Mid-Tier Acquisition has two distinct pathways, Rapid Fielding and Rapid Prototyping. Each provide flexible requirements to allow for proper development and learning through iterations.

Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node (TITAN) is a success of the Mid-Tier Acquisition Rapid Prototyping pathway. TITAN is a scalable and expeditionary intelligence ground station. TITAN leverages Space and High Altitude, Aerial, and Terrestrial layer sensors to nominate targets directly to fires command and control networks as well as multi-discipline intelligence.

High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) is an example of a successful Mid-Tier Acquisition. HADES will address Army requirements for medium to high altitude aerial Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance capabilities to rapidly gain and maintain situational understanding, freedom of maneuver, overmatch, and decision advantage in Multi-Domain Operations.

Terrestrial Layer System (TLS) Manpack rapid fielding keys to success. TLS Manpack is an example of a successful Mid-Tier Acquisition pathway.

It’s no secret the Department of Defense has a clear focus of moving fast to get after the Secretary of Defense’s goals to put the U.S. Military out ahead, bolstering lethality and readiness.

The Army’s ability to be lethal and ready relies, in part, to acquisition, the approach used to develop, procure and sustain military systems and equipment.

The world of Army acquisition is complex, with multiple ways of going about acquisition to get Soldiers the equipment they need. The traditional method, Major Capability Acquisition (MCA), is the method of choice when requirements are fully defined, the technology readiness level needs time to mature through development and testing, and the capability will result in a large, complex system with long term predictable needs.

In 2016, Congress created middle tier acquisition (MTA) pathway options allowing the Department of Defense to deliver capabilities within two to five years of an acquisition program’s initiation.

MTA’s help cut costs and timelines for new programs, allowing acquisition organizations develop and deliver high need capabilities to the Army faster than an MCA.

To be clear, the Army continues to utilize MCAs, but if you need to move fast, MTAs are the ticket.

In recent weeks, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth penned a memo titled Army Transformation and Acquisition Reform. The memo directs the Secretary of the Army to “reform the acquisition process” among other things.

The memo mentions a specific contract vehicle type Program Executive Office, Intelligence, Electronic Warfare & Sensors (PEO IEW&S) has long been a proponent and user of, Other Transaction Authority (OTA), which enables faster prototyping and fielding of critical technologies. OTA’s have been a critical contracting tool for the organization, helping it to accelerate the development of critical electromagnetic warfare, cyber and intelligence technologies, some of which are being delivered to warfighters right now.

In the last four years, PEO IEW&S has awarded seven OTAs.

Using Mid-Tier Acquisition

In the last few years, PEO IEW&S, in coordination with the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (ASA ALT), started choosing MTA pathways as another option to get things done fast.

MTAs are designed to be more flexible with regards to requirements, include numerous Soldier touchpoints (STP) for feedback and lean in on quick iterations to learn lessons and turn around updated products quickly.

“We find that MTAs provide the requirements flexibility necessary for us to successfully develop some of our systems,” Heidi Pavao, PEO IEW&S’ Program Acquisition and Cost Efficiencies Division Chief said.

In a typical MCA, a system is built to predetermined requirements. But with an MTA, strict requirements are replaced with desired characteristics which are more open-ended, allowing for more flexibility during development. Frequent STPs are built into the MTA timelines to ensure ample user data is provided to developers who will use it to refine future iterations of a system.

An MTA has two pathway options: Rapid Prototyping and Rapid Fielding.

Rapid Prototyping

  • Focused on developing a prototype capability to demonstrate its viability and utility within five years.
  • Typically used for new technologies or concepts that require validation before production.

Rapid Fielding

  • Involves deploying mature technologies to operational units within five years of initiating the program.
  • Focused on capabilities that are ready for production but require expedited delivery.

MTA Pathways can not only save time, but they can save money, and they provide the Army information to make informed decisions faster which ultimately impacts the Warfighter.

PEO IEW&S has several recent MTA success stories.

TITAN – Intelligence Hub for the Modern Battlefield

One example of the Rapid Prototyping pathway is the Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node (TITAN).

With deep sensing at the top of the priority list, the need for TITAN was urgent. TITAN’s main objective is to enhance the automation of target recognition and geolocation from multiple sensors, reducing sensor to shooter timelines and fusing the common intelligence picture. The ground station leverages space, high-altitude, aerial and terrestrial layer sensors.

With an Other Transaction Authority already in place, and initial assessment of technology maturity already complete, the TITAN program was put on a Rapid Prototyping MTA pathway. Flexible requirements, frequent Soldier touchpoints and most importantly, a quick timeline (5 years for prototyping) allowed the TITAN team to move quickly to prototype.

Greg Faragher, Chief Engineer for the TITAN program, has helped usher TITAN through the acquisition process successfully since its inception.

"With no formal requirements, an MTA for TITAN gave us a faster way to get into competition to build prototypes," Faragher noted.

"We delivered the system within two years; from program initiation to when we delivered our first system to 1 MDTF was 24 months," Richard Licata, Project Manager for Intelligence Systems said. "That's rocket fast…unheard of in a typical acquisition.”

According to the team, following the traditional MCA process would have taken two years just to get to a Critical Design Review -- the evidence of system viability and requirement satisfaction.

"TITAN is a capability the Army needs yesterday," Licata said. "Allowing us to do rapid prototyping allowed us to get TITAN to the field sooner than it would have if we followed an MCA."

Three TITANs have been delivered to units and the team is receiving quality user feedback already. Additional Basic and Advanced variants of TITAN are being manufactured and issued to units.

HADES – Next Gen ISR Platform

With a divesting legacy fleet of Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System (EMARSS), Project Director Sensors-Aerial Intelligence (PD SAI) had to move forward with the next generation of ISR platforms and the High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) is one of those programs.

“The strategic mission is the same, but we had to focus on future, next generation ISR platforms, pivoting away from legacy systems,” Tracy Novoa, Deputy PD, PD SAI said. “And in order to do that quickly, the MTA fit the bill.”

Currently in year two of its five-year MTA, the HADES program is benefitting from the Rapid Prototyping pathway.

“We’re getting constant user feedback to help us know if we’re meeting the mission needs and we can adjust requirements and keep with the iterative process,” Novoa said. “In the ISR space, technology and capabilities are changing so fast we can’t wait five plus years to develop a solution, we need to move a lot faster and pace industry.”

“We’re very pleased with the MTA process,” Novoa explained. “The flexible requirements and iterative process have allowed us to learn quickly, make meaningful changes to the system and save time and money as we get after developing the future ISR.”

HADES will be a multi-faceted deep sensing capability outfitted on high altitude, faster business jets and will provide stand-off from enemy anti-access/area denial systems.

Novoa’s team is developing the HADES prototypes in tranches, aiming for the first prototype to be ready in FY26.

TLS Manpack – Big Capability, Small Form Factor

Electromagnetic warfare (EW) and cyberspace are two relatively new spaces the Army is developing its capabilities. MTA pathways are especially useful for new areas of research and development due to the flexible requirements which allow developers to think creatively about how a system or systems could work.

Terrestrial Layer System (TLS) Manpack is an example of a successful Rapid Fielding MTA. Mature technology allowed the development team to head right into a Rapid Fielding pathway.

"TLS Manpack was very successful. It is pretty much the poster child for how you go into a rapid fielding through an MTA," Lt. Col. John Cross, Product Manager Tactical Spectrum Warfare said.

The team went from idea to fielding manpacks across the Army in about 18 months thanks to mature technology, a competitive source selection, and a team with the willingness to move forward fast.

TLS Manpack was already scheduled for 51 brigades and started fielding in August 2024.

MTAs provide a lot of learning opportunities due to the nature of their use, either early on when you need to prototype or if technology is mature and rapid fielding is more appropriate. Cross offered some valuable insight for MTAs through his experience with TLS Manpack.

"Align soldier touchpoints and keep them organic as possible, try to use the same people on all your STPs through the lifecycle of the product. This will save time on training and, as iterations of the system come online, the feedback will be more consistent. Those Soldiers have an understanding of where the system was originally and now where it's going, which is helpful."

The TLS Manpack MTA and all the lessons learned will influence future system requirements. The MTA showed how strong partnerships with industry and leveraging commercial items to get a foundation can jumpstart a program and allow for faster fielding to Soldiers.

A Flexible Future

The future of MTA usage in the Army and across the DoD appears strong. They offer a faster and more flexible approach to prototyping and fielding and when the acquisition stars align, provide the perfect path to fast track capability development. Some of PEO IEW&S MTAs have already helped shape the way the Army utilizes MTAs in the future.

“We’ll continue to leverage MTAs as much as possible and where it makes sense,” Brig. Gen. Ed Barker, Program Executive Officer, PEO IEWS said. “MTAs are another tool in our acquisition kit bag that we can access to get urgently needed capabilities into the hands of our Soldiers.”