USING CHALLENGE-BASED ACQUISITIONS TO SUPPORT ARMY MODERNIZATION AND ACHIEVE REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE THROUGH EVOLUTIONARY, INCREMENTAL STEPS

Abstract

This project identifies strategic objectives of the United States Army’s aviation modernization efforts and explores the use of Challenge Based Acquisitions (ChBA) as an effective approach to efficiently capture innovation which can transition into capabilities that support the Warfighter. This research investigates if a ChBA procurement approach can be effectively applied to Army’s Aviation Modernization priorities, permitting continuous iterative access to DoD and commercial industry innovations. The goal is to achieve fast, inexpensive, and simple capability improvements that capture innovation and support incremental modernization of revolutionary technology. Methodology examines the United States Army’s strategic objectives in its efforts to modernize aviation and conduct a qualitative comparative analysis between ChBA and other Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)-based procurement approaches on their ability to stimulate the intended market. This project proposes a conceptual framework under which the U.S. Army might employ ChBA to effectively pursue innovative aviation concepts that can be used to bridge the technology gap and transition aviation capabilities to the Warfighter.