SBIR-STTR_2016_Year_in_ReviewV6-WEB

AN
OVERVIEW OF 2015
The Air Force program operates on a congressionally
mandated percentage of the Air Force’s extramural
Research/Research (R/RD) budget as established by
the SBIR and STTR policy directives. This amounted to
roughly $324 million for FY 2015.
The Air Force SBIR/STTR program office continued
several new initiatives to improve operations and
outreach due to an influx from the new SBIR/STTR
Administration Pilot funds. In FY 2012, Congress
authorized an additional three percent in administrative
funding for SBIR federal agencies to increase
participation in its programs by small disadvantaged
businesses, women-owned small businesses, veteranowned
businesses and small businesses in states
currently considered “underserved” by the SBA in
terms of SBIR contracts awards. The pilot program
was scheduled to run through FY 2015, but was
reauthorized.
Success
COATING TO CUT HEFTY MAINTENANCE COSTS
BY BETTER PROTECTING AIRCRAFT
A small business breakthrough in materials
will likely make a direct impact on the reliability and
maintainability of weapon systems across the Air Force,
including the F-35 program.
Backed by an Air Force SBIR contract, Texas Research
Institute Austin (TRI/Austin) developed a high-temperature,
abrasion-resistant coating that demonstrated a 20X
improvement in laboratory testing. Known as Proteckt,
this new coating is expected to save the F-35 program
an estimated $14 million in life-cycle costs by directly
addressing a current need.
TRI/Austin’s work was driven by the Air Force’s demand
for abrasion-resistant coatings that can withstand hightemperatures
for long durations and match existing
camouflage paint schemes of aircraft parts. These coatings
are often used to protect composite surfaces of aircraft,
particularly when blade seals are in contact with those
surfaces.
Therefore, the Air Force continued to use these funds in
FY 2015 for the following:
• Outreach
• Streamlining and simplifying processes
• Reporting (administrative, congressional and inter-agency)
• Commercialization
• Prevention and detection of fraud, waste and abuse
• Administration and implementation of the SBIR policy
directive
The Air Force’s plan for the SBIR Administration Pilot
funding included:
• Increasing emphasis on detecting and preventing fraud, waste
and abuse in SBIR/STTR contracts
• Conducting an economic impact study
• Commercializing intellectual property through SBIR
• Improving manufacturing technology through SBIR
• Modernizing the Air Force SBIR/STTR program’s information
technology infrastructure
• Placing CRP transition agents at AFRL Technology
Directorates (TDs) for the first time
• Increasing marketing and outreach efforts to
underserved communities
Courtesy photo
Courtesy U.S. Air Force
WANT THE FULL STORY?
More success stories online at afsbirsttr.com
or pick up our 2015 Success Stories book.
12