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WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio – AFWERX’s Small Business Innovation Research program helped advance a beyond-line-of-sight communications prototype now employed operationally on the B-52 Stratofortress, supporting the bomber’s long-range strike missions and connectivity with air operations centers.

The B-52 Stratofortress long-range strike and deterrence capabilities have supported the U.S. Air Force since 1955. Designed to deliver nuclear and precision-guided conventional ordnance worldwide, the bomber entered service during the early years of the Cold War and has evolved through successive modernization programs to remain a key component of the Air Force’s long-range strike fleet.

With aircraft expected to remain in the Air Force inventory for decades, continued modernization is critical to maintaining the B-52's effectiveness in increasingly contested operating environments. Effective communications are a key part of that modernization, supporting both operational missions and the training of Airmen who operate and maintain the aircraft.

To address an operational need for beyond-line-of-sight communications, Air Force Global Strike Command pursued a prototype capability for the B-52. In June 2022, the 49th Test and Evaluation Squadron conducted the first airborne demonstration of the system, known as IRIS, on a B-52 at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The 608th Air Operations Center assessed voice and data transfers, including images and video, from the aircraft.

The demonstration showed how commercial technology could improve bomber connectivity and support coordination across geographically dispersed air operations centers. Air Force officials also identified the effort as contributing to the B-52’s integration into Joint All-Domain Command and Control.

AFWERX supported the effort through a Small Business Innovation Research Phase II contract to integrate the commercial Outerlink Global Solutions communications system onto the B-52. In 2023, the effort transitioned to a $26 million Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) contract, providing additional resources to advance the capability toward operational employment.

AFGSC/s A5N Rapid Capabilities Division and A5B Bomber Requirements Division led the requirements effort, translating operational needs into technical parameters aligned with B-52 platform constraints and long-term modernization priorities. The B-52 System Program Office, 49th Test and Evaluation Squadron, 608th Air Operations Center and 307th Bomb Wing supported integration, testing and operational assessment

As of April 1, 2026, multiple IRIS kits had been installed on B-52 aircraft and delivered to the 49th TES to support training and operational employment. The system is currently in operational use but remains a prototype under evaluation for consideration as a long-term communication solution.

This effort demonstrates how AFWERX programs can help transition emerging commercial technologies from prototype development toward operational employment in response to identified warfighter requirements. It also illustrates the role of rapid acquisition and collaboration across the Air Force in adapting proven technologies to meet the evolving needs of a long-serving weapons platform.

*Disclaimer: References to non-federal entities do not constitute or imply Department of War or Air Force endorsement of any company or organization.

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio — AFWERX research and development contracts are helping TutorWorks Inc. advance Mage Duel, an artificial intelligence-enabled language training platform recently demonstrated to more than 20 representatives from defense and intelligence organizations.

Designed to help military linguists develop and maintain their skills, Mage Duel combines immersive gameplay with conversational AI agents. The National Security Agency-facilitated engagement included a demonstration of the platform’s technology and an early Persian, also known as Farsi, implementation developed through AFWERX-funded efforts to identify customer needs.

AFWERX, a division of the Air Force Research Laboratory, connects small businesses with Department of the Air Force mission needs and awards contracts to develop technologies with potential military applications. It manages the department’s Small Business Innovation Research program, known as SBIR, and Small Business Technology Transfer program, known as STTR, helping move technologies from early research toward military use.

For cryptologic language analysts, understanding and interpreting foreign languages is central to the mission. Developing those skills requires extensive vocabulary practice, accurate translation and the ability to apply classroom learning to unfamiliar conversations. Maintaining proficiency requires continued practice throughout a linguist’s career.

Mage Duel makes language practice part of an interactive experience. Learners navigate a fantasy environment where casting spells, completing missions and interacting with characters require spoken and written communication in the language they are studying.

The platform combines four core gameplay activities: AI-driven encounters for understanding and producing language, vocabulary reinforcement activities called thread collection, duels that require translation and language output, and quests that bring those skills together. Players must recall vocabulary and use it in context to progress.

According to TutorWorks, generative AI tutors adjust dialogue difficulty, evaluate pronunciation and grammar in real time, and tailor scenario complexity to individual performance. These features are designed to help users rehearse demanding conversations in a controlled setting while reinforcing formal instruction.

Demonstration participants represented 16th Air Force, Headquarters Air Force A2/6, the 517th Training Group, NSA, the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, the Air National Guard, Army Military Intelligence and Headquarters Marine Corps.

The engagement identified potential applications in operational language training, intelligence organizations and preparation for deployment. AFWERX and TutorWorks are assessing customer demand and exploring potential pilot projects, transition partnerships and follow-on adoption.

TutorWorks received five Phase I and Phase II SBIR awards totaling approximately $2.45 million between 2020 and 2026. The awards, listed in the AFWERX portfolio, funded language learning, adaptive training and cognitive training technologies.

A March 2021 Phase II award provided approximately $750,000 to develop Mage Duel as a language acquisition tool. Phase II funds research and development, including efforts to build and demonstrate a proposed technology.

A separate 2023 Phase I effort explored generative AI for personalized content, adaptive comprehension questions and language prompts presented in context, using Mage Duel as the initial evaluation platform.

In June 2024, TutorWorks received approximately $1.5 million through a Tactical Funding Increase, or TACFI, award for continued Mage Duel development. TACFI provides additional Phase II funding to help mature technologies and strengthen the partnerships needed to move them toward military use.

Mage Duel also progressed into Phase III acquisition. Phase III funds work that builds on earlier SBIR efforts using money outside the program. It can include further development, purchases of products or services, and production.

A July 2022 Phase III contract provided approximately $750,000 for Mage Duel language software, with NSA/Central Security Service identified as the funding organization.

A March 2024 Phase III award for the 517th Training Group accumulated approximately $4 million in obligations, including funding added when an option was exercised in 2025. A separate 2026 follow-on purchase order added $121,420 for licenses and sustainment, with performance scheduled through Sept. 30, 2027.

TutorWorks is also exploring applications beyond language learning. A June 2026 Phase I award provided $74,989 for VANTAGE, a proposed training platform built on Mage Duel’s architecture. The effort combines modular content, AI agent interactions and game mechanics to explore training across additional Air Force mission areas.

Small businesses interested in developing technologies for Department of the Air Force mission needs can explore SBIR and STTR opportunities through the Defense SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal. Each solicitation outlines its technical requirements, eligibility criteria and submission deadlines.

*Disclaimer: References to non-federal entities do not constitute or imply Department of War or Air Force endorsement of any company or organization.

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.