AFRL and AFWERX have partnered to streamline the Small Business Innovation Research process in an attempt to speed up the experience, broaden the pool of potential applicants and decrease bureaucratic overhead. Beginning in June 2018, and through 3 repeat calls for ideas a year, the Air Force has begun offering ‘Special’ SBIR topics that are faster, leaner and open to a broader range of innovations.

Figure Engineering was awarded a Phase I SBIR for Dry Ice Blasting, sponsored by AFWERX SBIR, during the summer of 2019. With recent success with Figure’s StealthStrip™ Nozzles, that have seen noise reductions as significant as 20dBA, Figure decided to expand the applications of the abrasive blast nozzle into the realm of dry ice blasting. The goal of this project is to design a high-performance nozzle within a short timeline to allow rapid transition to the warfighter.