Glossary
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.
"Contract vehicle" is the umbrella term covering the different mechanisms a government award can be structured under — it's the answer to "how was this awarded and how does money flow against it," as distinct from the agency, the value, or the recipient.
An OTA is a contract vehicle built to move fast outside the FAR for prototyping. An IDIQ is a contract vehicle that sets a ceiling and lets task orders draw against it over time. SBIR/STTR is a phased grant vehicle aimed at small businesses. APFIT is a newer vehicle specifically built to fund production scale-up for technology that's already proven itself. A BAA is an open call for research proposals that several vehicles above (including some SBIR and OTA awards) get issued under. A standard FAR-based contract — the traditional, fully-regulated procurement path most large primes still use for production work — is a contract vehicle too, even though it doesn't get its own acronym the way the others do.
Knowing the vehicle tells you more about *how* a company will get paid and *how fast* than the headline award value does on its own: an IDIQ ceiling is a maximum, not a guarantee, while an OTA prototype award is smaller but signals the government is actively trying the technology.