CRADAs Explained for Defense Tech Founders

By Andrew Park | 2025-12-01

Many founders enter defense tech through dual use products, venture backed prototypes, or commercial AI tooling. Early on, you’ll hear government labs, innovation groups, or advisors mention CRADAs. They’re not paid engagements. They’re a collaboration tool that shows up when technical maturity and government interest start to intersect. Understanding what they are helps you avoid wrong assumptions and plan your path inside the Department.

Defense tech founders will likely hear CRADA references more frequently as new guidance reshapes acquisition (i.e,. The Department’s process for evaluating, funding, buying, fielding, and sustaining military capabilities). As the system shifts toward faster prototyping, tighter operator involvement, and more flexible transition pathways, it helps to understand where CRADAs fit.

CRADAs sit upstream from procurement, so knowing what they are and aren’t helps you map their role in your strategy.

When You Might Encounter a CRADA

You’ll usually hear about CRADAs when:

• A government laboratory wants to evaluate or test your system

• You need access to environments, data, or equipment that aren’t commercially available

• You want technical validation before attempting a pilot contract

• A lab scientist or engineering sponsor is exploring your approach and wants deeper examination

Plenty of companies never need a CRADA. They’re simply one option among many.

What a CRADA Is

A CRADA is a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement. It lets a federal laboratory and a private company collaborate on R&D. It isn’t a contract and doesn’t involve government payment to the company.

Under a CRADA, the government may provide:

• Test ranges

• Engineers

• Specialized facilities

• Data or instrumentation

The company provides:

• Its technology

• Technical staff

• Sometimes funding for laboratory support

Each party keeps its background intellectual property. The company usually receives an option for an exclusive license to any new IP the government invents during the work.

CRADAs exist to advance technical maturity in environments industry normally can’t access.

TRL, or Technology Readiness Level, is the scale the Department uses to measure maturity.

• TRL 6 or 7 means a working prototype in a relevant environment

• TRL 8 or 9 means it has been proven in operational conditions

What a CRADA Is Not

A CRADA:

• Isn’t an acquisition instrument

• Doesn’t create a buyer

• Doesn’t generate revenue

• Doesn’t commit any program office to follow on funding

It’s a collaboration mechanism, not a procurement step.

CRADAs in Today’s Acquisition Landscape

The Warfighting Acquisition System emphasizes rapid experimentation, operator feedback, and faster transition timelines. CRADAs haven’t changed under this guidance. What has changed is where their outputs flow next.

A common pattern looks like this. Not every system follows these steps, and some skip stages entirely. These simply describe what often happens in today’s environment.

1. CRADA Stage

Laboratory and industry teams work together to:

• Evaluate performance

• Mature the prototype

• Gather technical data in relevant environments

This evidence informs downstream decisions.

2. Demonstration Stage

Technologies coming out of CRADA work often enter field experiments like:

• Army Project Convergence

• Air Force EDGE

These events now support the Department’s push for real world assessment and operator involvement.

3. Pilot Stage

If a sponsor continues development, they may use:

• OTA (Other Transaction Authority), a fast contracting tool for prototypes outside the Federal Acquisition Regulation

• BAA (Broad Agency Announcement) for early R&D

• SBIR Phase III, a follow on award that can fund production or scaling

4. Transition Stage

To receive sustained funding, a Program Executive Office (PEO) must program the capability into the Program Objective Memorandum (POM) cycle, which is the Department’s multi year budgeting process. PPBE (Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution) reform is streamlining the steps, but the requirement remains. A system becomes a Program of Record once it’s written into the Department’s multi year budget, and that’s the point where a capability moves from an interesting prototype to a funded requirement. It’s attractive because it brings predictable multi year funding, stable demand from a defined customer, authority to buy at scale, and long term sustainment dollars. It also sends a strong signal to investors and partners that the government has formally committed to the capability.

CRADAs don’t replace these stages. They precede them by generating data and insight acquisition officials (the program managers, contracting officers, and engineers who decide what the Department buys and how it’s funded) often need.

Which Organizations Can Execute CRADAs

Only certain federal laboratories can sign CRADAs. They include:

Army

• DEVCOM (Army Combat Capabilities Development Command)

• Army SEC (Software Engineering Center)

• Army C5ISR (Command Control Communications Computers Cyber Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center)

Navy and Marine Corps

• NIWC (Naval Information Warfare Center, Atlantic and Pacific)

• NSWC (Naval Surface Warfare Center, including Dahlgren, Crane, Carderock, and others)

• NRL (Naval Research Laboratory)

Air Force and Space Force

• AFRL (Air Force Research Laboratory)

• Software organizations inside the Air Force Sustainment Center at Ogden, Tinker, and Robins

Civilian Federal Laboratories

• NASA IV&V (Independent Verification and Validation Facility)

• NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology)

The official point of entry for any CRADA discussion is the laboratory’s Technology Transfer Office (TTO). They manage CRADAs, IP licensing, and external collaborations. If you’re strong at networking directly with people, you can also raise the idea with senior technical staff or leaders inside the lab. This usually means department heads, division chiefs, directors, or senior scientists, since they often champion CRADA work and can steer you to the right offices.

Timelines

CRADA formation typically takes:

• 3 to 9 months for most agreements

• Up to 12 months for first time partnerships or complex IP negotiations

CRADAs generally run 1 to 3 years after signature.

Summary for Founders New to Defense Tech

CRADAs are a statutory R&D collaboration mechanism. They don’t create procurement commitments and aren’t a required step for entering defense. Their role is to enable technical collaboration in environments that industry can’t access on its own.

If you’re new to defense tech, you don’t need to engage with CRADAs right away. The value comes from knowing what they are so you can recognize when a laboratory, sponsor, or engineering team is pointing you toward one. As you gain traction, a CRADA may or may not become relevant depending on your technology, users, and timeline.