xTech|Search 10 Competition

xTech|Adaptive Strike - Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS) for Soldier Operations is sponsored by U.S. Army. The U.S. Army's xTech|Adaptive Strike competition is seeking innovative, ready-to-deploy solutions for Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS) for Soldier Operations. This competition focuses on affordable, rapidly deployable solutions to defend against the growing threat of unmanned systems in fast-paced environments. Small and large businesses are eligible to participate.

xTech|Search 10 is the tenth round of the U.S. Army's flagship open-topic prize competition, the Expeditionary Technology Search, and it is currently open with a submission window running 10 September to 19 October 2026. The Army uses xTechSearch to surface commercially traded, dual-use technologies that could deliver game-changing capability, with modernization priorities that explicitly include AI and machine learning, autonomy, and general warfighting requirements. The mechanism is worth understanding precisely because it differs from a conventional SBIR: companies enter by submitting a short white paper, the Army competitively down-selects up to sixteen finalists, and only those finalists become eligible to submit a Phase I Army SBIR proposal under topic ARM26BX05-NP011 for a follow-on award of up to 300,000 dollars over six months. Participation in the prize competition is therefore a mandatory prerequisite for the contract, and a company that discovers the SBIR topic without the competition will find it cannot bid. The competition is a total small business set-aside. xTechSearch is deliberately aimed at firms that do not normally compete for defence awards, and the white paper format is substantially lighter than a full SBIR proposal, which makes this one of the lowest-friction entry points into Army funding for an AI or autonomy startup with a working commercial product.

Army xTechSearch is a prize competition program from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) that connects innovative small businesses with the U.S. Army to accelerate technology solutions addressing critical Army capability gaps. The xTech Program manages Army prize competitions where companies can win cash awards ranging from $25,000 to $250,000 and receive follow-on opportunities including Phase II SBIR contracts and partnerships with Army labs. The program includes events such as xTech|Live at eMerge Americas. Eligible participants are small businesses developing innovative technologies with potential military applications, including areas such as advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, energy, and cybersecurity.