SOURCES SOUGHT FOR COOPERATIVE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIPS HYPERSONIC INFRARED TARGET SENSING – TRANSITION OPPORTUNITY (HITS-TO)

The U.S. Department of Defense is seeking potential partners in industry, national laboratories, University Affiliated Research Centers, and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers to establish Cooperative Research and Development Agreements focused on advancing hypersonic infrared target sensing technologies. The initiative, designated HITS-TO, aims to accelerate the development and transition of transformative innovations that enable the integration of high-performance infrared seekers onto hypersonic weapons systems. This effort is driven by the urgent need to close capability gaps in hypersonic defense and offense, leveraging the expertise of external entities to complement existing DoD laboratory research. Participation is non-funded; the notice serves solely to identify willing and capable collaborators to form partnerships that will jointly develop and mature critical technologies without monetary support from the government. The solicitation, identified as W911NF-26-HITS-TO, was officially posted on July 9, 2026, with responses required by September 30, 2026. The activity is managed by the Office of W6QK Acc-Apg Durham under the Department of Defense, with correspondence directed to HITS_RFI@army.mil. The point of contact and administrative operations are based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. While no funding is offered through this sources-sought notice, successful partnerships may lead to future agreements enabling joint development, resource sharing, and accelerated technology maturation for national defense priorities in the hypersonic domain.