Following SBIR/STTR reauthorization, DoW Office for Small Business Innovation to open new opportunities for warfighter-focused technology
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The wait is over! Following congressional reauthorization of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transition (STTR) programs, the Department of War is moving forward immediately with new funding opportunities for American small businesses.
While the program authority for Fiscal Year 2026 was paused, the Office for Small Business Innovation, under the direction of the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (OUSW(R&E)), deliberately took steps to align the SBIR and STTR programs with the Secretary of War’s January 9, 2026, directive, “Transforming the Defense Innovation Ecosystem to Accelerate Warfighting Advantage.”
Consistent with the Secretary’s guidance to unify the innovation enterprise under a single Chief Technology Officer (CTO), eliminate fragmented governance, and organize around measurable outcomes, SBIR/STTR has been structurally redesigned to deliver across the Department’s three innovation outcomes: differentiated technology, scalable products, and operational capability innovation.
In parallel, DoW SBIR/STTR investments map directly to the Department’s newly designated Critical Technology Areas (CTAs): Applied Artificial Intelligence (AAI), Biomanufacturing (BIO), Contested Logistics Technologies (LOG), Quantum and Battlefield Information Dominance (Q-BID), Scaled Hypersonics (SHY), and Scaled Directed Energy (SCADE).
This alignment ensures that small business innovation is tightly coupled to the Department’s highest-priority capability and warfighting imperatives. The DoW is postured to publish funding opportunities that achieve the strategic intent of the CTAs, as well as other critical Department priorities.
Launch of Accelerated Research for Transition (ART)
Additionally, the Office for Small Business Innovation has revamped its commitment to technology transition, through the establishment of the Accelerated Research for Transition (ART) Program. ART offers multiple pathways for the Department to capitalize on SBIR/STTR innovation through additional non-dilutive capital investment to transition Warfighter capabilities from development to production, operation and sustainment.
ART is purpose-built to move high-performing Phase II SBIR/STTR efforts into scalable Phase III outcomes with greater speed, accountability, and alignment to operational demand signals — delivering on the Secretary’s mandate to prioritize delivery over process.
Execution Begins Immediately
On March 13th, 91 topics under FY26 Release 1 will go into pre-release, with the proposal portal accepting submissions starting March 25th.
The Defense SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal (DSIP) details open solicitations and proposal timelines, and the Office for Small Business Innovation will resume its established schedule of releasing new topics on the first Wednesday of every month, next month.
This is not a restart; this is a relaunch with intention.
It is a sharpened, unified, and more accountable SBIR/STTR enterprise — aligned to Secretary Hegseth’s transformation guidance, integrated into the Department’s innovation ecosystem, and focused relentlessly on fielded critical capabilities at scale.