DON26BZ05-NV068 — Intelligent Tools for Naval Aircrew Performance and Readiness
Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).
Quick Answer
DON26BZ05-NV068 is a Navy Phase I SBIR topic sponsored by NAVAIR. It funds an intelligent human performance system that tracks, predicts, and helps mitigate cognitive, physical, and psychological vulnerabilities in Naval aircrew, built as a tool for aeromedical officers rather than a replacement for them. Maximum Phase I award across Base and Option is $315,000. Proposals are due September 23, 2026.
Executive Summary
Naval aviation places heavy cognitive, physical, and psychological demands on aircrew, and today's tools for tracking that burden rely mostly on static assessments and subjective observation. NAVAIR wants a system that moves beyond that, using physiological sensors, eye-tracking, performance metrics, voice analysis, and validated instruments like the Military Readiness Scale (MRS-15) to continuously monitor aircrew state and predict vulnerabilities before they become safety issues.
Critically, this is explicitly framed as a tool that empowers aeromedical officers, not one that replaces their judgment. The system needs to deliver personalized, data-driven insights that aeromedical officers can use to recommend training protocols, prehabilitation exercises, and psychological resilience strategies. It also needs to analyze aircrew-aircraft system interactions to flag human-system interface problems, and to support trust calibration, meaning giving aircrew and officers transparent, objective data about when automation should and shouldn't be relied on.
Phase I is a feasibility study and preliminary design effort: a CONOPS, identification of key performance and trust metrics including MRS-15 integration, a proof-of-concept simulation or analytical model, an evaluation methodology that accounts for human subject safety and data privacy, and prototype interface designs for aeromedical officers.
Phase II is where this topic gets demanding. It requires rigorous validation studies with real statistical targets: a 15 to 20 percent reduction in tactical or procedural errors under simulated stress, and a 10 to 15 percent improvement in decision-making latency without losing accuracy. Any company proposing here needs a credible plan for human subjects research, since Phase II work involving human data must comply with 32 CFR Part 219, DoDI 3216.02, and 10 U.S.C. 980, and requires both local IRB approval and secondary approval from the Navy's Human Research Protection Official before any testing begins. NAVAIR explicitly instructs offerors to separate human-use research tasks from general technical development tasks in the SOW and cost proposal to avoid delaying the whole award.
Phase III applications extend well beyond the cockpit. NAVAIR calls out healthcare (patient recovery tracking, clinician burnout prevention), emergency response (firefighters, paramedics, law enforcement), and sports and athletics as natural adjacent markets for the same predictive, physiological monitoring approach.
Funding
Phase I Base: up to $200,000
Phase I Option: up to $115,000
Maximum Phase I total (Base plus Option): $315,000
Award types: Firm Fixed Price, Basic Ordering Agreement, or Prototype Other Transaction
Phase I period: exactly 6 months Base, exactly 6 months Option
Phase II maximum: up to $2,000,000
Discretionary TABA available: up to $6,500 in Phase I, in addition to the award amount
Timeline
Proposal deadline: September 23, 2026
Submission portal: DoW SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal (DSIP)
Notifications sent approximately one week after BAA close
Phase I payments: 50% at 15 days, 35% at 90 days, 15% at 180 days, for both Base and Option
Key Requirements
Technical Volume limited to 10 pages
Minimum two-thirds of Phase I work performed by the proposing small business, in both Base and Option
No cost sharing accepted
CMMC Level 2 (Self) projected requirement
Phase II requires IRB approval and DoN Human Research Protection Official approval before human testing
Strict PII/PHI anonymization protocols required in Phase II
Point of Contact
Kristi DePriest, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR)
navair-sbir@us.navy.mil
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this system replace aeromedical officers?
No. It is explicitly designed as a tool that empowers and augments aeromedical officers, providing actionable insights for their expert-led interventions rather than automating their role.
What kind of data does the system need to monitor?
Physiological sensors, eye-tracking, performance metrics, voice analysis, and validated self-report instruments such as the Military Readiness Scale (MRS-15).
What statistical improvements does Phase II require?
A 15 to 20 percent reduction in tactical or procedural errors under simulated stress, and a 10 to 15 percent improvement in decision-making latency without accuracy loss.
Do I need IRB approval to propose on this topic?
Not for Phase I, but any Phase II work involving human subjects or physiological data requires both local IRB approval and secondary approval from the Navy's Human Research Protection Official before testing begins.
Is there a commercial market for this outside the Navy?
Yes. NAVAIR points to healthcare, emergency response, and sports and athletics as natural adjacent markets for the same predictive human performance approach.
How much funding is available in Phase I?
Up to $200,000 for the Base and up to $115,000 for the Option, for a combined maximum of $315,000.
What is the proposal deadline?
September 23, 2026, submitted through the DoW SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal (DSIP).
