The Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT) is an Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering, OUSD(R&E) program, started in Fiscal Year 2022, to provide procurement funding for innovative projects that have completed development and are ready to transition into operational use.
Funding amounts of $10M-$50M are awarded to projects with small business or non-traditional performers to accelerate initial production and reduce the overall procurement timeline. The OUSD(R&E), conducts a competitive down-select process each year using evaluation criteria including impact to the warfighter, sustainment support, and applicability to the broader DoD.
The APFIT program has invested almost $590M to help 46 companies across the United States, creating jobs and increasing production capability for the future. This has enabled companies to attract three times the APFIT investment in procurement contracts and commitments from other government entities — for a total of more than $2B of follow-on investment.
Projects are awarded in coordination with a Service, Combatant Command, Defense Agency, or other organization and have included everything from procurement of undersea sensors to the manufacture and launch of satellites.