Expeditionary Water Quality Sensors

SBIR · Phase: BOTH · Topic DON27BZ02-NV017 · Solicitation 27.BZ

Expeditionary forces need updated water testing capabilities to support operations in austere, contested environments. Without proper water testing, water purified in the field are not certified potable for consumption. This creates an unacceptable logistics burden to transport water, or a health risks when consuming untested water; hindering the self-sufficiency, readiness, and lethality required for operations against a pacing challenge. Current approved state-of-the-art water quality testing kits are accurate but cumbersome, and overly complex, requiring chemical reagents, significant operator training, and for some parameters shipping to a certified lab. Present water quality testing methods are not practical for the small, distributed Stand-in Forces operating in expeditionary conditions. In the event of detection of certain pathogens and contaminants, confirmation through certified laboratories may be required, necessitating sample transportation to CONUS, host-nation, or ally facilities—a process that can take 4-6 weeks. Delays of this magnitude are operationally unacceptable for forces in contested environments that need immediate assurance of water safety at the point of use. In addition, many critical parameters that impact water safety—including heavy metals, organic chemicals, and other contaminants—are not reliably tested with currently fielded sensors. Force Design 2030 compels distributed forces to reduce their reliance on centralized logistics convoys; therefore, small units are increasingly required to produce and consume water at the tactical edge and at the point of need. Without a reliable and practical method to verify water quality in the field, these units face an alarming tradeoff between logistics supply certainty and warfighter health. Therefore, the Navy needs simple, field-ready solutions to certify that expeditionary purified water conforms to TB-MED 577 short term potability military field water standards (STW MFWS) without external laboratory support. This SBIR topic seeks the development of new sensors and/or methodologies that will significantly improve existing water testing field kits. Improvements sought include but are not limited to: size and weight, more rapid testing results, simpler procedures requiring minimal training, elimination of liquid chemical reagents, and cost. Proposals can address one or more targeted improvements and can target one or more of the water parameters listed in the STP MFWS, such as physical properties, chemical properties, microbial contamination, chemical warfare agents, or radiological. Resulting improved sensors or methodologies must be integratable into future modernized water testing kits to allow squad- and platoon-level forces to verify compliance with TB MED 577 water safety standards in the field, reducing risk to personnel and decreasing reliance on vulnerable resupply chains. The expected end state of this effort is a fully developed, ruggedized, integratable sensor or set of sensors that enable rapid, automated testing of water quality in expeditionary environments in under 15 minutes (Threshold) / under 5 minutes (Objective), and/or detect all microbial threats in under 1 hour (Threshold) / under 15 minutes (Objective) without incubation or liquid reagents. Modular systems targeting specific critical parameters are equally encouraged and will be evaluated on technical merit.

SBIR/STTR 은 미국 중소기업만 지원할 수 있습니다(Small Business Act 법정 요건). • 계열사를 포함해 상시 종업원 500명 이하 • 미국 시민 또는 영주권자 1인 이상이 50%를 초과해 직접 소유·지배 • 미국 내 사업장을 두고 주로 미국 내에서 사업을 영위할 것 • 수행책임자(PI)의 주된 근무처가 신청 기업일 것 출처: https://www.sbir.gov/faq/eligibility-requirements

Primary country

🇺🇸 United States

Also eligible

None

Foreign companies

No

Local entity

Required

Location condition

미국 내 사업장을 두고 미국 시민·영주권자가 50%를 초과해 소유한 중소기업만 신청할 수 있습니다(법정 요건).

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Application process not captured.

Evaluation process not captured.

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Official URL

https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/topics-app/

Application URL

https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/topics-app/

Last fetched

2026.11.06

Human review

Not reviewed — check the official announcement

First seen

2026.11.06

Data status

Auto-collected, not reviewed

AI enrichment

Needs verification