Cryogenic Cooling System Integration for MWIR Detectors

The U.S. Air Force, under the Department of Defense, is seeking a small business to design and integrate a compact, low-power cryogenic cooling system specifically tailored to sustain the operational sensitivity of mid-wave infrared (MWIR) detectors. This subcontract, issued as a Total Small Business Set-Aside under the SBIR/STTR mandate, is restricted to businesses with fewer than 500 employees and is classified under NAICS code 333415 for refrigeration and air conditioning equipment manufacturing. The system must be optimized for space-constrained environments while minimizing energy consumption to support extended field deployment without sacrificing detector performance. The solicitation was posted on June 24, 2026, with proposals due by July 8, 2026, and performance is expected to occur at an unspecified location under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Air Force. The project emphasizes miniaturization, thermal efficiency, and reliability under rigorous operational conditions to enable next-generation electro-optical sensing capabilities.