Conduct and purchase defense-relevant research and development
Conduct basic, applied and advanced research and development internally, through military departments, by contract, or by agreement with another federal agency.
Contracts & purchases
ACQ-48 / Research, innovation and experimentation
Conduct COCOM experiments and make findings supporting transition
Each combatant commander can conduct experimentation, prototyping and technology demonstrations addressing command operational needs and support acquisition with written operational-need findings.
At a glance
Mission goalDevelop a technologyBring a prototype into use
Possible toolACQ-48 · Other statutory tools
Legal basisP.L. 119-60, §873
Responsible rolesPlanning · funds · approval · execution
Authority holder: Each combatant commander; senior contracting official retains applicable award role
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
- Technology/capability solution addresses command-identified operational need.
- §843 special contracting procedures must be followed when used.
Limits & exclusions
- Completion determination may fulfill listed justification/capability-need requirements; not waiver of all §3204 approvals or fiscal conditions.
- Sunset 2028-09-30.
Funding conditions
- Authority does not create a command-wide discretionary appropriation; identify lawful available funding and transition customer.
Who contributes what
Need & planning
- Combatant commander and innovation/experimentation staff
Resources
- Command or supporting component available project funds
Approval
- Commander; senior contracting official and applicable acquisition approver
Execution
- Command experiment team with supporting contracting/research organizations
Partners & review
- Service acquisition customer; Joint Staff; USD(A&S)
Office profile
Office profile
Office links are editorial matches to the original role text, not verified delegations. Composite labels and unmatched actors are preserved.
Coordination pathway
COCOM need and resource sponsor → experiment/prototype instrument → commander operational determination → senior contracting official and Service/customer funded transition.
Actor and execution-role sources
Legal basis
- P.L. 119-60, §873Enacted public law, not a pending bill.
- P.L. 118-31, §843Enacted public law, not a pending bill.
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.
EngagementProgram-specificRecorded executing role: Command experiment team with supporting contracting/research organizations. Use the responsible program’s process.
Confidence: High on express authority and cited conditions; execution assignment is illustrative unless statute expressly names it.
Currentness: P.L. 119-60 §873 read directly; authority expires 2028-09-30.
Review scope: Original research target October 2, 2026; no record-specific last-review date supplied. Publication is not legal-currentness certification.