Joint Acquisition Protection Exploitation Cell (JAPEC)

The DoW established a joint analysis capability, the Joint Acquisition Program and Exploitation Cell (JAPEC), to produce analytics products in support of the technology protection mission, such as for foreign investment screening; engage with acquisition, intelligence, counterintelligence, and law enforcement sources to determine consequences of, and appropriate preventative/mitigation actions against unwanted technology transfer; and assess controlled unclassified technical information losses. JAPEC detects and characterizes past technology losses, conducts damage assessments of lost information, and provides insights with predictive value to support and promote activities. JAPEC enables comprehensive, detailed assessments of U.S. military technological vulnerability, as well as inform the development and application of effective policies, countermeasures, and enforcement actions to preserve U.S. technical superiority in all warfighting domains. JAPEC engages with select allies and partners to develop protection efforts across the extended supply chains resulting from the partnerships created by the global S&T community. JAPEC and supporting organizations synchronize, integrate, coordinate, and inform DoW efforts to protect critical technologies from malign investment by strategic competitors and to combat malign activities. JAPEC conducts trend analysis of protection efforts for the Department’s critical acquisition programs and technologies, incorporates findings into protection processes and activities, and analyzes losses, to determine consequences and appropriate courses of action, such as deterrence of our strategic competitors as well as promotion of the NSIB. JAPEC also manages OUSW(R&E)’s responsibilities for CFIUS, including the assessment, review, and investigation of transactions on the CFIUS docket, especially those pertaining to critical technology, sensitive personal data (such as genomic data), and the NSIB, as well as the identification of “non-notified” transactions that are not yet before CFIUS but which may raise national security concerns for OUSW(R&E) programs and mission space, meriting formal review.