Army Applications Laboratory Broad Agency Announcement for Disruptive Technologies

The Army that fought and won World War II relied on commercial industry and civilian ingenuity for the machines and technology that enabled Allied victory. Army investments and civilian know-how set the stage for the high-tech revolution that continues to fuel global markets over seventy years later. Today, as the accelerated rate of technological change in areas like artificial intelligence, robotics and autonomy, and power and energy presages unprecedented opportunities and threats, the Army seeks to renew its commitment to the revolutionary ideas and civilian research and development partnerships that will ensure the safety and prosperity of the nation in the years to come.

United States Army Futures Command (AFC) is focused on modernizing the Army and focuses on seven priorities:

Long-Range Precision Fires
Next Generation of Combat Vehicles
Future Vertical Lift Platforms
Army Network

Network Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence
Assured Position Navigation and Timing

Air and Missile Defense Capabilities
Soldier Lethality

Soldier Lethality
Synthetic Training Environment

Contested Logistics

AFC's cross-functional teams (CFTs) are the Army’s vehicle for force modernization, ensuring capability overmatch for Army forces on future battlefields.

While the Army plays a unique role in our society to deploy, fight, and win decisively against any adversary, anytime, and anywhere, many of the technologies that the Army relies on to accomplish this mission are being propelled by the civilian world. Army modernization priorities related to manned and unmanned vehicles, space systems, sensing, networks and connectivity, data visualization and gaming, space, and human performance monitoring (to name a few) all have substantial overlap with civilian sources, uses, and markets.

To capitalize on opportunities for breakthrough research and development in key civil-military technology areas relevant to the Army’s modernization priorities, AFC has established...