Commercial Solutions Opening for the Defense Industrial Base

The Department of the Navy’s Defense Industrial Base (DIB) office is issuing a Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) to solicit prototype projects from traditional and non‑traditional defense contractors, commercial firms, academia, and other eligible entities. The CSO uses Other Transaction Authority (OTA) to award flexible, prototype‑focused agreements that accelerate war‑fighting capability, improve industrial‑base resilience, and support a broad set of Areas of Interest (AoIs) such as advanced manufacturing, supply‑chain resilience, workforce development, energy, data analytics, and contested logistics. Interested parties submit a short Solution Brief; selected firms are invited to a Pitch and, if successful, to submit a full proposal for a Prototype OTA. Period of performance is generally limited to 24 months, and awards may lead to follow‑on production contracts. • Solicitation ID N0002326SDIB1, effective 24 Aug 2026. • Open to traditional & non‑traditional defense contractors, commercial firms, universities, NGOs. • Three‑phase process: Solution Brief → Pitch (in‑person/virtual) → Full Proposal (RPP). • Prototypes may include proof‑of‑concept, pilot, agile development, reverse‑engineering, or business‑process innovations. • Funding and award are made via OTA; no cost‑share required unless the contractor is non‑traditional. • Period of performance ≤ 24 months; possible follow‑on production without competition. • Submissions via DoD SAFE; AoIs posted on SAM.gov; no fixed submission deadline in this document.