DON26BZ05-NV078 — Tech Data Interactive Electronic Technical Manuals Convertor
Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).
Quick Answer
DON26BZ05-NV078 is a Navy Phase I SBIR topic sponsored by NAVAIR. It funds a tool that automatically converts existing Navy technical manuals, regardless of original format, into standardized XML for Interactive Electronic Technical Manuals (IETMs), with NLP-driven search and AR/XR-based step-by-step display for maintainers. Maximum Phase I award across Base and Option is $315,000. Proposals are due September 23, 2026.
Executive Summary
The Navy is standardizing its technical manual format to make IETMs easier to create, manage, and publish, but a large volume of existing manuals hasn't been converted yet, and those manuals exist in inconsistent legacy formats that are hard for automated tools to parse and hard for users to navigate. NAVAIR wants a tool that automates that conversion, regardless of the manual's original specification, while correctly preserving distribution markings and DFARS markings from the source document.
The format range this tool needs to handle is specific: PDFs, MIL-STD-3001-1, MIL-DTL-81310, S1000D v3.0, and S1000D v4.0. The converted output has to be viewable in the Navy's designated IETMs viewer, and it needs to feed into a COTS or GOTS tool that generates step-by-step instructions, ultimately displayed to a technician through an XR headset or tablet in an AR environment during actual maintenance or troubleshooting.
Phase I is analysis and pipeline design: study existing legacy formats, work with Navy stakeholders to define target format compliance such as S1000D or MIL-STD-3001 XML, select one product to build a content library around, and develop extraction algorithms for text, tables, images, and diagrams, plus a plan for integrating NLP-driven search so users can query specific tasks within the converted content.
Phase II sets a concrete accuracy bar worth pricing carefully: at least 95 percent conversion accuracy, with error correction bringing the residual error rate down to 1 percent or less. Phase III raises that bar again, targeting roughly 99 percent accuracy for information retrieval, matching current industry standards for AI chatbot tools, and includes a live test event pairing a maintainer using the new tool against a maintainer using today's typical laptop-based technical manual workflow.
This topic is ITAR-restricted, though it does not carry the standard classification notice seen elsewhere in this release. Commercial potential extends to any industry relying on standardized technical documentation, including aerospace, automotive, and energy, where the same query-based search and AR-integrated instruction delivery could reduce downtime and improve technician productivity.
Funding
Phase I Base: up to $200,000
Phase I Option: up to $115,000
Maximum Phase I total (Base plus Option): $315,000
Award types: Firm Fixed Price, Basic Ordering Agreement, or Prototype Other Transaction
Phase I period: exactly 6 months Base, exactly 6 months Option
Phase II maximum: up to $2,000,000
Discretionary TABA available: up to $6,500 in Phase I, in addition to the award amount
Timeline
Proposal deadline: September 23, 2026
Submission portal: DoW SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal (DSIP)
Notifications sent approximately one week after BAA close
Phase I payments: 50% at 15 days, 35% at 90 days, 15% at 180 days, for both Base and Option
Key Requirements
Technical Volume limited to 10 pages
Minimum two-thirds of Phase I work performed by the proposing small business, in both Base and Option
No cost sharing accepted
CMMC Level 2 (Self) projected requirement
ITAR-restricted, with mandatory foreign national disclosures
Phase II conversion accuracy must reach at least 95 percent, with error correction to 1 percent or less residual error
Point of Contact
Kristi DePriest, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR)
navair-sbir@us.navy.mil
Frequently Asked Questions
What legacy formats must this tool be able to parse?
PDFs, MIL-STD-3001-1, MIL-DTL-81310, S1000D v3.0, and S1000D v4.0.
What accuracy standard does Phase II require?
At least 95 percent conversion accuracy, with an error detection and correction mechanism reducing the residual error rate to 1 percent or less.
How is the converted content ultimately displayed to a maintainer?
Through an XR headset or tablet, in an Augmented Reality environment, with step-by-step instructions generated by a COTS or GOTS tool.
What accuracy target does Phase III use?
Approximately 99 percent accuracy for information retrieval, matching current industry benchmarks for AI chatbot tools.
Does this preserve the original document's security markings?
Yes. The transformed output must contain distribution markings and DFARS markings matching the original inputted technical manual.
Is there a commercial application for this technology?
Yes. NAVAIR points to aerospace, automotive, and energy industries that rely on standardized technical documentation and could benefit from the same query-based search and AR integration.
How much funding is available in Phase I?
Up to $200,000 for the Base and up to $115,000 for the Option, for a combined maximum of $315,000.
What is the proposal deadline?
September 23, 2026, submitted through the DoW SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal (DSIP).
