DoD SBIR/STTR — Air Force & Space Force (AFWERX via DSIP)
U.S. Department of the Air Force (AFWERX) · Innovation contract (SBIR/STTR)
$2.1MPhase I up to $323,000 (up to 6 months); Direct-to-Phase II up to $2.1M (up to 24 months). Contracts, no equity.
Department of Defense SBIR/STTR contracts for US small businesses with dual-use tech aligned to Air Force and Space Force needs, issued in monthly DoD releases through the DSIP portal.
Key terms
- For-profit US small business, <=500 employees incl. affiliates, >50% owned/controlled by US citizens or permanent residents
- Direct-to-Phase II needs a mature solution, identified DAF customer/end user and signed Customer Memorandum
- STTR requires collaboration with a US non-profit research institution
- Must be registered in SAM.gov before award
- Dates subject to change; other DoD components (Army, Navy, DARPA etc.) publish their own topics on DSIP
Eligibility
- Where
- United States
- Stages
- pre-seed, seed, series-a, growth
- Needs VC/accelerator backing
- No
- Needs partner referral code
- No
- Must be incorporated
- Yes
- AI focus required
- No
- Students / researchers
- Not eligible
- Nonprofits
- Not eligible
Also required
- Dual-use technology relevant to Air Force / Space Force missions
How to apply
Read the topics during pre-release on DSIP (dodsbirsttr.mil), ask questions in the Topic Q&A, then submit the proposal in the DSIP submissions portal before the release closes.
- Benefit
- cash
- Equity-free
- Yes
- Decision time
- —
- Credit validity
- —
- Deadline
- DoW SBIR 27.BZ/27.BX & STTR 27.TZ Release 1: pre-release since 2026-10-07; submissions open 2026-10-28, close 2026-11-25
- Status
- Paused — next round TBA
Verified 2026-10-23 · source