Mahmud Testimony

Summary

Written testimony of Dr. Ken Mahmud, Executive Vice President of Triton Systems Inc., for a March 5, 2025 hearing of the Senate Small Business Committee titled Golden Age of American Innovation: Reforming SBIR-STTR for the 21st Century. The testimony describes how the SBIR and STTR programs supported Triton's work, citing Air Force estimates of over $550 million in F-35 sustainment savings and an expected $200 million in F-22 life-cycle savings. It states that Triton has reported over $400 million in primarily private sector investments and criticizes the Phase I to Phase II conversion metric revised in the 2022 legislation. It closes with five suggestions: Phase III transition incentives, faster contracting, broader geographical distribution, resourcing of foreign risk management provisions, and making the program permanent or long term.

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                       Hearing of the Senate Small Business Committee
          Golden Age of American Innovation: Reforming SBIR-STTR for the 21st Century

                                           Testimony of

                                      Dr. Ken Mahmud, Ph.D.
                                     Executive Vice President
                                        Triton Systems Inc.
                                           March 5, 2025
Good afternoon, Honorable Chair Ernst, Ranking Member Markey, and all other members of the
Senate Small Business Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to speak at today’s hearing. I am
pleased to share my insights into how the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small
Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs have enabled Triton Systems to make a significant
impact in both the military and commercial space, as intended by Congress, helping to sustain
America’s technology leadership in both spheres.
First, a few words about myself. I received my Masters and Doctorate degrees from Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute (RPI), in Chemical Engineering. I have been working in advanced materials and
their commercialization by US industry for over 35 years. I am an inventor, with over 30 patents in
this space. Currently, I am responsible for coordinating our efforts in supporting the warfighter
within Triton Systems. I received the Tibbets award from the Small Business Administration (SBA) in
2017, on behalf of Triton Systems, for our success in commercializing SBIR derived technologies.
Overview of Triton Systems Inc. (Triton)
Triton, based in Chelmsford, MA, was founded in 1992 with a mission to accelerate the transition
from innovative ideas to practical solutions, with a focus on bringing early-stage technologies to
both commercial and military markets. Triton embraced the core goals of the SBIR program:
   i)       Stimulating technological innovation by leveraging small business entrepreneurship
   ii)      Utilizing small businesses to meet Federal research and development needs
   iii)     Increasing the private sector commercialization of innovations derived from Federal
            research and development
Triton is a 100% US-owned company, with significant employee ownership. We exclusively employ
U.S. persons, located across multiple states. Our primary focus is to address national security
needs, and our technical team consists mainly of cleared personnel who possess highly
specialized technical skills and a deep understanding of emerging threats and critical technology
gaps in the military.
Over the years Triton has consistently demonstrated an exceptional track record in
commercialization, exceeding the standards set by Congress. Our success in transitioning SBIR-
derived technologies into the marketplace was recognized with the prestigious Tibbetts Award from
the SBA. As you will see in our success stories, many of which have had significant impacts on
national security and the economy, there are numerous pathways for transitioning and
commercializing innovations that extend well beyond the metrics of traditional Phase III funding.
I will first provide an overview of how the SBIR/STTR program has benefited Triton and its ability to
have a significant impact on retaining our nation’s technological advantage in both national security
and healthcare — two sectors where the U.S. holds a global leadership position. Additionally, I will


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                                Testimony of Dr. Ken Mahmud
highlight how Triton has successfully partnered with academia and businesses across the country
to address critical technology needs for the country through the SBIR program.
Impact on National Security and the Economy
1. National Security: Impact areas – Cost Savings, Warfighter Lethality and Health
   a) Mission critical component for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft: Triton developed a
      mission critical component for the F-35, replacing a foreign source. The F-35 is the
      Department of Defense’s (DoD) largest weapon system ever. The Air Force estimates
      our solution will result in over $550 million in savings in sustainment costs for the F-35
      fleet and minimize the health risk to military maintenance personnel from exposure to
      hazardous substances. This was announced as a small business success story by the Air
      Force. It is important to note that these cost savings to DoD would not show up in the
      commercialization metrics that we report to the SBA.
   b) Mission critical component for the F-22 Raptor aircraft: Triton developed a product for the F-
      22 Raptor that is being used to attach materials critical for aircraft performance and
      survivability. Our solution greatly simplifies the repair and sustainment process and is
      expected to result in over $200 million in life-cycle cost savings for the F-22. Again, these
      cost savings to DoD would not show up in the commercialization metrics that we report to
      the SBA.
   c) Personal Air Mobility for expeditionary forces: Triton’s advanced paraglider system to
      enhance the mobility and lethality of Marines is being qualified for acquisition with the
      program of record starting in 2026. We have set up a venture for manufacturing in the state
      of Washington. To support the program of record, we are creating a Berry compliant US
      based supply chain consisting of companies in North Carolina, Tennessee,
      Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, in addition to the state of Washington,
      re-establishing a manufacturing capability that had moved overseas.
   d) Bladder Relief for Aviators: Triton’s Aeroflow product is being qualified for use by both male
      and female military aviators for bladder relief in extended combat missions, and for long
      range reconnaissance missions to monitor adversaries, by the Navy and Air Force.
      Previously there were very limited options for female aviators in particular.
   e) Hearing protection for aircrew: Hearing loss and tinnitus are the top two health concerns
      among veterans. As of 2020 over 1 million veterans were receiving compensation for hearing
      loss and over 2 million for tinnitus per the VA. Triton’s hearing protection and
      communication device for aircrews addresses this problem for Army aircrews.
These are all technologies that are critical for the warfighter, but with no clear near-term major
commercial market.
2. Healthcare: Impact Areas – Heart Disease Treatment, Cancer Therapy
   Heart disease and cancer are the two leading causes of death in the US, and SBIR derived
   technologies have allowed Triton to make a significant impact in addressing both. Sensor
   technology developed by one of our spin off companies enabled the world’s smallest heart
   pump. An SBIR derived cancer immunotherapy technology ultimately had an IPO on NASDAQ
   and was later acquired by a major pharmaceutical company.




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Our company is considered an experienced firm under the FY 2022 reauthorization language, and
hence we are subject to enhanced metrics. We have reported over $400 million in primarily private
sector investments in SBIR derived technologies to the SBA, greatly exceeding the enhanced
commercialization metric at $1.7 million per Phase II over our lifetime. Once again, this does not
include greater than $700 million in cost savings to DoD generated by these technological
advancements. These savings are not captured by the traditional metrics Congress uses to assess
companies participating in the SBIR program, nor are the significant health benefits to the
warfighter. The 2022 legislation also revised the Phase I to Phase II conversion metric, doubling it for
experienced firms, and we fall slightly short of the new metric. This conversion metric does not
measure commercialization success and is often dependent entirely on the agency’s practice. For
example, the Air Force has in the past given out many small dollar Phase I awards with the intention
of only awarding one or a few Phase IIs, in order to capture as many as good ideas as possible. This
represents a good value to the government by capturing many good ideas at low initial cost.
However, it is not consistent with a 50% Phase I to II conversion metric. Keeping this metric will only
discourage firms from putting forth innovative ideas and firms will consequently only focus on
proposing programs where they are certain they can get to Phase II. This undermines one of the
goals of the program to make small early bets in many technologies in order to pick the best. We
urge Congress to only consider metrics that promote commercialization, transition and merit,
which will result in the best technologies for the country and the warfighter.
Impact on the Local Economy
In addition to its significant impact on our national security, the SBIR program also serves as a key
driver of local economies across the country. While many companies can attest to the positive
effects they have on their communities, I would like to specifically highlight Triton's unique
contributions to the local economy.
Our facility, in which we have invested well over $7 million of internal funds to build capabilities to
support the warfighter, serves as the anchor tenant for the town of Chelmsford’s newly established
technology and business corridor. Triton is recognized every year by our neighboring university, the
University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML), as a Preferred Partner due to the substantial research
collaboration we sponsor at UML. Finally, we are currently investing over $ 3mm in internal funds to
build a large scale metallic additive manufacturing pilot facility. This will be the first of its kind in the
US to allow fabrication of large-sized additively manufactured metallic parts for use by DoD. This
internal investment has a 10-15 year cycle to adoption, with no immediate commercial returns, as
is common with the adoption of advanced new materials. Only companies with the scale and
commitment to support government agency mission goals would take on the challenge to develop
a capability that our adversaries do not yet have and is important for the US to stay ahead in the
technology race. SBIR program support will be required to nurture and transition this new
technology for use by our defense and aerospace industry. This is an example of why it is so critical
for the SBIR program to be reauthorized without restrictions on the number of merit-based awards.
Collaboration with Higher Education
Triton has successfully established a strong presence in the national innovation ecosystem by
collaborating with over 60 higher education institutions across 28 states, to transform campus
ideas into practical solutions and support and facilitate the subsequent transition of these
technologies.
Some examples that might be of interest to this committee is our work with the Missouri University
of Science & Technology (Missouri S&T), Rolla, MO, to develop new materials for hypersonic

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vehicles, the University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, to develop new air cleaning systems for
submarines, the University of Montana, Missoula, MT, to develop new drugs for hearing restoration
for the warfighter, and the University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, to develop underwater
acoustic models for the Navy for anti-submarine warfare. Additionally, Triton’s cancer
immunotherapy spin-off IPO, Aduro Biotech, also started with a collaboration with the University of
Massachusetts, Lowell.
Most of these collaborations are Phase III (non SBIR) contracts. None of these would have been
possible without seed investments from the SBIR program.
Suggestions for Improving the SBIR Program
As this Committee and Congress begin to debate and discuss the reauthorization of the SBIR and
STTR programs I would like to take this opportunity to provide suggestions to further improve these
programs based on our experience with both the program and the agencies involved.
The SBIR program has proven to be the most successful innovation program in the country, using
only 3.65% of federal extramural research and development (R&D) funding. All comprehensive
studies, such as at least 18 studies conducted by the National Academy of Sciences validate the
success of this program. Studies by DoD and NIH show that for every dollar invested, there is an up
to $30 return.
We believe this success is because of its uncompromising focus on merit, its relentlessly
competitive nature and the flexibility incorporated in the SBIR legislation to allow the agencies to
adjust the program to meet their mission needs. As an example of flexibility, while some agencies
have set a cap on the number of programs a company can win in a given year, DoD has determined
that multi award winners serve critical needs for the DoD mission (OSD memo to Congress in
2022). We believe that any change that significantly impacts these core foundational pillars of the
program, specifically the merit-based nature and agency flexibility to adapt to their mission needs,
would ultimately undermine the program.
Areas where we believe the program can be significantly improved include:
1. Incentives for Transitioning Technologies to Phase III
   Transitioning SBIR technologies to Phase 3 remains extremely challenging to most small
   businesses despite multiple efforts in Congress to address the barriers. In particular, as it
   relates to DoD, most military platforms are built by only a few large prime contractors. Since
   most small businesses build components or sub-components, it is very challenging for the
   small business to derisk, mature and qualify the technology in isolation. Incentives in the SBIR
   legislation for the prime contractors to adopt new innovations from small businesses, as well as
   recognizing government program managers for their success in doing so, would greatly facilitate
   this effort.
2. Improving the Contracting Process
   Long delays in the contracting process will often result in the small business failing due to
   inability to meet payroll or losing personnel with critical skills. The SBIR legislation can mandate
   standardized contracts for each agency for Phase I and II programs, to streamline the process
   to the greatest extent possible.
3. Improving Geographical Distribution



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   The SBIR program plays a critical role in providing seed funding for small businesses. Unlike
   venture capital, which is often concentrated in a few sectors and regions of the U.S., SBIR
   awards help thousands of new businesses engage with the federal government each year
   across diverse sectors. To further enhance the program's impact, it would be beneficial for SBA
   and government agencies to establish stronger communication with small businesses to better
   understand the needs of the agency. Additionally, current SBIR awardees can play a pivotal role
   by mentoring businesses or higher educational institutions that are interested in becoming
   involved in the process. Strengthening outreach efforts, such as through programs like Federal
   and State Technology (FAST) Partnership program and allocating funding specifically for
   outreach initiatives can help broaden participation. Collaboration with experienced firms
   skilled in transitioning technologies can also help ensure greater success, as we have shown.
   Expanding the program will also provide more opportunities for under-represented businesses
   to benefit from SBIR awards.
4. Foreign Risk Management Provisions
   The foreign risk management provision incorporated into the last reauthorization bill was timely
   and is important in keeping SBIR technologies out of the hands of our adversaries. However, it is
   our perception that most of the agencies do not appear to be adequately resourced to conduct
   a thorough investigation of any issues flagged and to engage with the small business to
   investigate and allow for corrective action (similar to the process that the Defense
   Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) uses with contracts larger than $ 5 million). It
   will be important to allocate such resources to each agency to implement this provision in a fair
   and transparent manner with the small businesses. In addition, many small businesses will
   require significant education to protect against inadvertent foreign involvement or intrusion.
5. Making the SBIR Program Permanent or Long Term
   Making the program permanent or extending for 8 years as was the case in earlier
   reauthorizations will give the small businesses and agencies some certainty to ensure
   continuity.
Finally, I want to thank all members of the Small Business Committee, without whose support and
championship, the SBIR program would not continue to exist. Our employees are composed of
uniquely skilled and innovative engineers and scientists who are passionate about directly
benefiting the warfighter and making a difference. They have given up many other more lucrative
opportunities in most cases to do so. The SBIR program has provided a pathway for them to do this
as you have seen from my testimony, and this would not have been possible without your support.




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