DON26BZ05-DV087 — Edge-Deployed Explainable Digital-Twin CBM+ Platforms for Carrier-Based Systems
Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).
Quick Answer
DON26BZ05-DV087 is a Navy Direct to Phase II (DP2) SBIR topic sponsored by NAVAIR. It funds an edge-deployed, explainable AI digital twin platform, referred to as a CBM+ Workstation, that predicts faults in carrier-based Aircraft Launch and Recovery Equipment (ALRE) despite limited shipboard connectivity. Maximum Phase II award across Base and Option is $1,400,000. Proposals are due September 23, 2026 (confirm against the official BAA posting).
Executive Summary
Carrier aviation systems like the Advanced Arresting Gear, steam catapults, hydraulic deck handlers, and fuel management valves generate constant, high-frequency streams of voltage, current, pressure, vibration, and temperature data. The problem is getting insight out of that data at sea. Denied, Disrupted, Intermittent, and Limited (DDIL) connectivity on carriers forces maintenance crews to physically download raw logs and ferry them ashore for analysis, which delays detection of early warning signs like seal leakage, actuator fatigue, or control valve drift, drives up unscheduled maintenance costs, and puts sortie rates and aircrew safety at risk.
NAVAIR's answer is a CBM+ Workstation that runs at the edge, meaning on the ship itself, and does the reasoning locally rather than waiting for a shoreside connection. The platform needs to do several things well. It has to ingest and reduce high-rate sensor streams onboard in real time, using model-order-reduction and adaptive sampling to turn raw sensor traces into compact, information-rich features that can move under DDIL bandwidth limits. It has to fuse first-principles digital twin models with maintenance-domain knowledge graphs and shipboard context, producing human-readable fault diagnostics with isolation down to the Lowest Replaceable Unit, rather than opaque alerts a maintainer has to interpret blindly. It needs a secure developer API so new subsystem-specific workstations can be spun up without touching source code, and it must meet shipboard resilience standards with under one second anomaly-detection latency and under 10 MB per hour of data transferred to shore when connectivity reconnects.
This directly supports two existing Navy mandates: DoDI 4151.22, which requires CBM+ to be examined, evaluated, integrated, and incorporated into weapon system engineering and sustainment plans, and OPNAVINST 4790.16C, which requires program managers to document CBM+ implementation and assess its maturity at every acquisition and sustainment review. A workstation built to this spec gives program offices a direct way to satisfy both.
Phase I feasibility centers on the Advanced Arresting Gear as the representative subsystem: NAVAIR expects proposers to have already established feasibility of the edge-deployed, explainable CBM+ concept using AAG as the test case. Phase II builds on that foundation with a prototype running on representative edge hardware, processing live AAG test site data, demonstrating semantic AI fault inference for at least two critical AAG failure modes such as seal leakage or valve blockage, complete with confidence metrics and natural language explanations. It also requires a second demonstration: generating a lightweight workstation for a different carrier subsystem, like the catapult accumulator system, to prove the plug-and-play architecture actually works across systems, not just for AAG.
Phase III moves toward a fully operational, supported, scalable solution for the MK15 Advanced Arresting Gear specifically, with broader commercial potential in any industrial or commercial site facing limited connectivity, such as additive manufacturing facilities or HVAC systems.
Funding
Phase II Base: up to $1,000,000, period of performance up to 30 months
Phase II Option: up to $400,000, period of performance up to 12 months
Maximum total (Base plus Option): $1,400,000
No separate Phase I award is issued under DP2
Award types considered: Cost Plus Fixed Fee, Firm Fixed Price, Basic Ordering Agreement, or Prototype Other Transaction
Discretionary TABA available: up to $25,000 per award, included in the Phase II award amount
Timeline
Step one: submit a Phase I Feasibility Proposal through DSIP
Step two: if selected, the SYSCOM contacts the company directly with instructions to submit a Full DP2 Proposal
Proposal deadline: September 23, 2026 (verify against the official BAA close date for this release)
Notifications sent approximately one week after BAA close, based on the Cover Sheet email address
Key Requirements
Must demonstrate completed Phase I-type R&D independently, not solely from prior federal SBIR/STTR funding
Must show established feasibility using the Advanced Arresting Gear as the representative subsystem
Must meet under one second anomaly-detection latency and under 10 MB per hour data transfer to shore
Must demonstrate fault inference for at least two critical AAG failure modes with confidence metrics and natural language explanations
Technical Volume limited to 30 pages total: 20 pages for Phase I feasibility, 10 pages for the Phase II snapshot
Minimum 50 percent of Phase II work performed by the proposing small business, in both Base and Option
CMMC Level 2 (Self) projected requirement
Point of Contact
Kristi DePriest, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR)
navair-sbir@us.navy.mil
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a CBM+ Workstation?
An edge-deployed, explainable AI digital twin platform that ingests high-rate sensor data from carrier-based systems, fuses it with physics models and maintenance knowledge graphs, and produces human-readable fault diagnostics locally, without relying on a shoreside connection.
Why does this need to run at the edge instead of ashore?
Carriers operate under Denied, Disrupted, Intermittent, and Limited connectivity, so waiting for a shore connection delays detection of problems like seal leakage or actuator fatigue and increases unscheduled maintenance and safety risk.
What subsystem is used for Phase I feasibility?
The Advanced Arresting Gear, as the representative NAVAIR subsystem for establishing feasibility of the edge-deployed CBM+ concept.
What does Phase II require beyond the AAG demonstration?
A second demonstration showing the platform can generate a lightweight workstation for a different carrier subsystem, such as the catapult accumulator system, without requiring source code changes.
What performance standards must the platform meet?
Under one second anomaly-detection latency and under 10 MB per hour of data transfer to shore when intermittent links reconnect, on MIL-SPEC or ruggedized hardware.
Which Navy policies does this topic support?
DoDI 4151.22, which mandates CBM+ integration into weapon system sustainment plans, and OPNAVINST 4790.16C, which requires documented CBM+ maturity assessments at acquisition reviews.
Is there a commercial application for this technology?
Yes. NAVAIR points to any industrial or commercial site with limited network connectivity, including additive manufacturing and HVAC systems, as a natural extension of an edge-deployed digital twin approach.
How much can a Phase II award be worth?
Up to $1,000,000 for the Base and up to $400,000 for the Option, for a maximum of $1,400,000.
What is the proposal deadline?
September 23, 2026
