- US Army Futures Command is a newly-established four-star command aimed at the rapid development and fielding of new technology for future warfare.
- The command, backed by tens of billions of dollars in funding, is looking to engage traditional defense firms, as well as non-traditional companies, to achieve its modernization goals.
- Business Insider recently asked Gen. John Murray, the head of Army Futures Command, who industry needs to know to do business with the command. Here's what he had to say.
For the US Army, Futures Command is a newly-established four-star command aimed at the rapid development and fielding of new technology for future warfare.
For companies interested in doing business with the Army, it is a multi-billion market opportunity.
Business Insider recently talked to Gen. John Murray, the commander of Army Futures Command, about who companies need to know to do business with the command. These are the 15 big players companies want to get to know.
The names are in bold in the organizational chart below.
"That's a lot of people to get to know," Murray told BI, adding that who firms need to know depends on the type of company.
"If it is more toward the small business or start-up, I would say [start] here in Austin, [Texas] with Col. Rosanoff and Beth [Scherr]. That would be the right place," he explained. "If it's more toward the traditional defense [contractor], it's probably best to focus on that cross-functional team director/[program manager] relationship."
Army Futures Command achieved full operational capability in July, just one year after its headquarters was stood up in Austin, Texas to facilitate the Army's largest modernization effort in more than four decades.
The command is currently tackling more than 30 signature systems projects spread across six priorities overseen by eight cross-functional teams.
The command, headquartered in Austin, recently delivered its first major achievement, when it fielded the Enhanced Night Vision Goggles - Binocular with the Family of Weapon Sight - Individual to soldiers in the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley in Kansas.
In its first year, Army Future Command grew from having only about a dozen people to having tens of thousands of people working at the command, largely through a realignment of existing modernization commands. Furthermore, the command is pursuing its ambitions with an estimated $30 billion in fiscal 2020 funding available for investments in new innovations.
And now is a good time for companies to connect with the command. Army Futures Command, now that it's reached full operational capabilities, is looking to engage industry partners, both traditional and non-traditional, to advance its modernization priorities.
"There's lots of things we need to spend more time focusing on, and I think one of those is formalizing and getting a better handle on the connections with small businesses and entrepreneurs," Murray said. "That being said, I also realize there's no way the Army is ever going to modernize without the continued relations and improving relationships with the defense primes."