BETTER SOLUTIONS, FASTER
Government problem owners are on the hunt for better, faster, and cheaper ways to meet immediate operational needs. AAL works with creative, agile companies to speed up capability development, limit technology risk to Army investments, and identify the most promising commercial solutions, especially in areas where technology is booming and there’s a growing demand across the force – including AI, alternative fuels, drones, autonomy, and other areas.
Minimize Risk
By using a co-funding approach including sister services, industry, and others and applying multiple funding sources, we lower financial and technology risk for government problem owners that have dedicated budgets and deadlines. This approach helps you gain valuable insight, inform requirements, and better determine if your project can go from concept to a solution in Soldiers' hands.
EXAMPLE | Our Cohort ProgramFunding Streams
We pull from several different funding sources such as RDT&E, SBIR, and private capital, allowing us to cast a wider net for solution development while improving the odds of companies’ success on your projects. This blended approach uses existing programs in new ways and creates flexibility within programs that need technology on a timeline.
RDT&E
Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) funding, is a type of funding provided by the Department of Defense (DOD) to support scientific and technical research and development. AAL's congressionally provided RDT&E funds allow us to fund projects up to prototype (TRL 6).
Have More Questions?SBIR
The Army's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding is dedicated to research and development (R&D) projects for small businesses. Learn more about how AAL uses SBIR funding through the SPARTN program.
Learn More About SPARTN ProgramPRIVATE CAPITAL
There are times when private capital investment makes sense for a company because it can advance technology development, increase available features, reduce timelines, and support small organizations in need of capital. If companies are interested, we will facilitate introductions to a curated selection of VCs in our network.
Have More Questions?Frequently Asked Questions
If you want to find commercial technology that could solve an operational need but don't have the time or resources to explore and validate the solutions on your own, then we are the perfect partner for you. The Army doesn't have a problem creating new widgets; we have a problem getting products into the hands of Soldiers. And, while the Army and DoD have organizations dedicated to finding new technology, solutions discovered in the commercial market don't always align to an identified problem. We can help with both.
AAL partners closely with Cross Functional Teams (CFTs) within Army Futures Command (AFC) as well as with appropriate Program Executive Offices (PEO) and Program Managers (PMs) at the beginning of every project, embedding them into the capability development process to align funding and speed transition. We also work across the Army, acting as a broker, to transfer solutions from Science & Technology (S&T) to ASA(ALT) for validation and fielding to Programs of Record.
Our network includes big companies, small companies, and everything in between. What they share is a desire to work on Army problems, even if they've never worked with the government before. AAL's dedicated Commercial Ventures team actively curates and manages this network of nontraditional solvers, venture capital firms, aggregators, and industry partners within each of our four technology focus areas.