The U.S. Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) took this method a step further with their Army Strategic Rapid Acquisition (AStRA) competition by asking two questions: What if you had to explain something before you even started and what if the duck could talk back?

The xTech RCCTO AStRA Competition, which began in May and is now moving towards contract award, was open to companies and academic institutions who wanted to share their best ideas for emerging military technology, with the ultimate goal of putting the most promising capabilities on contract for rapid delivery.

Companies responded to a call for White Paper submissions through either the Army xTech or beta.Sam.gov websites. Those selected moved on to Phase 2 presented their pitches at the Georgia Technical Research Institute (GTRI) headquarters in Atlanta to a panel of expert judges during the week of June 28.