About CTMA

CTMA is one of the only mechanisms that moves as fast as they do. Getting a technology to demonstration within 45 days is almost unheard of. I truly believe that it is mission critical to see how we can leverage the expertise that we discover through this collaboration,” Janice Bryant, Sustainment and Expeditionary Maintenance Manager, Naval Sea Systems Command.

The Commercial Technologies for Maintenance Activities (CTMA) has a relentless focus on defense maintenance, sustainment, and logistics. Created in 1998, CTMA is a Cooperative Agreement in partnership with the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Materiel Readiness (ODASD MR) and NCMS. Its objective is to ensure American warfighters and their equipment are ready to face any situation, with the most up-to-date and best-maintained platforms, data, and tools available. It provides technology demonstrations, evaluations, and validations in support of reliability and sustainment and must always benefit the U.S. military, industrial base, and the public good.

CTMA offers an agile and streamlined contracting vehicle in partnership with industry and academia to advance the development, integration, and use of commercial sustainment technologies and processes which can improve warfighter readiness. CTMA initiatives focus on reliability, improved weapon systems capability with lowered overall sustainment costs, reduced cycle time for sustainment, improved sustainer safety, efficiency, and productivity, while improving business practices and data collection/management.  The CTMA Program offers proven advantages for industry and DOD such as:

  • Enables partners to provide and share personnel, services, facilities, equipment, and other resources in conducting demonstration/evaluation efforts
  • Streamlined process from demonstration to technology transition
  • Contracting and cost accounting expertise
  • Reduces time between innovation and commercialization
  • Opportunity to enhance DOD readiness while reaching corporate objectives
  • Provides a means of sharing technical expertise, ideas, and information in a protected intellectual property environment, with non-government partners retaining IP rights

How CTMA Works

  • DOD maintenance activities have needs and requirements which are potentially solved by innovations developed by industry and academia.
  • NCMS holds an unparalleled contracting vehicle to demonstrate commercial technologies prior to DOD acquisition.
  • Companies with innovative solutions partner with NCMS and leverage the CTMA Program to maximize their investment in technology.  This collaboration guides companies and DOD to secure commercially available technology solutions.
  • NCMS understands DOD’s maintenance and sustainment needs and is well connected to industry and academia. Acting as a neutral third party NCMS brings together DOD and industry to evaluate and validate an innovative capability to determine the benefits to DOD’s maintenance and sustainment community.
  • NCMS quickly develops project teams connecting DOD with industry providers, integrators, and users

CTMA Focus Areas

  • Advanced/Additive Manufacturing
  • Business IT and Analytics
  • CBM+/Predictive Maintenance
  • Coating and Corrosion Prevention
  • Energy, Environmental, Health, and Safety
  • Enhanced Inspection
  • Facilities and Industrial Process Modernization
  • Reliability Improvement (Hardware)
  • Workforce Development/Visualization

The CTMA Value

CTMA offers industry and the DOD sustainment community significant benefits.

Commercial Partners Benefits

  • Access to DOD facilities and equipment
  • Reduced cost of R&D through leveraging and sharing
  • Reduced time between innovation and commercial production
  • Opportunities to commercialize inventions
  • Opportunities to enhance DOD preparedness while reaching corporate objectives
  • A focused concentration of effort on specific industrial problems
  • Profitable new product and process

DOD Benefits

  • Supports increased lethality and a more viable industrial base.
  • Streamlined contracting and cost accounting
  • Focused on advanced technologies which improve military capabilities
  • Improved opportunities to develop and transfer mutually beneficial technologies
  • Reduced cost of R&D through leveraging and sharing
  • Allows testing and evaluation of technology before acquisition
  • Ability to attract commercial entities which have technical expertise or technology of interest, yet have no government sector past performance
  • Access to non-government expertise and knowledge
  • Able to build the industrial base through multiple uses of technologies
  • Increased familiarity with market needs and trends

NCMS Benefits to DOD

  • A well-honed documented management process
  • Well qualified, experienced program management focusing on technology transition
  • Streamlined business process – 45 to 90 days from cradle to execution
  • Extensive outreach to industry and academia
  • Thorough understanding of DOD maintenance needs