The Defense and Security Technology Accelerator (DSTA), located in Fayetteville, NC, is a new and innovative program designed to create collaborations with the military, entrepreneurs, and innovators to drive technology business development, technology commercialization, and job creation. The DSTA leverages two unique assets in North Carolina: the military bases in the Fayetteville/Cumberland County area, and world-class research and innovation in the Research Triangle Park (RTP), as well as other regions in the state.

The DSTA is a business accelerator, assisting entrepreneurs with generating new, just-in-time security and defense technology solutions to meet the military’s technology needs, as well as business demands. By providing specialized expertise, technology business assistance, technical resources, and a network of relationships, the DSTA assists entrepreneurs with the rapid development of dual-use defense and security technology solutions to meet military needs and private commercial demands. The DSTA assists in getting state-of-theart technology into the warfighter’s hands faster, ultimately saving lives and resources in the global war on terror. Partners in private industry are able to tap into the emerging technologies being developed by entrepreneurs at DSTA.

According to Scott Perry, DSTA Executive Director, “Our companies are past the start-up phase; they have financial wherewithal and normally have a technology in the prototype stage that meets Department of Defense (DoD) Technology Readiness Level 4 (TRL 4). This gives us some type of prototype we can work with, test, and evaluate, and when fully developed, assist the company with commercialization of the technology,” he said. “However, as more companies apply for DSTA, we are finding that many companies have very good, cutting-edge concepts, but need some type of funding assistance to take their concept from prototype to commercialization. Recently, we started working with companies with sound concepts, but no prototype. So we’ve developed a plan that allows us to accept these companies on a provisional basis. To be considered, companies must develop a course-of-action plan with a timeline that demonstrates taking their concept to the DoD TRL4 level. Once they meet these standards, they then become a full member of the program,” Perry explained.

The DSTA is part of the Partnership for Defense Innovation, a 501c3 organization chartered for economic development. It is a state-supported program for economic development goals that leverages its location next to Fort Bragg — the fourth-largest military presence in the United States — to its advantage. Perry hopes to “capitalize on the Department of Defense spending dollars that are coming out of Fort Bragg, and specifically, the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, one of the most technologically advanced organizations in the military.”

Utilizing a unique model of business incubation, DSTA provides specialized services and flexible facilities to accelerate the formation and growth of early-stage defense and security technology companies, and increase their chances for success. A limited number of seed grants also is available to DSTA client companies. DSTA will work with 12 to 15 early-stage companies at its facility in Fayetteville, in addition to assisting 10 non-resident companies across North Carolina through its affiliate program.