and construct cooperative alliances with international consultants.
Poto stated she is commonly fascinated by the technological developments different international locations have made. The FCT program helps the Army keep key relationships with these in possession of essential applied sciences that would profit to the Armaments Center, the warfighter, and the United States. Building good relationships for the long run, whereas seeing “outside the box” approaches utilized in conventional U.S. technological applications, whereas constructing relationships that may very well be useful to the Army, is price it.