Contested Logistics and Sustainment, Army SBIR, Direct to Phase II
xTech|Kinetic Reach
NOTE: The following topic number, ARM26BX03-DP007 – xTech|Kinetic Reach, in this release is tied to an Army FUZE xTech prize competition, xTech|Kinetic Reach. xTech|Kinetic Reach will be used to identify small business concerns that meet the criteria for a potential SBIR Direct-to-Phase II award under this topic. Winners selected from the xTech|Kinetic Reach prize competition will be the only firms eligible to submit an SBIR Direct-to-Phase II proposal under this topic. Proposals submitted to this topic by non-winners of the xTech|Kinetic Reach competition will not be evaluated.
How to Apply: Visit the xTech|Kinetic Reach competition page to read the full Competition Announcement, topic details, and apply by submitting a white paper here:
https://xtech.army.mil/competition/xtechkinetic-reach/
xTech|Kinetic Reach applications are NOT submitted to the Defense SBIR|STTR Innovation Portal (DSIP). Small business concerns that do not submit an application to the xTech|Kinetic Reach competition through the https://xtech.army.mil/competition/xtechkinetic-reach/ website before the June 24, 2026, deadline will be ineligible to compete or submit a full SBIR proposal to DSIP. The DSIP proposal submission window tied to this topic is for the winners of the competition only. Please make sure to visit the xTech|Kinetic Reach competition site and submit your white paper prior to the June 24, 2026, deadline to be considered for award under this topic.
Objective
The U.S. Army is seeking innovative force sustainment solutions from eligible small businesses across the U.S. through the xTech Kinetic Reach competition. This platform offers participants the opportunity to engage with the Department of War (DoW), earn prize money and submit a Direct to Phase II Army SBIR proposal.
The U.S. Army FUZE xTech Program, in partnership with the U.S. Army Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF) and Global Tactical Edge Acquisition Directorate (G-TEAD) is executing the xTech|Kinetic Reach competition as part of the G-TEAD Accelerated Capability Event (ACE) series. xTech|Kinetic Reach addresses the growing uncrewed aerial system (UAS) threat by identifying high-potential solutions and accelerating transition through funding and integration into live USAREUR-AF-led exercises. Integrating into a USAREUR-AF-led exercise is critical to: (1) validate capabilities under operationally realistic conditions, (2) inform acquisition and integration decisions, and (3) address near-term gaps in autonomous ground operations and effects delivery in contested environments.
The Army recognizes that the DoW must enhance engagements with U.S. small businesses by (1) understanding the spectrum of world-class technologies being developed commercially that may benefit the DoW; (2) integrating the sector of non-traditional innovators into the DoW Science and Technology (S&T) ecosystem; and (3) providing expertise and feedback to accelerate, mature, and transition technologies of interest to the DoW.
Description
xTech|Kinetic Reach is a focused open-topic competition designed to identify cutting-edge technology solutions that will drive significant advancements in military capabilities while addressing complex challenges and enhancing national security. In largescale combat operations, U.S. Army forces must sustain dispersed, continuously moving formations while operating inside highly contested environments characterized by persistent observation, long range fires, electromagnetic interference, degraded mobility corridors, and severely constrained logistics. Current sustainment and recovery methods rely heavily on manned systems that are increasingly vulnerable, slow to adapt, and unable to meet the demands of operations conducted near or within the Autonomous Zone. The Army requires a suite of interoperable, autonomous or minimally manned capabilities – spanning ground and air distribution, power generation, forward arming and refueling, and vehicle recovery – that can operate with minimal oversight, low signatures, reduced logistical burden, and seamless command and control (C2) integration. These capabilities must sustain tempo, reduce soldier exposure, and ensure survivability and mission continuity across the entire sustainment and recovery enterprise in high-threat, GPS and communications degraded environments where traditional methods are no longer feasible or survivable.
The Army is seeking to evaluate capabilities that demonstrate performance in one of five (5) capability areas, and meet the following criteria for its capability area:
- Topic 1: Autonomous container Handling/Movement System
- Topic 2: Future Power Generation
- Topic 3: Autonomous UAV/UGV Forward Arming and Refueling Point (FARP) System
- Topic 4: Uncrewed Aerial Payload Transportation
- Topic 5: Uncrewed, Automated, Ground Recovery System
Full competition details including details on these 5 topic areas of interest can be found in Appendix A section of the xTech|Kinetic Reach competition RFI here: https://xtech.army.mil/competition/xtechkinetic-reach/.
The proposed schedule is outlined below and subject to change without notice.
- xTech white paper submission: June 05 – 24, 2026
- xTech finalists announcement: August 11, 2026
- xTech finalists Solider exercise event: November 09 – 20, 2026
- xTech winners announcement: November 2026 (exact dates to be determined)
- SBIR proposal submission window: December 02 – 18, 2026
The U.S. Army intends to award up to $1,500,000 in cash prizes throughout the competition. Up to 15 finalists will be selected at the conclusion of the Part 1 evaluation period and will be provided the opportunity to participate in the Part 2 live Soldier exercise, anticipated to occur in November 2026. Finalists who attend the Soldier exercise will receive a cash prize of $25,000, following the event. Finalists who also participate and have their technology integrated in the exercise will receive an additional $25,000, following the event. Following completion of the exercise, up to five (5) final winners will be selected to receive an additional cash prize of $150,000 each. Final winners may be considered for potential follow-on agreements and contracting opportunities. Part 2 winners that qualify as U.S. Small Businesses will have the opportunity to submit a Direct to Phase II Army SBIR proposal worth up to $2,000,000 in December.
References:
- https://xtech.army.mil/competition/xtechkinetic-reach/
- KEYWORDS: xTech; Autonomy; Robotics; Uncrewed Ground Vehicles (UGV); Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS); Teleoperation; Contested Environments; GPS-Denied Navigation; Communications-Denied, Degraded, Intermittent, and Limited (DDIL) Environments; Electronic Warfare (EW) Resiliency Force Sustainment, Contested Logistics; Point-of-Need Delivery
NOTE: The following topic number, ARM26BX03-DP007 – xTech|Kinetic Reach, in this release is tied to an Army FUZE xTech prize competition, xTech|Kinetic Reach. xTech|Kinetic Reach will be used to identify small business concerns that meet the criteria for a potential SBIR Direct-to-Phase II award under this topic. Winners selected from the xTech|Kinetic Reach prize competition will be the only firms eligible to submit an SBIR Direct-to-Phase II proposal under this topic. Proposals submitted to this topic by non-winners of the xTech|Kinetic Reach competition will not be evaluated.
How to Apply: Visit the xTech|Kinetic Reach competition page to read the full Competition Announcement, topic details, and apply by submitting a white paper here:
https://xtech.army.mil/competition/xtechkinetic-reach/
xTech|Kinetic Reach applications are NOT submitted to the Defense SBIR|STTR Innovation Portal (DSIP). Small business concerns that do not submit an application to the xTech|Kinetic Reach competition through the https://xtech.army.mil/competition/xtechkinetic-reach/ website before the June 24, 2026, deadline will be ineligible to compete or submit a full SBIR proposal to DSIP. The DSIP proposal submission window tied to this topic is for the winners of the competition only. Please make sure to visit the xTech|Kinetic Reach competition site and submit your white paper prior to the June 24, 2026, deadline to be considered for award under this topic.
Objective
The U.S. Army is seeking innovative force sustainment solutions from eligible small businesses across the U.S. through the xTech Kinetic Reach competition. This platform offers participants the opportunity to engage with the Department of War (DoW), earn prize money and submit a Direct to Phase II Army SBIR proposal.
The U.S. Army FUZE xTech Program, in partnership with the U.S. Army Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF) and Global Tactical Edge Acquisition Directorate (G-TEAD) is executing the xTech|Kinetic Reach competition as part of the G-TEAD Accelerated Capability Event (ACE) series. xTech|Kinetic Reach addresses the growing uncrewed aerial system (UAS) threat by identifying high-potential solutions and accelerating transition through funding and integration into live USAREUR-AF-led exercises. Integrating into a USAREUR-AF-led exercise is critical to: (1) validate capabilities under operationally realistic conditions, (2) inform acquisition and integration decisions, and (3) address near-term gaps in autonomous ground operations and effects delivery in contested environments.
The Army recognizes that the DoW must enhance engagements with U.S. small businesses by (1) understanding the spectrum of world-class technologies being developed commercially that may benefit the DoW; (2) integrating the sector of non-traditional innovators into the DoW Science and Technology (S&T) ecosystem; and (3) providing expertise and feedback to accelerate, mature, and transition technologies of interest to the DoW.
Description
xTech|Kinetic Reach is a focused open-topic competition designed to identify cutting-edge technology solutions that will drive significant advancements in military capabilities while addressing complex challenges and enhancing national security. In largescale combat operations, U.S. Army forces must sustain dispersed, continuously moving formations while operating inside highly contested environments characterized by persistent observation, long range fires, electromagnetic interference, degraded mobility corridors, and severely constrained logistics. Current sustainment and recovery methods rely heavily on manned systems that are increasingly vulnerable, slow to adapt, and unable to meet the demands of operations conducted near or within the Autonomous Zone. The Army requires a suite of interoperable, autonomous or minimally manned capabilities – spanning ground and air distribution, power generation, forward arming and refueling, and vehicle recovery – that can operate with minimal oversight, low signatures, reduced logistical burden, and seamless command and control (C2) integration. These capabilities must sustain tempo, reduce soldier exposure, and ensure survivability and mission continuity across the entire sustainment and recovery enterprise in high-threat, GPS and communications degraded environments where traditional methods are no longer feasible or survivable.
The Army is seeking to evaluate capabilities that demonstrate performance in one of five (5) capability areas, and meet the following criteria for its capability area:
- Topic 1: Autonomous container Handling/Movement System
- Topic 2: Future Power Generation
- Topic 3: Autonomous UAV/UGV Forward Arming and Refueling Point (FARP) System
- Topic 4: Uncrewed Aerial Payload Transportation
- Topic 5: Uncrewed, Automated, Ground Recovery System
Full competition details including details on these 5 topic areas of interest can be found in Appendix A section of the xTech|Kinetic Reach competition RFI here: https://xtech.army.mil/competition/xtechkinetic-reach/.
The proposed schedule is outlined below and subject to change without notice.
- xTech white paper submission: June 05 – 24, 2026
- xTech finalists announcement: August 11, 2026
- xTech finalists Solider exercise event: November 09 – 20, 2026
- xTech winners announcement: November 2026 (exact dates to be determined)
- SBIR proposal submission window: December 02 – 18, 2026
The U.S. Army intends to award up to $1,500,000 in cash prizes throughout the competition. Up to 15 finalists will be selected at the conclusion of the Part 1 evaluation period and will be provided the opportunity to participate in the Part 2 live Soldier exercise, anticipated to occur in November 2026. Finalists who attend the Soldier exercise will receive a cash prize of $25,000, following the event. Finalists who also participate and have their technology integrated in the exercise will receive an additional $25,000, following the event. Following completion of the exercise, up to five (5) final winners will be selected to receive an additional cash prize of $150,000 each. Final winners may be considered for potential follow-on agreements and contracting opportunities. Part 2 winners that qualify as U.S. Small Businesses will have the opportunity to submit a Direct to Phase II Army SBIR proposal worth up to $2,000,000 in December.
References:
- https://xtech.army.mil/competition/xtechkinetic-reach/
- KEYWORDS: xTech; Autonomy; Robotics; Uncrewed Ground Vehicles (UGV); Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS); Teleoperation; Contested Environments; GPS-Denied Navigation; Communications-Denied, Degraded, Intermittent, and Limited (DDIL) Environments; Electronic Warfare (EW) Resiliency Force Sustainment, Contested Logistics; Point-of-Need Delivery