APFIT Program

APFIT Program is sponsored by U.S. Department of Defense. Accelerates procurement and fielding of innovative technologies developed by small businesses for defense use.

The Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT) is a program, started in Fiscal Year 2022, to provide procurement funding for innovative projects that have completed development and are ready to transition into operational use. Funding amounts of $10M-$50M are awarded to projects with small business or non-traditional performers to accelerate initial production and reduce the overall procurement timeline.

The Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research & Engineering, OUSW(R&E), conducts a competitive down-select process each year using evaluation criteria including impact to the warfighter, sustainment support, and applicability to the broader DoW.

Projects are awarded in coordination with a Service, Combatant Command, Defense Agency, or other organization and have included everything from procurement of undersea sensors to the manufacture and launch of satellites. APFIT just awarded the largest cohort of projects to date. This year alone, the program executed its largest single award in history totaling $49.

7 million with an average award of over $30 million per project. The APFIT program has now awarded over $1. 4 billion to over 75 companies, accelerating capabilities an average of two years with $935 million of APFIT FY 2022-FY 2025 funding resulting in procurement contracts and commitments from other government entities — for a total of more than $3.

2 billion of follow-on investment. These milestones strengthen both our warfighters and the small businesses that power American innovation across the defense industrial base. New to APFIT?

Check out our APFIT Program Deep Dive for Industry! The FY27-1 APFIT selection cycle is anticipated to open in early summer 2026. The FY26-2 APFIT selection cycle is closed and projects are being evaluated for potential selection with selection announcements expected in late spring 2026.

Please have a government sponsor work with their APFIT organization lead for further information on submission status. Continuously enrich selection quality by engaging with services, agencies/innovation centers, combatant commands, and companies to award APFIT funding to innovative technologies which provide large scale impact to key mission sets.

Expeditiously place APFIT funding on contract to accelerate fielding and procurement of innovative technologies. This enables the company to rapidly begin expanding production lines and increasing staff to meet DoW requirements. Advocate for scaling of the capability both within and outside of the recipient Service.

Ensuring awareness of the capability across relevant DoW Programs benefits both the warfighter and the company. APFIT Submission Totals by Fiscal Year The FY 2026-1 call for proposals yielded the largest number of viable submissions to date, with 76 viable proposals totaling $2. 36 billion.

Viable APFIT proposals in FY 2025 had a 30% selection rate, with 18 of 60 proposals awarded. Innovation Valleys of Death Click image for larger version. A concept, often born from academic research or small business ingenuity, must prove its technical feasibility.

Innovators find it difficult to navigate the system with limited access to key stakeholders and burdensome administrative requirements. Technology that ‘graduates’ from the lab must then demonstrate real-world viability, which requires resources, test environments and partners to test under operational conditions.

DoD customers may be unwilling to risk time or mission performance on immature capabilities, and technologies can stall in the demonstration phase. From Prototype to Product Even when a prototype successfully demonstrates operational use, transitioning it into a funded acquisition program is a challenge. Requirements often lag innovation, and legacy acquisition systems are slow, complex and risk averse.

Even with service desire to procure a technology, initial funding through the traditional Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) process can often take two years to come to fruition. Surviving transition does not ensure scale. In the final valley, companies must move from low-rate initial production to full deployment.

Each valley adds cumulative burden. A company might navigate the first successfully but stall in the second or third. Others repeatedly face all four, especially if they work in multiple technology domains or target diverse users.

The repetition breeds disillusionment, and talent walks away, with national security losing access to transformative ideas critical to executing successful modern day operations. Recognizing the valleys of death, particularly the difficulty of moving from successful prototype to scaled deployment, APFIT was designed to provide direct funding for technologies which have been validated but are stalled due to budgetary obstacles.

By enabling the DoD to immediately procure mission-ready capabilities, APFIT serves as a key program to inject speed, agility, and innovation into the defense ecosystem, bridging the third and fourth valleys of death.

APFIT Projects & Metrics FY 2022 – FY 2026 APFIT Award Statistics by Fiscal Year 2026 APFIT Funds Available for Award by Fiscal Year 2025 APFIT Awarded Projects by Location FY 2022 – 2026 Does My Program Qualify for APFIT Funding?

RDT&E Complete and DoW is Interested in Procuring Small Business or Nontraditional Defense Contractor $10 - $50M Could be Used to Accelerate Procurement Project is Endorsed by an APFIT-Designated Submitting Organization No Early Development Projects (Technology Readiness Level 1-6) No Contractor Owned Contractor Operated Items Ms. Marcia Holmes examines a piece of modular bridging, part of a FY 2024 APFIT awarded project that builds and repairs infrastructure in remote areas.

Photo taken at small business Edwards Design and Fabrication, Inc. in Meridianville, Alabama. Devin Bohanan APFIT Program Manager (left) with Ms. Marcia Holmes, Justin Strickler of the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center and Mr. Jason Edwards of Edwards Design and Fabrication, Inc. in front of their expeditionary bridging capability awarded by APFIT in FY 2024.

Previous production space for an APFIT performer awarded in FY 2023. Future production spaces for the same APFIT performer. APFIT funds enabled the small business to expand from a small building to a large warehouse ten times the size of the original facility to handle the increased production needed for DoW requirements as they move from Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) to Full Rate Production (FRP).

Who can submit proposals?

Department of the Air Force Special Operations Command Defense Agencies and 4th Estate Organizations Defense Health Agency (DHA) Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) Missile Defense Agency (MDA) National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) National Guard Bureau (NGB) National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) OASW(Critical Technologies) OASW(Mission Capabilities) OASW(Science and Technology) OUSW(Intelligence and Security) Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO) APFIT package submitted by specified organization leads (See FAQ for more information) Package reviewed for eligibility and completeness Detailed review of capability by APFIT team; RFIs conducted; Recommendations for Operational and Technical Panel (OTAP) briefings made Gov POCs brief OSW, Joint Staff, and Acquisition Organizations on capability in support of ranking by each of the three organizations FUNDING DECISION & FINAL APPROVALS Funding decision made and final OSW leadership approvals obtained Notifications of intention to award are made to program managers, stakeholders, and media APFIT FY26 Cycle Submission Templates (MUST be submitted through an approved service APFIT representative.

Please read Submission Process FAQ for more information) APFIT FY26 Letter of Attestation Submission Briefing Template APFIT FY26 Submission Briefing "DoW Announces Second Set of Projects to Receive Funding From the Pilot Program to Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT)." "Can't go it alone: DoW to 'step away' from conventional thinking in new S&T strategy."

"3 keys to bridging 'valley of death': Get involved early, cut out middlemen and pray Congress works." Stay updated on the latest APFIT information Still have questions on APFIT? Reach out to our inbox at osd.

apfit@mail. mil and an APFIT team member will be happy to help. Request One-on-One Meeting Schedule a personal session with our team.

Assistant Secretary of War The Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301 Web Policy / Accessibility