Army to begin fourth 'xTechSearch' for small businesses

By Jaspreet Gill / October 1, 2019 at 1:35 PM

The Army is starting the fourth iteration of its small business-oriented technology competition, called the Expeditionary Technology Search, concentrating on Army modernization.

The winners of "xTechSearch 4.0" will be featured at next year's Association of the United States Army Annual Meeting in Washington from Oct. 12 to Oct. 14, 2020, to "highlight opportunities for small businesses to collaborate with the Army to tackle the most critical Army modernization challenges," according to a notice posted today to Federal Business Opportunities.

Small businesses looking to participate in xTechSearch 4.0 must submit white papers by Nov. 11, 2019, outlining their technology and potential impact on the service, for review by the Army Science and Technology directorate.

As many as 48 competitors will receive a prize of $5,000 and an invitation to "Phase II: xTechSearch Technology Pitches," where competitors will present their ideas to a panel of Army subject matter experts across the country, the notice says.

The xTechSearch "seeks novel, disruptive concepts and technologies to support the top Army modernization priorities, Army medical technologies, military engineering technologies, as well as other critical technology focus areas within the Army research and technology portfolio that can provide technology overwatch or enable cost savings throughout the Army systems’ life cycle."

The Army launched xTechSearch 3.0 in May and is planning to showcase those winners at the AUSA Global Force Meeting in Huntsville, AL, next March.

Finalists from xTechSearch 2.0 are expected to demonstrate their projects at this year’s AUSA Annual Meeting, from Oct. 14 to Oct. 15, 2019.

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