AFRL Rocket Lab HERMES Broad Agency Announcement (HERMES BAA) FA9300-20-S-0001: Executive Summary for Startups

Executive Summary

The HERMES BAA (FA9300-20-S-0001) is the Air Force Research Laboratory Rocket Propulsion Division's open, two-step broad agency announcement. It has a 20-year open period, and white papers "may be submitted anytime during the open period." AFRL also issues specific calls under it with their own due dates. The current call, for a Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine-Combined Cycle flight demonstration, closes for white papers on November 16, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. Pacific.

The BAA is written for propulsion, but its topics go well beyond engine builders. They explicitly include advanced materials and manufacturing processes, modeling and simulation tools, embedded sensors and diagnostics, thermal management, engine health management, test and manufacturing facilities, and launch ground equipment. A five-page white paper is reviewed on three questions: does it fit a listed topic, is the research of interest to the Government, and is funding available.

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Solicitation at a Glance

• Agency: Air Force Research Laboratory, Aerospace Systems Directorate, Rocket Propulsion Division (Edwards AFB, CA); contracting through Air Force Test Center
• Opportunity: AFRL Rocket Lab HERMES BAA, open two-step BAA
• Solicitation Number: FA9300-20-S-0001
• Award Vehicle: Contracts, purchase orders, grants, cooperative agreements or other transactions, depending on the work
• Funding: No program total published. Individual awards "are not anticipated to exceed $250M per contract," and anticipated funding includes future-year funding not yet appropriated
• Period of Performance: 6 to 60 months, tailored to each award
• Technology Maturity: Study efforts on novel concepts through maturation "to appropriate technology readiness levels"
• Due date: Rolling. Calls set their own due dates (RDRE-CC call: November 16, 2026, 4:00 p.m. PST)

What Is the HERMES BAA?

HERMES is how AFRL's Rocket Lab buys propulsion research. It works in two ways. Under the open white paper process, a company can send a white paper at any time against a listed technology topic. If AFRL is interested and has funding, it sends a letter request for proposal. Under the call process, AFRL publishes a specific requirement with a common due date, evaluation criteria and its own instructions.

The latest posted version of the BAA is dated May 22, 2025, and AFRL says it may republish the BAA "at a minimum of yearly intervals." Check SAM.gov for the current version and any amendments before you submit.

What Problem Is AFRL Trying to Solve?

AFRL wants propulsion that costs less to build, launches faster and performs better for missiles, space access and aircraft. The turbine section states the goal directly: technologies that "reduce development, production, and maintenance costs; increase fuel efficiency; increase propulsive capability; and integrate propulsion, power, and thermal management." The liquid engine section focuses on resiliency and rapid launch. The solid rocket motor section emphasizes transition to users and system-level verification.

Priority Capability Areas: What AFRL Is Looking For

• Solid rocket motors (AFRL/RQRM): Advanced components and manufacturing processes for motor cases, insulation, nozzles, thrust vector control, igniters and other energetic components, and automated assembly; modeling and simulation of manufacturing and motor physics; development and testing of motors for air-launched missiles and boosters.
• Liquid rocket engines (AFRL/RQRE): Disruptive engine cycles and components (combustion chambers, injectors, nozzles, turbomachinery, valves, fluid delivery), plume phenomenology, embedded sensors, data recording and modeling tools.
• Modularity: Modular engines and propulsion systems that improve scalability, testability and life-cycle cost.
• Advanced materials and manufacturing: Materials and processes for liquid engines and components that reduce complexity, unpredictability and mass.
• Rapid launch and austere locations: Responsive launch concepts, reusability and launch-to-space-vehicle integration.
• Vehicle technologies: Stages, feed systems, flight controls and telemetry, health monitoring, payload adapters, cargo processing facilities and ground service equipment, supported by digital engineering.
• Rotating detonation engines and combustors: Thrust chambers, injectors, combustor and nozzle materials, gas generators, and compact high-speed sensor diagnostics.
• Air-breathing turbine propulsion (AFRL/RQT): Engine components, shared engine and aircraft thermal management, inlets and exhausts, open-architecture electronic controls, engine health management, and digital engineering.

Funding and Award Information

AFRL anticipates multiple awards of varying size and duration. The BAA states that individual awards "are not anticipated to exceed $250M per contract." That is a ceiling on a single award, not money set aside for this BAA. No award is made until funds are available, and calls may state their own number of anticipated awards.

AFRL's stated data rights preference is unlimited rights for technical data and noncommercial software developed under the BAA. Companies bringing privately funded technology should explain in the white paper what was developed at private expense and how it is segregable.

Eligibility Requirements

• Open competition: The BAA is unrestricted, and small businesses are encouraged to propose. The size standard for NAICS 541715 is listed as 1,250 employees in the solicitation text (the capability statement form cites 1,000).
• U.S. firms only: "Foreign persons or foreign-owned firms are precluded from proposing and participating on subsequent awards."
• DD Form 2345 required: All offerors must register with DLA's Joint Certification Program and submit a copy of the approved DD Form 2345 with the white paper. JCP requires SAM registration and a CAGE code, and DLA also requires a NIST SP 800-171 assessment posted to SPRS.
• Security: Some areas and calls may require access to classified information, and a DD Form 254 is considered before any award. The RDRE-CC call requires CUI and Secret-level safeguarding.
• FFRDCs: Allowed only after sponsor and AFRL determinations described in the BAA.

How to Apply

• Pick one topic. The title page must name the technology area from the BAA's list. Fit to that topic is the first review question.
• Write five pages. The white paper is limited to five double-spaced pages (title page excluded) and must cover: Period of Performance and Task Objectives; Technical Summary and Proposed Deliverables; and Estimated Cost (a time-phased rough order of magnitude for the major tasks).
• Attach the DD 2345. Include the approved DD Form 2345 with the submission. It does not count toward the page limit.
• Email it. Send it to the White Paper Focal Point, AFTC.PZRA.BAAs@us.af.mil, and copy the contracting officer listed on the current SAM.gov notice.
• Consider the Capability Repository. You can submit a one-page, non-proprietary capability statement that AFRL posts with the BAA to encourage teaming and subcontracting. It is public and does not affect award decisions.
• Talk to the program first. The BAA encourages dialogue with Government points of contact until full proposals are submitted. Technical questions go to the TPOC listed in the BAA.

What Happens After You Submit?

• Receipt: The contracting office confirms receipt of each white paper.
• Review: AFRL asks whether the approach fits the cited topic, whether the research is of interest, and whether funding is available.
• Letter RFP: If selected, you receive a letter request for proposal describing the technical, cost and other content required, including a non-proprietary Statement of Work.
• Retention: White papers not selected are kept for up to two years.
• Calls: Proposals under a call are rated Highly Recommended, Selectable or Not Selectable, and the Government may fund a Selectable proposal ahead of a Highly Recommended one if its approach is unique.

Is This Opportunity a Good Fit for Your Company?

HERMES fits U.S. companies whose technology improves how rocket motors, rocket engines or turbine engines are designed, built, tested or controlled. That includes engine developers, and it also includes companies in additive manufacturing, high-temperature materials and composites, metallurgy, modeling and simulation, sensors and diagnostics, thermal management, controls and health monitoring, and launch ground systems. The current Capability Repository already lists companies in several of those categories.

It is a weaker fit if your technology has no link to propulsion or launch, if you are foreign-owned, or if you cannot accept AFRL's data rights expectations for Government-funded work. If you lack a DD Form 2345, start that first. If a specific call requires safeguarding you do not have, the better route is usually as a subcontractor to a team that does, or through a DoD SBIR or STTR topic from the same office.

How BW&CO Can Help

BW&CO has helped deep-tech and dual-use founders secure more than $350M in non-dilutive funding. For open BAAs like HERMES, we help you:

• Map your technology to the right HERMES topic and AFRL branch
• Prepare for technical conversations with the program before you write
• Write a five-page white paper that answers AFRL's three review questions
• Build the rough order of magnitude cost and data rights position
• Get DD Form 2345 and other registrations in place, and find teaming partners for calls with security requirements

Plan Your HERMES White Paper

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the HERMES BAA open right now?

Yes. It is an open BAA with a 20-year open period, and white papers can be submitted anytime. AFRL republishes it periodically, so check SAM.gov for the current version.

Do I need to wait for a call?

No. The open white paper process runs alongside calls. Calls cover specific requirements and have their own deadlines, like the RDRE-CC flight demonstration call due November 16, 2026.

How much funding is available?

The BAA does not publish a total. Individual awards are not anticipated to exceed $250M per contract, and awards depend on available funds.

What award types can AFRL use?

Contracts, purchase orders, grants, cooperative agreements or other transactions, depending on the work proposed.

Do I need a DD Form 2345?

Yes. All offerors must certify through DLA's Joint Certification Program and submit the approved DD Form 2345 with their white paper.

Can a non-U.S. company apply?

No. Foreign persons and foreign-owned firms are precluded from proposing and from participating on resulting awards.

My company does not build engines. Can we still apply?

Yes, if your work fits a listed topic. The BAA names materials and manufacturing processes, modeling and simulation tools, embedded sensors, diagnostics, thermal management, controls, health management and ground equipment.

How long is the white paper?

Five double-spaced pages plus a title page. Calls can set different limits; the RDRE-CC call allows 10 pages plus a 5-page technical appendix.

What data rights does AFRL expect?

Unlimited rights are the stated preference for technical data and noncommercial software developed with Government funds. Explain any privately developed technology clearly in your white paper.

Can BW&CO help with a HERMES submission?

Yes. We help founders choose the right topic, prepare for program conversations and write white papers that fit AFRL's review criteria. Book a call with our team.

Source: AFRL Rocket Lab HERMES BAA, FA9300-20-S-0001 (SAM.gov)