AFWERX Specific Topic SBIR/STTR

AFWERX Specific Topic SBIR Release 2

Supports a second focused set of Air Force small-business technology opportunities in emerging domains.

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

AFWERX Specific Topic SBIR 26.BZ Release 2 is the second release in the Program Year 2026 DoW SBIR Specific Topic cycle, covering both U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force capability gaps. The solicitation pre-released May 6, 2026, opened May 27, 2026, and is set to close June 24, 2026. Release 2 follows the same structural design as Release 1: each topic in the solicitation represents a problem statement defined by a known end user within the DAF, so applicants target a specific requirement rather than proposing a general technology. No Customer Memorandum is required for Phase II under the Specific Topic track.

The award structure is identical to Release 1: Phase I awards up to $200,000 over 6 months for technical feasibility; Phase II and Direct-to-Phase II (D2P2) awards up to $2,000,000 over 24 months for prototyping and R&D. Eligibility is restricted to for-profit U.S. small businesses with 500 or fewer employees in which the Principal Investigator's primary employment exceeds 50 percent at the small business. SAM registration is required before any contract can be awarded. All proposals must be submitted through the DoW Submission portal (dodsbirsttr.mil). Release 2 covers both Air Force and Space Force topics, expanding the addressable topic set beyond the Air Force-only STTR 26.TZ release.

To compete effectively, applicants must respond to the specific topic number and capability gap identified by the government end user, not to a self-defined dual-use technology. Phase I deliverables include preliminary and final technical feasibility reports. Companies that complete Phase II successfully are positioned to apply for AFWERX TACFI awards ($375K–$2M) or STRATFI awards ($3M–$15M) to scale their technology toward Phase III deployment. Individual topic solicitation documents govern scoring criteria, page limits, and any topic-specific conditions.