Army SBIR/STTR

Army SBIR Phase II

Supports United States Army-aligned innovators advancing validated technologies toward deployable military-ready systems.

Army SBIR Phase II is the development and prototyping stage of the U.S. Army's Small Business Innovation Research program, executed under the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology as part of the Army FUZE portfolio. The program funds small businesses that have successfully completed a Phase I feasibility study — or qualify for Direct-to-Phase-II on eligible topics — to mature their technology into prototypes aligned to a specific Army transition customer. Technology focus areas include artificial intelligence and machine learning, contested logistics and sustainment, energy resiliency, immersive systems and wearables, and sensors spanning acoustic, biometric, RF, optical, quantum, and electromagnetic modalities.

Phase II awards are structured as cooperative agreements capped at $2,153,927 over a period of performance of up to 24 months, with Phase II Enhancement awards possible through the Army Commercialization Readiness Program (CRP) when non-SBIR matching funds from an Army program of record or private capital are secured. The statutory cap of $2,153,927 reflects the SBA-wide ceiling as of October 2024. Applicants must be U.S.-registered for-profit small businesses with no more than 500 employees across all affiliates; at least one-half of the Phase II R&D work must be performed by the small business itself. VC-majority-owned firms are eligible per SBA Section 5107 as applied by DoD. TRL entry range is approximately 3–6.

Topics are released by Army Futures Command on a rolling basis and through three solicitation cycles per fiscal year, accessible via the Defense SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal (DSIP) at dodsbirsttr.mil. FY26 open topics have included scalable agile manufacturing of launched effects, multifrequency PNT antenna solutions, modular UAS payloads, and blockchain-enabled in-transit visibility. Proposals are evaluated by topic subject-matter experts through merit review. Winning Phase II awardees should engage their Army program-of-record transition customer early, as the Army CRP explicitly links Phase II performance to a downstream acquisition pathway or commercial market exit.