By Anna Volkwine, Army Innovation Programs

Letterkenny Army Depot (LEAD), a premier Army organic industrial base, sustains complex weapon systems for air and missile defense, precision-fire Soldier support and power generators.

Now equipped with small business solutions via the Army Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer  Program, LEAD’s artisans — expert deployable mechanics and electrical workers — can better mitigate technology challenges while maintaining a competitive edge to support operations across the organic industrial base, spanning the Army, Air Force and Navy.

The Army SBIR|STTR Advantage

The Army SBIR|STTR Program supports the depot’s quest to improve the readiness of systems so the organic industrial base and warfighters across the joint force can perform at peak readiness.

During an on-site visit at LEAD in July 2024, Army SBIR|STTR showed Kate Williams, LEAD director of strategic management, and her team the realm of possibilities of small business innovation. Williams and the SBIR|STTR team walked the shop floor and met with depot artisans to understand challenges and explain how SBIR|STTR resources could provide solutions to modernize manufacturing processes.

“We talked with the program about how LEAD needs to adapt to meet future mission requirements,” Williams said. “Depots are Army Working Capital funded; we run very much like a business. We must build business cases to invest in new technology or have a sponsor that funds that technology. In the past, the depot has struggled with funding agile technologies that work across multiple platforms.”

The Army SBIR|STTR Program delivered on its promise to connect LEAD with innovative small businesses and provide funding for Army SBIR|STTR contract awards. In conjunction with the depot, the program released three proposals in July 2024 for equipment maintenance and modernization: Reverse Engineering Equipment Open Topic, Shop Tools and Enablers Open Topic and Mobile Sustainment Tools Open Topic.

Following the submission and evaluation windows, LEAD selected 27 proposals to receive SBIR Phase I contract awards of up to $250,000 for feasibility studies. The period of performance began in January 2025, and successful completion could result in follow-on contract awards to develop prototype solutions in support of the depot’s specific needs.

“The Army SBIR|STTR Program offers an open-door policy to Army customers. Connect with us and tell us your challenges,” said Dr. Matt Willis, director of Army Innovation Programs. “In return, our program can provide direct access to breakthrough small businesses and streamlined acquisition pathways to get best-of-breed technologies that will drive lasting impact for Soldiers.”

Sustaining on the Operational Edge 

During the Department of Defense Maintenance Symposium in December 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah, LEAD featured six awardees from the Shop Tools and Enablers Open Topic. The theme of LEAD’s booth was “Sustaining on the Operational Edge.”

According to Williams, this theme reflects the depot’s mission to continuously build flexible capabilities and deployable artisan teams that can support warfighters in critical conditions.

The Army SBIR|STTR Program contributes to this theme by confronting daunting challenges with revolutionary concepts and adaptable mindsets of small business innovators. The program enables Army customers to work hand-in-hand with vendors to shape innovations through each phase of the process, from a Phase I feasibility study, to a Phase II prototype development, to a Phase III transition, so the depot’s artisans have access to novel solutions.

The DoD Maintenance Symposium was a prime opportunity for LEAD to showcase its successes with the program to defense stakeholders and present potential innovations that the depot’s deployable teams can bring to the field.

“LEAD’s key message at the symposium was to encourage DoD stakeholders to partner with the depot and do business with our artisans,” Williams said. “Having the recently-awarded small businesses at the booth was a testament to the type of innovative technologies our artisans will bring with them in theater.”

The depot will press forward to sustain on the operational edge, using the Army SBIR|STTR Program as a catalyst for innovation. The recently awarded small businesses will make progress on their current contracts and vie for follow-on opportunities, and the depot anticipates exciting advancements in the near future. The depot also hopes to continue developing and releasing solicitations alongside the program to provide more critical solutions to its artisans in the field.

About the Army SBIR|STTR Program

The Army SBIR|STTR Program’s SBIR portfolio continuously releases funding opportunities, including Phase I funding for commercially viable, feasible, and technically sound solutions. Firms with mature technologies meeting Phase I requirements can advance to Phase II or Direct to Phase II contracts. Throughout the process, technical, acquisition, and operational Army experts guide businesses to align their innovations with the Army’s critical needs.

The Army STTR portfolio integrates small businesses in the Army innovation ecosystem by partnering them with universities, federally funded research and development centers, or qualified non-profit research institutions, with small businesses as the prime contractors. Small businesses must act as prime contractors, performing at least 40% of the work while research partners perform at least 30%.

ASA(ALT) leverages innovative technologies to give Soldiers a decisive advantage in any environment by developing, acquiring, fielding and sustaining the world’s finest equipment and services. For more information, visit the ASA(ALT) web page and follow @ArmyASAALT.

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