Winter 2019: Volume 6 Number 1

A s an extension to our regular operations, the DSIAC Basic Center of Operation (BCO) has conducted 58 externally-funded efforts to date on behalf of the defense system (DS) community. These externally-funded efforts are known as core analysis tasks (CATs). CATs are established in support of DS government customers who want to leverage DSIAC expertise for specific scientific or technical research and analysis efforts that exceed the DSIAC BCO’s free services (such as technical inquiries). DSIAC has had the privilege of augmenting our BCO mission support to the DS community, averaging 10+ CATs per year since its establishment in the beginning of 2014.

Although the work performed as part of a CAT varies in terms of the work scope specifics, it carries a few common traits. CAT work is within the technical scope of DSIAC’s mission (i.e., related to any of the nine focus areas chartered to DSIAC) and is analytical or research related.

Additionally, each CAT produces new scientific and technical information that is uploaded to the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) for knowledge reuse within the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) community. Finally, CAT projects are always less than 1-year efforts, with funding that cannot exceed $1 million.

We have performed a variety of work efforts for various different government customers. For example, DSIAC developed a survivability training program for The Office of the Director, Test & Evaluation; designed and tested a technology prototype for the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL); implemented an analytical war-gaming capability for the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory; characterized tire damage to combat vehicles for the Program Management Office Advanced Amphibious Assault; conducted reliability analysis of weapon systems for the Army Materiel Systems Analysis Activity; and established a multifunction radio frequency radar database for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and ARL. These are just a sampling of the vast array of work we have done under CAT efforts.

The CAT program provides the DoD community with a contracting vehicle to obtain specialized support for specific projects from DSIAC. You can easily and directly obtain DSIAC support for your project by using a CAT; the process to initiate one is designed to be fast, flexible, and low cost. CATs are normally awarded within 6 to 8 weeks from the time that the work requirements are defined and approved. For more information on the CAT program, visit DTIC’s newly-updated website (https://dodiac.dtic.mil) and/or contact us at DSIAC directly (contact@dsiac.org /443-360-4600). We look forward to continuing to support the DoD, not only through our regularly scheduled BCO activities, but through our additional CAT work as well.