The Department of Defense has issued its final FY26 round of awards under the Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT) program, pushing total program funding past $2 billion since its inception. The July 14 announcement marks the first cycle to include software-only capability awards alongside the program’s traditional hardware selections.
Among the latest cohort, the Army received $43.00 million for an Assured Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Device at Scale effort, one of the largest individual awards in this round. The Army also secured $11.24 million for Advanced Navigation for UAS and Launched Effects, while the Space Force was awarded $13.00 million for Optical Navigation Kits — rounding out a set of selections aimed squarely at hardening navigation and timing capability for platforms operating in denied or degraded environments.
The inaugural APFIT software cohort included six awards, none exceeding $17.00 million, spanning decision-support and intelligence-processing tools rather than PNT-specific software. U.S. Special Operations Command’s Operator Tactical Intranet Systems (OTIS) Tactical Assault Kit drew the largest software award at $17.00 million, followed by the Air Force’s Intelligence and Operations Threat Planning Tool at $15.20 million. The remaining four software awards — covering AI-based decision platforms for Pacific Command, Cyber Command, Space Command and Southern Command — were funded at $10.00 million apiece.
APFIT funds technologies aligned with near-term operational needs across mission areas including autonomous systems, electronic warfare and resilient communications, with an emphasis on bringing small and venture-backed companies into the defense industrial base without traditional acquisition barriers. Program officials framed the software expansion as a shift toward capabilities that can be updated continuously rather than fielded once and left static.
“Our adversaries are not waiting, and neither will we,” said Emil Michael, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.
The program has delivered more than 100 unique capabilities to the warfighter to date, building on several prior cohorts that officials say are already supporting combatant commands in the field.
