Foreign Comparative Testing Remains Promising Potential for Future Projects

PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. - The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Armaments Center seeks not only to create new technologies for the warfighter, but also to leverage foreign technologies to get new capabilities into Soldiers' hands faster.

One highly beneficial method of doing this is through the Foreign Comparative Test (FCT). This program connects mature technologies from foreign industry to the Department of War's research and development centers and acquisition offices to find, assess and delivery cutting-edge technologies.

The Armaments Center International Office works to promote the FCT program by identifying potential international collaboration opportunities, supporting proposal development and requirements validation and ensuring proposals are compliant and fully supported by the project managers and directors that will manage them as part of their acquisition strategies. The office collaborates with the DEVCOM Science and Technology Advisory Committee, Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Agile Sustainment and Ammunition (PAE AS&E) and other relevant parties to promote collaboration and produce highly rated proposals.

These proposals are then submitted to the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (OUSWRE) for consideration, with the intent of transitioning into a formal program of record and getting advanced technologies into warfighters' hands years faster, and for a fraction of the cost. This all avoids the costs and risks of having to restart testing, too, noted International Programs Manager Chirag Trivedi.

"By leveraging proven foreign solutions already in the production phase, we can effectively bypass lengthy and resource-intensive portions of the research, development, test and evaluation cycle," explained Trivedi.

Proposal requests are usually submitted between October and December of each year, with final selections being made in or around May. To be considered, technologies must bring novel approaches to the field, provide significant performance enhancements, and/or save deployment time and money. There are currently more than 40 active U.S. Army FCT projects with 16 partner nations, and the OUSWRE has funded these projects collectively for more than $40 million.

The Armament Center contributes a significant number of proposals every year - of the 12 approved in 2025, the Armaments Center submitted eight, and of the seven approved for 2026, the Armaments Center submitted four, two of which were collaborations with the PAE AS&E. Projects last between 12 and 30 months, with the U.S. military services responsible for testing and evaluation, and typically the OUSWRE provides between $600,000 and $1 million in funds, with a total per-project average of $857,000.

Three types of projects are utilized for FCTs. The comparative test pits multiple articles against each other and/or a set of military requirements, while the qualification test evaluates one item against military requirements. Prototype evaluation is performed to demonstrate how feasible a given technology is at overcoming technical risks while maintaining its military utility.

According to former International Cooperation Branch Chief Stacy Poto, the FCT program allows the Armaments Center to work with international partners who may have more advanced capabilities in certain areas. It also allows the center to fill gaps where there may be component shortages. All the while, the center and its allies gain considerable knowledge, network and build cooperative alliances with foreign experts.

Poto said she is often fascinated by the technological advancements other countries have made. The FCT program helps the Army maintain key relationships with those in possession of important technologies that could benefit to the Armaments Center, the warfighter, and the United States. Building good relationships for the future, while seeing "outside the box" approaches used in traditional U.S. technological programs, while building relationships that could be beneficial to the Army, is worth it.