AFWERX

Also called: Department of the Air Force SBIR/STTR, DAF SBIR/STTR, SpaceWERX

AFWERX is the Department of the Air Force's innovation arm and the only organization in the Department that manages and executes its SBIR and STTR programs for Air Force and Space Force needs.

The Department of the Air Force SBIR and STTR programs are the funding vehicles, and AFWERX manages and executes them. SpaceWERX, a division of AFWERX, works on space technologies in partnership with Space Systems Command.

Air Force and Space Force topics are submitted through the DoW SBIR/STTR submission portal (DSIP), with Phase I and Direct to Phase II options. After the April 2026 reauthorization, AFWERX and SpaceWERX extended Direct to Phase II to STTR and announced a Strategic Breakthrough Awards initiative of sequential Phase II awards.

AFWERX also runs the STRATFI and TACFI programs. AFWERX Challenges are a separate track, run independently of SBIR.