Presentation Time

Army Maj. Ben Hall, assigned to the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), presents his concept for modernizing the arms room using a digital system tied to a soldier's identification card, called the Automated Arms Room System, during Dragon's Lair 5 at Fort Bragg, N.C., Sept. 27, 2021. The program was established in October 2020 to help increase innovation across the 18th Airborne Corps.

Army Invites Innovators to Enter 7th Dragon's Lair

Published June 17, 2022
By SGT. MAXINE BAEN, 18TH AIRBORNE CORPS PUBLIC AFFAIRS

For the first time ever, the 18th Airborne Corps will partner with Army Futures Command to co-host the seventh installment of the innovative series Dragon's Lair. This next edition of the "Shark Tank"-style competition will take place Aug. 16 in Austin, Texas.

Spotlight: Science and Tech

In August 2020, the 18th Airborne Corps, known as America's Contingency Corps, developed Dragon's Lair as a way to give soldiers of any rank across the corps a platform to convey their innovative ideas and concepts to civilian technical experts and senior military leaders. This new partnership with AFC will now bring ideas to the forefront of the Army's premier institution, which is charged with modernizing the Army and its future readiness at a faster rate.

Seven service members pose for a photo next to a sign.

After five successful iterations of the program, the 18th Airborne Corps realized that Dragon's Lair could go beyond the Army's reach and decided to open it up to all military service members across the Defense Department to seek more innovators and diversity of ideas across the joint force.

The partnership with AFC brings an opportunity to unlock new ideas for the advancement of the U.S. military. In the past, Dragon's Lair has taken the previously unsought ideas of a cooling apparatus for body armor, an algorithm to predict a building's layout, an app for the exceptional family member program, and an armored vehicle safety system, and it has elevated them to the next level for the betterment service members.

A man stands next to a podium; images of helicopters are on a screen behind him.

Spotlight: Engineering in the DOD

DOD service members can submit their innovative ideas on the Dragon Innovation website. Users must create an account, which does not require a Common Access Card and is available from civilian systems. All concepts must have a description of the innovation and the problem being addressed. Ideas must be submitted to the site by July 24, 2022, to be eligible for consideration for Dragon's Lair 7.