DoD SBIR and STTR awards and R&D opportunities
The Department of Defense (also called the Department of War since 2025) runs the largest SBIR and STTR programs in the government. Its components publish topics through the DoD SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal (DSIP), and most awards are contracts, not grants. DoD's official SBIR/STTR site has its current topics and deadlines.
- Awards, 2022–2026
- 13,057
- Awarded
- $10.5 billion
- Phase II share
- 47%
- Open DoD R&D notices
- 340
Open DoD R&D opportunities, due soonest
340 open notices on SAM.gov have an R&D NAICS code or a BAA, SBIR, STTR or commercial solutions opening in the title.
- Synthetic Training Environment (STE) Virtual Software (VSW)
✦ The Army (ACC-APG Orlando, for the Simulation program office) is asking industry for solutions to the Synthetic Training Environment Virtual Software, a soldier training…
Due in 2 daysOct 13, 2026
- Technical Services
Due in 2 daysOct 13, 2026
- 2025 Army Geospatial Center (AGC) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA)
✦ The Army Geospatial Center (part of the Army Corps of Engineers, Alexandria, VA) is running an open Broad Agency Announcement that invites research ideas on many geospatial…
Due in 2 daysOct 13, 2026
- Drone Killer Cartridge Training Device
Due in 3 daysOct 14, 2026
- QuickSink Notice of Contract Action ( NOCA)
Due in 4 daysOct 15, 2026
- United States Space Force (USSF) Battle Management, Command, Control, Communication and Space Intelligence (BMC3I) Satellite Communication Augmentation Resource (SCAR) Program Office (PMO) Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) Two Phase Closed Variant
Due in 5 daysOct 15, 2026
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Get R&D alertsDoD and the 2026 SBIR restart
SBIR and STTR lapsed from October 1, 2025 until the Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act reauthorized them on April 13, 2026, through September 30, 2031. DoD pre-released its first post-reauthorization topics on April 13, 2026 (open May 6 to June 3) and has released new topics every month since. Its first fiscal year 2027 release pre-released October 7, 2026 and accepts proposals October 28 to November 25, 2026, through the DoD SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal (DSIP).
DoD SBIR by component
- Air Force and Space Force: 5,976 awards since 2022
- Department of the Navy: 2,997 awards since 2022
- Department of the Army: 1,547 awards since 2022
- Missile Defense Agency: 500 awards since 2022
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA): 424 awards since 2022
- Defense Health Agency: 361 awards since 2022
- Defense Logistics Agency: 308 awards since 2022
- U.S. Special Operations Command: 225 awards since 2022
- Office of the Secretary of Defense: 203 awards since 2022
- Chemical and Biological Defense Program: 148 awards since 2022
- Defense Threat Reduction Agency: 135 awards since 2022
DoD SBIR and STTR awards by year
| Award year | Phase I | Phase II | Dollars |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (so far) | 111 | 44 | $83.8 million |
| 2025 | 1,470 | 1,474 | $2.8 billion |
| 2024 | 1,890 | 1,551 | $2.9 billion |
| 2023 | 1,769 | 1,408 | $2.4 billion |
| 2022 | 1,722 | 1,618 | $2.3 billion |
| 2021 | 2,209 | 1,274 | $1.7 billion |
| 2020 | 2,417 | 1,435 | $1.8 billion |
| 2019 | 2,217 | 1,307 | $1.9 billion |
| 2018 | 1,368 | 919 | $1.1 billion |
| 2017 | 1,724 | 1,116 | $1.5 billion |
| 2016 | 1,421 | 847 | $1.1 billion |
2,562 of the 13,057 awards since 2022 were STTR, which requires a research institution partner.
2025 and 2026 are low because the programs' authority lapsed from October 2025 to April 2026, and because agencies report new awards to SBIR.gov months late (some agencies' newest reported awards are from 2024 or 2025).
Top DoD SBIR recipients
Small businesses with the most DoD SBIR and STTR dollars since 2022:
| Company | State | Awards | Dollars |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physical Sciences Inc. | MA | 250 | $174.8 million |
| Triton Systems, Inc. | MA | 181 | $114.3 million |
| Intellisense Systems Inc | CA | 132 | $82 million |
| Toyon Research Corporation | CA | 103 | $79.4 million |
| Charles River Analytics, Inc. | MA | 95 | $71.8 million |
| Arete Associates | CA | 79 | $69.1 million |
| Umbra Lab, Inc | CA | 9 | $68.7 million |
| Wildstar LLC | MA | 7 | $66.5 million |
| CFD Research Corporation | AL | 100 | $62.7 million |
| Corvid Technologies, LLC | NC | 78 | $60.8 million |
| Creare LLC | NH | 85 | $55.9 million |
| Lynntech Inc. | TX | 85 | $52.4 million |
| Spectral Energies LLC | OH | 87 | $51.1 million |
| Luna Labs USA LLC | VA | 87 | $51 million |
| Cornerstone Research Group Inc | OH | 58 | $50.8 million |
Newest DoD SBIR and STTR awards
| Awarded | Company | Project | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 23, 2026 | Oblate Optics Inc | SBIR Phase II Inverse-designed lightweight, planar focus lenses for Vis to LWIR hyperspectral imaging | $1.8 million |
| Jan 23, 2026 | Busek Co., Inc. | SBIR Phase II Compact Stored Propellant Propulsion System for VLEO Satellites | $1.7 million |
| Jan 23, 2026 | Aspect Aerospace | SBIR Phase II Single Board Satellite for VLEO SBEM | $1.9 million |
| Jan 22, 2026 | Aroboticscompany, Inc | SBIR Phase I Snake Paint-R: Robotic Coating for Confined Aircraft Ducts | $139,980 |
| Jan 20, 2026 | Pulse Space Inc | SBIR Phase II Nexus | $1.9 million |
| Jan 9, 2026 | Aerobotix, Inc. | SBIR Phase II Robotic Adaptive Sanding System (RASS) | $1.2 million |
| Jan 7, 2026 | Slip Robotics Inc. | SBIR Phase II Omni-Directional Movement of F-16 Aircraft With a Modified and Adapted Slipbot Mobile Robot | $1.2 million |
| Jan 1, 2026 | Intellisense Systems Inc | SBIR Phase I Tethered Robot for Coating Application and Inspection | $139,999 |
| Jan 1, 2026 | Towflexx Miltech Inc | SBIR Phase II Omni Directional Aircraft Mover Platform (OD-AMP) | $1.2 million |
| Jan 1, 2026 | Aerosens, Inc | SBIR Phase II AeroISU: Real-time Visibility and Mission Readiness of Industrial Storage Units (ISU), Containers & other… | $1.5 million |
| Dec 22, 2025 | Technergetics, LLC | SBIR Phase I Comb-Integrated Photonic Hardware for Energy-Efficient Routing (CIPHER) | $249,686 |
| Dec 22, 2025 | Analog Photonics LLC | SBIR Phase I On-Chip Wavelength Generation for DWDM Photonic Transceivers | $249,969 |
Frequently asked questions
How many SBIR awards does DoD make?
Department of Defense made 13,057 SBIR and STTR awards worth $10.5 billion from 2022 through the latest SBIR.gov data, 6,095 of them Phase II. The average Phase I award was about $150,785 and average Phase II about $1.5 million.
Where does DoD post SBIR topics?
On its official SBIR/STTR site (www.dodsbirsttr.mil/topics-app). All DoD components release topics and accept proposals through the DoD SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal (DSIP). Related R&D solicitations and broad agency announcements are also posted on SAM.gov.
Is DoD accepting SBIR proposals in 2026?
SBIR and STTR lapsed from October 1, 2025 until the Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act reauthorized them on April 13, 2026, through September 30, 2031. DoD pre-released its first post-reauthorization topics on April 13, 2026 (open May 6 to June 3) and has released new topics every month since. Its first fiscal year 2027 release pre-released October 7, 2026 and accepts proposals October 28 to November 25, 2026, through the DoD SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal (DSIP).
Other SBIR agencies
HHS · DOE · NASA · NSF · USDA · Commerce · DHS · DOT · EPA · Education
Award data from SBIR.gov's public award file, updated monthly; contact and researcher names are left out. Open notices from SAM.gov, updated daily.