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Army Announces xTechSearch 5 Competition

The program provides cash prizes to selected small businesses.

The U.S. Army secretary has announced the start of the fifth Army Expeditionary Technology Search competition, also known as xTechSearch. The competition seeks disruptive concepts and technologies to support the Army's modernization priorities. Credit: Derplan 13/Shutterstock

Bruce Jette, the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, has announced the start of the fifth Army Expeditionary Technology Search competition, also known as xTechSearch.

The xTechSearch competition seeks novel, disruptive concepts and technologies to support the Army's top modernization priorities, medical technologies, military-engineering technologies and other critical technology focus areas that can provide technology advancement or enable cost savings throughout the Army systems' life cycle.

The program provides cash prizes to selected small businesses to proceed through four phases of the technology competition. Ultimately, 10 small-business finalists will receive awards of $120,000 each and will be invited to demonstrate proofs of concept of their dual-use technologies to a panel of Army judges. Final demonstrations will take place at the 2021 Association of the United States Army's Global Force Symposium and Exhibition in March 2021 in Huntsville, Alabama. A grand-prize winner will be selected and awarded an additional $250,000 prize.

Entries require a concept white paper outlining the technology, the potential impact on the Army, the scientific viability of the approach, and the dual-use technology applications for both the commercial and defense sectors. Each concept white paper will be reviewed by an Army panel potentially including soldiers, acquisition specialists, and research-and-development subject matter experts.

Up to 60 applicants with the highest-ranking white papers will receive a prize of $5,000 and will advance to Phase II: the technology pitches. Finalists will be entered into the xTech Accelerator to receive intensive mentorship and access to networking events to help grow their companies for Army and commercial users.

Details on the prize structure, contest rules and submission pathway can be found at https://www.xtechsearch.army.mil.

For more information, please contact usarmy.pentagon.hqda-asa-alt.mbx.xtechsearch@mail.mil.