Pentagon Holding Industry Day to Advance Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve Initiative

The Pentagon revealed that its officials are scheduled to meet with their industry counterparts to discuss ways of providing technologies requested by combatant commanders. The industry day, which is set for July 26, will focus on the Department of Defense’s Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve project, FedScoop reported Thursday.

The RDER effort targets to initially fund 32 prototype demonstrations based on technology needs identified by commanders as well as the various offices within the DOD. The department has requested about $70 million for the effort in fiscal 2023, and it plans to spend $377 million over the next five years.

The Pentagon described RDER as an initiative to encourage prototyping and experimentation to solve problems shared by the military services. The DOD will then select promising proposals, which will be entered into a competition for RDER funding. Proposals will be evaluated based on their alignment with the Joint Warfighting Concept and their potential to yield demonstrable warfighting utility.

The event will include classified briefings on the RDER program, proposal criteria and technology capability requirements, as well as “breakout sessions” where companies can discuss their proposals with program officials.

Advance registration is required. The response due date is July 20, FedScoop reported.

For her part, Defense Undersecretary Heidi Shyu said the private sector will play a key role in the RDER initiative. She added that industry days are essential to ensure that all concerned understand contemporary warfighting challenges and that the most creative ideas can be solicited from the industry.