The XVIII Airborne Corps is inviting soldiers of all ranks and branches to pitch tactical solutions and developed prototypes directly to senior military leaders at Dragon’s Lair 12, scheduled for July 30 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina [1].
The innovation competition will take place from 0900 to 1500 at the Lt. Gen. James M. Gavin Joint Innovation Outpost, according to an announcement from the Corps [1].
Participants will present solutions across several focus areas, including expeditionary logistics and aviation support, artificial intelligence-enabled maintenance, electromagnetic warfare, tactical communications, unmanned systems, additive manufacturing and data-driven readiness [1].
The Dragon’s Lair program is designed to connect soldier-generated ideas with technical experts and industry partners, accelerating the transition of concepts from the point of need toward fielding [1] [2]. The initiative acts as the first phase in a rapid-procurement model at the Joint Innovation Outpost, which opened in January 2026 to bridge the gap between military needs and industry development [2] [3].
Successful pitches at Dragon’s Lair feed into the Joint Innovation Outpost for further development and refinement before advancing to the Scarlet Dragon exercise series for field testing [2] [4].
Previous iterations of the competition have demonstrated rapid acquisition timelines. A modular drone case pitched by 82nd Airborne paratroopers at Dragon’s Lair 11 moved toward production within eight months, serving as a successful pilot for the outpost’s rapid-procurement model [3].