EconDefense
ACQ-05 / Research, innovation and experimentation

Award follow-on production or sustainment after a successful prototype OT

Implement or expand successful prototype results through a follow-on production contract or transaction, including sustainment; a successful consortium subproject need not await all other subprojects.

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At a glance

Possible toolACQ-05 · Other transactions

Authority holder: Authorized §4022 awarding official; covered official approves follow-on awards above statutory threshold

Other transactions

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

  • Noncompetitive follow-on requires competitive selection of prototype participants and successful completion of the relevant prototype.
  • Award to participants and documentation tying production to successful result.

Limits & exclusions

  • A noncompetitive prototype does not automatically create noncompetitive production eligibility.
  • Follow-ons above $100m require covered-official findings and notice when exercised; paragraph(d) participation/cost-share tests do not reapply to production.

Funding conditions

  • Production/sustainment funds appropriate to the deliverable; prototype dollars do not assure a funded transition.

Read the funding and execution guide

Who contributes what

Need & planning

  • Operational requirement owner; Service/component portfolio acquisition executive and program manager

Resources

  • Sponsoring Service/component appropriations manager and comptroller

Approval

  • Service/component acquisition executive and authorized contracting authority, at applicable threshold

Execution

Partners & review

  • User command
  • Counsel, fiscal, engineering, testing, logistics and security staff as applicable

Office links are editorial matches to the original role text, not verified delegations. Composite labels and unmatched actors are preserved.

Coordination pathway

User and program office agree success and adoption → budget owner provides production/sustainment funding → covered official if needed → authorized contracting/agreements officer.

Actor and execution-role sources

What this research establishes

Legal powerSource and conditions recorded
EligibilityProject-specific check needed
Available fundsBalances not verified
DelegationValid signature authority must be checked
ExecutionOffice capacity and approvals must be checked

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. OLRC indexed §4022 currency 2026-09-15; prototype source and success remain transaction-specific.

Research target: October 2, 2026. A record-specific last-review date is not supplied. Publication date is not legal-currentness certification.