The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is seeking innovative interceptor seekers for missile defense in the upper atmosphere as part of its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The objective is to develop advanced seekers that can effectively detect missile threats, withstand extreme conditions, and transition from standby to operational states rapidly, while being compact and cost-effective. This initiative is crucial for enhancing the United States' layered missile defense system, which protects against missile attacks throughout all flight phases. Proposals for Phase II are expected to demonstrate a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of at least 4 and must be submitted by September 24, 2025, with further details available at the MDA's SBIR website.

## Description

The mission of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is to develop and deploy a layered Missile Defense System to defend the United States, its deployed forces, allies, and friends from missile attacks in all phases of flight. Critical to meeting this mission is the continued development of disruptive technologies that enable missile defense in the upper atmosphere. An on-board seeker helps an interceptor &ldquo;see&rdquo; a missile threat in order to inform course corrections. This hardware would need to survive launch, high accelerations during interceptor maneuvers, and operation within the upper atmosphere. This hardware would be required to go from a stand-by state to a ready state within seconds and must be capable of acquiring a missile threat at long ranges in a noisy and/or cluttered background. Finally, this hardware must be compact, affordable, and manufacturable. MDA is seeking innovative interceptor seekers that meet these attributes. Singular technologies and/or components would be considered, but higher levels of assembly are highly desired. 

## Objective

Develop innovative seekers for future interceptors capable of providing missile defense in the upper atmosphere. 

## Phase I

Phase I-like proposals will not be evaluated and will be rejected as nonresponsive. For this topic, the Government expects the small business would have accomplished the following in a Phase I-like effort via some other means, e.g., independent research and development (IRAD) or other source, a concept for a workable prototype or design to address, at a minimum, the basic capabilities of the stated objective above. Proposal must show, as appropriate, a demonstrated technical feasibility or nascent capability. The documentation provided must substantiate the proposer&rsquo;s development of a preliminary understanding of the technology to be applied in their Phase II proposal in meeting topic objectives.Documentation should comprise all relevant information including, but not limited to, technical reports, test data, prototype designs/models, and performance goals/results. Feasibility = maturity and what have you already done/validated.Proposers interested in participating in Direct to Phase II must include in their responses to this topic Phase I feasibility documentation that substantiates the scientific and technical merit and Phase I feasibility described in Phase I above has been met.(i.e., the small business must have performed a proof of concept like &ldquo;Phase I&rdquo; component and/or other validation in a relevant environment, and/or at a much higher TRL level (5 or higher) and describe the potential commercialization applications. The documentation provided must validate that the proposer has completed development of technology in previous work or research completed.)IRAD work: Documentation should include the most relevant information including, but not limited to: technical reports, test data, prototype designs/models, and/or performance goals/results. Work submitted within the feasibility documentation must have been substantially performed by the proposer and/or the principal investigator (PI).

## Phase II

Proposed technologies should start at a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 (breadboard tested in a laboratory environment) and reach TRL 5 (brassboard tested in a relevant environment) within 2 years. This Phase II solicitation requires UNCLASSIFIED proposals, with the expectation that most if not all of the work completed would be done at the SECRET or higher classification level. Please submit proposals that are based on your best skills, experience and capability to deliver innovative technology to support the MDA mission. A Phase II enhancement might be awarded to develop a seeker prototype and achieve TRL 6 via a sounding rocket launch, high altitude airborne test, or a hardware-in-the-loop test within an altitude chamber.

## Phase III: Dual Use Applications

Phase III work would likely involve the development of a prototype seeker assembly, proto-qualification of that prototype, and then a flight test of the prototype to reach TRL 6/7. Performers are encouraged to partner with non-traditional integrators in order to accelerate the transition of their seeker into a fielded interceptor.

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Innovative Interceptor Seekers for Missile Defense in the Upper Atmosphere

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