AFWERX, SpaceWERX open new SBIR/STTR solicitations following reauthorization
Jason Chen, AFWERX program manager, shakes hands with an attendee during the Warfare Symposium at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center in Aurora, Colorado, Feb. 23, 2026. AFWERX, the Department of the Air Force’s innovation arm within the Air Force Research Laboratory, manages the Department’s Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs. Each year, AFWERX awards approximately 1,400 contracts totaling more than $1.4 billion through America’s Seed Fund to support startups and small businesses developing technologies with commercial and defense applications. (U.S. Air Force photo by Matthew Clouse), AFWERX program manager, briefs industry during the Warfare Symposium at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center in Aurora, Colorado, Feb. 23, 2026. AFWERX, the Department of the Air Force’s innovation arm within the Air Force Research Laboratory, manages the Department’s Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs. Each year, AFWERX awards approximately 1,400 contracts totaling more than $1.4 billion through America’s Seed Fund to support startups and small businesses developing technologies with commercial and defense applications. (U.S. Air Force photo by Matthew Clouse)