By Daniel Smoot, Office of Army Prize Competitions and Army SBIR Program

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Army selected two small businesses to develop technologies for its data-wiping solicitation – an investment aiming to prevent adversaries from accessing critical data from U.S. military equipment.

Announced in May, the Army SBIR Program’s digital erasure of sensitive field-programmable gate array systems solicitation will tackle security challenges through cost-effective data-wiping devices. The development of solutions as part of this solicitation will protect key information by preventing the reverse-engineering of technologies in abandoned or single-use military hardware.

“With the steady increase in autonomous vehicles and equipment across mission environments, logic hardware such as field-programmable gate array systems offer the Army a way to completely erase data on sensitive military designs,” said Dr. Matt Willis, director of Army Prize Competitions and the Army SBIR Program. “At the same time, these types of solutions enhance warfighters’ operational capabilities and survivability by decreasing the need for human intervention.”

Through the two Army SBIR Direct to Phase II contracts, the selected firms can each receive nearly $1.3 million in funding. As part of the Army SBIR program’s investment, Army subject matter experts will assess the technologies’ ability to automatically activate and delete data across different components and interfaces.

Direct to Phase II Contract Selectees

• Graf Research Corporation; Blackburg, Va.
• Intellisense Systems, Inc.; Torrance, Calif.

Throughout the expected 24-month performance period, the Army SBIR Direct to Phase II selectees will receive access to Soldier touchpoints that offer developmental and evaluation-based feedback on solutions in practical settings. During this time, businesses will utilize this support system to produce technology prototypes ready for demonstration.

The Army SBIR Program awards Phase I contracts to small and nontraditional businesses with solutions exhibiting technical merit, feasibility and commercial potential. The program awards Phase II and Direct to Phase II contracts to businesses that tackle Army needs with mature technologies capable of gaining increased federal support.

Small business selectees gain access to technical, acquisition and operational subject matter experts. These specialists offer information on the Army’s technological needs and guidance from the Army research and development ecosystem. Companies capitalize on this by collaborating with technical points of contact who serve as a resource for businesses while they mature their technologies for eventual insertion into Army acquisition programs.

The Army SBIR Program releases contract opportunities ad hoc to respond to current and anticipated warfighting technology needs. For eligibility information and a list of open topics, please visit the Army SBIR|STTR website.

The Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology leverages technologies and capabilities to provide U.S. Soldiers a decisive advantage in any environment by developing, acquiring, fielding and sustaining the world’s finest equipment and services. For more information, visit the ASA(ALT) web page and follow @ArmyASAALT.