AFWERX SBIR/STTR Program Supports Progression from Prototype Toward Operational Use
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio — A Firestorm Labs Tempest unmanned aircraft flying during Exercise Balikatan 2026 in the Philippines provides a recent example of technology that began its Department of the Air Force journey three years earlier through the Small Business Innovation Research program.
Transition is central to the AFWERX mission. As the innovation arm of the Department of the Air Force and powered by the Air Force Research Laboratory, AFWERX accelerates agile and affordable capability transitions by connecting technology developers with Airmen and Guardians and supporting technologies as they mature toward operational use.
Firestorm entered the AFWERX program in May 2023 with a Phase I SBIR contract for a low- cost, long-range, mission-adaptable unmanned aircraft system. The public award record states the effort was supported by the commander and deputy commander of Ninth Air Force and U.S. Air Forces Central’s Task Force 99.
Four months later, AFWERX awarded Firestorm a $1.25 million Phase II contract for its Expeditionary Manufacturing Cell, or xCell. The effort focused on mobile additive manufacturing intended to produce unmanned aircraft components in remote or austere environments and reduce dependence on traditional supply chains. Subsequent SBIR records identify Air Force Special Operations Command as the sponsor of Firestorm’s Phase II AFWERX Open Topic work.
In December 2024, the Air Force awarded Firestorm a $100 million-ceiling SBIR Phase III indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for small unmanned aircraft systems, support services and research and development. The contract includes integration into the AFWERX Prime Proving Ground and research supporting Air Force autonomy efforts.
For small businesses, Phase III provides a mechanism to continue work derived from an earlier SBIR or STTR effort using non-SBIR/STTR funding. Phase III can support additional development, services, testing or production as technologies move toward potential government or commercial use.
In February 2025, Firestorm operated xCell during a Naval Postgraduate School Joint Interagency Field Experimentation event at Camp Roberts, California, where Navy imagery documented modular Tempest components produced using the expeditionary manufacturing system.
The following month, AFWERX selected Firestorm for its Program Year 2025.1 Strategic Funding Increase opportunity. STRATFI is intended to bridge the gap between Phase II development and operational use by bringing together Department of the Air Force funding, matching investment and government transition partners.
That selection resulted in an xCell STRATFI contract. The Air Force announced the contract with a maximum value of $18 million, including $9 million obligated at award, to further develop the system, demonstrate production capability and collect data supporting future verification, training, operations and product support.
By April 2026, Department of War imagery documented the Tempest flying with 3rd Littoral Combat Team, 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, during Exercise Balikatan 2026 at Cagayan North International Airport in the Philippines.
In May 2026, Firestorm announced it had received an Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies award of up to $30 million to expand xCell deployment and Tempest production and sustainment for operational units in the Indo-Pacific. APFIT is a Department of War program separate from AFWERX that supports technologies moving from development toward fielding and initial production.
Firestorm’s progression from Phase I and Phase II through Phase III, STRATFI, joint experimentation and follow-on APFIT funding illustrates the transition pathways AFWERX seeks to create for small businesses — moving technologies beyond initial research and development and toward follow-on acquisition and potential operational use.
*Disclaimer: References to non-federal entities do not constitute or imply Department of War or Air Force endorsement of any company or organization.