ARDEC

Customers & Partners

ARDEC has a long history of partnering with industry, universities and non-military government agencies throughout the research, development, production and fielding of advanced armaments for the soldier. As ARDEC transforms beyond traditional firepower towards such areas as scaleable effects directed energy weapons, nanotechnolgies, and more lethal precision munitions in ever smaller packages, ARDEC seeks new partners to meet these needs.

ARDEC has a public/private partnering focus to build joint programs which leverage both defense and commercial investment and technology. One example the Defense Ordnance Technology Center (DOTC). Through the innovative use of Other Transactions contracting authority, the DOTC is a critical mass of world class technologists, facilities and expertise operating in an integrated consortia of industry, academia and DoD agencies all actively engaged in warheads, energetics and fuzing technology. The DOTC fosters partnering throughout the lifecycle from basic research to manufacturing and demilitarization, and shared vision and technology objectives in support of the Army Transformation. ARDEC is also using Other Transactions to partner with "Silicon Valley" for cost-shared, co-development of micro-electromechanical (MEMS) technology for precision munitions guidance and control. A common MEMS Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), along with the expanded commercial production base and corresponding economies of scale, will provide major cost savings to the military.

Although ARDEC's principal mission is to mature technologies for armaments applications, ARDEC also looks for ways to transfer beneficial technologies to public use. ARDEC has recently transferred technologies to the law enforcement community such as non lethal, aversive technologies for crowd control and a forcible entry device for breeching doors. ARDEC's military warheads expertise is helping the oil and gas industry develop more effective oil drilling technology. Our manufacturing technology program is transferring a variety of technologies to U.S. industry such as model-based control and environmentally safer manufacturing methods. ARDEC has over 80 active Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs).