NAVWAR Open Topic for Resilient Wideband RF Photonic Architectures for Assured Communications and PNT in Contested Electromagnetic Environments - SBIR Topic DON26BX01-NP001

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This topic was temporarily posted by the Department of War SBIR Program on March 2nd 2026 and removed the following day.
We believe this topic is planned to be released once the SBIR program is reauthorized; however, this topic may ultimately be modified or withdrawn.

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Funding Amount:

Est. $240,000

Deadline to Apply:

Est. April 29th, 2026.

Objective:

Develop, prototype, and demonstrate next-generation radio frequency (RF) photonic front-end technologies that improve the reliability, clarity, and resilience of wireless communications and navigation in high-interference environments. These solutions will leverage advances similar to those used in commercial fiber-optic telecommunications, satellite broadband (e.g., Starlink-class systems), 5G wireless infrastructure, and autonomous vehicle sensor systems to ensure the U.S. Navy maintains assured communications and assured position, navigation, and timing (APNT) during contested maritime operations.

Description:

The United States Navy must maintain reliable communications and accurate navigation to operate effectively at sea, coordinate with allies, and ensure freedom of navigation in increasingly complex and contested environments. Modern naval operations depend on uninterrupted wireless communications and precise timing and positioning, much like commercial aviation, autonomous shipping, satellite internet providers, and global logistics companies.

The Navy’s Communications and GPS Navigation Program Office (PMW/A 170) is responsible for delivering resilient and adaptive communications and APNT capabilities to Fleet forces and coalition partners. As commercial technology rapidly advances in areas such as fiber-optic networking, 5G/6G wireless systems, high-speed satellite communications, and advanced sensing platforms, the Navy seeks to harness and adapt these innovations to strengthen maritime mission performance.

The Golden Fleet initiative emphasizes modernizing not only ships, but also the systems that enable command, control, communications, navigation, and situational awareness. Modern Naval operations depend heavily on reliable communications and precise navigation, much like commercial aviation, satellite broadband networks, autonomous systems, and global logistics enterprises. As commercial industries continue to advance technologies that maintain reliable performance in crowded and interference-heavy environments, the Navy seeks to adapt and transition these innovations to strengthen maritime mission resilience.

Naval communications and navigation systems must operate reliably not only in routine conditions, but also in environments where adversaries attempt to disrupt signals or where the radio spectrum is heavily congested. Traditional RF front-end electronics can experience degraded performance or signal loss when exposed to jamming, electromagnetic interference, or strong competing signals. These vulnerabilities can create operational risk and threaten mission continuity in contested electromagnetic environments.

To address these challenges, this Open Topic invites system-level innovations in wideband RF photonic front-end architectures. RF photonics combines radio and optical technologies by using light and fiber-based components to carry, preserve, and condition radio signals with high fidelity. Similar approaches are widely used in commercial fiber-optic communications, high-capacity wireless infrastructure, and precision timing networks to improve signal quality, expand bandwidth, and reduce distortion over long distances. When adapted to Naval RF systems, these technologies offer a promising path to lower noise, improved resistance to interference, wider signal capture, and more reliable signal recovery than conventional electronic front ends.

Proposed solutions may incorporate commercially inspired technologies such as:

Coherent optical signal processing used in high-speed telecom networks

Advanced phase-tracking techniques similar to those used in precision satellite navigation and autonomous vehicle localization

Interference suppression approaches used in dense commercial wireless environments (e.g., stadiums, smart cities, and industrial IoT networks)

Compact photonic integrated circuits (PICs), similar to those being developed for next-generation data centers and lidar systems

Desired capabilities include systems that:

Reduce receiver noise without relying on traditional RF amplifiers

Maintain signal integrity under heavy interference and jamming

Capture and reconstruct wideband signals with high accuracy

Automatically detect and remove unknown interference sources

Support scalable, ruggedized deployment on ships, aircraft, and distributed maritime platforms

Reduce size, weight, power, and cost while improving survivability

Of particular interest are integrated, fiber-remoted, and packaged front-end modules that can operate reliably in harsh maritime environments, similar to ruggedized telecom and offshore energy communications equipment. Solutions that enable real-time interference excision without prior knowledge of the signal or threat are strongly encouraged.

Work produced in Phase II may become classified. Note: The prospective contractor(s) must be U.S. owned and operated with no foreign influence as defined by 32 U.S.C. § 2004.20 et seq., National Industrial Security Program Executive Agent and Operating Manual, unless acceptable mitigating procedures can and have been implemented and approved by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) formerly Defense Security Service (DSS). The selected contractor must be able to acquire and maintain a secret level facility and Personnel Security Clearances. This will allow contractor personnel to perform on advanced phases of this project as set forth by DCSA and NAVWAR in order to gain access to classified information pertaining to the national defense of the United States and its allies; this will be an inherent requirement. The selected company will be required to safeguard classified material during the advanced phases of this contract IAW the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM), which can be found at Title 32, Part 2004.20 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

Who will win?

If you can achieve the objective above better than any other company on the market, you have a very high-likelihood of success and should apply.

Who is eligible to apply?

Any company that meets the following criteria:

• For-profit company

• U.S.-owned and controlled.

• 500 or fewer employees (including affiliates)

How Can BW&CO Help?

1) End-to-end support including, strategy, writing of the full proposal, and administrative & compliance support.

2) Proposal strategy and review.

3) Administrative & compliance support.

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