Glossary
Defense tech terms, defined
Short, standalone definitions for the acronyms and mechanisms that come up across contracts, programs, and funding — each one links to a fuller explainer where the topic warrants more depth.
APFIT (Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies)
A DoD contract vehicle specifically built to fund production scale-up for technology that's already been proven in prototype form — bridging the 'valley of death' between a successful demo and a fielded system.
Average check size
The typical amount a fund invests in a single company at a given stage — a sizing signal distinct from the fund's total AUM.
BAA (Broad Agency Announcement)
An agency's open call for research proposals in a general technical area, without specifying a single desired solution — the mechanism several SBIR, OTA, and direct-award contracts get issued under.
Cap table (capitalization table)
A record of who owns what percentage of a company, and how that ownership has changed across funding rounds.
Contract vehicle
The umbrella term for the specific mechanism a government contract is awarded and executed under — OTA, IDIQ, SBIR/STTR, and standard FAR contracts are all contract vehicles.
Dual-use technology
Technology with both civilian and military applications built into the same underlying capability — not simply a company that sells to both markets separately.
EAR (Export Administration Regulations)
The Commerce Department regime covering a broad category of commercial and dual-use items, including many defense-adjacent technologies. Less restrictive than ITAR, but still controls exports to certain countries and end-users.
EDF (European Defence Fund)
The EU's flagship instrument for co-funding collaborative defense research and capability development across member states.
EDIRPA (European Defence Industry Reinforcement through common Procurement Act)
A shorter-term EU instrument that incentivizes joint procurement — member states buying the same equipment together, at scale.
EDIS (European Defence Industrial Strategy)
The European Commission's strategic policy framework describing where EU defense industrial policy should be headed — not a funding instrument itself.
Golden Dome for America
A U.S. homeland missile-defense 'system of systems' — layered space-based sensors and interceptors plus ground-based radar and AI battle management — established by executive order in January 2025 and now in active contract-award phase.
IDIQ (Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity)
A contract vehicle that sets a ceiling value and period of performance, without guaranteeing that ceiling will actually be spent.
ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations)
The State Department regime governing technology on the US Munitions List — items designed, developed, or specifically modified for military use. The stricter of the two US export control regimes; EAR is the other.
OTA (Other Transaction Authority)
A DoD contracting authority that operates outside the Federal Acquisition Regulation, used mainly to fund fast prototype work with non-traditional contractors.
PESCO (Permanent Structured Cooperation)
An EU framework letting a subset of member states commit to specific joint defense capability projects, distinct from EDF's grant-making function.
Pre-Seed vs Seed in defense tech
Pre-Seed is typically pre-incorporation or pre-product money on the founding team alone; Seed follows a working prototype or an early government pilot.
SBIR / STTR (Small Business Innovation Research / Technology Transfer)
Phased federal grant programs for small businesses, structured in three stages — feasibility, development, and transition to production or private capital.
Verification status (Verified / Reported / Estimated)
A confidence label applied to every figure on Defense Tech Atlas, describing how directly a claim traces back to a primary source.
Verification status for a contract value
The same Verified / Reported / Estimated confidence label used across the index, applied specifically to a contract's award value and dates.