SD-2 Dod Acquisitions Buying Commercial Items And Nondevelopmental ItemsThis document offers guidance on acquisitions involving all types of commercial and nondevelopmental items: systems, subsystems, assemblies, parts, and items of supply. Commercial services are also addressed.This document does not present a “cookbook” approach to the acquisition of commercial and nondevelopmental items; such an approach could not accommodate the vast array of potential applications. It does offer lessons learned and things to consider when participating on an integrated product team.

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Appendix  D.  Foreign  Comparative  Testing

Program

The Foreign Comparative Testing (FCT) program is a congressionally mandated effort that sup- ports U.S. policy encouraging international armaments cooperation and helps reduce overall DoD acquisition costs by facilitating the procurement of foreign NDIs.

FCT involves the test and evaluation of items of defense equipment developed by U.S. allies and other friendly nations to determine whether such equipment can satisfy requirements iden- tified by the military services and the commanders in chief to correct mission area shortcom- ings. Candidate projects are nominated annually by the military services to the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Projects that survive the screening process are prioritized by order of merit, and a summary of the recommended projects is provided to Congress for use in its au- thorization and appropriation actions for the upcoming year.

FCT funding supports lease and procurement of foreign test articles and subsequent test and evaluation by the sponsoring service. Priority for FCT funding is given to test and evaluation

of NDI equipment that demonstrates good potential to satisfy U.S. requirements with little or no modification. As a low priority, technical aspects of foreign equipment or systems may be assessed.Testing of U.S. items in side-by-side comparisons with foreign items is not funded by the FCT program. Costs associated with the testing of U.S. items are borne by the appropriate service or U.S. Special Operations Command.

Generally, projects approved for test and evaluation through the FCT program are funded for no more than 2 years, although test and evaluation of complex systems may be funded for a longer period. Candidates for FCT funding must meet certain criteria:

•  Demonstrate that the system meets a requirement for which no U.S. system exists or pro- vides significant cost, schedule, or performance advantages over an existing U.S. system

•  Support the above conclusion with thorough market research (for guidance in conducting market research, see SD-5, Market Research: Gathering InJormation About Commercial Products and Services)

•  Establish that no offshore procurement restrictions exist

•  Identify funds available to procure equipment that will meet the requirement against which the foreign item is being evaluated

•  Identify any potential for establishing a U.S. source to produce the item

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