APFIT (Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies) is a War Department program, begun in FY 2022, that uses procurement funds to buy initial production lots of innovative, already-developed technologies from small businesses and non-traditional defense contractors. Each year services, combatant commands and defense agencies submit candidate projects, and the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research & Engineering runs a competitive selection process to award one-time grants of roughly $10–50 million per project to speed those technologies into operational use.
APFIT is administered by the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research & Engineering (OUSW(R&E)), with the Assistant Secretary of War for Mission Capabilities (ASW(MC)) and the APFIT program team managing the annual call for proposals, evaluation and competitive down-select among projects nominated by the services, combatant commands and defense agencies.
In the first FY 2026 APFIT announcement, 14 unclassified projects are listed by name and dollar amount; the release notes that this list does not include additional classified selections, whose number is not publicly disclosed.
The “surpassed $1 billion” figure refers to APFIT’s cumulative awards since the program began, not to a single fiscal year. The Under Secretary’s office reported in June 2025 that total APFIT investments since launch had already exceeded $925 million, and the December 2025 War Department release says that with the first FY 2026 projects, APFIT has now awarded more than $1 billion to small businesses and non-traditional defense contractors, indicating a program-to-date total.
The first FY 2026 APFIT slate funds a mix of advanced, largely unmanned and networking capabilities, including: autonomous unmanned ground vehicles for ground-based air defense; deployable, attritable optical systems; high-performance batteries for uncrewed aircraft; a low-cost munition; high-frequency intercept and direction-finding for signals intelligence; advanced communications pods and high-bandwidth, low-latency tactical data networks; a miniaturized gyroscope for resilient navigation; mobile smart manufacturing for aircraft spares; an augmented maneuver vehicle for satellites and real-time tactical command-and-control; and several small uncrewed and low-profile maritime vessels.
Small businesses do not apply directly to APFIT; instead, they must (1) be U.S.-based and qualify as a small business or non-traditional defense contractor, (2) have a production-ready technology (typically Technology Readiness Level 8–9) with R&D completed that the War Department wants to procure, (3) fit within APFIT’s one-time award range of $10–50 million, and (4) work with a government sponsor (such as a military service, combatant command or defense agency) that submits the APFIT proposal on their behalf through that organization’s APFIT lead. APFIT’s FAQ makes clear that only U.S. government organizations can submit proposals, and that industry partners must team with a government sponsor to reach the program.