FBS Inc.

FBS Inc., doing business as Guidedwave, a small-business for-profit Subchapter S corporation based in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, develops advanced non-destructive testing (NDT) technologies, ultrasonic and acoustic emission sensing systems, and R&D services as a prime contractor (93% of recent awards) serving defense, energy, and transportation agencies under total small-business set-asides on SBIR and federally funded research programs.

Guidedwave's capability portfolio centers on ultrasonic guided-wave monitoring, phased-array inspection systems, and acoustic emission technologies for structural and infrastructure health assessment. Representative work includes a $991,836 SBIR Phase IIB contract with the Department of Transportation (awarded September 2023) for non-destructive testing of pipeline steel fracture toughness under Topic 18.1-PH1; a $749,388 SBIR Phase II purchase order from the Air Force Research Laboratory (September 2021) for remote monitoring of long-range radar site radar towers using guided-wave and acoustic-emission technology; and a $249,915 total small-business set-aside definitive contract with the Department of the Army (April 2026) for bridge health monitoring research under SBIR Topic A254-017. The company also holds recent SBIR Phase I awards from DOT for high-pressure cylinder non-destructive testing ($199,835, August 2024) and operates as a sub across multiple task orders with Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure, LLC on guided-wave probe development and phased-array technology for tank disposition work.

Navy programs anchor the highest award count, with Naval Air Warfare Center (7 awards, $2.4 million combined potential value), Naval Sea Systems Command (6 awards, $2.1 million), and the Office of Naval Research (6 awards, $2.1 million) leading by volume. When ranked by combined potential value, the Air Force Research Laboratory leads ($2.5 million across 5 awards), followed closely by Naval Air Warfare Center and the Department of Transportation. Across 20 distinct customer agencies, the top five account for 43% of awards by count and 57% of combined potential value; concentration is split between Navy pipeline (three of the top five customers) and Air Force, Army, and DOT R&D programs. The company holds task orders under a Department of Energy indefinite-delivery contract (89303324DEM000096) with five outstanding task orders.

Guidedwave also operates as a federal grant recipient. The Department of Energy Office of Science (CFDA 81.049) has funded three project grants: $398,766 for ultrasonic imaging of mechanical degradation in superconducting magnets (awarded June 2022, completed August 2023); $199,724 for guided-wave phased-array evaluation of spent fuel dry-storage canisters (awarded July 2024, ending July 2025); and $199,729 for high-temperature ultrasonic sensing arrays for non-destructive evaluation (awarded July 2024, ending July 2025). The company is a prime recipient on all three grants rather than a sub-recipient.

Activity has grown modestly — one award in 2022 to five in 2025 — and the company faces a light recompete load, with only one award (combined potential value $250 thousand) reaching ultimate completion inside the next twenty-four months. Sub work is concentrated under one prime: Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure, LLC, where Guidedwave performs guided-wave technology development, phased-array pneumatic coupling mechanism design, and probe advancement on tank disposition contract task orders.