EconDefense
ACQ-09 / Research, innovation and experimentation

Accelerate commercialization through the Rapid Innovation Program

Use competitive contracts, cooperative agreements and OTs to transition innovative small-business/laboratory/prototype technologies into defense acquisition programs.

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Authority / instrument · ACQ-09

Transition & scaling

Research, innovation and experimentation

Statute & instrument
Authority holder

Secretary of Defense

What this does not authorize / hard limit

Normally 2 years of program funding; added year requires approval.

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-09 · Other statutory tools
Legal basis10 U.S.C. §4061

Authority holder: Secretary of Defense

Other statutory tools

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

  • Merit-based selection and small-business preference; proposals reviewed with military-department Offices of Small Business Programs.

Limits & exclusions

  • Normally 2 years of program funding; added year requires approval.
  • Statute has a $6m project provision alongside aggregate restriction on awards over $6m; read the actual program guidance/appropriation rather than assuming unlimited awards.

Funding conditions

  • RDT&E appropriations subject to availability; express transfers to Service/Defense Agency/USSOCOM RDT&E accounts for qualifying proposals.

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

Acquisition customer identifies insertion → component small-business/research office → selection and funded transition plan → receiving program.

Actor and execution-role sources

Legal basis

  • 10 U.S.C. §4061Primary 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.

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

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