U.S. Army

Acquisition Corps

Every weapon in the Army's inventory was bought, tested, and fielded by the Acquisition Corps. From the M1 Garand at Springfield Armory to the Big Five programs that defined modern ground warfare to 27,000 MRAPs fielded in two years to save lives, the AAC bridges the gap between what the soldier needs and what industry can build. The Army fights with what Acquisition buys.

"Serving the Force" Est. 1990

EST. 1990 · DAWIA

Army Acquisition Corps

Equip the Force — From Concept to Combat

Acquisition Officer

FY Budget Authority

PROGRAM EXEC OFFICES

Every weapon system in the Army's inventory was bought, tested, and fielded by the Acquisition Corps. The AAC was established by the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act of 1990 to professionalize the workforce that develops and procures the Army's equipment — from the M1 Abrams to the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle to the next-generation squad weapon. Acquisition officers manage programs worth billions of dollars, bridging the gap between what the soldier needs and what industry can build. The Army fights with what Acquisition buys. Read more

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Before the Corps — Procurement History 1775 – 1990

NATIONAL ARSENALS

Ordnance & Arsenal System

Springfield · Watervliet · Rock Island

Springfield Armory

Garand · Greatest Weapon

Government-Owned

BUILD · TEST · FIELD

Before the Acquisition Corps existed, the Army's arsenals and ordnance depots designed, built, and tested weapons in-house. Springfield Armory produced the M1 Garand — Patton called it "the greatest battle implement ever devised." Watervliet Arsenal made every cannon barrel. Rock Island Arsenal built everything from saddles to artillery carriages. The arsenal system gave the Army organic design and production capability that no other nation matched. That legacy of technical expertise became the DNA of the Acquisition Corps. Read more

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ARSENAL OF DEMOCRACY

WWII — Arsenal of Democracy

The Greatest Industrial Mobilization in History

FACTORIES → TANKS

The WWII mobilization converted the American automobile industry into the largest weapons production machine in history. Chrysler built tanks. Ford built bombers. GM built everything. Army procurement officers managed contracts that transformed civilian factories into arsenal production lines in months. 88,000 tanks, 2.7 million machine guns, 41 billion rounds of ammunition. The Army didn't just fight the war with industrial might — procurement officers organized it. Read more

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Landmark Programs Systems That Changed the Army

1970s – 1980s

M1 · M2 · AH-64 · UH-60 · Patriot

In the 1970s, the Army launched five programs simultaneously that would define ground warfare for fifty years — the M1 Abrams tank, M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopter, and the Patriot air defense system. All five were developed, tested, and fielded in under a decade. All five remain in service today. The Big Five was the most successful concurrent weapons procurement program in military history — and the standard every acquisition program since has been measured against. Read more

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RAPID ACQUISITION

MRAP — Urgent Need

Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles

Threat Response

Acquisition · 2007

When IEDs were killing soldiers in Iraq faster than up-armored Humvees could protect them, the Acquisition Corps executed the most rapid large-scale procurement program since WWII. Over 27,000 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles were designed, tested, contracted, produced, and shipped to theater in under two years. The MRAP program proved the Acquisition Corps could move at combat speed when soldiers' lives depended on it. It also exposed how slow the normal acquisition process had become. Read more

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AUSTIN, TX · 2018

Army Futures Command

Next Generation — Modernization Priorities

Army Futures Command

Long Range Fires

Future Rotorcraft

NEXT GEN COMBAT VEH

Army Futures Command was established in Austin, Texas in 2018 to unify modernization — aligning requirements, acquisition, and technology development under a single four-star command for the first time. The Army's modernization priorities — Long Range Precision Fires, Next Generation Combat Vehicle, Future Vertical Lift, Network, Air & Missile Defense, and Soldier Lethality — are all Acquisition Corps programs. The next Big Five is being built now. Read more

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REDSTONE ARSENAL, AL

Army Contracting Command

ACC — Buying the Fight

Army Contracting Cmd

Annual Contracts

Contracting · Deployed

CONTRACTING OFFICERS

Army Contracting Command manages over $100 billion in annual contracts — from major weapons systems to base support services to deployed theater contracting. Contracting officers deploy to combat zones to execute contracts in real time — buying fuel, hiring local labor, contracting construction, and supporting the force in environments where the normal procurement process is a luxury. A contracting officer's signature commits the United States government. That authority in a combat zone is as powerful as any weapon. Read more

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34

Years as Corps

$178B

Budget Authority

40K+

Acquisition Workforce

Equip

The Force