The U.S. Army is inviting industry leaders, investors, and innovators to help build the future force by co-investing in its installations, technology, energy infrastructure, and industrial base.
In a request for information (RFI) published Friday, the service asks private-sector partners to propose operating models amenable to co-investment, public-private partnership structures for long-term viability, and contracts or lease arrangements optimized for dual-use assets and infrastructure.
According to the service, responses should be commercially sustainable, diversified across commercial and government markets, and not dependent solely on Army appropriations.
“[The] U.S. Army cannot rely solely on annual congressional appropriations to solve its critical modernization requirements. We must unlock the overwhelming advantage resident in American industry and capital markets by deploying private-sector financing and expertise against the Army’s longstanding challenges and projects critical to Army priorities,” the RFI reads.
The RFI says the most compelling responses will show a clear path to a diversified customer base across commercial and government markets, with the Army potentially acting as a stable, long-term partner to de-risk initial investments and help scale the enterprise.
Responses to the RFI are due April 2.
The RFI is part of a new initiative by the Army to “partner with the private sector, seeking to harness the speed and ingenuity of the commercial market to accelerate a historic, enterprise-wide modernization effort.”
“The strategic vision for this is building the Army of tomorrow with private industry today,” Dave Fitzgerald, deputy undersecretary of the Army, said in a statement. “We know we have to move at the speed of innovation. This initiative is a direct invitation to the private sector to become our partner in a historic modernization effort.”
The Army is seeking innovative solutions across the full spectrum of its operations. This initiative focuses on six strategic pillars, but is not limited to:
- Energy Resilience and Dominance
- Organic Industrial Base
- Strengthening Logistics and Supply Chains
- Real Assets and Facilities Utilization
- Advanced Manufacturing & Technology Adoption
- Critical Minerals and Resource Development
“We are really looking for innovative models of both financing and operating on how the Army can help de-risk these investments for private capital and how we can align long-term return for our partners with the Army’s co-mission,” said Fitzgerald.