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Featured Image Source: AFWERX
December 14th, 1:30-4:30pm EST.
Join AFWERX live here to learn about new opportunities in AFWERX 3.0!
Hear the Director, Col Nathan Diller, and the new incoming Director, Col Elliott Leigh describe program enhancements across AFWERX.
As the innovation arm of the Department of the Air Force and powered by the Air Force Research Laboratory, AFWERX accelerates agile and affordable capability transitions by teaming innovative technology developers with Airman and Guardian talent.
The three core arms of AFWERX – AFVentures, Spark and Prime – serve to expand the defense industrial base for advanced technologies, empower Airmen and Guardian talent, and drive faster technology transition to operational capability. AFWERX teams internationally across academia, industry and government to develop technology, expand talent, and transition dual-use capabilities.
AFWERX Challenge is a fast and efficient way to engage with the government, and also to collaborate with other companies, academia and investors. Led by the Department of the Air Force, the primary objective of a Challenge is to solve a mission-critical problem and create positive impacts for the Department of Defense. Companies and academia can quickly and easily submit ideas, concepts, technologies, products, and full solutions.
In an effort to help bridge the “Valley of Death” between Phase II and Phase III, the AFVentures program has developed the Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) and Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI) Programs. Small businesses that have been awarded a Phase II contract within the last two years are eligible to apply for this annual notice of the opportunity. The program requires various levels of matching funding and avenues for Defense and/or Industry matching, depending on the program sought.
AFWERX Challenge is a fast and efficient way to engage with the government, and also to collaborate with other companies, academia and investors. Led by the Department of the Air Force, the primary objective of a Challenge is to solve a mission-critical problem and create positive impacts for the Department of Defense. Companies and academia can quickly and easily submit ideas, concepts, technologies, products, and full solutions.
Through the phases of a Challenge, industry, and academia engage with a Challenge Sponsor to help define the problem and the desired outcome, explore solution components and ideas to solve the problem, submit solutions, and ultimately receive a contract to implement the solution. Through design thinking workshops, interactive networking and webinars, transparent crowdsourcing, and open showcases, the AFWERX Challenge approach to solving mission-critical problems is unparalleled and supports different streamlined contracting methods.
Along the way, meaningful connections and collaboration opportunities are fostered between private sector companies, academia, and the Government through workshops, webinars, networking events, and private pitches. This means more face-to-face interactions with government decision-makers, investors, and other companies focused on driving innovation. Many of our collaborators describe this aspect as something that’s never been possible before! Challenges are open to anyone with a solution, so garage tinkerers, start-ups, small businesses, large companies, defense contractors, and academics. Challenges are open to the US and any allied country.
AFWERX Challenge is all about accelerating change. The timeline can span from the initial scoping of the Challenge through contracting for solutions in as little as 20 weeks.
AFVentures invests in emerging technologies to scale Department of the Air Force capabilities, strengthening the US industrial base that empowers Airmen and Guardians by incentivizing private, for-profit investment in national security interests. Our success is achieved by connecting novel commercial solutions with defense problem sets, de-risking Airmen and Guardian initiatives to fill capability gaps and transition technologies.
There are three ways to get involved with the DAF SBIR/STTR program within AFVentures: Open Topic, Specific Topic and the STRATFI/TACFI program.
AFWERX, in partnership with the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) and the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN), developed the SBIR Open Topics to increase the efficiency, effectiveness, and transition rate of the SBIR program.
Through a competitive awards-based program, the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program enables small businesses to explore their technological potential and provides the incentive to profit from its commercialization.
How to Apply: SBIR Overview (af.mil)
Technology advances affecting our national security continue to emerge from our university system and R&D communities. The Air Force’s competitive advantage will be our collective ability to quickly identify, validate, and integrate those technologies.
The Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program ‘Open Topic’ aims to help small businesses commercialize emerging research in partnership with a university, non-profit entrepreneurship center, or research center. Different from the traditional STTR program, the Open Topic is ‘open’ to any technology, customer, or application.
By streamlining the proposal process, accelerating contract award, and providing direct access to our global network of customers and capital, our STTR Open Topic provides unrivaled opportunity for small businesses to protect their IP and establish themselves in both the commercial and federal marketplace.
How to Apply: STTR Overview (af.mil)
Spark connects Airmen and Guardians to commercial innovators using virtual collaboration, immersive training and networking opportunities to inspire ideas and cultivate a more creative force. By connecting operators closer to acquisition processes, Spark provides both a voice and a conduit to turn powerful ideas into game-changing operational realities.
These events enable entrepreneurs, warfighters, and experts to meet, learn, and discuss current challenges. Each unique Collider focuses on an area of interest to spark interaction and further collaboration among participants.
Prime aims to accelerate and “prime” emerging commercial markets and bring military interests that accelerate nascent technologies within the commercial market, benefiting commercial industrial base and military capability.
In addition to funding, Prime leverages other unique Department resources, like test infrastructure, certification authorities, interagency relationships, and early operational use cases, bringing the Department of the Air Force’s full value proposition to bear by becoming an early adopter to de-risk emerging markets.
Our Mission: Expand technology transition paths to accelerate emerging dual-use markets by leveraging government resources for rapid and affordable fielding.
Agility Prime is the Air Force’s transformative vertical lift program that is partnering with the electric vertical takeoff and land (eVTOL) commercial industry to propel the third revolution in aerospace and start to field a new class of air mobility systems by 2023.
Mission: Expand technology transition paths to accelerate emerging dual-use transformative vertical lift markets by leveraging government resources for rapid and affordable fielding.
What: Coalescence of three key technology areas
Why: U.S. Technological Leadership and Accelerating eVTOL fielding
How: Collaborative Risk Reduction
Structure: Diverse partnerships
Space Prime leverages a diverse industry partnership engagement strategy to identify nascent space technology sectors that, if “primed”, could advance U.S. national security and economic prosperity. Prime engagement is not limited to government investment, but also allows SpaceWERX to address key policy concerns as well as offer testbeds and platforms to advance capabilities.
Mission – “Prime the pump to accelerate the commercial market and stimulate industry investment.”
The first Space Prime effort, Orbital Prime will invigorate the On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (OSAM) market using Active Debris Remediation (ADR) as a use case for the foundational technologies. As congestion and debris threaten the long-term sustainability of the space domain, Orbital Prime will transition agile, affordable, and accelerated OSAM space capabilities to build the foundation for space logistics while preserving the global commons. On-orbit capability will be demonstrated on an accelerated timeline in two to four years.
Vision: Accelerate the transition of technologies and architectures that enable a sustainable space infrastructure and preserve an open and prosperous space domain.
About the Author
Daniel Pereira is research director at OODA. He is a foresight strategist, creative technologist, and an information communication technology (ICT) and digital media researcher with 20+ years of experience directing public/private partnerships and strategic innovation initiatives.
Informing your decisions with actionable intelligence
Informing your decisions with actionable intelligence