Soldiers on the horizon

DTIC's Mission

The Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC®) has served the information needs of the Defense community for more than 70 years. DTIC reports to the Under Secretary of Defense (Research and Engineering) (USD(R&E)).
Our mission is to preserve, curate, and share knowledge from DoD’s annual multi-billion dollar investment in science and technology, multiplying the value and accelerating capability to the warfighter.
More than 50 percent of the research records in the collection are available through the access controlled R&E Gateway, which is accessible to DoD personnel, defense contractors, federal government personnel and contractors, and selected academic institutions. The R&E Gateway sites require common access card (CAC) login or registration. We also provide the general public and industry with access to unclassified, unlimited information, including many full-text downloadable documents, through this website.
As a DoD Field Activity under the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E)) the DTIC responsibilities include:
  • Preserve and disseminate the research that led to the technologies our warfighters use today
  • Deliver the tools and collections that empower the research and engineering enterprise to accelerate the development of technologies that will help maintain U.S. technical superiority
  • Stimulate innovation with public and industry access to DoD funded research and digital data
  • Maximize the value of each dollar the DoD spends through the analysis of funding data, work in progress and IR&D to identify gaps, challenges and the way forward
These areas of responsibility support USD(R&E) in their efforts to mitigate new and emerging threat capabilities, enable affordable new or extended capabilities in existing military systems, and develop technology surprise through science and engineering.
DTIC also manages the Information Analysis Centers, which provide essential technical analysis and data support to a diverse customer base, to include the Combatant Commands (CCMDs), the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Defense Agencies, and the Military Services. IACs actively partner and collaborate with Defense research and engineering focus groups and communities of interest in cyber, homeland defense and defense systems. They are staffed with scientists, engineers and information specialists to provide research and analysis to customers with diverse, complex and challenging requirements.