This is a Department of the Air Force SBIR/STTR contract topic (DAF26BX06-DV511) for US small businesses with 500 or fewer employees to develop low size, weight, power, and cost sensing payloads and on-board processing for tactical space domain awareness on satellites. It is a defense R&D contract, not a general small-business grant, and it closes October 21, 2026. Nonprofits and businesses outside space technology R&D should not bother applying.
| Industry | Estimated fit |
|---|---|
| Technology & SoftwareMatches your industry (technology, tech, sbir, sttr) | 83 |
| Healthcare & BiotechLimit: Primarily for minority-owned businesses | 52 |
| Energy & Clean TechLimit: Primarily for minority-owned businesses | 51 |
| Transportation & LogisticsLimit: Primarily for minority-owned businesses | 48 |
| Food & BeverageLimit: Primarily for minority-owned businesses | 45 |
| Housing & Real EstateLimit: Primarily for minority-owned businesses | 45 |
| Industry | Estimated fit |
|---|---|
| ManufacturingLimit: Primarily for minority-owned businesses | 44 |
| Agriculture & FarmingLimit: Primarily for minority-owned businesses | 42 |
| Construction & InfrastructureLimit: Primarily for minority-owned businesses | 42 |
| 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 topic for US small businesses (≤500 employees) to develop low SWaP-C on-board sensing payloads and processing for tactical space domain awareness on proliferated satellites, enabling threat detection, tracking, and shared tactical space picture.
This D2P2 effort is to develop low Size, Weight, Power, and Cost (SWaP-C) technology for an on-board sensing payload to provide local situational awareness. This effort specifically looks to target low SWaP-C payload and on-board processing capability to sense and assess objects within the local area. This effort targets the combination of in-space sensing and sense-making with the goal to enable both self-protection through the organic ability to detect, track, and characterize immediate threats to support threat response, but also contributes to shared awareness of the tactical space picture across the domain. Following the traditions of air, maritime, and ground combat architectures, proliferated tactical sensors and their on-board assessment technology must become part of any combat system baseline. As such, this payload capability will become a critical enabler for mission resilience and ultimately, space superiority, through greater autonomy, decision-agility and survivability in contested space warfighting environments.
Program: SBIR, Phase I and Phase II Agency: Department of War, Air Force Topic number: DAF26BX06-DV511 Solicitation: 26.BX 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/13012. 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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