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IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
January 23, 2004
DoD Selects
FBT Defense Equipment for Testing
The Department of Defense announced today that it
has selected Forward Based Technology's GRIDS interface project to
receive fiscal 2004 funding under the Foreign Comparative Testing (FCT)
Program. Authorized by Congress since 1980, the FCT Program is
administered by the deputy under secretary of defense (advanced
systems and concepts), Office of the under secretary of Defense
(Acquisition, Technology and Logistics).
The FCT Program demonstrates the value of using non-developmental
items to reduce development costs and accelerate the acquisition
process. The principal objective of the FCT Program is to support the
U.S. warfighter by leveraging non-developmental items of allied and
other friendly nations to satisfy U.S. defense requirements more
quickly and economically. This is to increase U.S. capabilities in the
war on terrorism and improve interoperability with our allies.
Given a first-rate foreign non-developmental item, U.S. user interest,
a valid operational requirement, and good procurement potential, the
FCT Program fields world-class systems and equipment not otherwise
available. At the same time, by promoting competition and eliminating
unnecessary research, development, test and evaluation expenses, the
FCT Program reduces total
ownership costs of military systems while enhancing standardization
and interoperability, promoting international cooperation, and
frequently serving as a catalyst for domestic industry partnering and
U.S. industry overseas.
Each year, the military services and Special Operations Command
nominate candidate projects to the Office of the Secretary of Defense
(Advanced Systems & Concepts) for FCT funding consideration. Each
proposed project is screened to ensure the fully mature technology
addresses valid requirements, to confirm a thorough market survey was
conducted to identify all potential contenders, and to verify the U.S.
military sponsor has developed a viable acquisition strategy to
procure the foreign item if it tests successfully and offers best
value.
Of the 29 new start projects for fiscal 2004, seven are sponsored by
the Army, five by the Navy, seven by the Marine Corps, four by the Air
Force, and six by the Special Operations Command. Additional FCT
Program information is available on the FCT Homepage on the Web site
http://www.acq.osd.mil/fct/ .
The FBT GRIDS interface project will demonstrate how the America's
Army recruiting web site can be linked to actual combat robot
weapons systems.
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Forward Based Technology, Inc. is a
small family-owned technology company located in the greater Seattle
area. Founded in 2002 by Edward Ponderevo and his nephew George
Ponderevo, FBT specializes in the creation and delivery of advanced
human-machine interfaces and intelligent agents.
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