Tidal Flight Awarded AFWERX Direct to Phase II Contract to Further Development of the Polaris Hybrid-Electric Amphibious Aircraft
Hampton, Virginia – Tidal Flight, Inc. announces it has been selected by AFWERX for a SBIR Direct to Phase II (D2P2) contract in the amount of $1.25M focused on developing the iron bird for the Polaris hybrid-electric amphibious aircraft to address the most pressing challenges in the Department of the Air Force (DAF). The Air Force Research Laboratory and AFWERX have partnered to streamline the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) process by accelerating the small business experience through faster proposal to award timelines, changing the pool of potential applicants by expanding opportunities to small business and eliminating bureaucratic overhead by continually implementing process improvement changes in contract execution. The DAF began offering the Open Topic SBIR/STTR program in 2018 which expanded the range of innovations the DAF funded and now on August 25, 2025, Tidal Flight will start its journey to create and provide innovative capabilities that will strengthen the national defense of the United States of America.
“We are proud to bring modern aircraft technology to the warfighter with a platform that is uniquely suited to the Pacific. By operating from water, Polaris can deliver low-signature runway independence as a simple, fixed-wing aircraft with a small logistics footprint that is easy to maintain and sustain in forward environments,” said Jude Augustine, Co-Founder & CEO of Tidal Flight. “The development work under this award is a strong example of dual-use technology leveraging collaboration between defense and commercial stakeholders to accelerate delivering new capability to both industry and the warfighter.”
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Air Force, the Department of War, or the U.S. government.
About Tidal Flight
Based in Hampton Roads, Virginia, Tidal Flight is a startup founded in 2023 to build aircraft for sustainable and affordable air travel and for defense missions. Tidal’s first aircraft is Polaris, a modern 9-12 passenger hybrid-electric amphibious aircraft designed to serve coastal regional mobility and defense missions. To learn more about Tidal, visit www.tidalflight.com.
About AFRL
The Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, is the primary scientific research and development center for the Department of the Air Force. AFRL plays an integral role in leading the discovery, development and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for our air, space and cyberspace forces. With a workforce spanning across nine technology areas and 40 other operations around the globe, AFRL provides a diverse portfolio of science and technology ranging from fundamental to advanced research and technology development. For more information, visit afresearchlab.com.
About AFWERX
As the innovation arm of the DAF and a directorate within the Air Force Research Laboratory, AFWERX brings cutting-edge American ingenuity from small businesses and start-ups to address the most pressing challenges of the DAF. AFWERX employs approximately 370 military, civilian and contractor personnel at four hubs and sites executing an annual $1.4 billion budget. Since 2019, AFWERX has awarded over 10,400 contracts worth more than $7.24 billion to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base and drive faster technology transition to operational capability. For more information, visit: afwerx.com.