This is an Air Force SBIR contract topic for US small businesses (500 or fewer employees) that can design a low-cost multi-function Ku-band RF radar/seeker system for high-speed strike weapons, taking it to Critical Design Review maturity. It is for defense RF/radar engineering firms, not general tech companies. Nonprofits cannot apply, and businesses outside defense hardware R&D should not bother.
| Industry | Estimated fit |
|---|---|
| Technology & SoftwareMatches your industry (technology, tech, sbir, sttr) | 85 |
| Energy & Clean TechLimit: Primarily for minority-owned businesses | 52 |
| Healthcare & BiotechLimit: Primarily for minority-owned businesses | 52 |
| ManufacturingMatches your industry (manufacturing) | 52 |
| Construction & InfrastructureLimit: Primarily for minority-owned businesses | 47 |
| Food & BeverageLimit: Primarily for minority-owned businesses | 45 |
| Industry | Estimated fit |
|---|---|
| Housing & Real EstateLimit: Primarily for minority-owned businesses | 45 |
| Transportation & LogisticsLimit: Primarily for minority-owned businesses | 45 |
| Agriculture & FarmingLimit: Primarily for minority-owned businesses | 43 |
| Finance & BankingLimit: Primarily for minority-owned businesses | 42 |
| Retail & E-CommerceLimit: Primarily for minority-owned businesses | 41 |
| Arts & CultureLimit: This program does not accept nonprofit applicants. | 0 |
| Education & TrainingLimit: This program does not accept nonprofit applicants. | 0 |
| Environment & ConservationLimit: This program does not accept nonprofit applicants. | 0 |
| Social Services & NonprofitLimit: This program does not accept nonprofit applicants. | 0 |
These are our matcher’s estimates for a typical business in each industry. A real match depends on your size, your state and what you need the money for — check your own fit.
SBIR Phase I/II contract for US small businesses (500 or fewer employees) to design a low-cost multi-function Ku-band RF radar/seeker system for prompt strike weapons, including imaging radar, passive direction-finding, and height-of-burst fuze modes, to Critical Design Review maturity.
Current multifunction radar systems for use onboard various types of small airborne platforms are prohibitively expensive to procure at scale, and this is especially true for systems engineered for use in demanding high subsonic regimes (peak velocity greater than Mach 3 but under Mach 5). This effort will leverage recent advancements in RF technology, high-temp materials science, and associated manufacturing to design a complete multi-function Ku-band RF system to a Critical Design Review (CDR) level of maturity. Key technical requirements include the need to fit within a 6” interior diameter cylinder (whether conformally mounted or forward mounted), needing to conform to the WOSA Seeker Domain interface specification, incorporating imaging radar modes, passive direction-finding modes, and height of burst fuze sensing modes.
Program: SBIR, Phase I and Phase II Agency: Department of War, Air Force Topic number: DAF26BZ06-DV037 Solicitation: 26.BZ Released September 2, 2026; proposals accepted from September 23, 2026 Closes October 21, 2026. Check the official solicitation for the exact due time. Award type: contract, not a grant. Official solicitation: https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/topics-app/ Listed on SBIR.gov: https://www.sbir.gov/topics/12974. SBIR.gov copies agency solicitations and can lag behind them; the official solicitation is the final word.
Small businesses only: a for-profit US business with 500 or fewer employees, including affiliates.
More than 50% owned and controlled by US citizens or permanent residents (some agencies also accept majority ownership by venture capital, hedge fund or private equity firms; the solicitation says).
SBIR: the principal investigator is primarily employed by the business. STTR: the business partners with a US nonprofit research institution or university, which does at least 30% of the work.
Registered in SAM.gov before submitting.
Check the official solicitation for its own conditions, proposal limits and security review.
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