Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve (RDER)
The RDER program focuses on a campaign of joint experimentation on rapid capabilities that address our most complex military challenges. The Secretary of War established RDER in the Defense Planning Guidance to enable multi-component joint experimentation through a campaign of learning and to establish a body of evidence to support rapid adoption by the Services. RDER enables the Services, agencies, industry, and other organizations to identify “best of breed” capabilities to be prototyped in large-scale joint experiments and validate and/or refine the Joint Warfighting Concept (JWC). OUSW(R&E)’s process for incubating promising prototypes starts with a novel experimental design based on a web of interconnected systems addressing specific Defense Planning Scenarios. This approach is unique from other experimentation that focuses on determining individual system efficacy. Additionally, the experimental design is unique in using the web of systems to explore new warfighting concepts that capitalize on contributions of multiple Services as a true joint force. The experimentation yields live data that the OUSW(R&E) analyzes against the performance predicted in modelling and simulation. OUSW(R&E) manages the Department’s multiple RDER experimentation events and conducts integration activities with the Joint Force. OUSW(R&E) oversees an integrated selection process with the Joint Staff, Services, and Combatant Commands that incorporates the most promising innovative prototypes into existing exercise venues such as: Project Capstone, Northern Edge, Valiant Shield, Talisman Sabre, Grey Flag, Joint Battle Problem, and TREX. RDER utilizes funding to plan, integrate, and oversee joint experiments; provide assessments on project viability; and deliver the results to the Deputy Secretary of War management action group to facilitate decisions on transitioning promising capabilities with the Services.
FY2026 to FY2027 change The Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve (RDER) was eliminated to streamline defense innovation efforts, reduce redundancy, and optimize resource allocation toward more impactful modernization initiatives.
FY2026 plans — current year In FY 2025, the Department of War (DoW) Service formally assumed responsibility for defense experimentation functions previously managed by the Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve (RDER). This transition ensured sustained oversight of prototype development, cost, schedule, and performance within Joint Warfighting Concept (JWC) functional battles, strengthening interoperability and innovation in joint defense planning. Through this transition, the DoW Service sustained continuity, innovation, and readiness in defense experimentation efforts.
FY2025 accomplishments RDER will complete the evaluation of FY 2024 candidates and initiate the execution of FY 2025 experimentation. This establishes and coordinates experimentation venues that provide interoperability for multi-component defense planning scenarios and mitigate potential risks of incompatibility at the joint level. PMs plan to oversee the cost, schedule, and performance of prototypes within the JWC functional battles: Fires; C2; IA; Contested Logistics and Space and Cyber. RDER PMs plan to collaborate with system developers to select risk reduction experiments that meet the technology maturation milestones for the multi-component experiments at Balikatan and Grey Flag. RDER PMs provide program…
FY2026 to FY2027 change The Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve (RDER) was eliminated to streamline defense innovation efforts, reduce redundancy, and optimize resource allocation toward more impactful modernization initiatives.
FY2026 plans — current year In FY 2025, the Department of War (DoW) Service assumed full ownership of prototype integration across multiple experimentation events, including Balikatan and Grey Flag, ensuring their alignment with operational readiness objectives. This transition enabled the DoW Service to lead comprehensive reviews for each technology, including safety assessments, Authority to Operate (ATO) approvals, and compliance standards to support technical maturity. Executed systematically across the campaign series, this effort strengthened the DoW’s commitment to innovation, interoperability, and the effective integration of emerging capabilities within joint operational frameworks.
FY2025 accomplishments Funding integrates prototypes into multiple experimentation events to include Balikatan and Grey Flag. The effort supports operational readiness reviews for each technology which includes safety review, Authority to Operate (ATO), and compliance standards to support technical maturity. This effort is executed for each experimentation event within the campaign series.
FY2026 to FY2027 change The Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve (RDER) was eliminated to streamline defense innovation efforts, reduce redundancy, and optimize resource allocation toward more impactful modernization initiatives.
FY2026 plans — current year In FY 2025, the Department of War (DoW) Service assumed full ownership of experimentation efforts, utilizing government reference architecture across venues to assess prototype interoperability at Balikatan and Grey Flag. The DoW Service will evaluate and validate the technical maturity of each interface within the experimentation architectural design using advanced architectural analysis tools. Through this transition, the DoW Service maintained oversight, fostering innovation and interoperability within multi-component defense planning.
FY2025 accomplishments In FY 2025, RDER plans to employ government reference architecture for each experimentation venue to measure prototype interoperability at Balikatan and Grey Flag. RDER evaluates and validates the technical maturity of each interface with the experimentation architectural design utilizing architectural analysis tools. The final experimentation architecture is utilized to evaluate performance of the warfighter kill chains.
FY2026 to FY2027 change The Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve (RDER) was eliminated to streamline defense innovation efforts, reduce redundancy, and optimize resource allocation toward more impactful modernization initiatives.
FY2026 plans — current year In FY 2025, the Department of War (DoW) Service assumed full ownership of experimental prototype data collection, deploying the Deployable Experimentation White Cell (DEWC) during Balikatan and Grey Flag. To support geographically dispersed experimentation, the DoW Service will maintain command and control facility, ensuring operational oversight and readiness assessments. The functional cell will control operational accreditation and integrated automated tools for rapid analysis, with to senior leadership, reinforcing informed decision-making and strategic oversight.
FY2025 accomplishments In FY 2025, RDER shall deploy the Deployable Experimentation White Cell (DEWC) for experimental prototype data collection during Balikatan and Grey Flag. RDER shall procure an additional command and control facility to support the experimentation that are geographically dispersed. This function requires personnel to maintain operational command and control of each prototype to perform experimentation. Personnel are located onsite with the prototype and the deployed operational cell to assess the operational readiness of the capability. The functional cell acquires the operational accreditation of the DEWC for each experiment and acquires the automated tools to produce daily quick look…
FY2026 to FY2027 change The Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve (RDER) was eliminated to streamline defense innovation efforts, reduce redundancy, and optimize resource allocation toward more impactful modernization initiatives.
FY2026 plans — current year In FY 2025, the Department of War (DoW) Service took ownership of OPFOR emulations, enhancing threat representation in Balikatan and Grey Flag through emitters, targets, decoys, and communications nodes. This transition ensured a realistic, multi-domain environment, integrating threat analysis, tactical network infrastructure, and logistical coordination for deployed assets.
FY2025 accomplishments In FY 2025, OPFOR emulations shall be reduced across the experiments via the allocations of threat emitters, maritime and ground-based targets, decoys, and communications nodes necessary to create a fully threat informed, multi-domain, operationally relevant environment for projects across Balikatan and Grey Flag. This functional component conducts a threat analysis to identify and acquire threat representative targets to establish a relevant environment for the experiment. The entity provides personnel to act as OPFOR that would serve as the viable force during the experiment. The entity coordinates on all the communication equipment and infrastructure that is required to integrate into…
FY2026 to FY2027 change The Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve (RDER) was eliminated to streamline defense innovation efforts, reduce redundancy, and optimize resource allocation toward more impactful modernization initiatives.
FY2026 plans — current year In FY 2025, the Department of War (DoW) Service assumed responsibility for coalition experimentation, maintaining data collection at Balikatan and Grey Flag. The Services will submit daily assessments to support prototype evaluations at their leadership level
FY2025 accomplishments RDER plans a slight reduction on the coalition experimentation but continues to perform data collection on projects executing experiments at Balikatan and Grey Flag. The team provides an independent assessment of each report daily during an experimentation. This includes acquiring the analysis tools for each prototype to support the analytical analysis of the data. An analysis team will provide a report that would provide recommendations on experimentation findings.