The U.S. Army is inviting small businesses, sole proprietors, and institutions across the country to participate in a new competition aimed at developing defense manufacturing technologies in areas including directed energy, additive and smart manufacturing and hypersonic systems.
The xTechManufacture competition offers eligible entrants the opportunity to pitch their technology proposals directly to leading Department of Defense manufacturing weapons to secure development funding.
The competition offers a total of $445,000 in cash prizes and consists of a short concept submission round and a final pitch event.
In the first round, the Army will select up to 10 finalists who will each receive $15,000 and have the opportunity to pitch their ideas at the 2022 Defense Manufacturing Conference scheduled for December 5-8 in Tampa, Florida. .
The first winner of the competition will receive $150,000, the second will receive $75,000 and the third will receive $25,000 to further develop their technologies. The other participants in the final round will receive a prize of $10,000 each.
The Office of the Under Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology will host the competition in partnership with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering and the Joint Expert Group on defense manufacturing technologies.
