EconDefense
ACQ-04 / Research, innovation and experimentation

Prototype technology, processes and business arrangements with flexible OTs

Carry out directly defense-relevant prototypes, including proofs of concept, business processes, reverse engineering for obsolescence, commercial-technology pilots and agile development.

Action briefPDF dossier · original 168Download record
Authority / instrument · ACQ-04

Other transactions

Research, innovation and experimentation

Statute & instrument
Authority holder

DARPA Director, DIU Director, military-department Secretary, or official designated by Secretary of Defense

What this does not authorize / hard limit

Above $100m through $500m: nondelegable written determination by specified contracting/agency head; above $500m: senior approval plus 30-day congressional advance notice.

Recorded executor

DARPA Contracts Management Office or Service contracting/grants/agreements office; Performing laboratory or external research performer

Continue to actor →

Recorded executing role; this record-specific route is not an additional institutional office.

Legal basisSources linkedLegal sources and instrument limits are recorded.
RequirementsGates recordedRead the requirements for this instrument; applicability depends on the proposed action.
Public fundingRules recordedThe record states funding rules and conditions; no program amount is attributed to this action.
Assigned rolesRoles recordedPublic sources describe institutional authority. The instrument identifies approval and execution roles; a specific signature remains transaction-dependent.
EngagementRole recordedRecorded executing role: DARPA Contracts Management Office or Service contracting/grants/agreements office; Performing laboratory or external research performer. Use the responsible program’s process.

Public evidence describes the institution and instrument; it is not approval of an individual transaction.

At a glance

Possible toolACQ-04 · Other transactions

Authority holder: DARPA Director, DIU Director, military-department Secretary, or official designated by Secretary of Defense

Other transactions

Mechanism tags describe the source text; they do not expand the authority.

Availability and verification

Express statutory pathway; award-specific appropriations, available balances, delegations, implementation and approvals not independently verified.

Requirements and limits

Eligibility & prerequisites

  • At least one eligibility path: significant nontraditional contractor/nonprofit participation; all significant nonfederal participants small/nontraditional; one-third nonfederal cost share; or senior-procurement-executive exceptional-circumstances finding.
  • Competition to maximum extent practicable.

Limits & exclusions

  • Above $100m through $500m: nondelegable written determination by specified contracting/agency head; above $500m: senior approval plus 30-day congressional advance notice.
  • Procurement-integrity law applies; agreement must address applicable audit access.

Funding conditions

  • Existing lawfully available project funds; prototype instrument does not supply an appropriation.

Read the funding and execution guide

Who contributes what

Need & planning

  • USD(R&E) and Service science-and-technology executives
    Office profile
  • DARPA or Service laboratory/program manager

Resources

  • Sponsoring component RDT&E budget owner; component comptroller
    Office profile

Approval

  • Secretary of Defense or military-department Secretary; valid delegate must be confirmed
    Office profile

Execution

  • DARPA Contracts Management Office or Service contracting/grants/agreements office
    Office profile
  • Performing laboratory or external research performer

Partners & review

  • Operational customer / acquiring program
  • Security, export-control, counsel and fiscal officials as applicable

Office links are editorial matches to the original role text, not verified delegations. Composite labels and unmatched actors are preserved.

Coordination pathway

Operational sponsor supplies need and funding → DIU/DARPA/Service agreements officer structures eligible prototype → threshold approver → technical success assessment.

Actor and execution-role sources

Legal basis

  • 10 U.S.C. §4022(a)-(e)Primary statutory text; primary GovInfo baseline and amendment audit identified in research narrative.
  • 10 U.S.C. §4021Primary statutory text; primary GovInfo baseline and amendment audit identified in research narrative.

What this research establishes

Legal basisSources linkedLegal sources and instrument limits are recorded.
RequirementsGates recordedRead the requirements for this instrument; applicability depends on the proposed action.
Public fundingRules recordedThe record states funding rules and conditions; no program amount is attributed to this action.
Assigned rolesRoles recordedPublic sources describe institutional authority. The instrument identifies approval and execution roles; a specific signature remains transaction-dependent.
EngagementRole recordedRecorded executing role: DARPA Contracts Management Office or Service contracting/grants/agreements office; Performing laboratory or external research performer. Use the responsible program’s process.

Confidence: High on express authority and cited conditions; execution assignment is illustrative unless statute expressly names it.

Currentness: GovInfo 2024 Code (includes FY2025 NDAA, P.L. 118-159) read in full for cited provision; targeted FY2026 NDAA P.L. 119-60 amendment/repeal sweep. No claim of complete legislative currency through 2026-10-02; remaining 2026 delta needs counsel validation. OLRC indexed current text dated 2026-09-15 cross-checked for key thresholds and eligibility.

Review scope: Original research target October 2, 2026; no record-specific last-review date supplied. Publication is not legal-currentness certification.

Related tools in this family