DAF SBIR DAF26BX06-DP027: OPEN Topic, Proliferated Low-Altitude Detection for Counter-sUAS
Quick Answer
DAF26BX06-DP027 is a Department of the Air Force SBIR Direct to Phase II open topic under the DAF 2026 SBIR Commercial Solutions Opening, Release 6. The Air Force is trying to solve what it calls the "sneaky drone" problem: detecting, tracking, and identifying small, low-altitude, terrain-masked, and radio-frequency-silent Group 1 through 3 unmanned aircraft around permanent bases. The wanted solution is a low-cost network of perimeter sensor nodes that can spot a drone that is not emitting anything, fuse all sensor data at a node into a single track, and integrate with the Medusa command and control system. Awards are up to $2,000,000 for up to 24 months, with a 35 page technical volume limit. The topic opens September 23, 2026 and closes October 21, 2026 through the Defense SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal.
Three features make this topic unusual and worth understanding before you write. First, it carries hard numeric performance thresholds, including a full-rate production cost target of less than $100,000 for the system, which is a stringent constraint that will disqualify many otherwise capable sensor architectures. Second, because it is an open topic, a small business concern may submit only one proposal to it, and if you submit more than one, only the most recent certified proposal is evaluated while all prior ones are marked nonresponsive. Third, it uses a different evaluation rubric than the other topics in this release, one where Defense Need carries equal weight with Technical Approach.
Topic At a Glance
Topic number: DAF26BX06-DP027
Title: OPEN, Proliferated Low-Altitude Detection for C-sUAS
Solicitation: Department of the Air Force 2026 SBIR Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO), Release 6, Direct to Phase II
Program type: Direct to Phase II (D2P2) open topic, no Phase I awards, Phase I proposals will be rejected
Award maximum value: $2,000,000
Award maximum duration: 24 months
Technical volume page limit: 35 pages or slides
OUSD (R&E) Critical Technology Area: Quantum and Battlefield Information Dominance (Q-BID)
Component Technology Priority Areas: Trusted AI and Autonomy; Integrated Sensing and Cyber
Projected CMMC level requirement: Level 2 (Self)
Proposals allowed per company: one, because this is an open topic
Transition customers named: AFLCMC/ES and the JIATF-401 counter-UAS marketplace
Topic open date: September 23, 2026
Proposal deadline: October 21, 2026, at the time stated in the DoW FY26 SBIR CSO
Selection timeline: within approximately 90 calendar days of solicitation close, meaning on or about January 19, 2027
Submission portal: DSIP at dodsbirsttr.mil
Keywords: sensor network, sensors, acoustic, optical, radio frequency, C-sUAS, sneaky drone, RF-silent dark drone, base defense
Note on the deadline time. The DAF instructions point applicants to the DoW FY26 SBIR CSO for the submission deadline date and time rather than restating it. DoW SBIR CSO deadlines are ordinarily 12:00 p.m. Eastern on the close date. Verify the exact time on the live DSIP posting and do not plan around an end-of-day deadline.
What Makes This an Open Topic, and Why It Matters
The DAF states that this release contains an open topic, and under section 7 of the SBIR and STTR Extension Act of 2022, innovation open topic activities are meant to increase the transition of commercial technology to the Department of War, expand the small business nontraditional industrial base, increase commercialization derived from DoW investments, and expand the ability for qualifying small businesses to propose technology solutions that meet DoW needs.
The practical difference the DAF draws is this: unlike conventional topics, which specify the desired technical objective and output, open topics can use generalized mission requirements or specific technology areas to adapt commercial products or solutions to close capability gaps, improve performance, or provide technological advancements in existing capabilities.
In practice DP027 sits somewhere in between. It is labeled OPEN, and it invites adaptation of commercial sensing products, but it also carries very specific numeric requirements. Read it as an invitation to bring a commercial sensor product to a defined base defense problem, not as an invitation to propose whatever you like.
The rule that follows from open-topic status is strict and mechanical. A small business concern may only submit one proposal to each open topic. If more than one proposal from a single concern is received for a single open topic, only the most recent proposal to be certified and submitted prior to the submission deadline will receive an evaluation. All prior proposals submitted by that concern for the same open topic will be marked nonresponsive and will not receive an evaluation.
If your company has more than one candidate architecture, you must choose before you submit. And if you submit early and then decide to submit a revised version, understand that the earlier one is simply discarded rather than considered as an alternative.
What the Air Force Is Actually Looking For
The problem statement
Small drones that do not emit radio frequency energy are hard to find. Most fielded counter-UAS detection depends on picking up the control link or video downlink. A drone flying a preprogrammed route with its radios off, hugging terrain at low altitude, defeats that approach. The Air Force calls this the sneaky drone problem, and this topic is aimed squarely at it.
The DAF describes this as a focused open topic seeking counter-small-UAS detection options for transition into the USAF and USSF, specifically supporting AFLCMC/ES and the JIATF-401 marketplace. The effort seeks low-cost detection and recognition sensors configured as a perimeter network for early warning of low-flying drones.
The hard performance requirements
These numbers are the specification. Treat them as pass or fail gates in your proposal, and state explicitly where you meet or exceed each.
Detection altitude band: the system must detect targets from 1 meter up to 300 meters as the threshold, and 500 meters as the objective, off the ground.
Per-node horizontal detection range: individual sensor nodes must detect targets at a horizontal range of at least 100 meters.
Aggregate coverage: the nodes must integrate to create at least 10 kilometers of combined linear boundary coverage.
Full-rate production cost: the final system must cost less than $100,000 at full-rate production.
Target class: Group 1 through 3 UAS.
Operating conditions: the sensors must work in cluttered environments and recognize non-RF-emitting "dark" drones, meaning the system must distinguish a drone from something that is not a drone.
Data fusion: the system must integrate data from all sensors at a node into a single track, providing at least the target's heading along with the absolute location of the detecting node.
Control: the system must feature remote node control and be fully controllable via external API commands.
C2 integration: the system must be able to integrate into the Medusa C2 system or other Air Force directed C2.
The constraint that is deliberately relaxed
This is important and easy to miss. Solutions are strictly for permanent base defense applications. Therefore, strict size and weight limitations do not apply, and systems can rely on direct or off-grid permanent power.
That is a meaningful design freedom. If your sensor concept was previously ruled out because it was too heavy, too large, or too power-hungry for a tactical or mobile application, this topic removes that objection. Do not compress your architecture to hit SWaP targets that this topic does not impose. Do use that freedom to hit the detection performance and cost requirements instead.
Phase II deliverable
Deliver a field-ready, production-representative, low-cost, scalable network of sensors prototype capable of recognizing Group 1 through 3 drone targets up to altitudes of 300 meters threshold and 500 meters objective. The system must recognize non-RF-emitting targets both day and night. It must integrate with the Medusa C2 system or other Air Force directed C2.
Environmental and hardening requirements for Phase II are specific. The hardware must be ruggedized for real-world environmental conditions, demonstrating an ingress protection of at least IP65, operability in ambient relative humidity up to 95 percent non-condensing, and temperature tolerances from minus 32 degrees Celsius to 55 degrees Celsius. The system must include anti-tamper features for critical components and be capable of receiving an ATO or IATO.
Proposals should include development, demonstration, and test and evaluation of the proposed solution prototype.
The ATO requirement deserves attention. Receiving an Authority to Operate or Interim Authority to Operate is a cybersecurity accreditation process, not a technical performance milestone, and it takes time and documentation discipline. Address your plan for it explicitly rather than asserting capability.
Phase III and commercial applications
Phase III is transition to AFLCMC/ES and the JIATF-401 counter-UAS marketplace for base defense. Named commercial dual-use applications are airport security, critical infrastructure protection, and border patrol.
The references the Air Force cites reinforce the airport and infrastructure framing: a March 2024 GAO report on federal efforts to address unauthorized drone flights near airports, the Department of Defense Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Strategy, the summary of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, and the June 2025 statement for the record by General Michael Kurilla, then Commander of U.S. Central Command, before the Senate Committee on Armed Services on the posture of U.S. Central Command.
The Feasibility Requirement
Direct to Phase II means you must already have done the Phase I equivalent work, outside the SBIR program, and be able to document it. The DAF will disqualify proposals where the Phase I equivalency documentation does not establish the proposed technical approach's feasibility and technical merit, and it applies that screen before evaluating technical merit.
What this topic specifically requires
The topic states that the Government requires the applicant to have accomplished a Phase I type effort accomplished outside of the SBIR program through other means. To demonstrate feasibility, the applicant must have developed and validated a working prototype that has been tested in a simulated or non-operational relevant environment.
Then it gets specific about what the prototype must have shown. The applicant must demonstrate that their system is capable of detecting and tracking non-RF emitting Group 1 through 3 UAS at low altitudes while outputting basic track and sensor node location data.
That is a tight, checkable claim. Your feasibility documentation needs to show three things: detection and tracking of non-emitting targets, in the Group 1 to 3 class, at low altitude, with track output plus node location. Test data against cooperative RF-emitting targets does not satisfy this. Detection without tracking does not satisfy it. Tracking without location output does not satisfy it.
The general D2P2 rules that also apply
The feasibility work must have been substantially performed by the applicant or the principal investigator. Work performed by someone else does not qualify.
Feasibility documentation cannot be based upon or logically extend from any prior or ongoing federally funded SBIR or STTR work. This authority exists for companies that matured technology outside the SBIR pipeline.
If technology in your feasibility documentation is subject to intellectual property rights, you must provide IP rights assertions, plus a short summary for each item asserted with less than unlimited rights describing the nature of the restriction and the intellectual property intended for use in the proposed research.
Feasibility documentation can be included as part of Volume 5, and is listed as required of all proposal submissions.
Funding Allowance and Cost Structure
Award ceiling
Up to $2,000,000 across up to 24 months. The topic index states that proposals in excess of this amount will not be considered for evaluation or award, and proposals in excess of this duration will not be considered for evaluation or award.
The DAF also notes in the evaluation section that per-award and per-topic funding caps are budgetary estimates only, that more or less funding may become available, and that multiple procurements are planned with each proposal treated as a separate procurement evaluated on its own merit. The Government may award all, some, or none of the proposals, and funding decisions are made with complete disregard to other awards under the same topic.
The $100,000 production cost target is a design requirement, not a budget line
Do not confuse the two dollar figures in this topic. The $2,000,000 is what the Government may pay you to develop the prototype. The under $100,000 figure is what the resulting system must cost at full-rate production. That second number is a technical requirement that shapes your entire sensor selection and architecture.
Because this is a network of nodes covering at least 10 kilometers of linear boundary, the cost engineering question is what a node can cost and how many you need. A proposal that does not address unit cost, node count, and the path to the sub-$100,000 system cost has left a central requirement unanswered. Show the bill of materials logic at production volume, not at prototype volume.
Contract type and fee
Generally firm-fixed-price contracts are appropriate for Phase II awards. In accordance with the SBA SBIR/STTR Policy Directive, Phase II contracts must include profit or fee.
Technical and Business Assistance
The DAF will provide up to $50,000 per Phase II award, in addition to the per-topic total, identified in the Volume 3 Cost Proposal. Applicants may elect to use $25,000 on a first SBIR Phase II award and $25,000 on a sequential SBIR Phase II award.
TABA can only fund the activities in 15 U.S.C. 638(q)(1)(A) through (E). Eligible activities include access to a network of scientists and engineers, assistance with product sales, intellectual property protections, cybersecurity assistance, market research, market validation, development of regulations and manufacturing plans, and access to technical and business literature through online databases. For this topic, cybersecurity assistance and development of manufacturing plans are worth considering given the ATO requirement and the production cost target.
The detailed request must appear in Volume 5 Supporting Documents and must include the provider name, point of contact with email and phone, an explanation of the provider's unique qualifications, the tasks the provider will perform including purpose and objective, and total provider cost with hours and labor rates. Average or blended rates are acceptable. The task milestone list must track to the milestone payment schedule otherwise provided by the applicant. TABA requests that only specify a request value in the Volume 3 Cost Proposal will not be considered.
If using TABA to hire or augment staff or fund training, provide names and positions, the business need or training to be provided, the number of employees involved, their qualifications or the detailed training need, and total staff or training cost with hours and labor rates.
Cost volume expectations
A detailed cost proposal broken out by individual cost element and by contractor fiscal year, in sufficient detail to determine the basis for estimates and the purpose, necessity, and reasonableness of each. Cost proposal attachments do not count toward page limits, and cost proposal information will be treated as proprietary.
Direct labor requires key personnel by name where possible, labor category otherwise, with direct labor hours, labor overhead or fringe, and actual hourly rates for each individual. Direct cost materials require an itemized list of types, quantities, prices, and purpose, and for planned computer or software purchases, manufacturer, price quotes, proposed use, and support for the need. Other direct costs cover specialized services such as machining or milling, special test and analysis, and temporary use or lease of specialized facilities or equipment, with usage hours, rates, sources, and justification, and leased hardware needs a lease versus purchase rationale. Special tooling and special test equipment must be advantageous to the Government in the Contracting Officer's opinion, relate directly to the effort, and not be items an applicant would ordinarily possess in the normal course of business.
Subcontract costs must be supported with copies of subcontract agreements adequately describing the work and cost bases, including a statement of work, assigned personnel, hours and rates, materials, and proposed travel. A letter from a subcontractor agreeing to perform at a fixed price is expressly not sufficient. The prime must accomplish price analysis including reasonableness of proposed subcontractor costs, and provide cost analysis where price analysis techniques are inadequate or the FAR requires cost or pricing data.
Consultants require a separate agreement letter each, stating the service, hours required, and hourly rate, plus a short resume. Travel should include at a minimum a kickoff or interim meeting, justified against the Joint Travel Regulation. Indirect costs require proposed rate bases, the specific rates and allocation bases, and rates and applications per fiscal year across the anticipated performance period, with no composite rates.
Non-SBIR governmental or private investment is allowed but not required and will not be a proposal evaluation factor.
If no exceptions are taken to your proposal, the Government may award without exchanges, so your initial proposal should contain your best terms from a cost, price, and technical standpoint.
Work performance requirements
The instructions contain two statements that do not obviously align. The Consultants and Subcontractors section states that per the SBA SBIR Policy Directive, a minimum of 50 percent of the R/R&D must be performed by the proposing firm unless otherwise approved in writing by the Contracting Officer. The Performance of Work Requirements section states that for Phase II, a minimum of one-third of the research or analytical effort must be performed by the awardee, measured by both direct and indirect costs, not including profit. Separately, the proposed total of all consultant fees, facility leases or usage fees, and other subcontract or purchase agreements may not exceed one-half of the total contract price unless approved in writing by the Contracting Officer.
Planning to perform at least half the R/R&D in house and keeping all outside costs below half the contract price satisfies every reading. If your teaming structure cannot, requests for Performance of Work deviations must be made twice: prior to submission during the topic open period, and again as part of the initial proposal submission. The DAF will not consider these requests before proposal submission. Given the ambiguity between the two stated thresholds, raise it with the DAF SBIR/STTR One Help Desk early.
This is a live concern for sensor topics specifically, because a network combining acoustic, optical, and RF modalities often means buying subsystems from multiple suppliers. Watch the subcontract and purchase agreement total against the one-half cap.
Where work must be performed
All R/R&D must be performed in the United States by the small business and its team members. Based on rare and unique circumstances, the DAF may approve a particular portion of the work to be performed or obtained outside the United States, with written approval from the awarding Funding Agreement officer for each specific condition. Requests must be made with the initial proposal submission.
Foreign Nationals and Export Control
Unlike three of the other topics in this release, DP027 does not carry a topic-level ITAR and EAR restriction notice. That does not remove your disclosure obligations.
All applicants proposing to use foreign nationals must follow the FY26 SBIR CSO and disclose this information regardless of whether the topic is subject to ITAR restrictions. In the technical volume, identify all non-U.S. citizens expected to be involved in the project as direct employees, subcontractors, or consultants, and for those individuals provide, in addition to technical resumes, countries of origin, the type of visa or work permit held, and the tasks they are anticipated to perform.
A foreign national means any person who is not a citizen or national of the United States, not a lawful permanent resident, and not a protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b.
Where a topic area is subject to export control, permitted foreign national participants are limited to work in the public domain, and assigned tasks must not be capable of assimilation into an understanding of the project's overall objectives, which prevents foreign persons from acting in key positions such as Principal Investigator or Senior Engineer. Additional information may be requested during negotiations to verify eligibility.
For all projects with military or dual-use applications developing beyond fundamental research, the contractor must comply with all U.S. export control laws including ITAR 22 CFR Parts 120 through 130 and EAR 15 CFR Parts 730 through 799, is responsible for obtaining appropriate licenses or approvals including for deemed exports of hardware, technical data, and software, must obtain export licenses before using foreign persons including where work is performed on-site at a Government installation, is responsible for regulatory record keeping, and must ensure these provisions apply to its subcontractors.
Counter-UAS sensing is a domain where export control questions arise readily, so form a view on your own classification early rather than assuming the absence of a topic-level notice settles it. If you are asserting export-controlled status, a certified DD Form 2345 or evidence of application submission goes in Volume 5.
Proposal Structure: The Seven Volumes
Formatting
Type no smaller than 11-point on standard 8.5 by 11 paper, one-inch margins, pages consecutively numbered. This differs from Army SBIR instructions, which allow 10-point, so do not reuse an Army-formatted volume without adjusting.
Proposals should be direct, concise, and informative. Applicants are discouraged from including promotional and non-programmatic items, and if included, that material counts toward the page limit. Marketing material will not be evaluated.
Technical volume limit for this topic is 35 pages or slides, and pages in excess will not be considered by the Government in evaluations. Preferred format is PDF, graphics must be distinguishable in black and white, and all submissions must be virus-checked.
Volume 6 Fraud, Waste, and Abuse training must be completed before submission, and DSIP will not permit submission until it is complete and certified. The DAF recommends completing submission early because site traffic is heavy before close and causes system lag. The DAF will not be responsible for proposals not completely submitted before the deadline due to system inaccessibility unless advised by DoW, and will not accept submission outside DSIP.
Volume 1, Cover Sheet
Completed per DSIP instructions. The technical abstract should include a brief description of program objectives, a description of the effort, anticipated benefits, commercial applications of the proposed research, and a list of keywords and terms. The abstract of each successful proposal goes to the Office of the Secretary of War for publication and must not contain proprietary or classified information. If selected for funding, the technical abstract and discussion of anticipated benefits will be publicly released.
If your proposal is substantially the same as one submitted previously, currently, or in the process of being funded by another federal agency, DoW component, or the DAF, you must indicate that on the cover sheet. If the prior support section does not apply, certify on the cover sheet, "No prior, current, or pending support for proposed work."
Volume 2, Technical Volume
Required items in the order provided: table of contents immediately after the cover sheet; glossary of acronyms and abbreviations; milestone identification with a program schedule showing all key milestones; identification and significance of the problem or opportunity; Phase II technical objectives with the technical approach and methods and an assessment of potential commercial application for each objective; work plan; deliverables; related work; commercialization potential; relationship with future R/R&D efforts; key personnel; facilities and equipment; consultants and subcontractors; and prior, current, or pending support of similar proposals or awards.
The work plan is a separate and distinct part of the package, divided from the technical proposal by a page break and beginning on a new page. It must summarize technical methodology and task description in broad enough detail to provide contractual flexibility, and must not contain proprietary information, because if the proposal is selected the work plan is incorporated into the resulting contract by reference. The recommended format is 1.0 Objective, 2.0 Scope, 3.0 Background, and 4.0 Task and Technical Requirements. Section 2.0 should concisely describe the work including technology area, goals, and major milestones, with task development and deliverables as the key elements, consistent with section 4.0. Section 3.0 should identify applicable specifications, standards, and other documents, constraints to understanding requirements, relationships to previous, current, or future operations, and techniques previously determined ineffective. Section 4.0 requires detailed individual task descriptions in orderly progression with sufficient detail to establish overall program requirements and goals, segregated into major tasks in separately numbered paragraphs, each delineated by subtask. Every task to be accomplished must appear in definite, realistic, clearly stated terms. Use "shall" for binding provisions, "should" or "may" for a declaration or purpose, and "will" where no contractor requirement is involved.
Deliverables must clearly describe the specific sample or prototype hardware and software to be delivered, plus data deliverables, schedules, and quantities, with awareness of the possible unique item identification requirement under DFARS 252.211-7003 for hardware. If hardware or software will be developed but not delivered, explain why. Rights in technical data including software developed under a SBIR contract generally remain with the contractor, and the Government obtains SBIR/STTR data rights in all data developed or generated under the contract for 20 years commencing at contract award, after which the Government has Government purpose rights. The Final Report's first page is a single-page project summary identifying purpose, briefly describing the effort accomplished, and listing potential result applications, which may be published by DoW and therefore must contain no proprietary or classified information. Status reports are due quarterly at a minimum. The Air Force may require additional reporting including software documentation and users' manuals, engineering drawings, operation and maintenance documentation, safety hazard analysis where hardware is developed and delivered, and updates to commercialization results.
Related work must describe significant directly related activities including previous programs by the principal investigator, proposing firm, consultants, or others, how they interface with the proposed project, and planned coordination with outside sources, plus any applicant-identified subject matter experts regardless of affiliation with comments on the applicant's knowledge of the state of the art. Describe similar but not directly related previous work with a short description, the client including an individual to contact and phone number, and the date of completion.
Commercialization potential requires a commercialization plan addressing the first planned product to incorporate the technology, the probable customers and estimated market size, how much money is needed to bring the technology to market and how it will be raised, whether the firm has necessary marketing expertise and how it will compensate if not, and the probable competitors and the anticipated price or quality advantage. Commercial potential is evidenced by private sector or non-SBIR governmental funding sources demonstrating commitment to Phase II efforts and results, Phase III follow-on commitments for the research subject, and other indicators including the firm's commercialization strategy. If awarded, the awardee must periodically update commercialization results via SBA. The Commercialization Plan and the Company Commercialization Report are distinct documents.
Key personnel must identify all key personnel with information directly related to education, experience, and citizenship, and include a technical resume for the principal investigator with publications. The principal investigator's primary employment must be with the small business at the time of award and during the entire period of performance, where primary employment means more than one-half of the PI's time is spent in the small business's employ, precluding full-time employment with another entity. Only one principal investigator or project manager may be designated per proposal.
Facilities and equipment must describe instrumentation and physical facilities necessary and available, justify equipment to be purchased with detail in the cost proposal, and state whether proposed performance locations meet federal, state, and local environmental laws and regulations for airborne emissions, waterborne effluents, external radiation levels, outdoor noise, solid and bulk waste disposal, and handling and storage of toxic and hazardous materials.
Consultants and subcontractors: private companies, consultants, or universities may be involved, all should be described in detail and included in the cost proposal, and signed copies of all consultant or subcontractor letters of intent must be attached, briefly stating the contribution or expertise provided, with statements of work, detailed cost proposals, and information on unique qualifications. Subcontract copies and supporting documents do not count against the page limit. Identify any subcontractor or consultant foreign citizens.
Prior, current, or pending support: while it is permissible with proper notification to submit identical proposals or proposals containing a significant amount of essentially equivalent work under numerous federal program solicitations, it is unlawful to enter into contracts or grants requiring essentially equivalent effort, and any potential for that must be disclosed before award. Provide the federal agency or DoW component names and addresses, submission or award dates, proposal titles, PI names and titles, solicitation titles, numbers and dates, contract numbers if awarded, and applicable topics for each.
Volume 3, Cost Volume
Covered above.
Volume 4, Company Commercialization Report
Required in DSIP. Note the DAF states that information contained in the CCR will not be considered during proposal evaluations, which differs from Army SBIR practice where it is considered. Complete it for compliance, but do not treat it as a scoring opportunity.
Volume 5, Supporting Documents
May be required if applicable: DD Form 2345 for export-controlled topics; Verification of Eligibility of Small Business Joint Ventures, Attachment 3 to the DoW SBIR FY26 CSO; and Technical Data Rights Assertions if asserting data rights restrictions.
Required of all submissions: feasibility documentation, as described above, including IP rights assertions where applicable.
If appropriate, include a reference or works cited list as the last page. Do not include marketing material, which will not be evaluated.
Volume 6, Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Training
Complete once per year, before submission.
Volume 7, Disclosures of Foreign Affiliations or Relationships to Foreign Countries
Complete the webform in Volume 7 of the DSIP submission. The webform will not be accepted as a PDF supporting document in Volume 5, and previous versions of the form must not be uploaded to Volume 5.
How Your Proposal Will Be Evaluated
The rubric for this topic is different from the others in this release
DP027 has its own evaluation structure. Factor A and Factor B are of equal importance and are of more importance than Factor C, with Factor C being less important than Factors A and B. All evaluation criteria other than cost or price, when combined, are significantly more important than cost or price.
Criteria A, Defense Need. The Defense Need being fulfilled and the ability of the proposal to impact that Defense Need. This is assessed through the appropriateness, relevance, and specificity of an identified Defense Need; the adequacy of the proposed effort and its relationship to fulfilling the identified Defense Need; the level of defense mission impact and urgency of the Defense Need; and the breadth of applicability of the solution.
The Air Force adds a specific hint here that appears nowhere else in this document: while not required, signed letters of support from other Government personnel may be indicators of the appropriateness, relevance, and specificity of an identified Defense Need.
Read that carefully. On a topic where Defense Need is co-equal with Technical Approach as the most important factor, the Air Force has told you that a signed letter of support from a Government stakeholder is evidence it values. If you have a relationship with a base defense force support squadron, a security forces unit, AFLCMC/ES, or a JIATF-401 participant, a letter is worth pursuing during the open period.
Criteria B, Technical Approach. The clarity of the problem statement, technical approach, soundness, technical merit, and innovation of the proposed technical approach, its differentiation from current customer alternatives, and the proposed principal investigator's, project manager's, supporting staff's, and consultants' qualifications to execute the proposed approach.
The phrase "its differentiation from current customer alternatives" is doing real work in a crowded counter-UAS market. You will be read against fielded and competing systems. Name them and explain why your approach is different, especially on the non-emitting detection problem and on the cost target.
Criteria C, Commercialization. The potential for commercial application in the Government or private sector and the benefits expected to accrue from that commercialization.
General evaluation process
D2P2 proposals are evaluated on a competitive basis by subject matter expert scientists, engineers, or other technical personnel. Confidential proposal and evaluation information is protected to the greatest extent possible. Proposals will be disqualified and not evaluated if the Phase I equivalency documentation does not establish the proposed technical approach's feasibility and technical merit.
Selections are based on a determination of overall technical value plus evaluation of the cost volume, for selection of the proposals most advantageous to the Government. Where technical evaluations are essentially equal in merit, cost or price will be considered. Multiple procurements are planned and anticipated, each proposal is a separate procurement evaluated on its own merit, and the Government may award all, some, or none.
Foreign risk evaluation
The DAF will evaluate all small business concerns submitting under this release on whether they present a security risk, using the due diligence process under 15 U.S.C. 638(vv), disclosures required under 15 U.S.C. 638(g) and (o), and coordination with the intelligence community as defined in section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947, federal law enforcement, and other counterintelligence capabilities.
The risk-based assessment covers cybersecurity practices, patent analysis, employee analysis, foreign ownership including financial ties and obligations covering surety, equity, and debt obligations of the concern and its employees to a foreign country, person, or entity, foreign affiliations of a covered individual, owner, or other key personnel with an entity in a foreign country of concern, investment relationships with an individual or entity in a foreign country of concern, technology licensing agreements or joint ventures including joint venture like agreements with an individual or entity in a foreign country of concern, and business relationships between a covered individual, owner, or key personnel and an individual or entity in a foreign country of concern. The DAF also uses open-source analysis and analytical tools for nondisclosures of information set forth in 15 U.S.C. 638(g)(13) or 638(o)(17), and examines relationships to entities or individuals on the lists in 15 U.S.C. 638(g)(16)(D) and 638(o)(20)(D).
If security risks are assessed, the DAF may create a mitigation plan or decide not to select the proposal based on a totality of the review.
Awards must be denied under 15 U.S.C. 638(g)(16) or 638(o)(20) if the concern has an owner or covered individual party to a malign foreign talent recruitment program; a business entity, parent company, or subsidiary located in the People's Republic of China or another foreign country of concern; an owner or covered individual with a foreign affiliation with a research institution located in the PRC or another foreign country of concern; or a security risk connecting the concern or its affiliates to an entity or individual on the UFLPA Entity List, the Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies List, the Section 889 Prohibition List, the Section 1260H Chinese Military Companies list, the Military End User List, the Entity List, the FCC List of Equipment and Services, or the Withhold Release Orders and Findings List. Awards are also denied where a security risk has a primary source that is classified or where the DAF determines a security risk warrants denial.
Applicants must disclose under penalty of perjury the representations, attestations, and certifications required under 15 U.S.C. 638(g)(13) and 638(o)(17), fulfilled by completing Volume 7, and must provide a written statement of any substantial changes to the foreign disclosure form to the awarding agency within 30 days while on a project for the DAF.
For a sensor hardware topic, the supply chain implications here are direct. Camera modules, RF front ends, and edge compute boards frequently trace to suppliers on one or more of the named lists. Audit your bill of materials against those lists before you propose, not after selection.
Ownership, support contractors, status, and protests
Small business concerns owned in majority part by multiple venture capital operating companies, hedge funds, or private equity funds are eligible to submit applications or receive awards for DAF topics.
Proposals may be handled for administrative purposes only by support contractors, which may include APEX, Peerless Technologies, Engineering Services Network, HPC-COM, Mile Two, REI Systems, MacB (an Alion company), Montech, Oasis, Astrion/Oasis, and Infinite Management Solutions. Only Government employees and technical personnel from the FFRDCs MITRE and Aerospace Corporation working under contract to provide technical support to Air Force Life Cycle Management Center and Space Force may evaluate proposals. All support contractors are bound by non-disclosure agreements, and concerns about any of them go to the DAF SBIR/STTR Contracting Officer.
The principal investigator and Corporate Official on the cover sheet are notified by email regarding selection or non-selection, with a separate notification for each proposal submitted. Automated feedback is provided for proposals designated Not Selected, and additional feedback may be provided at the sole discretion of the DAF. Proposals are received and evaluated by different organizations handled by topic, each on its own schedule, so notification timeframes vary.
The DAF anticipates that all proposals will be evaluated and selections finalized within approximately 90 calendar days of solicitation close. Refrain from contacting the DAF for status before that time. Protests after award should be submitted, as prescribed in FAR 33.106(b) and FAR 52.233-3, to the Air Force SBIR/STTR Contracting Officer and to the individual procuring contracting officer listed on your firm's selection notification. Final reports go to the awarding DAF organization per contract instructions, not directly to the Defense Technical Information Center.
Timeline and What to Do When
The dates
Topic opens: September 23, 2026
Proposal deadline: October 21, 2026, at the time specified in the DoW FY26 SBIR CSO, ordinarily 12:00 p.m. Eastern. Confirm on DSIP.
Selections finalized: within approximately 90 calendar days of close, on or about January 19, 2027
Period of performance: up to 24 months from award
A working backward plan
Before September 23. Decide which single architecture you are submitting, because the open topic rule allows only one proposal per company. Assemble the feasibility package: test data showing detection and tracking of non-RF-emitting Group 1 to 3 UAS at low altitude with track and node location output. Audit your bill of materials against the foreign entity lists. Build the production cost model that gets you under $100,000 at full rate. Begin pursuing signed Government letters of support, since the rubric names them as an indicator on the co-equal top factor. Complete Volume 6 training, verify SAM and DSIP alignment, and send clarifying questions to the DAF SBIR/STTR One Help Desk, which explicitly encourages early inquiries.
September 23 through October 3. Draft Volume 2 in the required order. Write a requirements traceability section that walks each numeric threshold, 1 to 300 and 500 meters, 100 meter node range, 10 kilometer aggregate coverage, sub-$100,000 production cost, IP65, 95 percent humidity, minus 32 to 55 degrees Celsius, anti-tamper, ATO or IATO, Medusa C2 and API control, and states your position on each. Build the milestone schedule early since the TABA task list must track to it.
October 4 through October 12. Build the cost volume by element and fiscal year. Collect signed letters of intent, statements of work, and detailed cost proposals from every consultant and subcontractor. Check your work-performance percentages and the one-half subcontract cost cap. Write the detailed TABA request into Volume 5 if requesting TABA.
October 13 through October 16. Assemble Volume 5, complete the Volume 7 webform, finish the Volume 4 CCR, and run compliance: 35 page limit, 11-point minimum type, one-inch margins, consecutive page numbers, black and white legible graphics, virus-checked PDF, no marketing material, no proprietary content in the abstract or work plan.
October 17 through October 19. Submit and certify in DSIP. Remember that with an open topic, the most recent certified submission is the one evaluated and any earlier one is marked nonresponsive, so certify the version you actually want reviewed.
October 20 through October 21. Buffer only.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is DAF SBIR topic DAF26BX06-DP027?
DAF26BX06-DP027 is a Department of the Air Force SBIR Direct to Phase II open topic titled "OPEN, Proliferated Low-Altitude Detection for C-sUAS," released under the DAF 2026 SBIR Commercial Solutions Opening, Release 6. It seeks low-cost networked sensors that detect, track, and identify small, low-altitude, terrain-masked, and RF-silent Group 1 through 3 unmanned aircraft for permanent base defense.
How much funding is available under DAF26BX06-DP027?
Up to $2,000,000 for a period of performance up to 24 months. Proposals exceeding either limit will not be considered for evaluation or award. Up to $50,000 in Technical and Business Assistance may be requested in addition to that ceiling.
When is the proposal deadline?
The topic closes October 21, 2026. The DAF instructions direct applicants to the DoW FY26 SBIR CSO for the exact submission time, ordinarily 12:00 p.m. Eastern on the close date. Confirm the time on the live DSIP posting.
When does this topic open?
September 23, 2026, giving a 29 day submission window.
How many proposals can my company submit to this topic?
One. Because this is an open topic, a small business concern may only submit one proposal. If more than one is received from the same concern, only the most recent proposal certified and submitted before the deadline is evaluated, and all prior proposals from that concern for the same open topic are marked nonresponsive.
What are the detection performance requirements?
The system must detect targets from 1 meter up to 300 meters as the threshold and 500 meters as the objective off the ground. Individual sensor nodes must detect targets at a horizontal range of at least 100 meters. The nodes must integrate to create at least 10 kilometers of combined linear boundary coverage. Targets are Group 1 through 3 UAS, including non-RF-emitting drones, and the system must distinguish a drone from something that is not a drone.
What is the cost target for the system?
The final system must cost less than $100,000 at full-rate production. This is a technical design requirement, separate from the $2,000,000 development award ceiling. Address unit cost, node count, and the production cost path explicitly in your proposal.
Do size, weight, and power limits apply?
No. Solutions are strictly for permanent base defense applications, so strict size and weight limitations do not apply and systems can rely on direct or off-grid permanent power. This is a deliberate design freedom, so do not compress your architecture to hit SWaP targets this topic does not impose.
What environmental and hardening requirements apply in Phase II?
The hardware must be ruggedized for real-world environmental conditions, demonstrating ingress protection of at least IP65, operability in ambient relative humidity up to 95 percent non-condensing, and temperature tolerances from minus 32 to 55 degrees Celsius. The system must include anti-tamper features for critical components and be capable of receiving an ATO or IATO.
Does the system have to integrate with a specific command and control system?
Yes. The system must be able to integrate into the Medusa C2 system or other Air Force directed C2. It must also feature remote node control and be fully controllable via external API commands, and must fuse data from all sensors at a node into a single track providing at least the target's heading plus the absolute location of the detecting node.
Can I submit a Phase I proposal for this topic?
No. This is a Direct to Phase 2 topic and Phase I proposals will be rejected.
What feasibility documentation does this topic require?
You must have accomplished a Phase I type effort outside the SBIR program and have developed and validated a working prototype tested in a simulated or non-operational relevant environment. Specifically, you must demonstrate your system is capable of detecting and tracking non-RF emitting Group 1 through 3 UAS at low altitudes while outputting basic track and sensor node location data.
Can I use a prior SBIR award as my feasibility basis?
No. Feasibility documentation cannot be based upon or logically extend from any prior or ongoing federally funded SBIR or STTR work, and the feasibility effort must have been substantially performed by the applicant or the principal investigator.
How is this topic evaluated?
Under three factors. Criteria A, Defense Need, and Criteria B, Technical Approach, are of equal importance and both more important than Criteria C, Commercialization. All criteria other than cost or price, combined, are significantly more important than cost or price. Note this rubric differs from the other four topics in this release, which use a descending order of importance structure.
Do letters of support help my proposal?
The Air Force says that while not required, signed letters of support from other Government personnel may be indicators of the appropriateness, relevance, and specificity of an identified Defense Need. Since Defense Need is a co-equal top factor on this topic, pursuing a signed letter from a relevant Government stakeholder is a high-value use of the open period.
How long can my technical volume be?
35 pages or slides. Pages in excess will not be considered during evaluations. Type must be no smaller than 11-point on 8.5 by 11 paper with one-inch margins and consecutively numbered pages. Cost proposal attachments and subcontract copies do not count toward the limit.
Is this topic export controlled?
The topic does not carry a topic-level ITAR and EAR restriction notice, unlike three other topics in this release. However, all applicants proposing to use foreign nationals must disclose that information regardless of whether the topic is subject to ITAR, and the general export control provisions apply to all projects with military or dual-use applications developing beyond fundamental research. Counter-UAS sensing raises export control questions readily, so form your own view early.
How much of the work must my company perform?
The instructions state two thresholds. The Consultants and Subcontractors section requires at least 50 percent of the R/R&D be performed by the proposing firm unless the Contracting Officer approves otherwise in writing. The Performance of Work Requirements section states at least one-third of the Phase II research or analytical effort must be performed by the awardee, measured by direct and indirect costs excluding profit. Separately, all consultant fees, facility leases, and other subcontract or purchase agreements together may not exceed one-half of the total contract price without written Contracting Officer approval. Performing at least half in house satisfies every reading. Deviation requests must be made twice, prior to submission during the open period and again with the initial proposal.
Does the Company Commercialization Report affect my score?
No. Completing the CCR as Volume 4 is required, but the DAF states information contained in the CCR will not be considered during proposal evaluations.
What is TABA and how do I request it?
Up to $50,000 per Phase II award, in addition to the per-topic ceiling, identified in the Volume 3 Cost Proposal, and splittable as $25,000 on a first SBIR Phase II and $25,000 on a sequential one. The detailed request must be in Volume 5 with provider name, point of contact, unique qualifications, tasks with purpose and objective, and total cost with hours and labor rates, and the task milestone list must track to your milestone payment schedule. Requests that only specify a value in Volume 3 will not be considered.
Who owns the data and software I develop?
Rights in technical data including software developed under a SBIR contract generally remain with the contractor. The Government obtains SBIR/STTR data rights in all data developed or generated under the contract for 20 years from contract award, after which the Government has Government purpose rights to the SBIR data.
Where does this technology transition after Phase II?
Phase III is transition to AFLCMC/ES and the JIATF-401 counter-UAS marketplace for base defense. Named commercial dual-use applications are airport security, critical infrastructure protection, and border patrol.
When will I hear about selection?
The DAF anticipates all proposals evaluated and selections finalized within approximately 90 calendar days of solicitation close, meaning on or about January 19, 2027. The principal investigator and Corporate Official on the cover sheet are notified by email.
Who do I contact with questions?
The DAF SBIR/STTR One Help Desk at usaf.team@afsbirsttr.us for general program and proposal preparation questions, and the DAF encourages early requests because late ones constrain its ability to respond. For DSIP submission system issues, dodsbirsupport@reisystems.com. The Air Force SBIR/STTR Contracting Officer is Mr. Daniel J. Brewer at Daniel.Brewer.13@us.af.mil. Address or point of contact changes after submission go to the One Help Desk with the subject line "FY26 SBIR CSO Address Change."
Positioning Advice for Startups Considering This Topic
Solve the non-emitting detection problem explicitly, or do not bid. The entire premise of this topic is the drone that gives you nothing to listen for. If your detection stack depends materially on RF signature, your feasibility documentation will not clear the stated bar, which specifically requires demonstrated detection and tracking of non-RF emitting targets.
Build the proposal around a requirements traceability matrix written as prose. There are roughly a dozen hard numbers and specifications in this topic. Walk each one and state your position: meet, exceed, or path to meet with the risk named. Evaluators on a specification-heavy topic reward the proposal that makes verification easy.
Engineer to the cost target from the start. Under $100,000 at full-rate production for a system covering 10 kilometers of linear boundary is the hardest constraint here, and it interacts with everything. It rules out expensive per-node sensors and pushes toward modalities and compute that scale cheaply. Show the production cost model, not a prototype cost.
Exploit the SWaP relief. Permanent base defense with permanent power is a rare gift in this market. Larger apertures, heavier sensors, more onboard compute, and mains or off-grid permanent power are all available to you. A proposal that reads like a tactical system is leaving performance on the table.
Chase a Government letter of support during the open period. The Air Force told you it counts on the co-equal top factor. Security forces, base defense operations, AFLCMC/ES, and JIATF-401 participants are the relevant voices.
Differentiate against named alternatives. Criteria B explicitly asks about differentiation from current customer alternatives. Counter-UAS is a crowded field with a lot of fielded and demonstrated systems. Name what is out there, be fair about it, and be specific about where you are different.
Address the ATO path as a work plan task, not an assertion. Capability to receive an ATO or IATO is a Phase II requirement. Put the accreditation activity in the milestone schedule with the documentation artifacts it produces, and if you need help, note that cybersecurity assistance is an eligible TABA activity.
Audit your supply chain before you propose. The foreign risk denial criteria name eight specific lists. Sensor and edge compute bills of materials commonly touch suppliers on them. Finding that out during a due diligence review after selection is a bad way to lose an award.
Pick one architecture. The one-proposal-per-open-topic rule means internal debates get settled before submission, not by submitting both and letting the Government choose.
