Air Force Spending on Other Transaction Agreements for Cybersecurity, FY 2020-2022

The Department of Defense (DoD) and the military departments (MILDEPs) have been using Other Transaction Authority (OTA) contracts to acquire and develop information technology (IT) capabilities for many years, and the Air Force is no exception. The latest OTA spending data reveals, however, that Air Force spending for cybersecurity capabilities has fluctuated over the last few fiscal years (FY), showing both strong growth and modest declines.

Total Cybersecurity-Related OTA Spending, FY 2020-2022

From FY 2020 through FY 2022 the Air Force spent an aggregate $333M on cybersecurity-related efforts using OTAs. After more than 50% growth from FY 2020 to FY 2021, AF spending on OTAs for cybersecurity efforts declined by 15% from FY 2021 to FY 2022. Nonetheless, the FY 2022 level remains 30% above the FY 2020 level. (See chart below.)

Cybersecurity-Related OTA Spending by Air Force Organization, FY 2020-2022

The latest spending data shows that cyber-related work via OTA at the Air Force is very concentrated among a handful of organizations, but this not entirely surprising since OTAs and these organizations both fit with the development of new, emerging capabilities and technologies. The demand for innovation fits with both the mission of these organizations and the purpose and benefits of using OTA.

Dominating the current spending on OTA for cyber is the Air Force Lifecycle Management Center (AFLCMC), specifically the C3I/Networks Directorate at the AFLCMC. Other organizations using OTA contracts for cyber-related efforts include the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), the 16th Air Force (Air Forces Cyber), and the Air Force Agency for Modeling and Simulation (AFAMS). Note, several OTAs provided no additional buying organization on the contract beyond the Air Force. (See chart below.)

Top Air Force Cybersecurity-Related Efforts Using OTA, FY 2020-2022

Below is a list of the largest Air Force efforts using OTA that had significant cyber-elements for the past three fiscal years and had spending reported for FY 2022, signifying the most recent activity. The amounts below are aggregate OTA spending from FY 2020 through FY 2022, with FY 2022-specific spending also noted. Where an AF organization was provided in the data, this is also provided below.

• Enterprise Information Technology as a Service End User Services (AFLCMC), $295.5M total, $104M (35%) in FY 2022
• Cyber Threat Data Analytics, $4.75M total, $51K in FY 2022
• Cyber Threat Telemetry, $3.4M total, $919K in FY 2022
• COVID-19 DIB Secure Artificial Intelligence (AFRL/AFWERX), $3.25M total, $1.5M in FY 2022
• Persistent Cyber Training Environment Cyber Innovation Challenge #1 Follow-On (AFAMS), $2.1M total, $250K in FY 2022
• Base Production OTA for Mayhem [SW] with ForAllSecure, $1.9M total, $1M in FY 2022
• Multi-Level, Multi-Compartment Security (MXS) Cloud Software Development Kit (SDK) Production Effort (AFLCMC), $1.9M total, all in FY 2022
• Enhanced Solutions for Cyber Assurance Persistence and Exploitation (ESCAPE) (AFRL), $1.8M total, all in FY 2022
• Adapting Picogrid Platform as Bomber Security in A Box (AFRL/AFWERX), $1.25M total, all in FY 2022
• Autonomous Threat Specific Protection for Detecting and Remediating Cyberattacks in Real-Time (AFRL/AFWERX), $750K total, all in FY 2022

OTAs for Cybersecurity to Address COVID-19 Impacts

From FY 2020 through FY 2022, the AFRL spent $9.25M under OTAs for cybersecurity efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic response, signified by contract names that begin with COVID-19… Of this $9.25M in OTA spending, $7.75M (84%) came in FY 2020 alone, spent on various efforts to improve the security of platforms and networks as well as tactical edge and mobile security.

However, some of the COVID-19 cybersecurity spending continued into FY 2022, specifically for the AFRL’s COVID-19 Defense Industrial Base (DIB) Secure Artificial Intelligence (AI) program noted above. Of the $3.2M the AFRL spent on the DIB Secure AI program over the three years, nearly half, $1.5M, came in FY 2022.

Final Thoughts

While the Air Force’s use of OTA for cybersecurity-related efforts dipped from FY 2021 to FY 2022, the spending level remains significantly above FY 2020 levels. Further, spending may rebound throughout FY 2023 as the service seeks to apply commercial technologies to a persistent list of cybersecurity challenges. The high priority of addressing these cyber challenges as quickly as possible is a situation “made for” OTAs, where rapid prototyping, testing and fielding of new capabilities runs in the face of more traditional contracting approaches. This will likely be the case for efforts involving artificial intelligence and machine learning as well as cybersecurity capabilities unique to security existing weapons systems and platforms. These and similar efforts to bring to bear innovative technologies within mission critical deployed and/or legacy systems require the flexibility and nimbleness that OTAs afford.