Honolulu, Hawaii — October 3, 2023 — PacMar Technologies is pleased to announce that we are one of 10 winners of the U.S. Army xTechPacific Competition, an open-topic prize competition focused on supporting the U.S. military’s long-distance capabilities across the Indo-Pacific region.

Sponsored by the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, and in collaboration with the U.S. Army Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, the competition sought innovative small business solutions prioritizing climate and sustainment, communications, the Internet of Things, sensing and intelligence, and supply-chain logistics to improve soldier effectiveness overseas. “Each of these winners proved their ability to address this challenge and will help diversify the Army’s approach to research and development,” said Dr. Matt Willis, director of the Army Prize Competitions and the Army Applied SBIR Program.

Using PacMar Technologies’ deep knowledge of marine vehicles and expertise in autonomy, our engineers conceived an autonomous transport sled to ensure rapid resupply of material and aid. This transport sled addresses a daunting problem for the Army known as the “Tyranny of Distance,” which has vexed military strategists since the dawn of conflict where the U.S. is often fighting wars in areas thousands of miles from U.S. shores. This distance lessens military strength and increases the cost of conflicts. Our autonomous transport sled tackles this challenge head-on, also addressing the Army’s capability gap and technology viability.

“We are thrilled to be selected a winner and proud of our employees’ dedication in this competition to assist the U.S. Army, said Dan Brunk, CEO of PacMar Technologies. “We look forward to submitting our Direct to Phase II proposal and continuing to build a strong relationship with the Army. Helping our Department of Defense partners drives our passion to research and develop cutting-edge technologies to help them solve complex problems.”

During the competition’s rounds, businesses received up to $25,000 in cash prizes following several capability pitches to a panel of Army technologists, scientists, engineers and acquisition experts. Winners of xTechPacific can now apply for a Phase I Army SBIR contract worth up to $250,000 or a Direct to Phase II contract valued at up to $1.9million.