The U.S. Air Force’s AFWERX innovation arm will host an event on July 15 and 16 to brief small businesses and academic entities on the service branch’s efforts to utilize commercial technologies for military applications, the service branch reported on Friday.
The "TeamUp" virtual trade show is aimed at promoting dialogue between industry, universities and research institutions ahead of the Air Force’s Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Open Topic funding round.
AFWERX and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) will provide an overview of the STTR Open Topic solicitation, which will focus on the “Agility Prime” topic area and cover commercial platforms for applications such as emergency response, medical evacuation and relief operations.
The Air Force expects to issue $10 million in contracts under the Agility Prime area within a 90-day period.
Maj. Jared Evans, program manager for AFWERX's STTR Open Topic and technology transfer lead at the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, said the STTR program serves as "a critical part" of the service's broader investment in the small-business and research communities.
“TeamUp events like this one will provide opportunities for multiple stakeholders to come together and compete with speed,” noted Col. Nathan Diller, director of AFWERX.
Technologies to be featured during the event include air mobility platforms and related components such as electric propulsion systems, computing hardware, sensor systems and communication technologies.