New Gun Safety Tech Pilot Program Offers $10 Million to Small Businesses for Smart Gun Development

The Advancing Gun Safety Technology Act establishes a new pilot program aimed at spurring innovation in firearm safety. Essentially, the federal government is putting up cash to help small businesses develop technology that makes guns safer by preventing accidental or unauthorized use. The Attorney General, working through the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), is authorized to hand out between three and five grants, totaling up to $10 million in Fiscal Year 2026, to get this tech ready for market.

What's a 'Smart Gun,' Anyway?

This isn't about banning anything; it's about funding better tech. The bill defines “gun safety technology” broadly, covering anything designed to reduce accidental or unauthorized use. This includes the high-tech stuff we hear about, like "smart guns" or "personalized guns" that only fire for an authorized user, but also advanced childproof features and personalized locking devices or safes. If you’re a parent or someone who keeps a firearm for home defense, this legislation is aimed at making that tool less likely to be used by a child or stolen and used in a crime. This funding is specifically directed toward "small business concerns"—meaning companies with fewer than 500 employees—which is a deliberate move to support smaller, innovative firms rather than the established industry giants.

The $10 Million R&D Check

For the taxpayer, this is a targeted $10 million investment in research and development (R&D) for safety features. Instead of mandating safety features, the government is incentivizing their creation by offering grants. This approach is designed to lower the risk for small tech companies trying to break into a heavily regulated and specialized market. If a small tech firm developing, say, a fingerprint-activated lock for a pistol gets one of these grants, they aren't just handed the money and waved off. Grantees must report back to the Attorney General on key milestones: building a working prototype, successful reliability testing, planning for mass production, and getting ready for commercial sale. This reporting structure is key, ensuring the public money actually drives the technology toward becoming a real product on the shelf.

The Catch: Limited Slots and Broad Scope

The pilot program is intentionally small, limiting the awards to just three to five grants. While this ensures the $10 million is concentrated on high-impact projects, it also means many promising ideas might not get off the ground, leaving little room for error if the chosen projects fail. Furthermore, since the definition of “gun safety technology” is quite wide—covering everything from complex smart guns to advanced safes—the Attorney General has significant discretion in choosing which safety approach gets the funding priority. For consumers, the hope is that this program successfully brings reliable, affordable safety technology to the market, potentially lowering the risk of household accidents. For traditional firearm manufacturers, this represents a federally subsidized push toward technological advancement they may eventually have to adopt or compete with.