INTERNATIONAL INNOVATION


As AFC works to define its international footprint, there are four recommenda- tions to improve and leverage the ITCs: Clearly define strategies and roles in the international arena; keep track of what has been done and who is doing it; show our partners we are serious; and hire the right people with the right talent.


STRATEGIES AND PRIORITIES Te creation of AFC changed established relationships in the Army’s acquisition community and created turbulent second- order effects in the complex international arena where ITCs operate. ITCs typi- cally sit at U.S. embassies overseas, where they represent the Army’s research and development enterprise in searching for technologies and facilitating interoper- ability. However, for ITCs to effectively accomplish their international collabo- ration goals, they must also engage with DOD offices, the Army acquisition enter- prise, and international partners both within and outside of NATO. As this interactive network slowly evolves, AFC must define and prioritize the research and technology it is seeking. Te “Big Six” modernization priorities represent a solid start; in fact, they are a near-term shop- ping list for many technologies that were developed 20 years ago and are only now coming to fruition.


To make the most of existing interna- tional partnerships and relationships, AFC must ensure that ITCs have a top- level engagement strategy that identifies the most important systems, subsystems and technologies necessary for the Army to dominate the interoperable and high- tech battlefield of tomorrow. Te Army Research Laboratory’s essential research programs are an example of releasable, far-reaching,


relevant technological


priorities that can be pushed to foreign universities, friendly foreign ministries of defense and even foreign industry to find


56 Army AL&T Magazine Winter 2020


world-leading research. However, they compete with the immediate goals of the modernization priorities, the Training and Doctrine Command’s Army Warfight- ing Challenges, and integrated priority lists—often classified and non-releasable— from the Army’s subordinate combatant commands.


Combined with DOD-level technology focus areas, the priority list is too long to


be effective. By blending input from key stakeholders and nailing down the chal- lenges to U.S. research (in government and industry), AFC can provide an effective path for ITCs to engage with international partners. Te result: Te best scientific minds around the globe will be thinking about the Army’s toughest technological challenges and filling the pipeline for solu- tions down the road. ITCs are well aware of the Army’s modernization priorities and


How complicated is ITC’s stakeholder network? Very.


The deputy assistant secretary of the Army for defense exports and cooperation (DASA(DE&C)), under the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology (ASA(ALT)), has statutory responsibility for international armaments coopera- tion (which includes collaborative research and development), but Army Futures Command and CCDC own the roughly 13,000 Army scientists and engineers that ITCs tap for the right subject-matter expertise.


ASA(ALT) also owns the deputy assistant secretary of the Army for research and technology (DASA(R&T)), which channels funding for 6.1 to 6.3 basic and early applied research to the Army’s science and technology enterprise, both within the United States and on the international front. These research and development funds underpin the grants that ITCs use to mature foreign basic research to answer far-reaching Army technology challenges, but ITCs must keep pace with DASA(R&T)’s research priorities, since DASA(R&T) pays the bills.


Finally, ITCs are funded by HQDA G-3/5/7 to facilitate “interopera- bility,” a term that nebulously describes the Army’s ability to fight side by side with foreign allies. Interoperability encompasses two broad areas: the tactics, techniques and procedures needed to work with allies, and the underpinning technology that allows U.S. systems to shoot, move and communicate with allies. Combat- ant commands focus on the former with joint exercises; ITCs, in conjunction with U.S. Embassy Offices of Defense Cooperation, the eight Army research centers and program executive offices, focus on the latter, facilitating the co-development of defense technolo- gies and systems that work on the international battlefield.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160  |  Page 161  |  Page 162  |  Page 163  |  Page 164  |  Page 165  |  Page 166  |  Page 167  |  Page 168  |  Page 169  |  Page 170  |  Page 171  |  Page 172  |  Page 173  |  Page 174  |  Page 175  |  Page 176