Sierra Army Depot Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) W912GY-25-S-C001: Complete Guide for Startups

Executive Summary

The U.S. Army Contracting Command at Sierra Army Depot (ACC-SIAD) is running an open, continuously accepting Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) for Organic Industrial Base (OIB) modernization under solicitation number W912GY-25-S-C001. The solicitation is posted on SAM.gov and is open until June 30, 2030, with no fixed proposal deadline. Companies submit a five page solution brief against one of eight published Areas of Interest (AoIs), and awards are made as fixed price contracts under FAR Part 12 commercial item procedures. Both traditional and nontraditional defense contractors are eligible, and no prior government contracting history is required.

For a venture backed startup or a commercially focused small business, this is one of the more accessible entry points into Army depot modernization. There is no 50 page proposal, no cost accounting standards burden at the front end, and no requirement to have an existing defense customer. What the Army wants is a commercially available or near commercially available product that solves a specific, physical, unglamorous depot problem.

Sierra Army Depot CSO at a Glance

• Solicitation number: W912GY-25-S-C001

• Issuing office: U.S. Army Contracting Command, Sierra Army Depot (ACC-SIAD), Herlong, California

• Program: Organic Industrial Base (OIB) Modernization

• Authority: 10 U.S.C. Section 3458, implemented by DFARS Subpart 212.70

• Solicitation type: Commercial Solutions Opening, a competitive procedure similar to a Broad Agency Announcement

• Where it is posted: SAM.gov (the Government Point of Entry)

• Status: Continuously open, currently reflecting CSO Amendment 02 and AoI Amendment 01, both dated August 18, 2026

• Closes: June 30, 2030, with the government reserving the right to extend by amendment

• Areas of Interest: Eight continuously open AoIs

• Phase 1 submission: Five single sided pages in 12 point font, or fifteen briefing slides

• Award type: Fixed price, including fixed price incentive fee, primarily FAR Part 12

• Typical period of performance: Generally not more than 12 months unless the AoI states otherwise

• Eligibility: Traditional and nontraditional defense contractors, small businesses, nonprofit research institutions, and foreign owned businesses subject to clearance limitations

• Contracting Officer: Ms. Melissa Kaarbo, melissa.m.kaarbo.civ@army.mil

• Additional point of contact: Ms. Kimberly Hunter, kimberly.a.hunter.civ@army.mil

What Is a Commercial Solutions Opening and Why It Matters for Startups

A Commercial Solutions Opening is a competitive acquisition procedure that lets Department of Defense contracting officers buy innovative commercial products, technologies, and services without running a traditional Request for Proposals. It was authorized permanently under 10 U.S.C. Section 3458 and is implemented through DFARS Subpart 212.70. Under a CSO, the government may competitively select proposals received in response to a general solicitation based on peer review by scientific, technological, or other subject matter experts.

Three features of the CSO make it materially different from a standard federal procurement, and all three favor a startup:

• It is a competitive procedure by statute. Selection under a CSO satisfies the competition requirements of 10 U.S.C. Chapter 221 and FAR 6.102. The Army does not have to justify a sole source, which removes a common source of internal friction and delay.

• Everything is treated as commercial. Contracting officers must treat products and services bought under a CSO as commercial products and services. That means FAR Part 12 terms, simplified contract clauses, and no default requirement to build a government approved accounting system before you can be paid.

• Your submission is evaluated on its own merits. The solicitation is explicit that solution briefs are evaluated against the stated criteria, not against other companies' submissions. You are not competing head to head against an incumbent prime for a single slot.

The solicitation itself lists five benefits of the process: a streamlined application requiring only minimal corporate and technical information, fast track evaluation timelines, negotiable payment terms for non-dilutive capital, negotiable intellectual property rights, and direct feedback from end users and mission partners inside the Department of Defense who actually operate the equipment.

What Sierra Army Depot Is Actually Trying to Solve

Sierra Army Depot is a major Army logistics and storage installation with a large footprint of open storage, maintenance shops, demilitarization operations, an airfield, and out-loading operations that push materiel to the field. The Organic Industrial Base is the network of Army depots, arsenals, and ammunition plants that manufacture, repair, and sustain equipment. The Army's stated position is that its decisive military advantage over peer competitors is steadily eroding and that modernizing the OIB is a prerequisite for closing that gap.

The solicitation names six technology domains where the Army says modernization is most needed: agile and flexible facilities, a connected digital enterprise, advanced manufacturing, digital twin, automation, and cyber security. The framing throughout the document is about throughput and speed, described as increasing the "Speed of Battle," rather than about basic research.

This matters for how you write. The Army is not asking for a science project. It is asking how your technology moves more materiel through the depot faster, with fewer people doing dangerous or repetitive work, at lower lifecycle cost, in compliance with environmental and safety rules.

The Eight Areas of Interest in Detail

All eight AoIs are continuously open, and all solution briefs submitted under them are evaluated against the Phase 1 criteria in Section 3.2.2 of the CSO. If government funding or resources are not available for a proposed effort, the solution brief is retained in the ACC-SIAD library rather than discarded, which means a strong brief can be pulled forward when funding appears later.

1. Agile and Adaptive Facilities

Scalable, world class facilities that can rapidly adapt to changing mission requirements. The stated emphasis is on integrating physical and virtual processes to create flexible production, maintenance, and demilitarization lines so the depot can respond quickly to engineering changes and supply chain variation.

Companies that fit here typically offer reconfigurable production cells, modular tooling and fixturing, digital twin and factory simulation software, rapid line changeover systems, modular or relocatable industrial structures, and manufacturing execution software that reconfigures workflows without a capital rebuild.

2. Advanced Manufacturing and Maintenance

Technologies that increase the speed, scale, and precision of depot operations, with a specific call out of the depot's maintenance processes and parts capabilities. The solicitation names wash, blast, weld, paint, preservation, and repair processes supporting a wide variety of systems and platforms, and it asks respondents to address safety, environmental compliance, capacity, and efficiency.

Relevant technologies include metal and polymer additive manufacturing for obsolete or long lead spare parts, cold spray and other repair deposition methods, robotic and automated welding, advanced coatings and surface preparation, laser ablation stripping, non-destructive inspection, reverse engineering and scan to part workflows, and predictive maintenance analytics. If you make legacy parts available on demand instead of through a 40 week procurement lead time, this is your AoI.

3. Automation and Robotics

The solicitation defines automation as an automatic control measure that uses feedback loops from sensors, cameras, encoders, lasers, and probes to control a process, mechanism, or system, achieved through mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, electrical, electronic, and computing means in combination. The applied focus is automated and robotic systems for materiel handling, warehousing (pick, sort, and store), and processing, with the goal of reducing manual labor in repetitive or hazardous tasks and increasing accuracy and speed.

Strong fits include autonomous mobile robots and automated guided vehicles, robotic piece picking and palletizing, automated storage and retrieval systems, machine vision inspection and sortation, collaborative robots for shop floor tasks, teleoperation for hazardous environments, and exoskeletons or lift assist systems. Hazardous task removal is called out directly, so demilitarization, chemical handling, and heavy lift use cases are well aligned.

4. Logistics and Inventory Management Modernization

Re-engineering inventory and warehouse management systems to increase accuracy, reduce loss, and improve efficiency. The solicitation specifically points to modern hardware and software, naming Warehouse Management Systems, to streamline receiving, storage, and picking.

This is the most software friendly AoI. Candidate solutions include warehouse management and warehouse execution platforms, RFID and passive sensing for asset tracking across large open storage areas, computer vision inventory audit, drone based cycle counting, digital yard management, demand forecasting and inventory optimization, and integration layers that connect commercial systems to Army logistics systems of record. Note that any software touching Army networks will eventually face cybersecurity and authority to operate requirements, so address your security posture early.

5. Airfield Maintenance

Comprehensive inspection, preservation, and repair of airport infrastructure and grounds required for safe and efficient aircraft operations. Named aspects include pavement markings and electrical systems, snow and ice management, debris and vegetation control, and coordination with air traffic control to minimize operational impact. The AoI explicitly includes the Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS), which provides continuous real-time weather information to airports, pilots, and aviation stakeholders.

Fits include automated pavement condition assessment, foreign object debris detection, runway marking and striping automation, airfield lighting systems, snow and ice removal or anti-icing technologies, vegetation management, and AWOS hardware, sensors, modernization, or data integration. The AWOS mention is unusually specific for a continuously open AoI, which generally signals a live need.

6. Energy, Environmental, and Chemical Management

Safe, sustainable, and efficient use of energy, fuels, and chemicals across depot facilities and operations. The AoI specifically asks for innovative solutions for surface coating, cleaning, stripping, and plating that reduce hazardous waste and improve sustainability.

Relevant technologies include hexavalent chromium and PFAS free coatings and platings, non-hazardous cleaning and degreasing chemistries, laser and dry media stripping that eliminates blast media waste, closed loop water and solvent recovery, VOC and emissions reduction, waste minimization and treatment, energy efficiency and on-site generation, microgrids and energy storage, and industrial process electrification. Regulatory and environmental compliance pressure on legacy depot chemistries makes this AoI durably funded across the Army.

7. Public Private Partnerships (P3) Opportunities

Collaborations with private industry that bring commercial innovation, investment, and expertise into the depot. The stated aim is to accelerate modernization, improve operational efficiency, and sustain critical depot capabilities through shared resources and shared risk.

This AoI is structurally different from the other seven. It is less about a discrete product and more about a business model: co-investment in depot capability, shared use of depot facilities or equipment, work share arrangements, technology transfer, or arrangements where a company brings capital equipment onto the installation in exchange for guaranteed throughput. If your go to market depends on placing capital equipment somewhere and operating it, read this AoI closely.

8. Advanced Packaging Manufacturing at the Point-of-Need

This AoI was added by AoI Amendment 01 dated August 18, 2026, and it is the most sharply defined requirement in the set. The Army is seeking on-site fabrication technologies and non-lumber material solutions that let Sierra Army Depot manufacture customized crates, pallets, skids, and blocking on demand.

The stated requirements are specific. Solutions must deliver a highly versatile, scalable manufacturing capability that can rapidly adapt to produce an effectively unlimited variety of dimensions, using lightweight, weather resistant, and easily recyclable materials. The technology must replace legacy carpentry operations in order to eliminate labor intensive bottlenecks, high material washout rates, continuous lumber procurement costs, and ISPM-15 Wood Packaging Material compliance risk. The stated outcome is modernized out-loading throughput and reduced lifecycle logistics costs.

If you work in automated packaging fabrication, on-demand box and crate manufacturing, thermoformed or molded composite packaging, honeycomb or engineered paperboard structures, recyclable polymer shipping containers, or CAD driven cut and assemble systems, this AoI is a direct match. The level of detail here, combined with the fact that it was added by amendment rather than included at the original posting, generally indicates an identified and prioritized requirement rather than general market research.

Funding Allowance: What You Can and Cannot Expect

This is the part most companies misread, so it is worth stating plainly. The CSO does not publish an award ceiling, a floor, or a reserved pool of funding. The solicitation states directly that because of government budget uncertainties, no specific dollars have been reserved for awards under this CSO, and that requests for a Commercial Solution Proposal are subject to the availability of government funds.

Here is what the solicitation does commit to:

• Award instrument: Contracts or agreements under this authority shall be fixed price, including fixed price incentive fee. The government intends to primarily award FAR-based contracts under Part 12 commercial item procedures, but reserves the right to award other contract or agreement types depending on the AoI and industrial base response.

• Period of performance: Generally no greater than 12 months for any solution brief or CSP submitted under this CSO, unless a specific AoI states otherwise. Size your proposed effort and your price to a 12 month scope.

• Payment terms: The solicitation lists negotiable payment terms for non-dilutive capital as a benefit of the process. The Contracting Officer reserves the right to negotiate terms and conditions directly with the company prior to execution, including payment terms. For a cash constrained startup, this is where you negotiate milestone or advance payment structures rather than pure cost reimbursement in arrears.

• Intellectual property: IP rights are negotiable. You are asked to identify any IP involved and any restrictions on the government's use of that IP. IP risk is an explicit scored evaluation factor at Phase 2, so unresolved or aggressive assertions cost you points.

• Pricing format: Phase 1 requires a rough order of magnitude price. Phase 2 requires a ROM in a range of minus 25 percent to plus 75 percent along with a notional schedule. Phase 3 requires a full price volume with enough detail for the government to test price reasonableness, which for time and materials line items means labor categories, direct labor hours, fully burdened fixed hourly rates, and material costs supported by vendor quotes or other bases of estimate.

And here is what the government will not pay for:

• Costs of preparing and submitting a Phase 1 solution brief.

• Costs associated with a Phase 2 presentation or pitch, unless a specific AoI says otherwise.

• Costs of developing a Phase 3 Commercial Solution Proposal, unless a specific AoI says otherwise.

• Proposal preparation costs are explicitly not recoverable and are not a direct charge to any resulting award or any other contract or agreement.

The practical read: treat this as an unfunded business development investment with a fast, cheap first step. A five page brief is a one to two week effort for most teams, which is a reasonable bet against a fixed price production or pilot contract with a customer that operates at depot scale.

Timeline and Key Dates

There is no single submission deadline. The CSO is continuously open on SAM.gov until June 30, 2030, and the government may extend that date by amendment if the underlying authority is extended. New AoIs may be added at any point during the solicitation's life, which is exactly what happened with the packaging AoI added in August 2026, so companies are advised to check SAM.gov frequently for new postings.

The internal clocks that do matter once you submit:

• Phase 1 evaluation: The government will attempt to complete evaluation of solution briefs within 30 calendar days of the close of the submittal period and to notify companies of results as soon as practicable.

• Phase 2 evaluation: The government aims to complete evaluation of presentations and pitches within 30 calendar days of the pitch.

• Pitch validity: Presentation and pitch submissions must remain valid for no less than 90 days after evaluation.

• The 90 day funding gate: If government funding or resources are not assigned to a Phase 3 CSP within 90 days after pitch evaluation, the government will issue a notification of non-eligibility and officially close that AoI selection process. This is the single most important date in the document, because it is where an otherwise successful submission can stall for reasons that have nothing to do with your technology.

• CSP validity: A Phase 3 Commercial Solution Proposal must remain valid for at least 120 days from the submission date.

• Notification of non-selection: Companies not advanced to the pitch or CSP phase are notified in writing as soon as practicable. Verbal feedback may be provided on request at the Contracting Officer's discretion, and it is worth asking for.

Realistically, a company entering at Phase 1 with funding already aligned to the requirement should plan for roughly three to six months from submission to award. A company entering against an AoI where funding has not yet been identified should expect the brief to sit in the ACC-SIAD library until a requirement and funding line converge.

How the Three Phase Process Works

Phase 1: Written Solution Brief

Unless a specific AoI says otherwise, the solution brief must not exceed five single sided pages in 12 point font, or alternatively may be submitted as briefing slides not exceeding fifteen slides. The brief must contain four elements:

• Title page: Company name, title, date, point of contact name, email address, phone, and address, and a specific identification of which AoI you are responding to. The title page does not count against the page or slide limit.

• Executive summary: A summary of the technology or service.

• Technology concept: How your solution represents an application of innovative commercial products, technologies, or services, or an adaptation of existing ones, to the AoI. Describe the unique aspects of your technology and the work as it relates to the AoI. State clearly whether you are proposing a pilot or demonstration of existing commercially ready and viable technology, or development of technology for potential defense application. If development or adaptation is proposed, identify a suggested path to mature the technology. Identify any data and software you consider proprietary.

• Price: A rough order of magnitude price for the proposed solution.

The executive summary, technology concept, and price sections all count against the limit. Unnecessarily elaborate brochures are explicitly not desired, and the use of a diagram or figure to depict the essence of the proposed solution is strongly encouraged. Companies may submit multiple solution briefs against a single AoI if each represents a separate and distinct concept, but an individual brief may only address one concept.

Phase 2: Presentation or Pitch, If Applicable

Companies whose briefs are evaluated to be of merit may be invited to pitch in person, virtually, or on paper, depending on the requirement. If a demonstration is required, the AoI will say so. The government may also request an additional written submission to supplement or clarify the Phase 1 brief. During the pitch you must address a description or demonstration of how the solution is an innovative application of commercial technology to the AoI, a ROM price in a minus 25 percent to plus 75 percent range with a notional schedule, any IP involved and associated restrictions on government use, and whatever additional detail the invitation specified.

Phase 3: Commercial Solution Proposal

Companies evaluated to be of merit through Phase 1, Phase 2, or a combination may be invited to submit a full written proposal in two separate volumes.

Volume I, Technical, must contain no cost information. It requires a detailed work plan showing how each objective will be accomplished, in as much detail as you consider necessary to fully explain your technical approach and all assumptions used to develop the solution and associated costs. It must demonstrate a clear understanding of the nature of the work, explain how the project will be organized, staffed, and managed, and include a list of suggested deliverables and deliverable dates.

Volume II, Price, must contain enough information for the government to perform a basic price analysis. The government reserves the right to request additional pricing support, including commercial price catalogs, previous commercial sales receipts, and other proprietary information used to determine reasonableness and future budgetary cost estimates.

Technical proposals are rated Acceptable or Unacceptable. Price proposals are rated Fair and Reasonable or Not Fair and Reasonable. Neither an Acceptable technical rating nor a Fair and Reasonable price determination guarantees award, because program priorities, negotiations, and availability of funds are also considered.

Phase Skipping Works in Both Directions

The government reserves the right to forgo Phase 1 and Phase 2 and directly request a CSP, and to move expeditiously through the phases if urgent requirements arise. Separately, companies may elect to forgo Phase 1 and Phase 2 and submit a written CSP directly. In practice, going straight to a full CSP is usually the wrong move for a first time entrant, because the five page brief is the cheapest way to test whether a real requirement and a funding line exist behind the AoI before you invest in a full proposal.

How Your Submission Will Be Evaluated

Phase 1 solution briefs are evaluated against four criteria, listed in the solicitation in descending order of importance:

• Responsiveness of the brief in addressing the AoI with a commercially available product, process, or service readily available to meet the government's immediate needs.

• Technical merit of the proposed solution, including the extent to which it is unique or innovative for government application.

• The extent to which funding is available for the proposed effort.

• The proposed milestone schedule and its ability to meet the AoI need within a relevant time period.

Read the first and third criteria together, because they set the strategy. The most heavily weighted factor is commercial readiness and immediate availability, not novelty. A mature product with fielded commercial installations outscores a more clever prototype. And because funding availability is itself a scored criterion, a brief that is cheap, fast, and scoped to a 12 month period of performance scores better than an ambitious multi-year program the depot cannot currently pay for.

Phase 2 pitches are scored on eight factors, also in descending order of importance: relevance of the solution to the AoI with a commercially available product or process, technical merit and demonstrated feasibility, uniqueness and innovation, technical risk and maturity, risk in the proposed ROM, risk in the proposed milestone schedule, risk in the company's viability and business solution, and potential risk in anticipated IP and data rights assertions.

Five of those eight factors are risk factors. Company viability is scored explicitly, which means an early stage company should proactively address runway, manufacturing capacity, key personnel, and supply chain rather than hoping the topic does not come up. The government may also use external market research to evaluate a company's viability, so assume your funding history and public footprint will be reviewed.

Both phases are evaluated on an absolute basis, not comparatively. The government reserves the right to select all, some, or none of the submissions received against any AoI.

Eligibility and Registration Requirements

• Nontraditional defense contractors are expressly welcome. A nontraditional defense contractor is defined in 10 U.S.C. Section 3014 as an entity that is not currently performing and has not performed, for at least the one year period preceding the solicitation, any DoD contract or subcontract subject to full coverage under the cost accounting standards. The definition includes all small business concerns meeting the size standards in 13 C.F.R. Part 121.

• Small businesses and nonprofit research institutions are both defined and contemplated in the solicitation.

• Foreign owned businesses may submit independently or as part of a teaming arrangement with one or more United States owned businesses, though the ability to receive an award may depend on obtaining the necessary clearances and approvals for proscribed information.

• Unique Entity ID and SAM registration are required before award. Companies are advised to begin SAM registration as soon as they identify an AoI of interest. Registration in the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment (PIEE) at piee.eb.mil is also required for invoicing, and PIEE registration cannot occur without an active SAM registration.

• Responsibility determination: The company must be determined responsible by the Contracting Officer and must not be suspended, debarred, or otherwise prohibited by executive order or law from receiving an award.

Proprietary Data, Export Control, and Classification Rules

The government acknowledges its obligation under 18 U.S.C. Section 1905 to protect confidential information, but that protection is conditional on how you mark your submission:

• Qualifying data must be clearly marked PROPRIETARY and accompanied by explanatory text so the government is clearly notified of the limitations being placed on it.

• Mark only what is truly confidential, and indicate the specific portions of a page using circling, underscoring, or highlighting.

• Do not mark data already in the public domain or already held by the government or third parties on an unrestricted basis. The government is not obligated to protect unmarked data.

• Do not submit classified data.

• Understand the tradeoff. The government sometimes uses support contractors to evaluate responses. Marking data as proprietary precludes disclosure to those support contractors, so heavily marked submissions may receive limited or no consideration. The government will use best efforts to evaluate proprietary submissions without support contractors, consistent with available resources. Mark surgically, not defensively.

• Technical data with military application may require approval, authorization, or license for lawful export. Confirm your ITAR and EAR posture before you submit.

The CSO process for FAR contracts is covered by the Procurement Integrity Act as implemented through FAR Part 3.104, so the usual ethical restrictions on procurement information apply to both sides.

How to Position a Winning Solution Brief

Five pages is not much room, and most unsuccessful briefs fail for the same avoidable reasons. Based on the stated evaluation criteria, the strongest submissions do the following:

• Name the AoI in the first sentence. Responsiveness is the top weighted criterion. Do not make an evaluator infer which of the eight AoIs you are answering.

• Lead with commercial readiness, not the technology. Open with what is already fielded, where, at what scale, and with what measured results. Commercial traction is evidence, and it is scored ahead of novelty.

• Quantify the depot outcome. Translate your capability into throughput, labor hours avoided, hazardous waste eliminated, lead time reduced, or lifecycle cost saved. Percentages tied to a baseline beat adjectives.

• Use a diagram. The solicitation strongly encourages a figure depicting the essence of the solution, and it is the highest information density you can buy within the page limit.

• Price to a 12 month scope and be realistic. Funding availability is a scored criterion. A credible six figure pilot that can be executed inside a fiscal year is easier to fund than a multi-year program.

• Address risk before you are asked. Company viability, schedule risk, ROM risk, and IP risk are four of the eight Phase 2 scoring factors. Retiring them early in writing converts a weakness into evidence of maturity.

• Be clear about maturity. The solicitation asks you to state explicitly whether you are proposing a pilot of commercially ready technology or development for defense application, and if the latter, to lay out a maturation path. Ambiguity here reads as risk.

• Submit more than one brief if you have more than one concept. Multiple distinct concepts are permitted, and several AoIs overlap. A robotics company, for example, may have separate credible answers for AoI 3 and AoI 4.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is solicitation W912GY-25-S-C001?

W912GY-25-S-C001 is the Commercial Solutions Opening issued by U.S. Army Contracting Command at Sierra Army Depot (ACC-SIAD) for Organic Industrial Base modernization. It is a continuously open competitive solicitation posted on SAM.gov that seeks innovative commercial products, technologies, and services across eight Areas of Interest, and it remains open until June 30, 2030.

What is the deadline to apply to the Sierra Army Depot CSO?

There is no single deadline. The CSO is continuously open until June 30, 2030, and the government may extend that date by amendment. Because new Areas of Interest can be added at any time and specific AoIs may carry their own open periods, companies should monitor SAM.gov regularly. Submissions received after a prescribed AoI open period has ended will not be considered, reviewed, or evaluated.

How much funding is available under this CSO?

No dollar ceiling or reserved funding pool is published. The solicitation states that due to government budget uncertainties, no specific dollars have been reserved for awards, and that requests for a Commercial Solution Proposal are subject to the availability of government funds. Awards are fixed price, generally with a period of performance of 12 months or less unless a specific AoI states otherwise, and the practical award size is driven by the scope you propose and the funding the depot has identified for that requirement.

Does the government pay for my proposal costs?

No. The government will not pay for costs associated with solution briefs, presentations or pitches, or development of a Commercial Solution Proposal, unless a specific AoI stipulates otherwise. Proposal preparation costs are explicitly not recoverable and are not a direct charge to any resulting award or other contract.

Can a startup with no prior government contracts apply?

Yes. Both traditional and nontraditional defense contractors may be awarded contracts or agreements under this CSO. A nontraditional defense contractor is defined as an entity that has not performed a DoD contract subject to full cost accounting standards coverage for at least one year preceding the solicitation, and the definition expressly includes small business concerns. You must obtain a Unique Entity ID, register in SAM, and register in PIEE before award.

How long is the solution brief and what must it contain?

Unless a specific AoI says otherwise, the solution brief is limited to five single sided pages in 12 point font, or alternatively fifteen briefing slides. It must include a title page, an executive summary, a technology concept section, and a rough order of magnitude price. The title page does not count against the limit, but the other three sections do.

What are the eight Areas of Interest at Sierra Army Depot?

The eight continuously open AoIs are agile and adaptive facilities, advanced manufacturing and maintenance, automation and robotics, logistics and inventory management modernization, airfield maintenance, energy, environmental, and chemical management, public private partnership opportunities, and advanced packaging manufacturing at the point-of-need. The eighth AoI, covering on-site fabrication of crates, pallets, skids, and blocking using non-lumber materials, was added by AoI Amendment 01 dated August 18, 2026.

How long does the evaluation take?

The government will attempt to complete Phase 1 solution brief evaluation within 30 calendar days of the close of the submittal period, and aims to complete Phase 2 pitch evaluation within 30 calendar days of the pitch. Pitch submissions must remain valid for at least 90 days after evaluation, and a Phase 3 proposal must remain valid for at least 120 days from submission.

What happens if my solution brief is good but there is no funding?

If government funding or resources are unavailable for the proposed effort, solution briefs are retained in the ACC-SIAD library rather than discarded. Separately, if funding or resources are not assigned to a Phase 3 proposal within 90 days after pitch evaluation, the government provides a notification of non-eligibility and officially closes that AoI selection process. Retained briefs can be revisited when a funding line materializes.

What kind of contract results from a CSO award?

Contracts or agreements under this authority are fixed price, including fixed price incentive fee. The government intends primarily to award FAR-based contracts under Part 12 commercial item procedures, but reserves the right to award other contract or agreement types depending on the AoI and the industrial base response. Only a Contracting Officer, under FAR 1.602, can enter into or modify a binding contract on behalf of the government.

Is my intellectual property protected?

IP rights are negotiable under this CSO, and you are required to identify any IP involved and any restrictions on government use. Proprietary information must be clearly marked and accompanied by explanatory text to receive protection under 18 U.S.C. Section 1905. Be aware that marking material proprietary precludes disclosure to support contractors assisting the evaluation, which may result in limited or no consideration of that material, so mark only what is genuinely confidential.

Can foreign owned companies submit?

Yes. Foreign owned businesses may submit independently or as part of a teaming arrangement with one or more United States owned businesses. However, the ability to receive a contract or agreement may depend on the foreign owned business obtaining the necessary clearances and approvals to access proscribed information.

Can I skip straight to a full proposal?

Yes. Companies may elect to forgo Phase 1 and Phase 2 and submit a written Commercial Solution Proposal directly, and the government likewise reserves the right to skip phases and request a proposal directly based on individual merit or urgency. For most first time entrants the five page brief is the better path, because it is a low cost way to confirm that a real, funded requirement sits behind the AoI.

Who do I contact about this solicitation?

The Contracting Officer is Ms. Melissa Kaarbo at melissa.m.kaarbo.civ@army.mil, and an additional point of contact is Ms. Kimberly Hunter at kimberly.a.hunter.civ@army.mil. Questions about the objectives or preparation of a solution brief should be directed to the points of contact listed in the respective AoI, and submissions must be made electronically exactly as prescribed in that AoI.

Why the CSO Path Is Worth Your Time

For a deep tech, advanced manufacturing, robotics, or industrial software company, the Sierra Army Depot CSO offers something SBIR does not: a direct route to a fixed price commercial contract with an operating customer, with no dilution, negotiable IP terms, a five page front door, and a decision cycle measured in weeks rather than a twice yearly cycle. The tradeoff is that funding is not guaranteed, which makes the quality and targeting of the first submission the whole game.

BW&CO helps deep tech and dual use founders identify the right Area of Interest, structure a responsive solution brief, price to a fundable scope, and manage the path from brief through pitch to proposal. We have helped clients secure more than $350 million in non-dilutive funding across the Department of Defense, NIH, NSF, NASA, DOE, and ARPA-H. Innovation funding simplified.

If you are evaluating whether your technology fits one of the eight Sierra Army Depot Areas of Interest, contact BW&CO for a fit assessment.

USSOCOM sUMS-G Rapid Capability Assessment: The Complete Guide for Ground Robotics Companies

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Quick Answer: What Is the sUMS-G Rapid Capability Assessment?

The sUMS-G Rapid Capability Assessment is an open Call on the Vulcan platform seeking commercially available small-to-medium Uncrewed Ground Systems (UGS) and Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV) that can contribute to the U.S. Special Operations Command small Uncrewed Multi-Domain Systems (sUMS) Ground Capability Portfolio. The Call opened 16 August 2026 and closes 01 October 2026 at 22:59 CDT. Companies respond by submitting a Scout Card through Vulcan, then completing a structured self-assessment of their system against a small tactical robotic ecosystem architecture. The engagement objective is market research, which means no funding is awarded directly from this Call. Selection can lead to a demonstration invitation and downstream consideration for prototype agreements, Other Transaction Agreements, SBIR or STTR topics, CRADAs, or FAR-based procurement.

The central question the Government is asking is direct: which small-to-medium UGS can solve the identified mission-thread Key Technical Problem and provide a viable capability for the sUMS Ground Capability Portfolio?

If your company builds throwable robots, packable or man-packable UGVs, quadrupeds, tracked or wheeled tactical UGVs, or purpose-built robotic platforms with manipulators, this is the single most important open door into the SOF ground robotics portfolio in fiscal year 2026.

At a Glance

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Call name: sUMS-G Rapid Capability Assessment

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Sponsor: U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), small Uncrewed Multi-Domain Systems (sUMS) Ground Capability Portfolio, aligned to the Program Executive Office for Tactical Information Systems (PEO-TIS) Remote Capabilities program office

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Platform: Vulcan, at vulcan-sof.com, the SOF enterprise technology scouting platform and the front end for Engage SOF (eSOF)

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Engagement objective: Market research

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Open date: 16 August 2026, 23:00 CDT

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Deadline: 01 October 2026, 22:59 CDT

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Submission vehicle: Scout Card, plus a structured self-assessment and supporting evidence

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Funding attached to this Call: None published. This is a market research and assessment engagement, not a solicitation with an award ceiling.

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Classification level: Unclassified only

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Who should respond: Commercial UGS and UGV manufacturers, robotics integrators, autonomy software companies with a hosted platform, payload and manipulator developers with a fielded host vehicle

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What disqualifies you fastest: Submitting a concept, a roadmap, or a future configuration instead of a system you can put on the ground and demonstrate now

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Why This Call Matters More Than a Typical RFI

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USSOCOM validated its ground robotics requirements in March 2026. That validation is the gate that opens formal solicitation activity, and the portfolio lead told industry at SOF Week 2026 that solicitations would flow across the different categories of ground robotic products in the cycle that followed. The Remote Capabilities office also posted a Ground Robotics Element and Team Man Portable Systems capability assessment event on its fiscal year 2026 industry slide. This Call is the market research front end of that activity.

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Two structural facts make the ground portfolio unusual. First, PEO-TIS does not own most of the platforms its sensors ride on, with one stated exception: the ground robotics portfolio, where the office does provide the platform. That makes the ground portfolio a direct platform buyer rather than a payload integrator working through another program office. Second, the office described itself as being in a constant state of market research and running roughly three RFIs per year per system category, moving faster when the operational environment changes. Companies that get into the assessment record now are positioned for the next several cycles, not just this one.

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The buying posture briefed to industry was blunt. The office is looking to field what it selects. In the portfolio lead's framing, if development work is needed, that development work will most likely happen after fielding, usually as software modification or SOF-peculiar adaptation such as marinizing a system for maritime special operations use. The standing guidance to vendors was to bring mature items that are tested, that can be produced and scaled, and that operate in contested environments.

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Translated for a startup: this is a fielding pipeline, not a research program. Maturity beats ambition here.

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The sUMS Ground Capability Portfolio Structure

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The portfolio is organized into categories by size, transportability, and mission role. Understanding which category your system belongs in is the first strategic decision you make, because the Government assesses systems inside a category and against a mission thread, not against the entire robotics market.

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T-0.1, Training and Experimentation. Modular interface and drone docking systems. This category supports modular integration, concepts, and experimentation and does not fit the primary operational portfolio categories. If your product is an interface standard, a docking or launch module, a payload carrier, or a test article that enables integration rather than delivering an operational effect, this is your lane.

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E-0.1, Throwables. Throwable, ruggedized recon and ISR robots. Small spherical or impact-tolerant platforms deployed by hand into a structure, a stairwell, a tunnel, or a vehicle. Assessment attention lands on survivability at impact, self-righting, camera and audio fidelity, and how quickly an operator gets usable video.

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E-0.2, Packable. Compact tracked or wheeled UGVs that fit in a pack. The emphasis is on compactness and rapid deployment without dedicated transport.

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E-0.3, Man-Packable. Crawling and articulated platforms carried by a single operator. Serpentine and segmented designs for confined space, void, tunnel, and rubble access sit here.

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E-1.1, Element-Man-Packable. Quadruped and legged platforms at the element level. Stair climbing, rubble traverse, and payload carriage on legs. This is the fastest-growing commercial segment and the most crowded category in the portfolio, which raises the evidentiary bar rather than lowering it.

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E-1.2, Team-Man-Packable. Team-level, team-packable wheeled or tracked UGVs, typically multi-wheeled platforms carrying mission payloads for a whole team rather than one operator.

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E-2.0, Heavy. Heavy payload, high capacity tracked platforms. Logistics carriage, casualty movement, heavy sensor masts, and breaching or engineering support at scale.

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E-3.0, Dedicated Purpose. Specialized mission platforms with dedicated capability, including manipulator-equipped systems for tasks that a general purpose UGV cannot perform.

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The portfolio banner is scalable, modular, mission ready, and the framing question the Government keeps returning to is the right UGS or UGV for the right mission with the right effect. Your submission is stronger when it names the mission thread it serves and stays in its category, and weaker when it claims to cover four categories at once.

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What the Government Is Actually Looking For

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Available now, not conceptual

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The Call is explicit that vendors should describe the capability actually available for demonstration, not a conceptual or future configuration. This is the single most consequential instruction in the document. A Scout Card that describes a system arriving next year is not a responsive submission, and the assessment structure is designed to surface the difference.

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The complete system, not the chassis

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Responses should clearly identify the system configuration, hardware, software and firmware, payloads, communications, autonomy features, support equipment, and other components included in the proposed capability. Two implications follow. First, the boundaries of what you are offering must be unambiguous, because the Government is assessing a deployable capability rather than a vehicle. Second, everything you omit is read as absent. If the operator control unit, the charging solution, the spares kit, the training materials, and the transit case are part of the capability, list them.

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A structured self-assessment against a defined architecture

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After submission, vendors complete a structured self-assessment based on the small tactical robotic ecosystem architecture developed by Dr. Jon M. Hackett, whose doctoral research addressed small tactical robotics applications and who serves as a program manager in the intelligent robotic autonomous systems space. The assessment characterizes the capability across a defined set of dimensions:

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1. Intended mission

2. Operating environment

3. Human-machine interaction

4. Mobility

5. Power

6. Communications

7. Autonomy

8. Interfaces

9. Supportability

10. Resilience

11. Integration with other systems

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This is not a marketing questionnaire. It is a comparative instrument, and it is the mechanism by which the Government builds an apples-to-apples picture of a fragmented commercial market. Prepare for it before you submit, because your answers become part of the assessment record attached to your Scout Card.

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Practical guidance on the harder dimensions:

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Human-machine interaction. Expect scrutiny on operator workload, one-to-many control, glove and night operation, latency, and whether the operator can reconfigure the system at their own level rather than sending it back to the manufacturer.

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Power. Battery chemistry, standard military battery compatibility, hot swap, charge time, runtime at realistic duty cycles rather than idle, and the logistics footprint required to keep the system running for a multi-day mission.

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Communications. Line of sight and non line of sight performance, mesh and MANET behavior, bandwidth demand, degraded and denied operation, spectrum and waveform details, and behavior on link loss. Contested electromagnetic environments are a stated requirement across the portfolio, not a differentiator.

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Autonomy. Where the autonomy sits, what it does without a link, what degradation looks like, and how it behaves at the edge. USSOCOM has publicly named swarm technology, decentralized control and collective intelligence, and environment-agnostic traversability as capability development areas. Vendor-locked, proprietary vertical autonomy stacks are treated as a liability across the SOF autonomy enterprise.

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Interfaces. This is where deals are won or lost. The command is buying sensors, payloads, radios, and autonomy as interchangeable elements of an architecture, and conformance to published standards is becoming the price of admission. The USSOCOM Modular Payload Standard, managed for the command by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, defines common interfaces and attributes for payloads and hosting platforms, and has expanded from Group 2 UAS to Groups 1 and 3, unmanned surface vessels, and dismounted applications, with a micro variant for smaller systems. The guidance from the command's chief systems engineer for Tactical Information Systems was explicit: adopt common standards, and do not arrive with a proprietary standard that locks the Government out of the interface. Document your mechanical, electrical, and data interfaces. State plainly whether they are open, licensable, or closed.

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Supportability and resilience. Mean time between failure and repair data, field repairability at the operator level, spares and tooling, environmental and ingress protection ratings, temperature range, EMI and EMC test results, transportability, and safety documentation.

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Integration with other systems. Data output formats, message standards, ATAK and common operating picture integration, edge processing, and whether your system can hand off to and receive tasking from other unmanned systems. The stated goal on the sensor side is edge processing with the least amount of data required to make a decision moving forward to the decision point, rather than everything returning to a centralized node.

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Evidence, tiered honestly

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For each material claim, vendors should be prepared to provide supporting evidence: test data, technical documentation, photographs, videos, interface information, safety documentation, or prior demonstration results. The Call requires vendors to clearly distinguish between four claim tiers:

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1. Demonstrated capability

2. Vendor-tested capability

3. Calculated or estimated performance

4. Planned or future capability

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Label every claim to the correct tier. Assessors are reading many submissions in the same category, and the fastest way to lose credibility is to present a calculated figure as a demonstrated one. A submission that is honest about tiers and thin in places reads as trustworthy. A submission that presents everything as demonstrated reads as unverified, and it will be tested at demonstration if you get that far.

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What the Government Will Do With Your Submission

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The Government may use the information and supporting evidence to inform comparative assessment, selection for demonstration, and subsequent marketplace consideration.

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Equally important is what the Call says it does not do. Submission or successful completion of a demonstration does not constitute operational approval, certification, fielding authorization, or a Government commitment to procure the system. Treat a favorable assessment as qualification and visibility inside the SOF enterprise, not as a contract.

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Assessments published in Vulcan become visible to Government users across the SOF and defense enterprise. That is the durable value of a strong submission: a well-evidenced Scout Card with a published Government assessment continues working for you across future Calls, RFIs, and program office searches long after this deadline passes.

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Timeline and Key Dates

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16 August 2026, 23:00 CDT. Call opens on Vulcan. Submissions accepted.

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Now through late September 2026. Build or refresh the Scout Card, assemble the evidence package, resolve export control and data rights questions, and confirm any spectrum authorizations you would need for a live demonstration.

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01 October 2026, 22:59 CDT. Submission deadline. This is a hard cutoff in the platform, and Vulcan has no private or draft state that holds a partial submission past the close.

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Following submission. Vendors complete the structured self-assessment. Expect requests for supporting evidence against material claims.

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After the assessment window. Government comparative assessment and downselection for demonstration. On comparable SOF assessment engagements, published assessments typically reach vendor Scout Cards on the order of twenty business days after an assessment event concludes.

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Downstream. Selection for a demonstration or assessment event, then negotiation of an agreement if the evaluation is favorable.

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Two planning notes. First, the deadline sits one day into fiscal year 2027, which means the assessment and any resulting negotiation activity happens under new-year funding. Second, if your system radiates on any frequency, approval to transmit is required before a demonstration, which may include compliance with FCC Title 47 Part 15 or a Special Temporary Authority. The FCC recommends submitting an STA request 30 to 60 days before an event. Start that clock now rather than after you receive an invitation.

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Funding Allowance: What Money Is and Is Not Attached

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Be clear-eyed here, because this is where companies misread SOF engagements most often.

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This Call carries no published funding ceiling and makes no award. The engagement objective is market research. You are not writing a priced proposal, and there is no dollar figure to size a budget against. What you are buying with your effort is assessment, visibility, and eligibility for the pathways below.

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Where the money actually appears. On SOF assessment engagements, favorably evaluated solutions move into negotiation under one or a combination of the following authorities. This is the standard path forward language used across USSOCOM assessment events run through SOFWERX:

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1. Business to business research and development agreement as a sub-award through the SOFWERX Partnership Intermediary Agreement, under 15 U.S. Code Section 3715

2. Other Transaction Agreement for research or prototype projects, under 10 U.S. Code Sections 4021 and 4022. An award under Section 4022 may result in a follow-on production agreement without additional competition based on successful prototype completion, against prototype criteria determined for each project

3. Procurement for experimental purposes, under 10 U.S. Code Section 4023

4. Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, under 15 U.S. Code Section 3710a

5. Prizes for advanced technology achievements under 10 U.S. Code Section 4025, or prize competitions under 15 U.S. Code Section 3719

6. FAR-based procurement contract

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The Section 4022 prototype-to-production path is the one worth understanding in detail. It is the mechanism by which a successful prototype effort converts into production without recompeting, and it is the reason non-traditional defense companies pursue OTAs rather than waiting for a full and open competition.

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The parallel non-dilutive tracks. A strong showing in this portfolio also sets up funding you pursue on your own initiative rather than waiting to be selected:

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1. USSOCOM SBIR and STTR, including Direct to Phase II, which allows a Phase II award without a prior Phase I when you can document that the feasibility objectives have already been met. For a company with a fielded UGV, Direct to Phase II is frequently the right entry point rather than Phase I

2. Department of War SBIR and STTR release cycles, where SBIR Phase I awards commonly land in the low hundreds of thousands and Phase II awards run into the low millions against the current statutory ceiling, with topic-specific variation

3. The USSOCOM Broad Agency Announcement, a standing mechanism for unsolicited proposals against command interests

4. SOFWERX technical experimentation and assessment events, which run on a white paper submission and review cycle culminating in live assessment with operators in the loop

5. Cross-service and cross-agency opportunities in ground autonomy, including Army and Marine Corps robotics programs and DIU solicitations, where the same evidence package you build for this Call is directly reusable

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Budget the real cost of participation. Submission itself is free. What costs money is being demonstration-ready: shipping and travel to an assessment event, an operator and a maintainer to run the system, spares, a demonstration article you can afford to break, spectrum authorization, and the engineering time to produce interface documentation and test data you may not currently have written down. Companies that win these engagements have that package on the shelf before the Call opens.

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Eligibility and Access Requirements

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Vulcan registration. You need a Vulcan account at vulcan-sof.com, registered with your official organizational email address rather than a personal address. Registration establishes access type as commercial, academic, non-profit, or government, and your organizational affiliation is verified. Set this up first if you do not already have an account, because verification takes time you will not have on 30 September.

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Unclassified only. All submissions must be at the unclassified level. Do not put classified or export-restricted technical detail into a Scout Card. If your differentiator cannot be described unclassified, describe the capability and offer the detail through an appropriate channel.

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U.S. persons and U.S. industry. SOF assessment engagements are routinely restricted to U.S. persons or U.S. industry. Confirm the specific restriction in the Call document before investing.

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Export control. ITAR and export licensing exposure is real for ground robotics with military applications, particularly where foreign nationals are employed on the effort. USSOCOM SBIR practice, for example, requires a firm employing foreign nationals on an ITAR topic to possess an export license to receive an award. Resolve your position before you are asked.

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Cybersecurity. Awardees may need to comply with NIST SP 800-171 for protecting Controlled Unclassified Information in non-federal systems. If you are pre-revenue on defense work, understand this as a cost of doing business downstream rather than a surprise during negotiation.

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Business size. There is no small business set-aside on a market research Call of this type. Startups and large primes are assessed on technical merit inside the same category, which is favorable for a mature small company with a real product and unfavorable for a company selling a roadmap.

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How to Submit

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1. Register or log in at vulcan-sof.com using your organizational email address

2. Navigate to Calls in the top menu and open the Call titled sUMS-G Rapid Capability Assessment

3. Decide whether to submit an existing Scout Card or create a new one. Vulcan lets you tailor elements of a submission to the specific context of each Call without maintaining multiple Scout Cards for the same solution

4. Do not create a duplicate Scout Card for a solution you have already carded. Duplicates will be removed. Tailor the existing card to this Call instead

5. Complete the card with a precise capability description, system boundaries, photographs, video, interface information, applicable tags, technology readiness level, and any Government references

6. Complete the structured self-assessment when prompted

7. Assemble and be ready to provide the supporting evidence package against every material claim

8. Submit before 01 October 2026 at 22:59 CDT. Cards remain editable up to the close, and there is no draft state that survives the deadline

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Questions on the platform itself go to the Vulcan support team at support@vulcan-sof.com.

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The Five Mistakes That Sink Ground Robotics Submissions

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Selling the roadmap. The Call asks for what is available for demonstration. A future configuration described as though it exists fails the assessment and damages credibility for the next Call.

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Category sprawl. Claiming that one platform serves throwable, man-packable, team-packable, and heavy roles at once reads as a company that has not chosen a mission thread. Pick the category where you are strongest and win it.

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Undocumented interfaces. A proprietary interface with no published specification, or an unwillingness to discuss licensing, is now a first-order disqualifier in a portfolio built on modular payload standards.

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Unlabeled claim tiers. Presenting calculated endurance, estimated range, or simulated autonomy performance without labeling it as such is the most common failure mode in structured self-assessments.

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Ignoring supportability. Companies over-invest in mobility demonstration video and under-invest in the mean time between failure data, spares posture, field repair procedures, and safety documentation that determine whether a system can actually be fielded. The office intends to field what it selects, and supportability is what fielding turns on.

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Who Should Respond

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You are a strong fit if you have a fielded or demonstration-ready UGS or UGV in one of the portfolio categories, you can document performance with test data, and you can put an operator and a system in a room in front of an evaluation panel within a few months.

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You are a plausible fit if you build payloads, manipulators, autonomy software, power systems, or comms modules and you can present them integrated on a host platform. Partnering matters here. The command has repeatedly urged vendors to team with one another, because a modular, standards-based architecture rewards integrated, compliant solutions over isolated components.

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You are a poor fit if your system exists as a CAD model, a simulation, or a single hand-built prototype that has never left a controlled environment. Use the time to pursue SBIR, STTR, or BAA funding to reach demonstration maturity, then enter the portfolio at the next assessment cycle.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the deadline for the sUMS-G Rapid Capability Assessment? Submissions close 01 October 2026 at 22:59 CDT. The Call opened 16 August 2026 at 23:00 CDT.

Is there funding attached to this Call? No. The engagement objective is market research, and no funding ceiling is published. Favorably assessed companies may be selected for demonstration and then move into negotiation under a range of authorities including Other Transaction Agreements for prototypes, sub-awards through the SOFWERX Partnership Intermediary Agreement, procurement for experimental purposes, CRADAs, prize authorities, or FAR-based contracts.

How much funding could this eventually lead to? There is no published figure for this Call. Downstream award size depends entirely on the vehicle. Prototype OTAs under 10 U.S. Code Section 4022 can carry follow-on production without recompetition. USSOCOM SBIR Phase II and Direct to Phase II awards typically run into the low millions against the current statutory ceiling. Treat this Call as qualification, and pursue priced funding vehicles in parallel.

What is a Scout Card? A Scout Card is the standard capability submission format on Vulcan. It summarizes and depicts your capability, including a description of what differentiates it, technology readiness level, media, tags, and supporting documentation. Government users across the SOF and defense enterprise can search Scout Cards, and published Government assessments attach to the card.

Can I reuse an existing Scout Card? Yes, and you should. Vulcan allows you to tailor elements of a submission to the specific context of each Call without maintaining multiple cards for the same solution. Do not create a duplicate card for a solution you have already carded, because duplicates will be removed.

What does sUMS stand for? Small Uncrewed Multi-Domain Systems. It is a USSOCOM line of effort covering Group 1 and Group 2 unmanned aerial systems and unmanned ground systems, delivering tactical organic robotic and modular payload solutions to the SOF operator. sUMS-G refers to the ground portion of that portfolio.

Which office runs this? The sUMS portfolio sits under the Remote Capabilities program office within the USSOCOM Program Executive Office for Tactical Information Systems, part of SOF Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. Remote Capabilities holds the mandate for unmanned systems across space, air, ground, and maritime domains.

Do I need to be a small business? No. There is no small business set-aside on this Call. Submissions are assessed on technical merit within a capability category.

Can a non-U.S. company respond? SOF assessment engagements are routinely limited to U.S. persons or U.S. industry, and export control rules apply to systems with military application. Confirm the specific restriction in the Call document before investing effort.

Does my system have to be a complete robot, or can I submit a payload? The Call asks for a capability available for demonstration, described as a complete configuration including hardware, software, payloads, communications, autonomy, and support equipment. A payload or software component is best submitted integrated on a host platform, ideally through a teaming arrangement. The command has actively encouraged vendors to partner rather than pitching isolated components.

What is the structured self-assessment based on? It is based on the small tactical robotic ecosystem architecture developed by Dr. Jon M. Hackett. It characterizes your capability across intended mission, operating environment, human-machine interaction, mobility, power, communications, autonomy, interfaces, supportability, resilience, and integration with other systems.

What evidence do I need? Be prepared to substantiate every material claim with test data, technical documentation, photographs, video, interface information, safety documentation, or prior demonstration results. Each claim must be labeled as demonstrated capability, vendor-tested capability, calculated or estimated performance, or planned or future capability.

Does a successful demonstration mean I have been selected or approved? No. Submission or successful completion of a demonstration does not constitute operational approval, certification, fielding authorization, or a commitment to procure. It qualifies you for comparative assessment, demonstration selection, and marketplace consideration.

How mature does my system need to be? Mature enough to demonstrate now. USSOCOM's stated posture is to field what it selects, with SOF-peculiar development, usually software modification or platform adaptation, occurring after fielding rather than before. Systems that are finicky at the tactical edge are not competitive.

Do standards compliance and open interfaces matter? Substantially. The command is building a modular architecture around the USSOCOM Modular Payload Standard, managed for the command by Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and it has told industry directly not to arrive with proprietary standards that lock the Government out of the interface. Document your interfaces and be prepared to discuss access.

What if my system transmits on a radio frequency? Any developmental device radiating on a given frequency or band needs prior approval to transmit, which may include FCC Title 47 Part 15 compliance or a Special Temporary Authority. The FCC recommends submitting an STA request 30 to 60 days before an event, so begin that process before you receive a demonstration invitation.

Where do I submit? On the Vulcan platform at vulcan-sof.com, under the Call titled sUMS-G Rapid Capability Assessment. Register with your official organizational email address if you do not have an account.

What happens if I miss the deadline? The Remote Capabilities office described itself as being in a constant state of market research and typically running about three RFIs per year per system category, with additional activity when operational needs shift. A ground robotics assessment event and a small UAS assessment event were both on the fiscal year 2026 and 2027 industry slides. Missing this Call is not fatal, but it delays you by a cycle and cedes the assessment record to competitors in your category.

Get Your Submission Assessed Before the Government Does

The companies that convert SOF assessment engagements into agreements are the ones that walk in with the evidence package already built: labeled claim tiers, documented interfaces, test data behind every number, a clear category, and a named mission thread.

BW&CO helps deep-tech, robotics, autonomy, and dual-use founders position for non-dilutive federal funding and build the technical and strategic packages that agencies act on. Innovation Funding Simplified. More than $350M in funding secured for our clients.

If you are weighing whether your UGS or UGV is ready for the sUMS-G Call, or you want to run a parallel SBIR, STTR, Direct to Phase II, or BAA strategy alongside it, let's talk before the 01 October deadline.

Medical Extraction BAA (MED FCD): Complete Guide for Startups and Small Businesses

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Quick Answer

The Medical Extraction Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) is an open call from the U.S. Army Medical Future Capability Directorate (MED FCD) for technologies that can retrieve, secure, and move wounded Soldiers out of contested battlefields without exposing rescue personnel to unnecessary risk. It is issued under the broader Army Medical Operational Capabilities for 2040 BAA, submissions are made through the USSOCOM-sponsored Vulcan platform as a Scout Card with a quad chart and white paper, and the call is open on a rolling basis from August 25, 2026 through December 31, 2026 at 10:59 PM CST. One point matters more than any other for planning purposes: MED FCD has stated that it does not currently have the resources or authorization to award or fund contracts under this announcement. This is a visibility, evaluation, and experimentation pathway, not a funded solicitation.

That does not make it low value. It makes it a different kind of asset. Read on for what the Army is actually asking for, how the process works, what it costs you to participate, and how companies convert a MED FCD engagement into real dollars from other parts of the Department.

Quick reference facts

• Opportunity name: Medical Extraction BAA (MED FCD)

• Parent announcement: Army Medical Operational Capabilities for 2040 Broad Agency Announcement

• Sponsoring organization: U.S. Army Medical Capability Future Capability Directorate (MED FCD)

• Higher headquarters: Futures and Concepts Command, U.S. Army Futures Command

• Submission platform: Vulcan (vulcan-sof.com)

• Submission vehicle: Vulcan Scout Card, tailored to this specific Call

• Required attachments: Quad chart and white paper

• Open date: August 25, 2026 at 1:00 PM CDT

• Close date: December 31, 2026 at 10:59 PM CST

• Submission window: Rolling and open ended for the full period, no single due date for the initial submission

• Funding available under this BAA: None. MED FCD states it cannot directly award or fund contracts

• Engagement objectives listed by the Government: FAR acquisition, capability demonstration, technology experimentation, market research

• Number of areas of interest: One, focused on medical extraction in contested environments

• Anticipated next steps for strong submissions: Virtual briefing with MED FCD, invitation to a technology experimentation event, and possible requests for a formal white paper, statement of work, and cost proposal

• Award guarantee: None. Progression through evaluation phases does not imply or guarantee a contract

• Data protections cited: Trade Secrets Act, Economic Espionage Act, FOIA Exemption 4, Executive Order 12600

What is the Medical Extraction BAA?

A Broad Agency Announcement is a standing government invitation for ideas rather than a competition for a fixed pot of money against a fixed statement of work. The Medical Extraction BAA is a focused Call inside the Army Medical Operational Capabilities for 2040 BAA, and its purpose is to find technologies and concepts that help tactical medical units at Army Corps level and below clear the battlefield, meaning the evacuation of the wounded, ill, and injured.

MED FCD uses the announcement to build a picture of what industry can actually deliver, to identify candidates worth putting in front of senior military leadership, and to select technologies for operational demonstration and experimentation. The Government has been unusually direct that it will amend or update its technical focus areas during the active period and may issue a separate call for follow-on white papers at any time, so the scope you see today can shift before December.

Who is MED FCD and why does this BAA exist?

MED FCD is the Army organization responsible for developing medical concepts and requirements for the future force. Future Capability Directorates sit under Futures and Concepts Command within Army Futures Command, and they drive functional transformation by shaping concepts, requirements, and experimentation. The medical directorate, previously known as MED CDID, has long been associated with the Army Medical Center of Excellence at Joint Base San Antonio.

The practical implication for a founder is important. MED FCD is a requirements and concepts organization, not a program executive office and not a contracting activity. It does not buy things. It defines what the Army needs, validates that industry can build it, and hands that evidence to the organizations that do buy things. Companies that understand this distinction write far better submissions, because they stop pitching a sale and start offering proof for a requirement.

The problem statement in plain language

Enemy action in a modern fight is expected to break the evacuation chain. Fires, maneuver, electronic warfare, and contested airspace will slow or stop the movement of casualties to a medical treatment facility. Three things happen as a result. Treatment is delayed. Consumption of medical supplies at forward locations goes up because casualties are held longer, which compounds an already strained resupply problem. And the cumulative effect reduces the return to duty rate while increasing preventable deaths.

Urban terrain makes it worse. Routes are blocked by rubble, craters, and debris. Casualties have to be pulled out of collapsed buildings. Medical units may have to interact with civilian medical infrastructure and handle large numbers of injured civilians and enemy prisoners of war alongside their own wounded.

Layered on top of that is the risk to the rescue team. Today, extracting a non-ambulatory casualty from rugged terrain or a compromised urban area usually means putting multiple healthy Soldiers into the same danger that produced the casualty, often on foot, often slowly, often within observation of the adversary. That is the specific gap this BAA is trying to close.

Detailed overview of what MED FCD is looking for

The announcement contains a single area of interest, and every requirement in it is worth reading as a hard filter on your solution.

MED FCD is seeking innovative technological capabilities to facilitate medical extractions in highly contested environments where maintaining a low operational profile is critical. Proposed solutions must be capable of retrieving and securing ambulatory and non-ambulatory casualties who cannot climb or physically assist in their own loading, which reduces the exposure of accompanying rescue personnel. The system must demonstrate high mobility across rugged, unstructured terrain while maintaining rigorous patient stabilization, and the extraction and transport process must inflict no further harm to the casualty.

The five requirements your submission has to answer directly

1. Self loading without casualty participation. The system has to get an unconscious or immobilized 95th percentile Soldier with full kit off the ground or out of a structure and secured, without that Soldier climbing, gripping, rolling, or helping in any way. This is the single most common place where otherwise strong robotics submissions fail. If your concept assumes the casualty can pull themselves onto a platform, it does not meet the requirement as written.

2. Reduced exposure of rescue personnel. The Government is asking for low profile, automated, or semi autonomous capability. Every Soldier your system removes from the point of injury is a measurable benefit, so quantify it. If current practice requires four Soldiers for eight minutes at the casualty location and your system requires one Soldier for ninety seconds, or none at all, say so in exactly those terms.

3. Low operational profile. Signature management is treated as a critical attribute, not a nice to have. Address visual, acoustic, thermal, and electromagnetic signature. Address behavior in GPS denied and communications degraded conditions, because a system that needs a continuous high bandwidth link to a distant operator is not low profile in an electronic warfare environment.

4. High mobility over unstructured terrain. Rubble, craters, stairs, slopes, mud, snow, doorways, breach points, and the interior of a partially collapsed building. State your ground pressure, obstacle and step height, gap crossing, gradeability, speed with a loaded litter, endurance in hours or kilometers, and how the system is transported to the point of employment.

5. Patient stabilization with no further harm. This is a clinical requirement, not an engineering afterthought. Address spinal motion restriction, immobilization, ride quality and vibration and shock transmitted to the casualty, thermal protection, airway position, tourniquet and dressing integrity during movement, hemorrhage control during transfer, and compatibility with standard litters, SKEDs, and monitoring equipment. Evidence from a clinician, biomechanical data, or cadaveric or manikin testing carries real weight here.

Technology areas that fit this area of interest

The Government notes that its categories provide context rather than a comprehensive list, so adjacent concepts are welcome. Solutions that typically map well include:

• Uncrewed ground vehicles configured for casualty extraction and casualty carry

• Robotic or powered litter systems, including self loading litter and transfer mechanisms

• Autonomous or teleoperated casualty evacuation platforms with a medical payload

• Mechanical casualty retrieval devices such as winch, drag, sled, grapple, and conveyor based loading systems

• Exoskeletons and powered assist devices that let one or two Soldiers move a casualty that would normally take four

• Low signature aerial lift and resupply platforms with validated casualty carriage

• Casualty packaging, immobilization, and litter interface systems designed for machine handling

• Subterranean and collapsed structure retrieval systems

• Casualty location, triage, and tagging sensors that feed the extraction decision

• Autonomy stacks for GPS denied navigation, obstacle negotiation, and human machine teaming with a medic in the loop

• En route patient monitoring, telemedicine, and automated care integrated into the extraction platform

• Power, energy, and thermal management that supports realistic mission endurance

• Modular kits that convert existing tactical vehicles or robotic platforms into casualty carriers

Themes worth weaving into your narrative

MED FCD thinks in concepts, doctrine, and requirements, so the language of the Army medical modernization enterprise helps your submission land. Useful framing includes multi domain operations, prolonged casualty care when evacuation is delayed well beyond the traditional golden hour, return to duty rate, preventable death, Soldier load and burden, the DOTMLPF-P implications of fielding your system, joint interoperability, training burden on a combat medic, sustainment and repairability in the field, and transportability inside existing formations.

Be equally clear about what you do not do. A submission that claims to solve the entire casualty evacuation problem reads as unserious. The BAA states plainly that a white paper attempting to address the whole scope of the technology described will most likely be rejected.

Funding allowance

This section deserves careful attention, because it is the part most often misread.

There is no funding attached to this BAA. MED FCD has stated in the announcement that while it is an integral part of finding technology solutions for Army requirements, it does not currently possess the resources or authorization to directly award or fund contracts. Selected participants may later be asked for formal white papers, technical statements of work, and cost proposals, but the announcement is explicit that progression through those technical assessment phases is solely for evaluation purposes and does not guarantee or imply a future contract award.

No dollar ceiling, floor, or period of performance is published. Because the Government has not specified a dollar range, there is no target award size to design toward. When a rough order of magnitude cost is requested in a white paper, it should be a defensible estimate of what your proposed effort actually costs, consistent with the level of work you are proposing, including profit or fee if any. Do not inflate it to look substantial and do not deflate it to look cheap. An unrealistic ROM is one of the fastest ways to lose credibility with an evaluator who has seen hundreds of these.

What the Government does offer instead of money:

• Direct evaluation of your capability by the Army organization that writes medical requirements

• Virtual briefings with MED FCD for high potential candidates

• Invitations to technology experimentation events where your system is exercised against realistic conditions

• Operational demonstrations facilitated by the directorate

• Exposure of your capability to senior military leadership and joint service partners, explicitly for the purpose of maximizing visibility for potential external government funding

• A persistent Scout Card profile in Vulcan, which remains discoverable by government users across the ecosystem beyond this single call

• Government feedback that can materially sharpen your product roadmap and your future proposals

What participation costs you. Budget realistically for internal engineering and clinical time to prepare the quad chart and white paper, executive time for a virtual briefing, and, if you are selected for experimentation, travel, shipping, prototype hardware, spares, and on site technical personnel. Experimentation events are typically an unfunded expense for the vendor. Companies that treat this as an internal research and development investment tend to be satisfied with the outcome. Companies that treat it as a revenue event tend not to be.

How this becomes real money. A validated requirement plus documented government interest is the raw material for funded pursuits elsewhere in the Department. Common pathways for Army medical extraction technology include Army SBIR and STTR topics and the xTech prize competitions, the Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium and other other transaction authority consortia, U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command broad agency announcements, congressionally directed medical research programs, Defense Health Agency and service SBIR programs, Defense Innovation Unit solicitations, and program office funding once a program of record forms around the requirement. A MED FCD demonstration, a letter of support, or a named government sponsor changes the strength of every one of those applications. If your goal is non dilutive capital, the sequence that works is engagement first, evidence second, funded solicitation third.

Timeline

• August 25, 2026 at 1:00 PM CDT: Announcement opens for submissions

• August 25 through December 31, 2026: Rolling submission window. Scout Cards may be submitted at any time during the period

• Any time during the active period: The Government may amend or update technical focus areas, and may issue a separate call for follow on white papers

• Continuous: MED FCD evaluates submitted Scout Cards against the BAA criteria and contacts high potential candidates

• After initial contact: Virtual briefings and technology experimentation coordination, with possible requests for formal white papers, statements of work, and cost proposals

• December 31, 2026 at 10:59 PM CST: Announcement closes unless amended

Recommended working schedule

Because the call is rolling and evaluation is continuous, earlier submissions get more calendar time in front of evaluators and more opportunity to be matched to an experimentation event. A workable internal schedule looks like this:

• Week 1: Confirm fit against the five hard requirements. Decide which single slice of the problem you are addressing. Register or refresh your Vulcan account

• Week 2: Build or update the Scout Card, gather performance data, capture imagery and video of the system operating

• Week 3: Draft the quad chart and white paper. Have a clinician or former medic review the patient stabilization claims

• Week 4: Internal red team review against the area of interest language line by line, then submit

• Ongoing: Prepare a fifteen minute virtual briefing deck in advance so you can respond to interest within days rather than weeks

Do not wait until December. A submission that arrives in the final week has almost no runway for the briefing and experimentation activity that creates the value.

How to submit, step by step

1. Register on Vulcan at vulcan-sof.com. Vulcan is a technology scouting platform sponsored by USSOCOM and used by organizations across the Department of Defense, including this Army medical directorate. Account setup and validation take time, so start here.

2. Build or select a Scout Card. A Scout Card is a persistent, structured profile of a single solution. If your technology is already in Vulcan, select the existing card rather than creating a new one.

3. Do not create duplicates. The Government is explicit that duplicate Scout Cards for the same solution will be removed. Vulcan allows you to tailor elements of a submission to the context of a specific Call without maintaining multiple cards for the same solution.

4. Tailor the submission to this Call. Use the area of interest language. An evaluator should be able to see the mapping between your capability and the five requirements without hunting for it.

5. Attach the quad chart. PowerPoint is preferred. Word and PDF are acceptable as long as the file opens and reads cleanly.

6. Attach the white paper, following the Section A through D format below. Reference the BAA number in the subject or title of the response. Submit as PDF or Microsoft Word.

7. Submit before the deadline and be ready to respond quickly if MED FCD reaches out. Contact information for the contracting officers is provided to interested companies by MED FCD when they are asked to submit a proposal, so you will not have a named point of contact before that happens.

White paper format

The announcement specifies four sections.

Section A. Title, the technology area of interest you are responding to, period of performance, estimated cost of the task, name and address of the offeror, technical and contracting points of contact, telephone and fax numbers.

Section B. Task objective with a description of the work to be performed.

Section C. Technical summary and proposed deliverables. Include the anticipated period of performance and a rough order of magnitude cost, which is the total cost plus profit or fee if any. This is not a cost proposal and does not include the material that normally accompanies one. Provide a short technical description of the concepts and the plans to accomplish the technical objectives, briefly describe the technologies to be pursued, and identify any independent research and development work already underway in your company that has direct application. Address only the specific part of the BAA you intend to accomplish. A white paper that tries to cover the whole scope will most likely be rejected.

Section D. Quad chart. The quad has to present the capability as a single page snapshot and must visually convey the concept of employment, meaning what the capability will actually accomplish in operational terms, a description of the technical effort needed to get there, the benefit to MED FCD, your technical and management resources, costs, and schedule with major milestones.

Practical guidance on the quad chart

The quad is usually what determines whether anyone reads the white paper. Treat the concept of employment quadrant as the most important real estate on the page and use a real image or a clear graphic of the system moving a casualty in the environment described, not a rendering on a white background. Put numbers on the page. Weight, dimensions, casualty capacity, terrain performance, endurance, current technology readiness level, and the count of Soldiers required at the point of injury with and without your system. Leave the marketing adjectives out entirely.

Intellectual property and proprietary information

The Government acknowledges that information provided in response to this BAA is presented in confidence and may contain trade secret, commercial, or financial information, and it agrees to protect that information from unauthorized disclosure to the maximum extent permitted or required by the Trade Secrets Act at 18 U.S.C. 1905, the Economic Espionage Act at 18 U.S.C. 1831 and following, Freedom of Information Act Exemption 4 at 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4), Executive Order 12600 covering pre disclosure notification procedures for confidential commercial information, and any other applicable statute or regulation.

Sound practice still applies. Mark proprietary material clearly and consistently on every page and every file. Describe your approach at a level that demonstrates feasibility without disclosing the specific implementation details that constitute your competitive advantage. Confirm export control and International Traffic in Arms Regulations status before you transmit technical data, especially if you have foreign nationals on your engineering team or a foreign parent entity. Keep in mind that a Scout Card is designed to be discoverable by government users across the Vulcan ecosystem, which is a benefit for visibility and a reason to be deliberate about what goes into the card versus what stays in a marked attachment.

Who should respond

This BAA is a strong fit if you are a robotics, autonomy, uncrewed systems, exoskeleton, medical device, or casualty handling company with hardware you can point at, even at low technology readiness level, and if you can absorb the cost of an unfunded engagement in exchange for requirements insight and senior leader visibility. It is a particularly good fit for dual use companies from search and rescue, mining, wildland firefighting, industrial rescue, and civilian emergency medical services, where the physics of moving an incapacitated human through bad terrain is already your core problem.

It is a poor fit if you need a contract award inside the next twelve months to survive, if your concept exists only as a slide deck with no path to a demonstrable prototype, if your solution requires the casualty to assist in loading, or if you cannot support travel and hardware costs for an experimentation event.

Common reasons submissions fail

• Trying to address the entire scope of the announcement instead of one specific slice

• Assuming casualty participation in loading, which contradicts the stated requirement

• Treating patient stabilization as a secondary feature with no clinical evidence behind it

• Ignoring signature management and degraded communications entirely

• A quad chart full of adjectives and no numbers

• No concept of employment, so an evaluator cannot picture the system in use by a real medical unit

• An unrealistic rough order of magnitude cost, in either direction

• Submitting a generic corporate capability statement rather than a tailored response to this Call

• Duplicate Scout Cards, which the Government will remove

• Submitting in the last two weeks, leaving no time for briefing or experimentation

How to convert this engagement into funding

Treat the MED FCD submission as the first move in a sequence rather than the end of one. Submit early and get on the calendar for a virtual briefing. Ask directly, during that briefing, which organizations own the transition path for the capability and whether the directorate can identify a government sponsor. Say yes to experimentation and show up prepared, because performance in front of operators is the evidence that funded solicitations reward. Capture everything that comes out of the engagement, including feedback, performance data, imagery, and any written expression of interest. Then use it. That package strengthens an Army SBIR or STTR proposal, a consortium white paper, an other transaction authority pursuit, a medical research program application, or a direct approach to a program office, and it does so far more than a well written proposal with no government relationship behind it.

Frequently asked questions

Is there funding available under the Medical Extraction BAA?

No. MED FCD has stated that it does not currently possess the resources or authorization to directly award or fund contracts under this announcement. Selection and progression through evaluation phases is for assessment purposes only and does not guarantee or imply a future contract award.

What is the deadline for the Medical Extraction BAA?

The announcement closes on December 31, 2026 at 10:59 PM CST unless it is amended. Submissions opened on August 25, 2026 at 1:00 PM CDT and are accepted on a rolling basis throughout that period.

Who issued the Medical Extraction BAA?

The U.S. Army Medical Capability Future Capability Directorate, known as MED FCD, which sits under Futures and Concepts Command within U.S. Army Futures Command. It is issued as a Call under the Army Medical Operational Capabilities for 2040 Broad Agency Announcement.

What do I have to submit?

A Vulcan Scout Card tailored to this Call, with a quad chart and a white paper attached. The white paper follows a four part format covering administrative data, task objective, technical summary with rough order of magnitude cost, and the quad chart itself.

What is a Vulcan Scout Card?

A Scout Card is a persistent structured profile of a single technology solution inside the Vulcan platform, which is a technology scouting environment sponsored by USSOCOM and used by government organizations across the Department of Defense. The card makes your capability discoverable by government users beyond the specific Call you submit it to, and attachments provide the specificity that a particular Call requires.

Can I submit the same Scout Card to multiple calls?

Yes, and you should. Vulcan lets you tailor elements of a submission to the context of each Call without maintaining multiple cards for the same solution. Duplicate cards for the same solution will be removed.

What technology readiness level does MED FCD expect?

The announcement does not specify a required technology readiness level. Because the objective is evaluation, experimentation, and demonstration, concepts from early prototype through advanced prototype are generally in scope, but you need something more than a paper concept if you want to reach an experimentation event. State your current level honestly and show the path to the next one.

Does my system have to be fully autonomous?

No. The announcement asks for low profile, automated, or semi autonomous capability. Teleoperated and Soldier assisted systems are responsive as long as they reduce the exposure of rescue personnel and can secure a casualty who cannot assist in loading.

Does the system have to handle non ambulatory casualties?

Yes. This is the central requirement. The system must be capable of retrieving and securing both ambulatory and non ambulatory casualties who are unable to climb or physically assist in their own loading. A solution that depends on casualty participation does not meet the stated requirement.

Do I need a security clearance or a government sponsor to submit?

The announcement does not state a clearance requirement for submission. Later experimentation events, particularly classified ones, can require cleared personnel, and government sponsorship becomes relevant as a technology moves into selection and experimentation. Plan for that possibility rather than assuming it.

Are small businesses and startups eligible?

Yes. Broad agency announcements of this type are open to a wide range of respondents, and this Call is explicitly aimed at innovative capability wherever it exists. Small businesses, startups, universities, and nontraditional defense entrants are all appropriate respondents. If you anticipate any future contracting relationship, get your System for Award Management registration, unique entity identifier, and CAGE code in order early.

Can non U.S. companies respond?

Foreign entities should proceed carefully. The announcement does not publish an eligibility restriction, but export control, International Traffic in Arms Regulations, foreign ownership control and influence considerations, and any subsequent contracting action will all shape what is actually possible. Companies with a U.S. subsidiary and U.S. based engineering are in a materially stronger position.

Will my proprietary information be protected?

The Government acknowledges that responses are presented in confidence and commits to protecting trade secret, commercial, and financial information to the maximum extent permitted by the Trade Secrets Act, the Economic Espionage Act, FOIA Exemption 4, and Executive Order 12600. You are still responsible for marking proprietary material clearly and for calibrating how much implementation detail you disclose.

What happens after I submit?

MED FCD evaluates Scout Cards against the BAA criteria on a continuous basis and contacts high potential candidates to coordinate virtual briefings or technology experimentation events. Selected participants may be asked for formal white papers, technical statements of work, and cost proposals. None of this guarantees an award.

How much cost should I put in the rough order of magnitude estimate?

No dollar range is published, so base the number on the actual cost of the specific effort you are proposing, including profit or fee if any, and make sure it is consistent with the scope of work described. The estimate should look like something an engineer built, not something a salesperson chose.

Is it worth responding if there is no money?

For most hardware companies working on casualty movement, yes, provided you go in with the right expectation. You are buying direct access to the organization that writes Army medical requirements, structured feedback on your capability, a chance to demonstrate in front of operators and senior leaders, and a documented government relationship that materially improves your odds in the funded solicitations that follow. You are paying for it with engineering time and, if selected, travel and hardware. Decide that trade deliberately.

How do I find funded opportunities for this technology instead?

Army SBIR and STTR topics, xTech competitions, the Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium and other other transaction authority consortia, U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command announcements, congressionally directed medical research programs, service and Defense Health Agency SBIR programs, and Defense Innovation Unit solicitations all fund technology in this space. Which one fits depends on your maturity, your entity type, and whether you already have a government sponsor.

Can BW&CO help me respond?

Yes. We help deep tech, medtech, and defense adjacent companies decide whether an opportunity like this is worth their time, position the capability against the stated requirement, build the quad chart and white paper, prepare for the government briefing, and sequence the engagement into funded non dilutive pursuits afterward.

Next step

If you are building casualty extraction, robotic mobility, exoskeleton, or en route care technology and want a candid read on whether this BAA is worth your engineering hours, we will tell you straight. BW&CO has helped clients secure more than $350 million in non dilutive funding, and the first conversation is about fit, not a pitch.

Innovation Funding Simplified.

USAMRDC/Defense Health Agency Broad Agency Announcement for Extramural Medical Research:

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Overview of the Funding Opportunity

This is the USAMRDC/Defense Health Agency Broad Agency Announcement for Extramural Medical Research, funding opportunity number HT942523SBAA1. It's continuously open for a full five-year window, October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2027, so there's no application deadline in the usual sense. Instead, organizations submit a pre-proposal through eBRAP at any time, and if invited, follow with a full proposal/application. This is one of the largest standing military medical research vehicles in the federal system, and it funds applied research, preclinical research, clinical research, and clinical trials across nine program areas ranging from infectious disease to psychological health to traumatic brain injury.

Program Areas of Interest

The BAA covers nine research portfolios:

• Military Infectious Diseases

  • This portfolio covers the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of infectious diseases that threaten deployed forces, including combat-associated wound infections and multidrug-resistant organisms that show up more often as casualties move through prolonged care. DHA is organizing this work around three capability buckets: preventing infections before they start, diagnosing them fast in far-forward settings, and treating both initial infections and resistant strains across the full continuum of care. Companies with diagnostics, prophylactics, or wound-care technology aimed at combat environments are a strong fit here.

• Combat Casualty Care

  • This is the broadest and most technology-forward portfolio in the BAA. It spans point-of-need trauma care, resuscitation, complex injury and organ support, forward surgical care, wound and burn recovery, transport physiology, en route care, virtual health and monitoring, scalable triage, and autonomous systems. DHA is specifically calling out AI-enabled decision support, telemedicine platforms, and autonomous or robotic evacuation and care technology as capability gaps, which makes this the natural landing spot for medtech and defensetech companies building anything that helps stabilize, monitor, or move a casualty when evacuation is delayed or contested.

• Traumatic Brain Injury

  • This program funds diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of TBI across the full severity spectrum, from mild concussion to penetrating injury, including blast overpressure and polytrauma cases. Focus areas include noninvasive far-forward assessment tools, fluid-based biomarkers, minimally invasive intracranial access, and return-to-duty validation. Any TBI-related clinical research funded here that includes 50 or more subjects has to be shared through the DOD-NIH FITBIR data system, so companies should budget for that requirement. Training, chronic TBI management, neurodegenerative disease, and spinal cord injury are explicitly out of scope.

• Psychological Health

  • This portfolio funds research that assesses, protects, and optimizes the psychological readiness of Service Members, their families, and the broader military community. It's organized around seven capability areas: objective assessment tools, countermeasures tailored to military community needs, prevention strategies against emerging threats, better models of care for both early intervention and tailored treatment, return-to-duty guidelines, and tools that help Service Members and units build psychological readiness. It's intentionally broad across clinical conditions rather than tied to one specific diagnosis.

• Sensory Systems

  • This program covers pain, ocular, auditory, and vestibular injuries and illnesses tied to military service. The capability requirements focus on mechanistic characterization of injury, better assessment and diagnostic tools, point-of-injury stabilization, and treatment development, with named focus areas in pain control and anesthesia, temporary corneal repair, and auditory injury assessment. Chronic pain, regenerative or transplant approaches, and anything overlapping with TBI are out of scope.

• Musculoskeletal Injury

  • This portfolio funds prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries, with the goal of reducing injury risk and speeding safe return to duty. Priority areas include rehabilitation interventions and technologies usable in pre-hospital settings, therapeutics that accelerate recovery, and broader musculoskeletal health preservation. Spinal cord injury treatment is excluded.

• Environmental Exposures

  • This program addresses health threats from extreme heat and cold, high altitude, military diving, toxic exposures, aviation medicine, and vibration or acceleration, across basic, applied, and advanced technology development research. Weaponized CBRN, blast injury, infectious disease, and noise are handled elsewhere in the BAA and are out of scope here. This is a narrower portfolio but a real fit for companies with environmental monitoring or countermeasure technology relevant to operational medicine.

• Directed Energy/Radiation Health

  • This portfolio splits into two lanes. Directed energy research looks at distinguishing a harmless "bioeffect" from an actual adverse health effect following radiofrequency, optical, or acoustic exposure, with an eye toward informing safety standards and clinical guidelines. Radiation health research covers pre-exposure prophylaxis, biomarkers for diagnosis and treatment, and characterization of radiation injury mechanisms, including combined injuries where radiation exposure overlaps with trauma like hemorrhage or burns.

• DOD Working Dogs

  • This is the only portfolio focused on military working dogs rather than human Service Members. It funds research into canine musculoskeletal injury prevention, wound recovery and therapeutics, and pain management, including breed and genetics-based risk factors and return-to-duty protocols for MWDs. It's a small niche but a real one, and it's worth flagging for any client with veterinary or animal health technology.

Each portfolio has its own capability requirements and detailed Research Areas of Interest laid out in Appendix I, and applicants are expected to align tightly to those before writing a pre-proposal. A few areas stand out for dual-use technology companies: Combat Casualty Care explicitly calls out autonomous systems, AI-enabled clinical decision support, and virtual health/telemedicine platforms as capability gaps, and Traumatic Brain Injury calls for noninvasive diagnostic tools and fluid-based biomarkers. Environmental Exposures and Directed Energy/Radiation Health are narrower but still open to biotech and medtech companies with relevant countermeasure or biomarker technology.

Funding and Award Structure

There's no funding ceiling or floor specified. Budgets should scale to the complexity of the proposed work, and awards can take the form of a grant, cooperative agreement, procurement contract, or Other Transaction Agreement for research or prototypes, at the government's discretion. Assistance agreements can run up to 4 years, contracts up to 5 years, and no proposal will be funded more than 24 months after it's submitted. There's no cost-sharing requirement in the general case.

Eligibility

Eligibility is broad: for-profit, nonprofit, academic, and public/private organizations of any size can apply, including international entities, as long as they're extramural to DOD (FFRDCs and DOD intramural investigators are excluded from direct awards, though teaming and collaborator arrangements are allowed). Small businesses, including veteran-owned, HUBZone, and woman-owned firms, get preference for subaward participation. Awards go to organizations, not individuals, so the PI needs an eligible organizational home.

Submission Process

This is a two-step process. Step one is a pre-proposal/pre-application submitted through eBRAP.org at any time before the BAA closes. It has to describe a specific idea or project tied to one of the nine program areas above, no vague capability statements. If DHA likes it, the organization is invited to submit a full proposal through Grants.gov. Because this BAA never closes and reopens on a schedule, companies with a clear technical fit can move whenever they're ready rather than waiting on a cycle.

Why This Matters for BW&CO Clients

This BAA is a strong long-running fit for any client doing combat casualty care tech, TBI diagnostics or biomarkers, psychological health tools, sensory injury devices, or musculoskeletal recovery technology, especially companies with AI-enabled monitoring, autonomous care, or diagnostic platforms that map to the Combat Casualty Care and TBI focus areas. Because there's no deadline pressure, this is a good one to keep in the pipeline as a standing opportunity rather than a one-time push.

FAQs

Is there a deadline to apply for this BAA?
No. It's continuously open from October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2027. Organizations can submit a pre-proposal at any time before it closes.

How do I actually apply?
It's a two-step process. First you submit a pre-proposal/pre-application through eBRAP.org describing a specific project idea tied to one of the nine program areas. If DHA is interested, you're invited to submit a full proposal through Grants.gov.

How much funding is available, and is there a cap on award size?
There's no specified funding limit and no set number of awards. Budgets should be sized to the complexity of the proposed research, and the government funds proposals based on technical merit, program fit, and available funding, which varies year to year.

What kind of award will I get, a grant or a contract?
That's up to the government. Awards can be procurement contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or Other Transaction Agreements for research or prototypes. The choice depends on the nature of the work and the relationship the government wants with the recipient.

How long can the project run?
Assistance agreements (grants and cooperative agreements) can run up to 4 years. Contracts can run up to 5 years. Regardless of instrument type, no proposal will be considered for funding more than 24 months after it was submitted.

Is cost-sharing required?
No, not in the general case. There's no cost-sharing or matching requirement to be eligible, except in specific situations involving Other Transaction Agreements, where separate cost-sharing rules under 10 USC 4021/4022 or 32 CFR 37 apply.

Who's eligible to apply?
Any extramural organization: academic institutions, biotech and medtech companies, foundations, non-DOD government agencies, and research institutes, regardless of nationality. FFRDCs can't receive awards directly but can team with eligible organizations. DOD intramural investigators can't apply directly either, though they can participate as named collaborators with command authorization.

Do awards go to individuals or organizations?
Organizations only. A principal investigator has to be affiliated with an eligible organization to be part of a proposal.

Does this BAA fund clinical trials?
Yes. It supports applied research, preclinical research, clinical research, and clinical trials. Proposals involving a clinical trial have additional requirements laid out in Appendix II, including IRB-approved informed consent forms posted to a public federal website.

What happens if I want continuation or follow-on funding?
You'll need to submit a new pre-proposal and go through the invitation process again. Continuation funding isn't automatic.

Are there research areas that are explicitly out of scope?
Yes, and they vary by program. Examples include weaponized CBRN, blast, infectious disease, and noise under Environmental Exposures, chronic pain and regenerative/transplant work under Sensory Systems, and spinal cord injury under both TBI and Musculoskeletal Injury. Check Appendix I for the specific program you're targeting before writing a pre-proposal.

Where can I find the detailed research priorities for each program?
Appendix I of the BAA lists Research Areas of Interest for all nine portfolios in detail, and DHA strongly encourages applicants to review those before drafting anything.

Navy ManTech sBAA N0001426SB002: What Startups Need to Know Before Applying

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) has released Special Broad Agency Announcement N0001426SB002, "Accelerating Maritime Modernization: Innovation in Naval Manufacturing, Sustainment, and Industrial Base Capability." This is a contract vehicle, not a grant, run through the Navy Manufacturing Technology (ManTech) Program, and it directly supports the Navy's Golden Fleet Initiative to build ships faster, repair them faster, and strengthen the naval industrial base.

For deep-tech, robotics, and dual-use startups, this is a rare non-dilutive funding opportunity with a clear commercialization thesis: the Navy wants technology that is close to production-ready and can transition into an actual shipyard or maintenance depot within a defined timeline.

What Is This Opportunity?

This sBAA funds two categories of work:

• 6.2 Applied Research: proof-of-concept development bridging science and defense application. ONR expects to fund 3 to 5 awards valued at $500K to $3M.

• 6.3 Advanced Technology Development: maturing and demonstrating technology in operationally relevant environments, targeting Technology Readiness Level (TRL) and Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) 6 to 7. ONR expects to fund 5 to 10 awards valued at $1.5M to $5M.

Periods of performance run 1 to 2 years. Awards are procurement contracts, not grants or cooperative agreements.

Technology Areas ONR Wants

ONR is prioritizing innovations that support the Golden Fleet Initiative across five priority areas: speed/throughput/availability, advanced manufacturing, sustainment and repair, industrial base modernization, and supply chain capacity and logistics. Named priority platforms include the new BBG(X)/BBGN battleship, the FF(X) next-generation frigate, and unmanned surface vessels, though other Navy platforms may also be considered.

Specific technical focus areas span:

• Novel materials, non-metallic materials, and materials scale-up

• Advanced sensor integration and structural health monitoring

• Robotics, automation, and advanced manufacturing (including cobots and human augmentation)

• Digital tools, model-based engineering, and digital twins

• AI/ML for shipbuilding decision-making and predictive maintenance

• Autonomous systems for inspection and maintenance

• Advanced electronics, SOSA/MOSA modular design

• Non-destructive testing and advanced inspection

• Supply chain and logistics platforms, including additive manufacturing digital part libraries

• Cybersecurity for industrial control systems and operational technology

Two-Phase Structure and Key Dates

This sBAA runs on two tracks:

• Phase I: White papers are due 60 days after publication of the sBAA. Selected offerors submit a full proposal within 45 days of notification. Award decisions follow roughly 60 days after full proposal submission.

• Phase II: Opens the day after Phase I closes and stays open for one year from publication, so companies that miss the Phase I window still have a path in. Phase II full proposals follow the same 45-day submission clock after notification, with award decisions targeted in 45 days.

Missing the Phase I white paper deadline does not eliminate a startup from this opportunity. It shifts the company to the Phase II track, which is a meaningful difference from most SBIR-style solicitations with a single hard close.

Who Can Apply

All responsible sources from industry and academia are eligible, including both small and large businesses. There is no dollar amount set aside specifically for small business or socioeconomic categories, so startups compete on technical merit rather than in a reserved lane. Navy laboratories, warfare centers, and FFRDCs cannot apply directly, though teaming with them is allowed.

Before submitting, a company must be registered in SAM.gov with an active Unique Entity Identifier and CAGE code, and that registration must stay current through the life of any award.

What Gets Evaluated

Four criteria carry equal weight:

1. Scientific and technical merit: ManTech appropriateness and soundness of the technical approach

2. Naval relevance and contribution: how clearly the proposal defines the Navy need, quantifies impact and ROI, and lays out a credible transition plan to a named platform or facility

3. Organizational capability and teaming: this section explicitly weighs whether the team holds an active DD-2345 Joint Certification Program certification and the appropriate CMMC cybersecurity level

4. Financial and schedule feasibility: whether the proposed cost and milestones are realistic for the scope of work

Two details deserve early attention. First, for 6.3 Advanced Technology Development efforts, evaluators require a strict transition path to TRL/MRL 6 through 7, so proposals pitched at an earlier maturity level should target the 6.2 Applied Research category instead. Second, Intellectual Property and Data Rights assertions are evaluated directly, since ONR is checking whether the proposed rights (for example, Government Purpose Rights) support scaling across the naval industrial base without creating vendor lock. This is worth deciding deliberately, not defaulting to whatever a template suggests.

Cybersecurity Requirements to Plan For Early

This sBAA requires CMMC Level 2 (Self) status entered in the Supplier Performance Risk System for any contractor information system that will process, store, or transmit Federal Contract Information or Controlled Unclassified Information. Companies that have not started a CMMC self-assessment should begin that process well before a white paper is due, since award cannot proceed without a current CMMC status and affirmation of continuous compliance in SPRS.

White Paper Requirements

Phase I and Phase II both start with a 5-page white paper (12-point Times New Roman, one-inch margins) plus a one-page Project Lead resume. The white paper must cover, in this order: project classification and Golden Fleet alignment, organization background and teaming strategy, technical concept and appropriateness, Navy need and impact, path to transition (including IP and data rights posture), and a rough order of magnitude cost and schedule estimate.

Because ONR reviews white papers on a rolling basis rather than against each other in a single competition, a well-scoped white paper submitted early in the Phase II window is not disadvantaged relative to one submitted near the one-year close.

How BW&CO Consulting Helps

BW&CO Consulting helps deep-tech, robotics, and dual-use companies position competitive Navy ManTech proposals, including:

• Determining whether a technology fits the 6.2 Applied Research or 6.3 Advanced Technology Development category based on current TRL/MRL

• Mapping a company's technology to a specific Golden Fleet platform or industrial facility for a credible transition narrative

• Structuring IP and Data Rights assertions that satisfy ONR's transition and anti-vendor-lock evaluation criteria

• Coordinating CMMC and SAM.gov readiness ahead of submission

• Drafting the white paper and full proposal package, including the Statement of Work and cost proposal

Contact BW&CO Consulting to discuss Navy ManTech sBAA N0001426SB002 eligibility and proposal strategy.

DOE DE-FOA-0003634: Advancing Oil and Natural Gas Production and Delivery ($81.9M NOFO)

Quick Answer

The U.S. Department of Energy's Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office (HGEO) issued Notice of Funding Opportunity DE-FOA-0003634, "Advancing Oil and Natural Gas Production and Delivery," on July 22, 2026. The opportunity makes up to $81,875,000 available ($65,500,000 in federal funding plus a required 20% cost share) across four topic areas addressing natural gas flaring reduction, sour gas treatment, infrastructure resilience, and AI-enabled digital transformation of upstream and midstream oil and gas operations. Applications are due September 22, 2026, by 5:00 p.m. ET, submitted through DOE's NETL eXCHANGE portal. The NOFO uses cooperative agreements or Other Transaction Agreements and may remain open for up to 72 months with annual review cycles.

What Is DE-FOA-0003634?

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DE-FOA-0003634 is a Financial Assistance Notice of Funding Opportunity issued by DOE's Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office, Division of Transport and Storage. It funds research, development, and field validation of technologies that improve the efficiency, reliability, and resilience of the U.S. oil and natural gas supply chain, spanning extraction through processing, transport, and delivery.

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The program specifically targets three long-standing problems in the sector: natural gas that is flared or vented instead of captured, aging infrastructure prone to corrosion and unplanned downtime, and slow adoption of digital technologies such as AI, machine learning, digital twins, IoT, and edge computing in upstream and midstream operations.

Who Is Eligible to Apply for DE-FOA-0003634?

Eligible applicants are domestic entities, including:

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• Institutions of higher education

• For-profit organizations

• Nonprofit organizations

• State and local government entities

• Indian Tribes, as defined under 25 U.S.C. § 5304

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To qualify, an entity must be organized or incorporated under U.S. or state law, be majority domestically owned and controlled, and maintain a physical place of business in the United States.

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Important eligibility limitations:

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• DOE and non-DOE Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) may participate only as subrecipients, not as the prime recipient, and FFRDC effort cannot exceed 20% of total project cost.

• The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is not eligible as a recipient or subrecipient. Including NETL in either role makes an application non-responsive.

• Foreign entities are generally ineligible but may apply with an approved written waiver.

• All project work must be performed in the United States unless a waiver is granted.

• Entities debarred or suspended from federal programs, those on the OFAC Specially Designated Nationals list, and 501(c)(4) nonprofits that lobbied after 1995 are ineligible.

• Entities of Concern are prohibited from participating.

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Applicants may submit more than one application, provided each describes a scientifically distinct project.

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How Much Funding Is Available, by Topic Area?

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DOE structured DE-FOA-0003634 around four topic areas, each with its own funding pool, award size, and project period.

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Topic Area 1a: Laboratory Validation of Catalysts and Unit Operations

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• Federal funding available: $7,500,000

• Anticipated number of awards: 5

• Typical award size: $1,500,000 federal (plus 20% cost share)

• Project period: approximately 24 months

• Starting TRL: 3 | Ending TRL: 5

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Topic Area 1b: Field Validation of Full System Prototypes

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• Federal funding available: $18,000,000

• Anticipated number of awards: 3

• Typical award size: $6,000,000 federal

• Project period: approximately 48 months

• Starting TRL: 5 | Ending TRL: 7

• Requires a letter of intent from an industry partner providing field site access, and a project team member committed to commercialization

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Topic Area 2: Resilient Infrastructure Technologies Enhancement (RITE)

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• Federal funding available: $12,000,000

• Anticipated number of awards: 4

• Typical award size: $3,000,000 federal

• Project period: approximately 48 months

• Starting TRL: 5 | Ending TRL: 7

• Also requires an industry field-site letter of intent and a commercialization-focused team member

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Topic Area 3: Hydrocarbon Infrastructure Test Sites (HITS)

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• Federal funding available: $28,000,000

• Anticipated number of awards: 4

• Typical award size: $7,000,000 federal

• Project period: approximately 60 months

• Requires a defined physical field test site and an industry letter of intent providing site access

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All topic areas require a minimum 20% cost share from nonfederal sources.

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What Technologies Is DOE Looking to Fund?

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Topic Area 1: Enhanced Resource Utilization and Production Technologies (ERUPT)

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This topic area targets the roughly $15 billion in natural gas value lost to flaring and venting over the past decade, along with stranded sour gas and stranded natural gas liquids (NGLs). DOE is interested in:

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• AI- and quantum-scale simulation-driven catalyst and reactor design to convert associated gas and NGLs into valuable products

• Modular, low-cost sour gas treatment systems capable of handling hydrogen sulfide (H2S) concentrations found across the Permian Basin, where more than 85% of gas contains some H2S and over 40% contains up to 10,000 ppm

• Novel separation technologies and chemical pathways that improve the economics of NGL recovery

• Sub-topic 1a covers laboratory-to-prototype-scale validation (TRL 3 to 5); sub-topic 1b covers field validation of full system prototypes (TRL 5 to 7) and requires an industry field-testing partner

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Topic Area 2: Resilient Infrastructure Technologies Enhancement (RITE)

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This topic area addresses the roughly $875 million in annual product losses and $1.37 billion in annual corrosion-related costs facing U.S. oil and gas infrastructure. Areas of interest include:

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• High-efficiency engines and compressors, including retrofit solutions, targeting a 10% increase in compressor performance and 25% increase in engine thermal efficiency

• AI/ML-driven, digital-twin-enabled real-time optimization of legacy compressor and engine performance, targeting a 20% reduction in maintenance costs

• Corrosion- and friction-resistant materials such as advanced coatings, composites, and alloys, targeting a 2 to 3% increase in pipeline deliverability

• Requires field testing and an industry partner letter of intent

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Topic Area 3: Hydrocarbon Infrastructure Test Sites (HITS)

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Modeled on the successful Hydraulic Fracture Test Sites (HFTS) program, HITS funds the establishment of physical field test sites, at existing operator assets, university facilities, private consortium facilities, national labs, or public-private partnerships, where applicants validate:

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• Digital twin development for surface production, processing, and transportation assets

• Predictive analytics for anomaly detection, remaining useful life prediction, and production forecasting

• Edge computing and cybersecurity for the edge-to-cloud continuum

• Autonomous and robotic inspection and maintenance systems

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Target outcomes include a 10 to 20% increase in hydrocarbon throughput, a 20% reduction in pipeline and facility downtime, and a 15% reduction in operating costs. Applications must include both a defined physical test site and an industry letter of intent providing site access.

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What Are DOE's Expected Performance Outcomes for This Program?

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DOE has set specific, quantifiable targets applicants should address in their technical volumes:

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• Increase natural gas utilization to 80% by 2035

• Reduce annual flaring losses by approximately $1.5 billion

• Unlock production from an estimated 7,500 remaining wells in the eastern Delaware Basin currently limited by sour gas

• Reduce sour gas treatment costs by more than 20%

• Increase U.S. natural gas delivery system efficiency from 92% to 94% by 2030

• Increase pipeline deliverability by 2 to 3%

• Reduce operational disruptions and maintenance costs by at least 20%

• Increase saleable hydrocarbon throughput by 10 to 20% and reduce OPEX by 15% or more through digital and physical optimization

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What Applications Will DOE Not Consider?

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DOE will not review applications that:

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• Fall outside the technical scope defined in the Topic Areas

• Rely on approaches inconsistent with established scientific principles

• Fail to articulate impact on U.S. energy security, economic competitiveness, domestic manufacturing, or job creation

• Lack cost share commitment letters at submission

• Propose technologies that are already commercially mature and widely deployed without demonstrating a genuine advancement

• Propose chemical conversion to fuels such as gasoline or diesel (Topic Area 1)

• Propose traditional, centralized amine treatment or cryogenic NGL recovery without a novel, modular, or cost-reducing angle (Topic Area 1)

• Focus solely on sensor hardware without system-level integration (Topic Areas 2 and 3)

• Fall outside the specified beginning or ending TRL range for the topic area

• Omit a required industry letter of intent for field site access (Topic Areas 1b, 2, and 3)

What Does an Application Require?

Applications are submitted as a single phase through NETL eXCHANGE. Core components include:

• Technical Volume (20-page limit): covers project objectives, Buy America/Buy America (BABA) applicability, discussion of each technical review criterion, relevance and expected outcomes, participant roles, facilities, and equipment

• Statement of Project Objectives (SOPO): 8-page limit, Word format

• Project Management Plan (PMP): 8-page limit

• SF-424 and SF-424A: standard federal assistance and budget forms

• Budget Justification Workbook and, if applicable, Subrecipient Budget Justification

• Letters of Commitment/Intent: 1 page each, required for Topic Areas 1b, 2, and 3 to demonstrate field site access

• Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support for every Covered Individual, produced via SciENcv, consistent with NSPM-33 disclosure requirements

• Impacted Indian Tribes Documentation, where applicable

• Locations of Work, Environmental Questionnaire, Summary for Public Release, and Summary Slide

Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit at least 48 hours before the deadline. DOE does not extend deadlines for server or connectivity issues.

How Will DOE Evaluate Applications?

Applications are scored against three weighted technical review criteria:

1. Scientific and Technical Merit, 45%: technical soundness, degree of advancement over baseline technologies, and alignment with topic area performance targets

2. Technical Approach and Understanding, 25%: quality of the Statement of Project Objectives, completeness of the Project Management Plan, and financial viability of the proposed budget

3. Technical and Management Capabilities, 30%: organizational structure, relevant corporate experience, key personnel qualifications, and adequacy of facilities and field sites

DOE may also weigh other selection factors, including technological diversity relative to its existing portfolio, industry involvement and commercialization potential, domestic manufacturing and job creation impact, and geographic distribution of upstream and midstream assets.

Why This Matters for Deep-Tech and Energy Innovators

DE-FOA-0003634 is one of the larger non-dilutive funding opportunities currently open for hydrocarbon-adjacent technology developers, and it explicitly rewards teams that pair strong science with a credible path to commercialization. Every topic area beyond 1a requires DOE's Technology Maturation Plan, Techno-Economic Analysis, and Adoption Readiness Level framework, meaning applicants need to show DOE not just that a technology works, but that it can be adopted and scaled by small and mid-size operators.

For companies working in catalysis, separations, sour gas treatment, corrosion-resistant materials, industrial AI/ML, digital twins, or autonomous field robotics, this NOFO represents a substantial, multi-year funding pathway, with the caveat that Topic Areas 1b, 2, and 3 all require a committed industry partner willing to provide field site access before an application can even be considered responsive.

Need Help With Your DE-FOA-0003634 Application?

BW&CO Consulting helps deep-tech, energy, and infrastructure companies secure non-dilutive federal funding through programs like this one. If your team is evaluating a Topic Area 1, 2, or 3 submission, including securing an industry field-site partner or building out your Technology Maturation Plan, contact BW&CO to discuss fit and strategy before the September 22, 2026 deadline.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is DE-FOA-0003634? DE-FOA-0003634 is a DOE Notice of Funding Opportunity titled "Advancing Oil and Natural Gas Production and Delivery," issued by the Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office to fund technologies that improve efficiency, reliability, and digital transformation across the U.S. oil and gas supply chain.

How much funding is available under DE-FOA-0003634? Up to $81,875,000 total, made up of $65,500,000 in federal funding and $16,375,000 in required cost share, spread across four topic areas.

When is the DE-FOA-0003634 application deadline? Applications are due September 22, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. ET, submitted through DOE's NETL eXCHANGE portal.

Who can apply for DE-FOA-0003634? Domestic institutions of higher education, for-profit and nonprofit organizations, state and local government entities, and Indian Tribes. FFRDCs may only participate as subrecipients, and NETL is barred from participating in any role.

Is cost share required? Yes. A minimum 20% cost share of total project costs is required from nonfederal sources, and applications without a cost share commitment letter at submission will not be reviewed.

Does this NOFO require an industry partner? Yes, for Topic Areas 1b, 2, and 3. Each requires a letter of intent from an industry partner providing access to a field test site, and a project team member committed to pursuing commercialization.

When will DOE announce selections and make awards? DOE anticipates notifying selected applicants by December 11, 2026, with an anticipated award date of March 1, 2027.

Chain Reaction Innovations 2027 Cohort: DOE-Funded Entrepreneurship Program at Argonne National Laboratory

Quick Answer

Chain Reaction Innovations (CRI) is a Department of Energy entrepreneurship program at Argonne National Laboratory that embeds individual innovators in physical science and energy technology fields for up to two years. Selected innovators receive a personal stipend, travel allowance, and health benefits through an ORISE fellowship, along with lab space, technical collaboration, and structured mentorship at Argonne. The program is open to individuals, not companies, and applicants must have at least five years of technology R&D experience and be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. Applications are submitted through the CRI online portal at chainreaction.anl.gov.

What Is Chain Reaction Innovations?

Chain Reaction Innovations was created at Argonne National Laboratory to accelerate the applied research, development, and deployment of physical science-based technologies, including materials and manufacturing innovations, capable of transforming the nation's energy systems. The program addresses a specific gap in the innovation pipeline: early-stage technologies that are too scientifically or technically uncertain for venture capital funding, but that hold significant potential for energy and manufacturing impact.

Rather than funding a company or research proposal directly, CRI funds the innovator. The program embeds selected entrepreneurial researchers within Argonne National Laboratory, pairing them with scientific and technical mentorship, unique R&D assets, and national laboratory expertise. The goal is to help innovators move their technology from proof-of-concept to proof-of-product within a defined period, while simultaneously developing the entrepreneurial skills needed to commercialize it.

CRI is a Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program (LEEP), a DOE Office of Technology Transitions initiative that places entrepreneurs inside national laboratories. Argonne is currently recruiting its 2027 cohort through this solicitation.

Program Benefits

Selected innovators may receive up to 24 months of program resources, subject to performance reviews and availability of funding. Benefits include:

A personal stipend, travel allowance, and health benefits through an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) fellowship for up to 24 months

Lab space and technical collaboration support from Argonne National Laboratory for up to 24 months

Structured Chain Reaction Innovations programming and mentorship

Participation is governed by a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between Argonne and the innovator's company. Either party may terminate the CRADA with sixty days written notice. All benefits are contingent on funding availability, negotiation of a mutually agreeable scope of work, innovator performance, DOE selection and site access approval, and CRADA approval by DOE, including any required reviews under DOE O 142.3 (Unclassified Foreign National Access Program) and DOE P 485.1 (Foreign Engagements with DOE National Laboratories).

At the end of the first year, innovators undergo a midpoint review to confirm their performance and progress meet the minimum criteria to continue into the second year of the CRADA period.

Program Structure: Two Budget Periods

Scope and Planning Phase (Budget Period 1): Typically lasting less than six months, this phase involves paper-based analysis such as market studies, refinement of the research scope alongside Argonne personnel, and a survey of the intellectual property landscape surrounding the innovator's technology. During this phase, innovators must develop an Intellectual Property (IP) Management Plan, which requires approval from the DOE Technology Manager with concurrence from DOE Patent Counsel before the project can proceed. Innovators must obtain a license or option to license any necessary background IP no later than the one-year review, or risk termination from the program. In some cases, this phase may be shortened or skipped entirely.

Research and Development Phase (Budget Period 2): Once the Scope and Planning phase is complete, or deemed unnecessary, the R&D phase proceeds subject to DOE approval. This is the core technical development period of the CRADA.

Who Is Eligible

Eligibility for the CRI 2027 cohort is specific and individual-based:

Applicants apply as individuals, not as companies or organizations, although a CRADA will ultimately be established between Argonne and the selected innovator's company

Technical leads must have a minimum of five years of technology R&D experience

Technical leads must be a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident at the time of initial application submission

The proposed work must have the potential for broad impact aligned with DOE's mission to advance the national, economic, and energy security of the United States

Only individuals may apply; incorporated entities may not apply, though applicants may have an incorporated entity associated with their work

Innovators who have raised more than $2 million in private-sector equity at the time of application are not eligible

Current Argonne National Laboratory employees are not eligible to participate while directly employed by the Laboratory; Argonne employees may apply but must take Entrepreneurial Leave or terminate their employment with the Laboratory to participate if selected

What CRI Looks For: Selection Criteria

Argonne evaluates applicants across three core dimensions:

Project Leader. Reviewers look for outcome-oriented, entrepreneurial technical innovators capable of building a foundational technology vision and leading a team. Ideal candidates demonstrate technical strength (detailed knowledge and conceptual depth), outcome orientation (systems-level thinking, risk evaluation, commercial awareness), and personal excellence (drive, resourcefulness, communication skills, integrity, and adaptability).

Project Concept. While concepts may evolve over the course of the program, the initial idea should be technically sound, reasonably differentiated, and framed around a well-defined problem with significant long-term impact potential. Reviewers assess economic impact potential, technical merit and differentiation, business idea maturity (market research, IP position, understanding of barriers to entry and incumbents), and CRI fit, meaning how much the program's support would change the innovator's timeline or probability of success.

Technology Fit. Proposed innovations must align with the technology mission space of the CRI program sponsors. Additional detail is available through the DOE Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program (LEEP) website and the Chain Reaction Innovations application page.

All applicants are reviewed by Argonne National Laboratory and must ultimately be selected by a Federal Official from the Department of Energy.

Required Application Materials

Applicants must submit the following through the CRI online portal at chainreaction.anl.gov:

1. Innovator narrative: Background on the applicant and their project, including the origin of the idea, current status of the technology and team, and the applicant's motivation and qualifications

2. Innovator's vision: A description of the technology concept, with commentary on its potential impact on U.S. energy and manufacturing competitiveness

3. Why Chain Reaction Innovations: An explanation of what attracts the applicant to the program specifically, why CRI is the ideal home for the project compared to alternative paths, and which Argonne people or facilities would be most valuable to the work

4. Business idea: A description of how the applicant envisions commercializing the technology, including target market, customers, potential suppliers and distributors, relevant intellectual property status, barriers to entry, and market incumbents

5. Argonne affiliation disclosure: A statement identifying any affiliation with Argonne National Laboratory, UChicago Argonne LLC, or the University of Chicago, or confirmation that no affiliation exists

6. Optional additional materials: Anything else the applicant chooses to include

7. One-page resume for the innovator

8. Technical deck: A five-page high-level overview of the proposed innovation's technical components

Intellectual Property Considerations

Argonne makes no claim to any background intellectual property an innovator brings into the program. Under the CRADA, selected innovators may copyright and publish materials developed during the program, subject to national security considerations and a royalty-free license retained by the government. Innovators generally retain principal worldwide patent rights to inventions they develop under the CRADA, subject to a reserved government use license and the limitations set out in 37 CFR 401.

For inventions developed by Argonne itself under the CRADA, the innovator does not own the invention but receives an option for up to an exclusive license for the term of the CRADA plus six months.

Every participant is required to establish an IP Management Plan that sets clear, mutual expectations for handling both background IP and any IP developed during the program.

Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality Notes

Work conducted through CRI must comply with Argonne's Prime Contract and its conflict of interest policies. Innovators affiliated with Argonne, UChicago Argonne LLC, or the University of Chicago are subject to an organizational conflict of interest management plan.

Applicants should also be aware that the CRI application review involves independent advisors external to Argonne and DOE, and that CRI finals and related events are open to the public. No proprietary information should be included in any application, since submitted information is treated as non-proprietary and not subject to any obligation of disclosure.

How BW&CO Consulting Can Help

Navigating a program like Chain Reaction Innovations involves more than a strong technology story. It requires positioning an individual innovator's narrative, business case, and technical deck to meet DOE's mission alignment criteria, structuring an IP Management Plan that will satisfy DOE Patent Counsel, and understanding how a CRADA fits alongside other non-dilutive funding sources like SBIR and STTR. BW&CO Consulting helps deep-tech and energy technology innovators build application materials that speak the language federal reviewers are looking for, and helps applicants understand how a lab-embedded entrepreneurship award like CRI can complement a broader federal funding strategy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Chain Reaction Innovations a grant to my company? No. Innovators apply as individuals, not as companies or organizations. Once selected, Argonne establishes a CRADA with the innovator's company, but the initial application and eligibility criteria apply to the individual.

Can I apply if I already have a company? Yes. Individuals with an incorporated entity may apply, but the incorporated entity itself cannot be the applicant. However, innovators who have raised more than $2 million in private-sector equity at the time of application are not eligible.

How much funding does CRI provide? CRI does not provide a lump-sum grant. Instead, selected innovators receive up to 24 months of an ORISE fellowship stipend, travel allowance, and health benefits, plus Argonne lab space, technical collaboration, and mentorship, contingent on funding availability and performance.

Can current Argonne employees apply? Yes, but they cannot participate while directly employed by Argonne. Selected Argonne employees must take Entrepreneurial Leave or terminate their employment with the Laboratory to participate in the program.

What happens after the first year? Innovators undergo a midpoint review at the end of year one to confirm their progress meets the minimum criteria required to continue into the second year of the CRADA period.

Who owns the intellectual property I develop at Argonne? Innovators generally retain principal worldwide patent rights to inventions they personally develop under the CRADA, subject to a reserved government use license. If Argonne itself develops an invention under the CRADA, the innovator instead receives an option for up to an exclusive license for the CRADA term plus six months.

Where do I apply? Applications are submitted through the online portal at chainreaction.anl.gov.

DOE Genesis Mission | SBIR/STTR Phase I Funding Opportunity

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Quick Answer:

DOE's Office of Technology Commercialization, working through ConnectWerx, is opening the first Phase I SBIR/STTR opportunity under its new Genesis Mission umbrella. The opportunity targets four AI-driven topic areas: biotechnology, quantum computing, materials design, and autonomous laboratories. DOE intends to make approximately 40 awards totaling $10,000,000, representing up to $44,000,000 in cumulative funding across the projects' full lifecycles. Unlike a standard SBIR proposal, this program requires a short Pitch application first; only companies invited after Pitch review can submit a full application.

Pitch applications are due September 10, 2026, at 2:00 PM ET.

What Topics Does This Opportunity Cover?

Four topic areas are open under this Genesis Mission Phase I opportunity:

• Scaling the Biotechnology Revolution — AI tools for biomolecular design, genotype-phenotype relationships, predictive microbiome engineering, and accelerated bioreactor design and biomanufacturing.

• Realizing Quantum Systems for Discovery — AI for qubit decoherence characterization, quantum error correction, quantum processing unit control, resource estimation, and hybrid classical-quantum-AI workflow management.

• Designing Materials with Predictable Functionality — AI frameworks enabling inverse design, where materials are engineered from the start to meet specific property requirements.

• Achieving AI-Driven Autonomous Laboratories — AI integrated directly into experimental workflows, including advanced robotics, remote handling, diagnostics, and neuromorphic computing circuit primitives.

What Is the Pitch-First Process?

All applicants must first submit a short Pitch application before gaining access to the full application. Only Pitch applications selected in review are invited to submit a full proposal. The Pitch consists of four open-text questions, each with strict word-count limits, plus an optional bibliography. DOE recommends drafting responses outside the application portal before pasting them in.

How Is a Pitch Evaluated?

Pitch applications are scored across four equally weighted areas:

• Summary, Topic, and Mission Alignment — fit with the chosen topic and DOE's mission priorities.

• Technical Promise — significance of the problem, novelty of the approach, and feasibility within the proposed timeline and budget.

• Commercialization Potential — value proposition, competitive landscape, and go-to-market strategy including supply chain and sales channels.

• Team Qualifications — relevant company experience, strength of partnerships, and a credible plan for follow-on funding.

Beyond reviewer scores, the DOE Selection Official retains discretion to weigh additional program policy factors in final funding decisions.

[Complimentary Assessment]

What Is the Funding Amount and Timeline?

DOE intends to make approximately 40 awards from a combined $10,000,000 Phase I budget, representing up to $44,000,000 in potential cumulative funding across Phase I, Phase II, Phase II.2, and Strategic Breakthrough Awards over each project's lifecycle. Selection for award negotiations is not a funding commitment; DOE may cancel negotiations at any point before an award is issued. Later-phase awards depend on milestone performance and future funding availability.

What Is the Application Timeline?

• July 22, 2026 — Opportunity announced; Acquisition Management Portal (AMP) access requests open.

• Mid-August 2026 — AMP applications open; two virtual Office Hours sessions with DOE and ConnectWerx.

• September 10, 2026, 2:00 PM ET — Pitch application deadline. Late submissions are not accepted, though submitted Pitches can be updated up to the deadline.

How Do I Submit a Pitch?

Pitches are submitted through the Acquisition Management Portal (AMP). Applicants download the Pitch Development Guide, answer four questions within the specified word limits, optionally attach a bibliography, and submit through AMP. All files must be print-ready PDFs under 5MB, without passwords, and free of special characters in filenames.

Who Is Eligible?

Eligibility follows standard SBIR/STTR Phase I requirements. Applicants should confirm specific criteria on DOE's eligibility page before applying.

Key Dates

Pitch due date: September 10, 2026, 2:00 PM ET

Anticipated AMP access requests open: July 22, 2026

Office Hours sessions: Mid-August 2026

How Can BW&CO Help With a Genesis Mission Pitch?

This will be a competitive opportunity. Our “Back Door” approach will help you understand what DOE is really looking for and how to frame your project to give you a competitive edge.

Contact BW&CO Consulting to discuss DOE Genesis Mission SBIR/STTR Phase I eligibility and Pitch strategy.

NASA ROSES | C.4 Planetary Science Enabling Facilities

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Quick Answer:

NASA's Planetary Science Enabling Facilities (PSEF) program element, amended July 21, 2026, funds experimental and analytical research facilities that support the planetary science community. This is a new addition to ROSES-2025, previously listed as not solicited for the year. Proposals are due November 10, 2026, and unlike prior PSEF cycles, no Step-1 submission or Notice of Intent is required this year. Proposals will be evaluated for the first time under NASA's dual-anonymous peer review process. The program expects to fund about 2 to 8 new awards from an annual budget of roughly 5 million dollars, with awards running up to 4 years.

What Is a Planetary Science Enabling Facility?

NASA defines a Planetary Science Enabling Facility as a combination of equipment, instrumentation, infrastructure, and staff, typically supporting complex or challenging experiments or measurements, that is not otherwise widely available to the research community. Facilities must enable or enhance research funded under Solar System Science, Interdisciplinary Consortia for Astrobiology Research, the Exoplanets Research Program, or the Planetary Science Internal Scientist Funding Model.

What Types of Facilities Can Be Proposed?

Eligible facilities must be dedicated to one or more of four activities: characterization of chemical, isotopic, or physical properties of materials; experimentation on materials under defined environmental conditions; synthesis of new materials under defined conditions; or sample preparation, which must also pair with one of the other three activities. Proposed activities can include acquiring instruments or equipment, supporting technicians and operational personnel, developing new laboratory instruments or analytical methods and standards, and supporting instrument maintenance.

What Is Excluded From This Program?

PSEF does not fund scientific research itself, reference dataset acquisition, development of new flight instruments, facilities primarily supporting mission development rather than fundamental research, computing facilities, astronomical or observing facilities, data archiving facilities, laboratory construction and outfitting, or sample curation and repository facilities.

What Priorities Does NASA Emphasize This Year?

Three priority areas are specifically emphasized for ROSES-2025: facilities enhancing lunar science in the Artemis era, with particular encouragement for proposals pushing technology limits such as quantum sensors, artificial intelligence, integrated systems, parallel sensing, robotics and automation, and cold or cryogenic analysis capabilities; facilities enhancing Mars science aligned with Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group goals; and facilities enhancing astrobiology and planetary protection research, including bioburden detection, terrestrial microbe classification, and contaminant transport studies.

Who Is Eligible?

Proposals are welcomed from all research institutions, including emerging research institutions, institutions that have rarely or never received Planetary Science Division funding, and Primarily Undergraduate Institutions and Community Colleges. Institution type may be considered as a programmatic factor in selection. Institutions may participate as proposing organizations, sub-awardees, or unfunded partners.

How Are Proposals Structured and Formatted?

This year's PSEF uses a single-step submission process with one deadline, replacing the two-step process used in PSEF22 and PSEF24. The anonymized Science/Technical/Management section is capped at 13 pages total, made up of Technical Capabilities (up to 12 pages), Anticipated Userbase (up to 1 page), and an optional Facility-Relevant Training Opportunities section (up to 2 pages). Proposals requesting equipment or instrumentation over 50,000 dollars must include a descope plan showing how the facility would operate without that equipment if it is not funded. An anonymized Open Science and Data Management Plan of up to 2 pages and an anonymized Table of Work Effort are also required, followed by references with no page limit.

What Goes in the Non-Anonymized Expertise and Resources Document?

A separate Expertise and Resources document includes a Facility Management Plan of up to 2 pages covering user access priority, access procedures, costs, and safety practices; a non-anonymized Table of Personnel and Work Effort; Biographical Sketches and Current and Pending Support in SciENcv format for all PIs and Co-Is spending 10 percent or more time on the project; facilities and equipment descriptions; and, if applicable, a High-End Computing request.

Is Research Security Training Required?

Yes. Any PI or Co-I dedicating 10 percent or more time to a proposed award must certify completion of research security training, satisfied by either the four NSF Research Security Training modules or the SECURE Center's condensed equivalent, effective August 5, 2026.

How Are Proposals Evaluated?

NASA evaluates PSEF proposals on three criteria: scientific and technical merit of the proposed facility, including the Open Science and Data Management Plan, appropriateness of equipment and staff, facility uniqueness, and expected volume of use; relevance to Planetary Science Division research priorities; and cost reasonableness, covering both proposed work effort and other direct costs such as supplies, equipment, travel, and anticipated tariff costs. The Facility Management Plan is also assessed for whether it ensures adequate community access and sound user request procedures. Cost sharing is not required or scored but may be a tiebreaker between proposals of otherwise equal merit.

What Is the Funding Amount and Timeline?

NASA expects to fund approximately 2 to 8 new awards from an annual budget of about 5 million dollars. There is no explicit cap on individual award size. Awards run up to 4 years, with funding expected to begin about 9 months after the proposal due date.

How Do I Submit a Proposal?

Proposals are submitted electronically through NSPIRES at nspires.nasaprs.com. No hard copies are accepted. Applicants who need to submit through Grants.gov must request access at least 30 days before the due date from the point of contact below, copying sara@nasa.gov. The Grants.gov funding opportunity number is NNH25ZDA001N-PSEF.

Key Dates

Proposal due date: November 10, 2026 No Step-1 or Notice of Intent required this year Anticipated funding start: approximately 9 months after the proposal due date

Program Contact

Michael Lienhard Email: HQ-PSEF@mail.nasa.gov

How Can BW&CO Help With a PSEF Proposal?

BW&CO Consulting helps research teams position competitive facility proposals for ROSES, including dual-anonymous peer review compliance, facility scope and userbase justification, cost reasonableness narrative, and NSPIRES submission logistics, so applicants can meet the November 10, 2026 deadline with a complete, evaluation-ready package.

Contact BW&CO Consulting to discuss NASA ROSES C.4 Planetary Science Enabling Facilities eligibility and proposal strategy.

NASA SBIR/STTR Civilian Commercialization Readiness Pilot Program (CCRPP), Program Year 2026

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Executive Summary:

The NASA Civilian Commercialization Readiness Pilot Program (CCRPP) is a post-Phase II opportunity that matches private or non-SBIR government investment with additional SBIR/STTR program funds to accelerate a technology's transition to commercial or mission use. Eligible small businesses must have a completed, ongoing, or sequential NASA SBIR/STTR Phase II award and must secure an external investor willing to co-fund the maturation effort. NASA matches investor funds dollar-for-dollar, up to $2.5 million in SBIR/STTR funds against $2.5 million in outside investment, for a total award of up to $5 million.

Applications close August 19, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET.

This is a matching-funds pilot program requiring a secured external investor, a Letter of Commitment, and a 30-page technical application submitted through ProSAMS.

How much funding would I receive?

NASA matches SBIR/STTR program funds between $500,000 and $2.5 million per award, matched 1:1 by external investment, for a combined award of up to $5 million.

Eligibility Pathways (must meet one):

A completed NASA SBIR/STTR Phase II award (issued from NASA solicitations in approximately the last 10 years) with the Phase II period of performance complete by August 19, 2026

NASA SBIR/STTR Phase II-E options resulting from Phase I awards starting in Program Year 2014 or later, regardless of when their period of performance ends

An ongoing or completed NASA SBIR/STTR Phase II Sequential award

Investor Requirement:

Must secure one or more investors external to the SBIR/STTR program (a company, VC firm, individual investor, or non-SBIR government program)

Owners, family members, and affiliates of the small business do not qualify as external investors

A signed Letter of Commitment from each investor is required at application, with matching funds transferred within 45 calendar days of selection notification

Other Key Requirements:

Small business must have 500 or fewer employees, combined with affiliates

Businesses majority-owned by multiple VC firms, hedge funds, or private equity firms are not eligible

Principal Investigator must be primarily employed by the small business; co-PIs are not allowed

NAICS code must be 541713 or 541715 at time of award

Active SAM.gov registration required at submission and award

Are there any additional benefits I would receive? Yes, non-dilutive and strategic benefits include:

Equity-free matching funds to accelerate commercialization beyond Phase II

Access to NASA's Technology Available (TAV) patent and software portfolio for use in the project

Optional participation in the NSF I-Corps™ program, with up to $30,000 in additional support

External validation of commercial potential through a qualified third-party investor

What is the timeline to apply and when would I receive funding? Application deadline: August 19, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET, submitted via ProSAMS

Anticipated period of performance: 24 months (may not exceed 30 months)

Investor funds must be transferred within 45 calendar days of selection notification; NASA does not accept investments obligated more than 60 days (non-government) or 90 days (federal/state government) prior to selection notification

No formal timeline for award and disbursement is specified in the solicitation beyond the negotiation process following selection

Where does this funding come from?

NASA SBIR/STTR Program, matched with funds from an external, non-SBIR/STTR investor

Applications processed by the NASA SBIR/STTR Program Management Office (NASA Ames) with contracting through the NASA Shared Services Center (NSSC)

Who is eligible to apply?

U.S.-based small business concerns with a qualifying NASA Phase II history, as described above

Must register with the SBA Company Registry and SAM.gov, and submit via ProSAMS at https://prosams.nasa.gov/

What companies and projects are likely to win?

Applications are evaluated across four factors:

Scientific/Technical Merit and Feasibility — originality and feasibility of the proposed R&D, plus a review of prior Phase II results and objectives met

Experience, Qualifications, and Facilities — technical capability of the PI, key personnel, and any subcontractors, plus adequacy of instrumentation and facilities

Effectiveness of the Proposed Work Plan — comprehensiveness of the maturation strategy, schedule, resource allocation, and path beyond CCRPP toward NASA mission infusion

Commercial Potential and Feasibility — market segmentation, competitive landscape, commercialization plan, IP protection strategy, and prior commercialization track record

Are there any restrictions I should know about?

CCRPP funds may only be used to build on the firm's Phase II work; duplicative or unrelated effort is not eligible

Firms may not have already received a CCRPP or equivalent award (e.g., Commercialization Readiness Program) for the same Phase II technology

Subcontracting, including consultants, may not exceed 50 percent of the research effort

Technical application is capped at 30 pages, 1-inch margins, 10-point type minimum

How long will it take me to prepare an application?

The application requires a 30-page technical application (Customer Objectives, Additional Commercialization Information, and Implementation Approach), a detailed budget covering both SBIR/STTR and investor funds, a Briefing Chart, and a signed Letter of Commitment from each investor. Firms without an already-committed investor should expect the investor search and commitment process to be the longest lead item.

How can BW&CO help?

BW&CO can support:

Identifying and vetting appropriate external investors and structuring compliant Letters of Commitment

Translating your Phase II results into a Commercialization Plan aligned to the four-factor evaluation rubric

Building a credible budget and maturation schedule that satisfies NASA's matching-fund timing rules

Positioning past performance and IP strategy for NASA evaluators

Review solicitation here.

Autonomous Eradication Technologies Challenge: $550K DoD Prize Competition for Guam's Brown Tree Snake

Quick Answer

The Autonomous Eradication Technologies Challenge is a DoD-sponsored prize competition offering up to $550,000 in cash awards for autonomous detection, tracking, and control technologies to address Guam's invasive brown tree snake population, with potential Other Transaction Authority (OTA) pathways to direct procurement.

What is the Autonomous Eradication Technologies Challenge?

It is a recurring, rolling-cycle prize challenge sponsored by Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC), the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program / Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (SERDP/ESTCP), and DARPA. Central Florida Tech Grove administers the challenge and hosts the Virtual Demonstration Days where finalists present to government stakeholders. The same opportunity is also listed on InnoCentive under the title "Autonomous Eradication Technologies for Guam's Invasive Brown Tree Snakes."

What problem is this challenge trying to solve?

Guam's brown tree snake has caused decades of ecological and economic damage. The snake has driven the local extinction or decline of most native forest bird species on the island and causes roughly $4.5 million a year in economic losses through power outages from snakes contacting electrical infrastructure. It also poses a risk to military installations and personnel on Guam, a strategically critical U.S. Indo-Pacific location. Traditional control methods, including aerial delivery of acetaminophen-treated bait, have had limited success in Guam's dense forest canopy and rugged terrain. Island-wide eradication is considered nearly impossible without new technology.

What technologies are sponsors looking for?

The challenge is intentionally broad. Priority technology areas include:

• Drones and unmanned systems

• Autonomous robotics

• Advanced sensors and detection systems

• Artificial intelligence and machine learning

• Predictive modeling and data analytics

• Communications and decision-support tools

Solutions must be able to operate in dense forest canopy, rugged terrain, and night conditions, detect hidden targets, and support large-area autonomous surveillance missions.

How much prize money is available?

Up to $550,000 in total cash prizes. The listing does not publish a per-cycle or per-tier award breakdown. For comparison, other Central Florida Tech Grove and NavalX-funded DoD prize challenges have structured single-cycle awards at roughly $50,000 for first place, $30,000 for second, and $20,000 for third. Separately, federal Brown Tree Snake Control Program grant funding through the Department of the Interior has run between approximately $3.4 million and $4.1 million annually across multiple agencies, indicating a sustained, well-funded federal program behind this challenge rather than a one-off pilot.

Is this just a cash prize, or is there a path to a contract?

Both. Beyond the cash award, selected participants may qualify for Other Transaction Authority (OTA) pathways, direct procurement discussions, and field demonstration opportunities on Guam with U.S. military and federal agency stakeholders. The challenge is structured as a recurring feeder program, not a one-time grant.

Who is eligible to participate?

Participation is broad. Startups, universities, defense contractors, AI and drone teams, robotics developers, sensor engineers, and environmental technology innovators are all eligible. No prior experience with brown tree snakes, wildlife management, or Guam is required.

Do I need to submit by a single deadline?

No. This runs as a recurring, rolling-cycle prize challenge with monthly submission, evaluation, and virtual presentation windows. The current listed deadline is December 1, 2026 at 21:59 CST, but organizations may submit multiple solutions and resubmit in future cycles as their technology matures.

What happens after I submit?

Submissions are reviewed by a panel of government stakeholders. A limited number of organizations are selected for a Virtual Demonstration Day, where they present and demonstrate their capabilities directly to government end users. Selection can lead to prize awards and, potentially, follow-on opportunities to develop, transition, produce, and deploy the solution.

Do I keep ownership of my technology and IP?

Yes. Solvers retain all IP rights to their submissions. Submitting a solution does not transfer ownership or exclusive rights to the government or challenge sponsors. Only a non-exclusive, royalty-free license is requested, and solely for evaluation purposes.

Are there any restrictions on what I can propose or submit?

Yes, two worth noting. First, submissions must not contain Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). Second, some brown tree snake control methods, notably acetaminophen-based toxicants, are restricted by the EPA to trained government personnel; any submission proposing a regulated intervention must describe a realistic compliance pathway.

Additional Resources

Review the solicitation here.

DLA SUBNET BAA (SP4701-26-B-0003):

Quick Answer

The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Subsistence Network (SUBNET) Broad Agency Announcement is a five-year, unrestricted BAA (posted July 14, 2026) offering up to $35 million through Fiscal Year 2030 for R&D that modernizes the military's food supply chain. Small businesses in food technology, smart packaging, robotics, AI, and autonomous logistics are strongly encouraged to apply. There are no set-asides, but no minimum size standard exclusions either: any responsible small business can compete directly against large primes, and the program is explicitly designed to reward innovation over incumbency.

What Is the SUBNET BAA?

SUBNET (BAA SP4701-26-B-0003) is a Defense Logistics Agency-sponsored Department of War Manufacturing Technology Program focused on Class I (Subsistence) supply chain modernization. It funds an initiative called ALICE, the Advanced Logistics Initiative for Contested Environments, which is shifting DLA away from pure "pull-based" resupply toward a hybrid push-pull model built on three pillars:

Agile & Predictive Acquisition — rapid acquisition pathways for shelf-stable, freeze-dried, vacuum-sealed, and UHT-processed rations with 5-7+ year shelf lives.

Smart Packaging & Strategic Pre-Positioning — packaging with embedded real-time tracking, environmental sensors, and chemical indicators for food safety and quality.

Autonomous & Resilient Distribution — unmanned ground vehicles, cargo drones, and robotics for last-tactical-mile delivery in contested environments.

Beyond these pillars, DLA lists 20 additional areas of interest, including AI-driven supply chain optimization, additive manufacturing (3D food printing), sustainable food production, robotics and automation for ration assembly, food safety and defense, and circular economy/waste reduction solutions.

Key Facts at a Glance

Solicitation Number: BAA SP4701-26-B-0003

Issuing Agency: Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), Troop Support

Posted: July 14, 2026

BAA Duration: 5 years (open through 2030/2031)

Total Program Ceiling: Up to $35 million, FY2026 to FY2030

Typical Award Duration: 6 to 36 months

Set-Asides: None (unrestricted, but small businesses are actively encouraged)

Small Business Size Standard: 1,000 employees

NAICS Code: 541715

Subcontracting Plan Trigger: Required for large businesses/non-profits on awards over $750,000

Certified Cost/Pricing Data Trigger: Required for proposals of $2 million or more

Who Should Apply?

This BAA is unusually broad and directly relevant to deep-tech and dual-use startups that may not think of themselves as "defense food" companies. If your company works in any of the following, SUBNET is worth a look:

Combat rations, shelf-stable food, or nutrition science

Smart packaging, IoT sensors, or cold-chain/condition monitoring

Robotics and automation (including ration assembly or warehouse automation)

Autonomous ground vehicles or cargo drones for last-mile logistics

AI/ML for supply chain and demand forecasting

Additive manufacturing (3D printing) applied to food or materials

Sustainable or alternative food production (vertical farming, plant-based protein, lab-grown nutrients)

Water security and hydration technology

Cybersecurity applied to supply chain condition monitoring (CMMC Level 1 relevant)

Teaming with established combat ration assemblers (such as AmeriQual, Baxters, or Sopakco) is encouraged but not required.

How the Two-Stage Process Works

SUBNET uses a staged, low-burden approach designed to reduce risk for both DLA and offerors.

Stage I: Feasibility Study (up to 12 months)

No prototype is required. Offerors deliver a feasibility study that includes a Concept of Operations (CONOPS), functional and system requirements, preliminary metrics (KPPs/KPIs/KSAs), and an estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL). DLA evaluates the study as Acceptable or Unacceptable and may invite the offeror to propose for Stage II.

Stage II: Prototype or Conceptual Solution Development (up to 24 months)

Offerors choose one of two paths:

COA A (Analytical Study or Conceptual Solution): in-depth modeling, simulation, or process recommendations ready for DLA to adopt.

COA B (Prototype Development): a physical prototype at a minimum of TRL 7, with formal test and evaluation.

Fast-track option:

Companies with a documented history of successful past SUBNET performance may skip Stage I entirely and propose directly for Stage II.

How to Apply: White Paper First

DLA does not accept unsolicited full proposals. The process starts with a White Paper, limited to 6 pages (cover sheet, 1-page executive summary, and up to 4 pages covering goals, technical plan, capabilities, and cost/schedule). The mandatory template is provided in Attachment A of the BAA.

The White Paper must answer four questions:

What is the proposed work attempting to accomplish?

How is it done today, and what are the limitations?

Who benefits, and what is the impact if successful?

How much will it cost, and how long will it take?

White papers are not scored competitively. DLA either responds that the concept is not of interest, or invites a full technical and cost proposal. Only proposals invited after a white paper will be evaluated.

Submit white papers by email to:

Andrea.Nicolucci@dla.mil

Lauren.Runowski@dla.mil

CC: RandD.DCSO@dla.mil

How Proposals Are Evaluated

If invited to submit a full proposal, technical proposals (20 pages max) are evaluated through a peer/scientific review process on four factors, each rated Highly Acceptable, Acceptable, or Not Acceptable:

Feasibility (Overall Scientific and Technical Merit): Is the technology real or realistically achievable? TRL 4+ approaches score highest.

Viability: Can DoW/DLA actually adopt this given policy, cybersecurity, and FedRAMP constraints?

Desirability: Will end users actually want and use it?

Past Performance: Relevant experience in the last three years. Companies without past performance are rated neutrally, not penalized.

Cost proposals are evaluated separately for cost realism and are not the controlling factor in award decisions.

Why This Matters for Small Businesses

Unlike many defense R&D vehicles, SUBNET carries no set-asides, which means there is no artificial ceiling on small business participation. It also has no dedicated small business allocation, so small businesses compete on technical merit alongside large primes. Combined with the low-burden Stage I feasibility study (no prototype required, no per-project page-heavy proposal until DLA is already interested), this is a comparatively accessible entry point into Department of War-adjacent funding for companies that have never held a defense contract.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the DLA SUBNET BAA?

DLA SUBNET (BAA SP4701-26-B-0003) is a Broad Agency Announcement from the Defense Logistics Agency funding R&D that modernizes the military's Class I subsistence (food) supply chain, with up to $35 million available through Fiscal Year 2030.

Is SUBNET set aside for small businesses?

No. SUBNET is an unrestricted acquisition with no set-asides, because DLA determined the research areas could not practically be reserved. However, DLA actively encourages small businesses, including SDBs, WOSBs, HUBZone firms, VOSBs, and SDVOSBs, to submit white papers.

Do I need a prototype to apply?

No. Stage I is a feasibility study only, with no prototype development required. A physical prototype is only required in Stage II, and only if the offeror selects Course of Action B (Prototype Development).

How do I submit a proposal to SUBNET?

You cannot submit a full proposal directly. You must first submit a 6-page White Paper using the mandatory template in Attachment A. If DLA finds it of interest, the Contracting Officer will invite a full technical and cost proposal.

How long does SUBNET funding last?

Individual awards typically run 6 to 36 months. The BAA itself remains open for five years, from Fiscal Year 2026 through Fiscal Year 2030.

What technologies is DLA looking for under SUBNET?

Priority areas include shelf-stable and freeze-dried rations, smart packaging with embedded sensors, autonomous ground vehicles and cargo drones for last-mile delivery, AI-driven supply chain optimization, robotics for ration assembly, additive manufacturing (3D food printing), and sustainable food production methods.

Who is the point of contact for the SUBNET BAA?

White papers and questions should be directed to Andrea Nicolucci and Lauren Runowski at Andrea.Nicolucci@dla.mil and Lauren.Runowski@dla.mil, with a copy to RandD.DCSO@dla.mil.

How BW&CO Can Help

• Assess whether your technology fits SUBNET's Areas of Interest and whether Stage I or a direct-to-Stage II path makes sense for you

• Draft and refine your 6-page White Paper using DLA's mandatory template

• Build out the CONOPS, functional requirements, and TRL positioning DLA evaluators expect

• Prepare your technical and cost proposal if invited past the White Paper stage

• Identify teaming partners, including combat ration assemblers, if a partnership strengthens your proposal

Additional Resources

Review the solicitation here: Subnet BAA

Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Enterprise Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) - FA8652-26-S-C003

Last updated: July 12, 2026. Verify current status of any referenced Spiral on SAM.gov before submitting — Spirals open, close, and are added on a rolling basis.

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in Additional Resources).

Quick Answer

The AFRL Enterprise CSO is a standing, indefinite-duration umbrella announcement that the Air Force Research Laboratory uses to launch specific competitive solicitations, called Spirals, across nearly 100 technology Areas of Interest spanning air, space, cyber/electronic warfare, cross-domain, and basic research. Companies don't apply to the Enterprise CSO directly; they respond to an individual Spiral issued under it, using either a one-step process (Commercial Solutions Proposal) or a two-step process (Commercial Solutions Brief, followed by an invited Commercial Solutions Proposal). Awards can be FAR Part 12 commercial contracts or Other Transaction Prototype agreements.

Unlike many CSOs, foreign participation here is prohibited outright — this is not a "restricted but possible" eligibility gate.

Key Facts at a Glance

•     Administering agency: Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)

•     Solicitation number: FA8652-26-S-C003 (Amendment 01, 8 July 2026)

•     Authority: 10 U.S.C. § 3458; R-DFARS Subpart 212.70; NDAA FY22 § 803

•     Opportunity type: Enterprise-level CSO umbrella — actual competitions occur under individual Spirals

•     Duration: Active indefinitely; updated annually until terminated

•     Areas of Interest: Approximately 94 sub-areas across five domains (Air, Space, Cyber/Electronic Warfare, Cross-Domain, Basic Research)

•     Application format: One-Step: Commercial Solutions Proposal (CSP). Two-Step: Commercial Solutions Brief (CSB) — PowerPoint plus white paper — then an invited CSP

•     Award mechanisms: FAR Part 12 fixed-price contract, or Other Transaction for Prototype (OTP) under 10 U.S.C. § 4022, including follow-on production

•     Typical award size: Not specified in the solicitation. Awards under comparable DoD CSO/OTP mechanisms have ranged from roughly $100,000 for early feasibility efforts to $10 million or more for larger prototype demonstrations — actual amounts depend entirely on the Spiral and funding available

•     Who can apply: U.S. commercial companies, small businesses, nontraditional defense contractors, nonprofit research institutions

•     Who cannot apply: Foreign persons and FOCI (foreign-owned, controlled, or influenced) entities — prohibited outright, no exceptions stated

•     Security requirement: NIST SP 800-171 compliance for Covered Defense Information; a Science and Technology Protection Initial Risk Review for selectable proposals

How This CSO Actually Works: Enterprise CSO + Spirals

This is the single most important structural fact to understand before pursuing this opportunity: FA8652-26-S-C003 is not itself a solicitation you submit against. It's a framework document that authorizes AFRL Mission Organizations (its internal directorates) to issue individual Spirals — the actual competitive solicitations — at any time, tied to specific Areas of Interest.

Each Spiral specifies its own Areas of Interest in scope, submission format, dates, and evaluation criteria, and states whether it's Open (accepts submissions on a rolling basis) or Closed (narrows scope, hard deadline — late submissions are handled per FAR 52.212-1(c) and generally not considered). It will also state whether it uses a One-Step or Two-Step process.

One-Step Spiral (Commercial Solutions Proposal): Submit a complete CSP directly — technical proposal, price proposal, and Statement of Work. Evaluated once, then categorized as Selectable, Selectable/Insufficient Funding, or Not Selectable.

Two-Step Spiral (Commercial Solutions Brief, then Commercial Solutions Proposal): Step 1 is a CSB — a PowerPoint briefing plus a white paper (the Government may substitute a Pitch instead). It's evaluated on Technical Merit/Applicability and Funding Availability, weighted equally. If categorized Selectable, you're invited to Step 2: a full CSP (technical proposal, price proposal, SOW), evaluated on Technical Merit/Applicability, Importance to Agency Programs, Price, and Funding Availability, all weighted equally.

Because new Spirals can be issued at any time against any of the roughly 94 Areas of Interest, companies with relevant dual-use technology should monitor SAM.gov regularly rather than treating this as a one-time application.

Active Spiral as of This Writing

As of mid-2026, AFRL has an active Centralized, Open Two-Step Spiral (FA8652-26-S-C005) accepting Commercial Solutions Briefs, currently scoped to the Foundational Technologies (AFRL/RE) mission organization, open April 30, 2026 through April 30, 2027. This is a live, actionable entry point today — but confirm current scope and status on SAM.gov, since additional Spirals may have opened, or this one may have been amended, since this page was last updated.

Areas of Interest

Solution Briefs and Proposals must map to one or more of the Areas of Interest below. Each AOI sits within one of five domains; the specific Spiral you respond to will define which AOIs are currently in scope.

1. Air Domain Technologies

•     Human Performance Optimization — physical, cognitive, and human-machine interface techniques that enhance warfighter capability and resilience.

•     Aerospace Medicine and Operational Health — physiological monitoring, environmental protection, and medical support for air, space, and cyber operations.

•     Warfighter Survivability and Protection — personal protective equipment, threat detection, casualty care, and directed-energy protection.

•     Cognitive and Behavioral Sciences — perception, decision-making, and human-system interaction in complex environments.

•     Advanced Air Vehicles — next-generation aircraft: high-speed flight, maneuverability, stealth, optionally-manned configurations.

•     Air Propulsion Systems — turbine engines, scramjets and ramjets, and advanced powerplants.

•     Aerodynamics and Flight Sciences — flight control, stability, and performance research for maneuverability and endurance.

•     Hypersonics — materials, propulsion, guidance, and control for Mach 5+ flight.

•     Advanced Weapons Technologies — smart munitions, precision-guided munitions, novel warhead designs.

•     Energetics and Propellants — advanced energetic materials, propellants, and explosives with improved safety and performance.

•     Guidance Navigation and Control — accuracy, maneuverability, and target discrimination systems.

•     Munitions Survivability and Countermeasures — munition robustness against countermeasures and hostile environments.

•     Rocket Systems — solid, liquid, and hybrid rocket motors, propellants, thrust vector control, and tactical missile integration.

•     Nuclear Deterrence Technologies — strategic delivery platform modernization, NC3 systems, and fuzing/guidance for deterrence.

2. Space Domain Technologies

•     Space Access and Orbital Systems — launch vehicles, space propulsion, and maneuvering systems for reliable access to space.

•     Spacecraft and Satellite Technologies — satellite bus design, payloads, communications, and on-orbit servicing.

•     Space Power and Propulsion — solar arrays, energy storage, and electric propulsion for satellite life and maneuverability.

•     On-Orbit Operations and Autonomy — autonomous spacecraft operations, rendezvous and proximity operations, and debris mitigation.

•     Space Domain Awareness — sensors and analytics to detect, track, and characterize space objects and threats.

•     Resilient and Survivable Space Architecture — distributed constellations and hardened systems for contested environments.

•     Space Environment and Effects — space weather and radiation effects mitigation for space assets.

•     Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) From and For Space — space-based positioning, navigation, and timing systems.

•     Satellite Assembly, Integration & Testing — processes and facilities for spacecraft integration and environmental test/verification.

3. Cyberspace / Electronic Warfare Domain Technologies

•     Cyber Operations and Cybersecurity — offensive and defensive cyber capabilities, threat intelligence, and incident response.

•     Communications and Networks — software-defined radios, dynamic spectrum management, and resilient tactical networks.

•     Electronic Warfare and Spectrum Operations — electromagnetic spectrum dominance: signal processing, electronic attack and protection.

•     Quantum Technologies — quantum computing, communication, and sensing; algorithms for intractable problems.

•     Electro-Optical and Infrared Sensors — imaging and sensing across visible, infrared, and ultraviolet spectra for detection and tracking.

•     Radar and Radio Frequency Sensors — AESA, synthetic aperture radar, and low-probability-of-intercept/detection radar for target tracking.

•     Multispectral and Hyperspectral Sensing — multi-band sensors for material discrimination and camouflage detection.

•     Signal Processing and Sensor Fusion — multi-sensor integration for target recognition and situational awareness.

•     Quantum Sensing and Advanced Properties — photonic and quantum devices for sensitivity, resolution, and miniaturization.

•     Directed Energy Sensing and Countermeasures — sensors detecting and characterizing directed-energy threats.

•     High-Energy Laser Systems — scalable high-power lasers (solid-state, fiber) and beam control for weaponization.

•     Photonics — light-based capabilities for sensing, quantum information science, and directed energy.

•     High-Power Electromagnetic Technologies — high-power microwave sources, pulse power, and antennas for non-kinetic disable/disrupt effects.

•     High Power Electromagnetic Effects — physics-level and system-level testing of high-power microwave and particle-beam effects.

•     High Power Electromagnetic Applications — end-to-end high-power electromagnetic system design, build, integration, and field testing.

•     Beam Control and Adaptive Optics — beam steering and atmospheric compensation for laser accuracy.

•     Directed Energy Effects and Countermeasures — physical and operational effects of directed-energy weapons and defensive countermeasures.

•     Cybersecurity for Digital Environments — threat detection, vulnerability assessment, and resilient digital architectures.

•     Navigation Warfare and Counter PNT — disrupting adversary PNT and protecting friendly PNT in GPS-denied environments.

4. Cross-Domain Technologies

•     Human Systems Integration — human factors engineering, user interface design, and cognitive support for system usability.

•     Human-Machine Teaming and Interfaces — improving interaction between humans and AI-enabled systems.

•     Training and Simulation Technologies — virtual reality, augmented reality, serious gaming, and adaptive learning for readiness and mission rehearsal.

•     Rapid Multi-Domain Integration — interoperable, networked systems combining air, space, cyber, EW, and ground capabilities.

•     Advanced Systems Engineering — requirements engineering, architecture, modeling and simulation, and verification/validation.

•     Integrated Vehicle Health Management — real-time platform monitoring and diagnostics for safety and readiness.

•     Power and Thermal Management — power generation, storage, distribution, and thermal dissipation technologies.

•     Advanced Materials Development — high-temperature ceramics, lightweight composites, metamaterials, and bio-inspired materials.

•     Additive Manufacturing — on-demand production of complex geometries and multi-material components.

•     Materials Processing and Fabrication — nanomanufacturing, advanced joining, surface engineering, and coatings.

•     Materials Characterization and Testing — experimental and computational methods to understand material performance.

•     Environmentally Responsive and Smart Materials — adaptive, sensing, and self-healing materials.

•     Microelectronics — micro-scale electronics and integrated circuits for defense and aerospace systems.

•     Model-Based Systems Engineering, Digital Engineering, and Digital Thread — digital twins and virtual prototypes across the system lifecycle.

•     Advanced Simulation and Virtual Prototyping — computer-aided engineering simulation and testing before physical creation.

•     Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence — machine learning and AI for predictive analytics, pattern recognition, and automated reasoning.

•     Additive Manufacturing Digital Integration — generative design, topology optimization, and in-situ additive manufacturing process monitoring.

•     Low C-SWAP Alternative PNT for Attritable Systems — affordable, expendable PNT for disposable unmanned aircraft in GPS-denied environments.

•     Modular Open Architecture for Resilient PNT — standardized-interface PNT systems enabling rapid upgrades.

•     Robotics Technologies — autonomous and semi-autonomous robots for logistics, maintenance, and hazardous-environment tasks.

•     Software Systems Development — DevSecOps, modular open architecture, and AI/ML/autonomy software.

•     Physiological Operations — systems exploiting human cognition to influence adversary decision-making.

•     Runtime Assurance (RTA) for AI — real-time safety monitoring that reverts AI systems to a trusted backup controller.

•     Autonomy (for Airborne Platforms) — uncrewed aerial systems that navigate and execute missions with minimal human input.

5. Basic Research Technologies (AFOSR-Aligned)

•     Energetic Solid-State Physics and Mechanochemistry — chemistry and physics of solid-state energetic materials under extreme conditions.

•     Energy, Combustion, and Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics — chemical energy conversion for propulsion, electricity, and directed energy.

•     Aerodynamic Sciences — fundamental flowfield physics across internal and external configurations.

•     High-Speed Aerodynamics — high-speed, high-temperature non-equilibrium flow physics.

•     Aerospace Composite Materials — chemistry, physics, and mechanics of novel composite materials.

•     Aerospace Structures — emerging structural materials, meta-architectures, and intelligent subsystems.

•     Propulsion and Power — fundamental discovery to enable enhanced maneuver and power capabilities.

•     Agile Science for Test and Evaluation (T&E) — metrology and test methods across autonomy, hypersonics, and cyber/microelectronics.

•     Computational Cognition and Machine Intelligence — mathematical and computational foundations of machine intelligence and human-machine alignment.

•     Computational Mathematics — algorithms for large-scale engineering, design, and predictive simulation.

•     Dynamical Systems and Control Theory — mathematics of analysis and control for complex dynamical systems.

•     Dynamic Data and Information Processing — real-time model refinement using measured or simulated data.

•     Information Assurance and Cybersecurity — securing distributed systems, nanoscale devices, and quantum information.

•     Mathematical Optimization — theory and algorithms for allocation, planning, logistics, and scheduling problems.

•     Science of Information, Computation, Learning, and Fusion — extracting information from large, heterogeneous, multi-modal data.

•     Trust and Influence — social and cognitive principles of trust between humans and intelligent agents.

•     Complex Networks — structural analysis of large, dynamic, interdependent network systems.

•     Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience — neural mechanisms of perception, cognition, and behavior; brain-inspired computing.

•     Atomic and Molecular Physics — cold and ultra-cold quantum gases, precision measurement, and matter-wave optics.

•     Electromagnetics — linear and nonlinear electromagnetics and signal processing.

•     Optoelectronics and Photonics — light-matter interaction at the nanoscale for communications and computation.

•     High-Energy Radiation-Matter Systems — interaction of electromagnetic energy and matter for directed-energy weapons and sensors.

•     Quantum Information Sciences — non-classical phenomena for information analysis, storage, and protection.

•     Physics of Sensing — fundamental physics of remote detection and object characterization.

•     Space Physics — solar-terrestrial environment effects on tracking, communications, and navigation.

•     Ultrashort Pulse Laser-Matter Interactions — physical phenomena from ultrashort-pulse laser interactions with matter.

•     Condensed Matter Physics — new quantum phases and macroscopic properties in solid-state materials.

•     Astrodynamics — physics of motion and control of natural and artificial objects in Earth/Moon/Sun gravity fields.

Which AFRL Directorate Owns Which Domain

Every Area of Interest is mapped to one or more AFRL Mission Organizations in Attachment 1 — this determines who within AFRL actually reviews your submission. At a domain level:

•     Air Warfare (AFRL/RA): concentrated in Air Domain Technologies, plus select Cross-Domain and Basic Research areas

•     Foundational Technologies / AFOSR (AFRL/RE): the dominant directorate across nearly all of Basic Research Technologies, plus broad Cross-Domain coverage

•     Information & Spectrum Warfare (AFRL/RF): heavy coverage across Air, Space, and especially Cyberspace/Electronic Warfare Domain Technologies

•     Space Warfare (AFRL/RJ): broad coverage across Air, Space, Cyber/EW, Cross-Domain, and Basic Research

•     Digital Capabilities (AFRL/IZ): narrower, concentrated in select Cyber/EW and Cross-Domain digital topics

•     711th Human Performance Wing (711HPW): Air Domain human performance and medicine topics, plus human-machine teaming and physiological operations

•     Technology Transition (AFRL/RR) and Systems Technology Office (AFRL/STO): not mapped to specific Areas of Interest in the alignment table; these function as cross-cutting/transition support rather than topic owners

Because a single Area of Interest can map to multiple directorates, and because the specific Spiral, not the Enterprise CSO, determines which directorate actually evaluates your submission, confirming the right directorate fit before drafting is worth doing early. This is exactly the kind of fit assessment BW&CO does at kickoff.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much funding would I receive?

The solicitation does not specify award amounts — funding is set at the individual Spiral level and depends on availability. Awards may be structured as FAR Part 12 fixed-price contracts or as Other Transactions for Prototype (OTP) under 10 U.S.C. § 4022, including follow-on production agreements. Based on comparable DoD CSO/OTP mechanisms, awards have ranged from roughly $100,000 for early feasibility or component-level efforts up to $10 million or more for larger prototype and production-representative demonstrations. The Government may incrementally fund any award and reserves the right to fund all, some, or none of a proposal, including funding only part of a submission it deems Selectable.

What could I use the funding for?

Funding supports "innovative" solutions as legally defined: technology, processes, or methods (or new applications of existing ones) that are new as of your proposal's submission date. This spans advanced component development through full operational systems development, and can include prototype projects under OTP authority. A narrower category, Studies and Analysis funded with Operations and Maintenance appropriations, covers short-term (generally one year or less), non-developmental investigative work addressing urgent, near-term Air Force and Space Force needs.

What is the actual timeline to apply?

There is no single application deadline. You apply by responding to an individual Spiral, and each Spiral sets its own timeline. Open Spirals accept submissions on a rolling basis; Closed Spirals set a hard deadline, after which late submissions are handled under FAR 52.212-1(c) and generally not considered for award. The Enterprise CSO itself remains active indefinitely, refreshed annually until terminated, with new Spirals issued at any time. As of mid-2026, an active Centralized, Open Two-Step Spiral (FA8652-26-S-C005) covering the Foundational Technologies mission organization is open through April 30, 2027 — verify current status and scope on SAM.gov.

Who is eligible to apply?

U.S. commercial companies, small businesses, nontraditional defense contractors, and nonprofit research institutions registered in SAM.gov and determined "responsible" under FAR Subpart 9.1 are eligible. For awards structured as OTPs specifically, at least one of the following must also be true: a nontraditional defense contractor or nonprofit research institution participates significantly; all significant non-government participants are small businesses or nontraditional defense contractors; at least one-third of total project cost comes from non-federal sources; or the agency's Senior Procurement Executive documents exceptional circumstances justifying the transaction.

Who is NOT eligible to apply?

Foreign persons and foreign-owned, controlled, or influenced (FOCI) entities are prohibited from participating in awards under this announcement — full stop, with no stated exception. This is a meaningfully harder line than many other DoD CSOs, including some Army CSOs, which permit foreign-owned businesses to compete subject to review and approval. Companies should also expect exclusion if suspended or debarred from federal contracting, prohibited by law from receiving federal awards, or unable to meet required security clearances for a given effort.

What companies and projects are likely to win?

Companies with technology that's genuinely new as of the proposal date, not incremental refinement of an existing government-known capability, and that map cleanly to a specific, currently-open Spiral's Areas of Interest are best positioned. CSB submissions are weighed equally on Technical Merit/Applicability and Funding Availability; CSP submissions add Importance to Agency Programs and Price to that mix, still weighted equally. Because the Government can categorize a submission "Selectable" yet unfundable, technical merit alone doesn't guarantee an award — timing against available budget matters just as much.

How competitive will this be?

The solicitation doesn't disclose award volume or success rates, and competitiveness will vary enormously by Spiral and Area of Interest. With roughly 94 Areas of Interest spanning basic research through operational systems, and eight separate mission organizations issuing their own Spirals independently, this functions less like a single competition and more like dozens of parallel, narrower competitions, each with its own funding pool and evaluation timeline.

What restrictions should I know about?

Key constraints beyond eligibility: submissions containing Controlled Unclassified Information must go through DoD SAFE, not standard email; awards involving military-critical technical data may require a certified DD Form 2345 and Defense Logistics Agency registration under ITAR/EAR; awarded efforts are subject to NIST SP 800-171 safeguarding requirements for Covered Defense Information; and non-government advisors (FFRDCs, SETA, and A&AS contractors) under signed NDAs may review your proposal on the Government's behalf.

How long will it take to prepare an application?

Preparation time isn't specified and depends on the Spiral, but the barrier to entry is intentionally low for Step 1. A Two-Step CSB is a PowerPoint briefing plus a white paper (or a Pitch, if the Spiral requires one), not a full proposal. Only companies invited to Step 2, or those responding to a One-Step Spiral, need to prepare a complete Commercial Solutions Proposal with a technical volume, price volume, and Statement of Work.

How BW&CO Can Help

The AFRL Enterprise CSO's structure — an indefinite umbrella document with dozens of independently-issued Spirals across eight mission organizations — makes "which opportunity should I actually respond to" a harder question than it looks. BW&CO helps companies:

•     Fit assessment — Identify which currently-open Spiral, and which of the roughly 94 Areas of Interest, fits your technology

•     Mechanism strategy — Determine whether your submission is better positioned as a FAR Part 12 contract or an OTP, and confirm OTP eligibility criteria are met

•     Proposal development — Draft compelling Commercial Solutions Briefs and Proposals within the required page and slide limits

•     Compliance — Navigate NIST SP 800-171, export control, and Science and Technology Protection review requirements before they become a late-stage surprise

•     Monitoring — Track SAM.gov for new and amended Spirals aligned to your capabilities

Additional Resources

Review the solicitation here: SAM.gov — FA8652-26-S-C003

United States Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO)

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Executive Summary:

The U.S. Army DEVCOM Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) is an ongoing solicitation designed to help the Army rapidly identify and acquire innovative commercial technologies that support the modernization of military ground vehicle capabilities. Unlike a traditional grant or procurement with a single application deadline, this CSO contains multiple Areas of Interest (AoIs) covering a wide range of technologies including robotics, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, power systems, vehicle survivability, software engineering, modeling and simulation, and next-generation vehicle electronics.

Most Areas of Interest accept solution briefs on a rolling basis while the CSO remains open. However, individual AoIs may establish their own submission deadlines, which take precedence over the general solicitation timeline. Companies should carefully review the specific AoI before preparing a submission.

Unlike many Department of Defense opportunities that seek early-stage research, this CSO emphasizes innovative commercial technologies that can be demonstrated, adapted, integrated, or rapidly transitioned into Army applications through commercial contracts, Other Transaction Agreements (OTAs), Cooperative Agreements, or other acquisition mechanisms. Awards may support commercially available products, prototype demonstrations, pilot programs, technology maturation, and other activities that improve Army ground vehicle capabilities.

Companies may submit solution briefs for any open Area of Interest. The Government may evaluate submissions through a multi-phase process consisting of a written Solution Brief, an optional presentation or demonstration, and an invitation to submit a Commercial Solution Proposal (CSP). The Government also reserves the right to skip phases or move directly to a proposal request when appropriate.

Because new Areas of Interest may be added throughout the life of the solicitation and existing topics may be amended, companies with dual-use technologies should periodically monitor the CSO for new opportunities that align with their capabilities.

How much funding would I receive?

The solicitation does not specify award amounts, funding ranges, or the number of anticipated awards. Most awards coming from these CSOs range from the $500,000 to $5 million range.

Award values will depend on the individual Area of Interest, available funding, and the proposed commercial solution. The Government states that Requests for Commercial Solution Proposals (CSPs) are subject to the availability of funds, and that no specific dollars have been reserved for awards under the CSO.

Areas of Interest:

The following technology areas are currently included within the DEVCOM GVSC Commercial Solutions Opening. Unless otherwise stated within an individual Area of Interest, solution briefs may be submitted while the CSO remains open. Certain topics include separate submission deadlines, which take precedence over the general solicitation timeline.

GROUND VEHICLE ADVANCED POWER SYSTEMS:

This effort focuses on advancing electrical power systems up to 1.5MW of power for use on Military ground vehicles. The goal of this campaign is to meet the Army’s increasing electrical power needs while improving vehicle efficiency and the power density of power electronics. This will be made possible by exploiting the gains made in emerging power electronic designs and the use of cutting-edge electrical components. These advances will significantly impact future Army vehicle design and will enable the Army to have a decisive overmatch to near peer adversaries.

a. Power System Architecture up to 1.5MW: The objective of power system architecture topic develop architectures that are suitable for delivery of up to 1.5MW of power to vehicle systems and mission payloads. These architectures need to account for hybrid electric or all electric powertrains, high energy loads like cooling system, energy weapons, power export, and legacy 28Vdc/600Vdc power systems. There are three (3) key areas of investigation for this effort: 1) what safety features are needed to make the architecture a viable product; 2) is a voltage greater than 600Vdc needed; and 3) are electric components available at these voltage/power levels.

b. Advance Power Electronic Design: This topic focuses on taking advantage of cutting-edge power electronic design to significantly increase power density and power efficiency which will result in smaller devices that require less cooling and are easier to package. This topic includes, but is not limited to, advanced designs such as wideband gap semiconductors, soft switch, zero-volt switching, zero-current switch, modular multi-level converter, active filtering, and all other techniques to meet the focus of increased power density and power efficiency.

c. Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning (AI/ML) in Power Management Systems: This topic focuses on advancement in power management systems for ground vehicles as power management will enable more efficient vehicles. This topic incorporates advancements in AI/ML algorithms and knowledge base to adapt to how the vehicle is being used and learn the most efficient way to operate the vehicle. This topic also has two (2) key enablers in advancing AI/ML power system development: 1) power system modeling; and 2) hardware in-the loop software development.

d. Wireless Power Transfer: This topic focuses on wireless power transfer up to 1MW of power as there are two (2) target areas for wireless power transfer on Army ground vehicles. The first focus area is a safe, reliable way to recharge the vehicles through wireless recharge stations. The second focus area is wireless power transfer to transfer power between a hull and turret, bypassing the slipring.

e. Power System Physical Interfaces: Often when developing advance power electronics, the height and width of the design is dictated by the physical interface components, such as connectors, coolant fitting, and cabling. This topic focuses on the necessary advancement of interface components to reduce the physical size of the design. Also, these physical interface components often have very long lead times which can be problematic for procurement and integration, so advanced manufacturing approaches to reduce component lead time will also be explored under this topic.

f. Ground Vehicle MIL-Rugged Computing Architectures for Artificial Intelligence Applications: The US Army is interested in ruggedized computing architectures designed for running AI applications on military ground vehicles. In order to be considered rugged, the computers would need to meet ATPD-2404 requirements such as operating through pressure washing, submergence in 1 meter of water, gun shock, and operating in a 71C environment with little to no airflow. AI applications for mobility, autonomy, or target recognition largely depend on GPU or GPU-like processing ability with quick access to large amounts of memory. Utilizing MIL-STD-1275F or MIL-STD-3072 electrical power input, what products are available or could be developed to provide the most processing capability in a Standardized A-Kit Vehicle Envelope (SAVE) space claim or smaller and still meet the required environmental conditions?

g. Advanced Power Production and Storage: The US Army is interested in advanced power production and storage technologies, including novel batteries and fuel cells. Objectives include those that provide improved durability, reduced costs, and increased energy density, making them an attractive option for military vehicle applications. These technologies also include the ancillary enabling technologies, such as production of hydrogen for hydrogen fuel cells. These may come from industries such as automotive, aerospace, and energy.

h. Prototype Vehicle Experimentation Technical Support. The US Army is seeking technical support for high voltage vehicles during soldier touchpoint and demonstration events. Objectives include CONUS and OCONUS field repair and component replacement for the high voltage vehicles and are required to include the following: provide safety and driver training to select Government and military personnel; provide onsite technical/repair support (as needed) during vehicle events; order and field receipt of repair parts and supplies; diagnose, develop and execute plans for field maintenance and repair; arrange vehicle transportation to and from experimentation sites or for major repairs or regular maintenance; conduct major repairs and regular maintenance (as required); provide reach back technical and engineering support (as required). Working knowledge of the specific vehicle is required.

GROUND VEHICLE ROBOTICS (GVR):

The GVR mission is to develop, experiment, demonstrate, test and transition autonomy enabled ground system capabilities and technologies to meet and shape Army requirements.

The U.S. Army DEVCOM Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) seeks innovative commercial solutions that advance Autonomous Multidomain Robotic Systems. As the Army accelerates modernization toward multi-domain operations (MDO), the integration of heterogeneous robotic and autonomous systems (RAS) operating cohesively across ground, air, and sea domains represents a critical capability gap and strategic priority. GVSC, in support of CPE Mission Autonomy's future efforts, is interested in technologies and approaches that enable unmanned systems to function as a unified, intelligent combat team to execute complex missions with minimal human intervention while preserving human decision authority where necessary.

a. Agile Development of Logistics Material and Technical Services. To rapidly demonstrate and test GVR vehicle autonomy system innovative commercially available solutions for logistics material development that leverage existing autonomy systems, documentation, software and displays. Reducing cost and delivery time is required across the full spectrum of logistics material development. Application of Agile Development Process for maintenance, operation, supply, training materials and services is desired. Leveraging innovative commercial technologies, capabilities, processes, and techniques along with demonstrating the benefits of continuous integration and delivery during the development of operator and maintainer training, technical manuals, publications, and field support is desired. Additionally, the Government seeks alternative methods of delivering the materials to the soldier and collecting feedback and validating the new methods as well as supporting the transition of the new processes to programs of record is desired.

b. Cybersecurity. Commercial software and hardware to address cyber threats, which are a threat in the battlespace. Of particular interest is commercial software that enables the Army and its ground vehicle fleet to adapt to this environment with advancing cybersecurity technologies to become resilient to such threats. This includes applications of AI and quantum decryption as part of cyber security.

c. C-UAS. Commercial technology to counter the threat of drone-based attacks on ground vehicles and their sustainment and command and control support systems. Counter UAS capabilities of particular interest include one or more of the following technologies:

1) Sensing, such as radar, lidar, acoustic detectors, and optical sensors, which can detect, identify, classify, and track drones in real-time.

2) Hostable Portable software suitable for Fire Control, Blue Force deconfliction, Threat Point Of Origin (POO) and Track Triangulation, Sensor Fusion, Protection Projection, threat intent classification, payload identification, and weapon system handoff ( on and off platform), crew notification and interaction

3) Effectors to include but not limited to Kinetic Hard Kill (to include purely kinetic, fragmentation, and blast warheads), Electronic Warfare, Directed Energy, High Power Microwave, Electro Magnetic Pulse, Laser Dazzlers, and permanent sensor induced damage / degradation.

4) The ability to host complimentary capabilities within the Modular APS Controller (MAC) level and Modular APS Framework (MAF).

Seeking whitepapers that clearly identify a near term pathway to capabilities that can be demonstrated via experimental soldier touchpoints within 6-12 months and subsequent expedited fielding via PdM VPS or equivalent.

e. Textile Based Camouflage System. Commercial textile-based technology that will reduce the probability of a vehicle being detected by sensors and detectors whether the vehicle is stationary or on the move. Of particular interest are commercial solutions that allow adequate air flow to prevent damage to the textile-based technology, and that do not impede driver vision.

f. Thermal and HD Pan Tilt Zoom (PTZ) Camera. Commercial technology that provides day / night, real-time surveillance, 24/7 observation through degraded environments that allows for response to threats. Of particular interest is commercial solutions that allow for 360 degree visibility and allow for rapid integration onto multiple platforms.

g. Multi-Payload Launcher. This topic focuses on a system that can rapidly deploy multiple drones/payloads, either simultaneously or in quick succession, with each drone/payload potentially equipped to perform a distinct task. This creates a coordinated, multi-faceted capability that can be managed by a single operator or an autonomous control system.

The key to the system's versatility lies in its ability to launch a variety of drones/payloads, each tailored for a specific function. This "flexible loadout" can include:

1. Loitering Munitions: Designed for precision strikes against targets, with some variants capable of defeating armored vehicles.

2. Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR): Designed to provide real-time video, intelligence, and situational awareness for ground troops.

3. Electronic Warfare (EW): Designed to jam enemy communications or spoof their navigation systems.

4. Counter-Drone Systems: Designed to intercept and neutralize hostile drones.

h. Autonomous Commercial Vehicle (ACV). This topic focuses on the ACV capability which is a transformational unmanned ground platform designed to redefine maneuver warfare. Equipped with Modular Mission Payloads (MMPs), it provides Army units flexible options for reconnaissance, security, direct action, fires support, logistics, and deception. Leveraging mass-produced vehicle technologies, the ACV reduces cost, maintenance, and complexity while delivering lethal and non-lethal effects at the commander’s discretion.

Built for fast, distributed operating environments, the ACV enhances survivability and lethality through scalable production and vendor supply chains. It expands battlefield geometry, enabling commanders to shape engagements by employing Robotic and Autonomous Systems (RAS) for time, space, and cross-domain maneuver advantage. At the point of need, it delivers advanced battlefield capabilities.

i. Aided Detection Target Recognition (AiDTR) System. This topic focuses on a sophisticated Artificial Intelligence (AI) that employs machine learning to autonomously identify and categorize threats from sensor data, such as enemy combatants or vehicles. The primary goal of AiDTR is to reduce the cognitive burden on soldiers while increasing probability of threat detection and lowering false alarm rates, enabling faster threat identification and superior situational awareness. It is engineered for seamless integration with vehicles and advanced sensor systems.

j. Modular Obscuration System. This topic focus is seeking a mature, production-ready technology for a modular obscuration system. The desired system will provide a non-lethal effect to degrade enemy reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition (RSTA) capabilities and defeat visually and infrared-guided weapon systems. The primary objective is to hamper battlespace visibility, thereby increasing warfighter and platform survivability. Desired specifications include:

1. Obscure wavelengths from the visual through the near-infrared (NIR) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.

2. Generation of a visually impermeable screening effect in less than two minutes.

3. The obscuration effect should be sustained for more than 12 minutes from a single dissemination.

4. Man-portable and capable of being operated by a single soldier.

5. Support both dismounted and mounted operations.

6. Offers flexible control options: remotely via a wireless signal or directly through a wired connection.

k. Mission Autonomy Common Control Architecture Strategies, Prototypes & Solutions. Program Manager Robotic Command and Integration (PM RCI) seeks innovative commercial solutions and professional services to provide rapid, on demand technical expertise that accelerates Mission Autonomy (MA) development through advanced architecture maturation, mission engineering, modeling and simulation, cybersecurity analysis, and rapid acquisition and technical prototyping. Desired specialties also include multidisciplinary engineering and human factor analysis of MA systems and operations. Required capabilities include evolving the Mission Autonomy Common Control Architecture (MACCA); producing mission level modeling and architectural artifacts; conducting multidisciplinary engineering analysis; evaluation and verification (virtual and physical); system prototyping and integration; and delivering autonomy focused cybersecurity products such as threat models, attack surface assessments, survivability requirements, and adversarial testing strategies. PM RCI also requires commercial partners capable of shaping and executing sound acquisition strategies that shorten procurement timelines, drive faster prototype delivery, and apply innovative contracting methods aligned with DoW’s Acquisition Transformation Strategy to promote rapid, iterative development. Solutions should enable rapid task activation, scalable team deployment, and streamlined deliverables, while integrating commercial best practices that accelerate fielding and expand PM RCI’s ability to assess, secure, and integrate autonomous system technologies. This includes command and control, autonomy architecture, and tactical networking capabilities essential for synchronized air and ground robotic operations across Army missions.

l. Unified Command and Common Control (UC3) for Multi-Entity Mission Autonomy (MEMA) for Robotic Operations. The U.S. Army’s Capability Program Executive for Mission Autonomy (CPE MA), through PM RCI, seeks innovative solutions that advance architectures and technologies for Multi Entity Mission Autonomy (MEMA). The goal is to accelerate integration of autonomous capabilities across ground, air, maritime/surface, subsurface systems, payloads, and sensors. PM RCI requires scalable, modular hardware and software to support a Unified Command and Common Control (UC3) framework enabling and integrating coordinated operations among diverse autonomous systems. Solutions must provide safety assured control for crewed and uncrewed platforms operating in remote, supervised, or fully autonomous modes. Capabilities should reduce operator burden, enable one to many control, and adapt to varying supervision levels through independently verifiable, safety critical autonomy. Solutions should also address current UxS limitations, such as high operator to platform ratios, fragmented interfaces, stovepiped data, and challenges in Denied, Degraded, Intermittent, and Limited (DDIL) environments. PM RCI seeks prototype or mature product demonstrations of robust, interoperable UC3 frameworks using a Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA). Desired elements include a mission level C2 Orchestrator and platform level Mission Autonomy Agents that enhance distributed processing, resilience in contested environments, and seamless data orchestration across tactical networks. Solutions should support development of Mission Autonomy Common Control Architecture (MACCA) to ensure interoperability across Army, Joint, and allied autonomous systems.

m. Unified Combat Teaming. GVSC is seeking the connective architecture, control, and integration capability that turns a diverse, multi-vendor mix of unmanned ground, air, and sea systems into a single, scalable, controllable combat team, not a proprietary autonomy stack or isolated platform. We invite architecture-led and tooling-led innovators to address one or more of six interlocking Technical Workstreams (TW#) and/or Enabling Workstream (EW#) areas: open, severable modular architectures that let one vendor's system be cleanly swapped for another's [EW1]; common control and data standards (e.g., JAUS, DDS, TAK, STANAG) proven by dissimilar systems sharing one operational picture in Electronic Warfare/GPS-contested conditions [EW2]; onboarding tooling and SDKs that make third-party integration repeatable, not bespoke [EW3]; dynamic, decentralized task allocation and mission planning that lets one Soldier direct a multi-vendor formation as one team [TW1]; human-machine teaming that grows the agents one Soldier commands without growing the workload [TW2]; and the experimentation and evaluation harness to measure, replay, and compare teaming across simulation and hardware [TW3].

We value capability that is demonstrated, not asserted, works with platforms you did not build, carries a clear MOSA underpinning, and proves itself through physical experimentation, with a credible simulation path to scale preferred over a large fleet. We invite you to propose your open, interoperable technology that can show real results on a few systems today and a defensible path to large multi-vendor formations tomorrow, evaluable in a Hardware In the Loop or live settings within 6 to 12 months of award, whether addressing a single area or spanning several.

Please see attachment, “Area of Interest - Unified Combat Teaming” for all additional information regarding this AoI.

Solution briefs may address one or more of the six workstreams described in the attachment. Multi-workstream and integrated system proposals spanning the full Unified Combat Teaming capability are strongly encouraged.

While this Area of Interest will remain open, the Army will make initial award(s) based on White Papers submitted by 01 August 2026.

FORCE PROJECTION TECHNOLOGY (FPT):

The FPT provides mission lifecycle engineering for Army Combat Support and Combat Service Support equipment for gap crossing, petroleum & water systems, combat engineering, material handling, and fluid and petroleum quality surveillance. Its laboratories facilitate research, development, and engineering services to support fuels, fluids, water, wastewater and military bridging systems to keep the US Army in motion anytime, anywhere.

a. Demand Reduction

i. Alternative Sources of Water / Atmospheric Water Extraction (AWE). The Army has gaps in the ability to supply potable water to distributed, semi-independent units conducting multi-domain operations in a contested logistics environment. Currently, Large Tactical Water Purification Units that must be stationary during operation are used to produce bulk drinking water, which is then stored, bottled, and distributed tethering units to long lines of resupply.

b. Predictive Logistics and Maintenance. GVSC is interested in commercial software and integrated hardware solutions that provide the Army, and joint and multinational partners where possible, with improved sustainment posture through improved precision and accuracy in sustainment operations, such as maintenance and equipment status, and tracking of classes of supply, such as major end items, fuel, water, and spare parts. Specific interests in this area follow.

i. Logistics Tracking and Planning. GVSC is pursuing improved tracking of classes of supply, to include through multinational partners and channels. The purpose is to provide improved status reports to facilitate rapid, accurate decision making. Ideal solutions will provide not only Army visibility, but compatibility or integration into joint and multinational partners. While envisioned as software, integrated software-hardware solutions will be considered. Training, modelling, and simulation software to facilitate improved understanding, tracking, and decision making may be applicable here as well. In general, ideal proposals will include or culminate in successful demonstrations and pilot implementations that show paths to transition.

ii. Smart Fuel Metering and Management. Provide near real-time understanding of fuel status, fuel (supply) availability/quantity, location, and supply actions. The objective is to extend the operational reach and readiness of the Warfighter by providing fuel awareness and fuel management decision support for commanders in Multi Domain Operations throughout the range of military operations.

Commercial sensors, software, or integrated hardware-software solutions to support this project will support the ability to collect fuel measurement data from collapsible bags at fuel points during field experiments with the Army and United States Marine Corps (USMC) operations. Additionally, commercial solutions to assist in the development of a fuel management system to enable commodity managers to track and account for material as it is received, stored, transported, issued, and consumed delivering end-to-end visibility shared across the enterprise. Selection will be made on the basis of enabling the warfighter to improve decisions, manage multiple fuel sources, reduce demand, balance loads, and improve efficiencies within contingency bases, optimizing fuel management in expeditionary environments.

c. Advanced Manufacturing. New and novel technologies in the realm of advanced manufacturing technologies to include innovative technologies and processes to produce high-quality products with increased efficiency and reduced waste. This includes the integration of digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and the Internet of Things (IoT), to create smart factories that can adapt to changing production demands for supply of parts and services of interest to GVSC.

d. Autonomous Resupply. GVSC is interested in technologies that allow the Army to enhance multi domain distribution, extend reach, and increase the volume of supplies to dispersed formations through advanced platforms.

e. Advanced Power and Energy Solutions. GVSC is interested in technologies that allow the Army to field alternative energy solutions through advanced solutions such as fuel cells, advanced batteries, microgrids.

f. Bridging and Gap Defeat. Develop, test, experiment with, or demonstrate new innovative technology or mature existing technologies to defeat manmade or natural gaps found on the battlefield. Areas of interest include materiel solutions focused towards either wet or dry gaps and over a variety of defeat lengths, as well as the addition of AI/ML capabilities to new or existing materiel for both assault as well as logistical support missions. Efforts in this area support assured mobility in assault operations and the efficient execution of logistics in disbursed contested environments.

g. Fuel Handling Equipment. The Army is interested in advanced tactical fuel handling equipment. Areas of interest include but are not limited to fuel storage, distribution, filtration, and monitoring technologies and hardware. These efforts will increase fuel distribution capacity and tempo to extend operational reach, enable dispersion, and increase lethality as required for Joint All Domain Operations.

GROUND VEHICLE MATERIALS ENGINEERING (GVME)

The GVME mission is to provide materials technologies and engineering support to ground systems from cradle to grave to enhance warfighter readiness. GVME supports a diverse materials mission to include corrosion, coatings, joining, additive

manufacturing, and material and manufacturing applications, all supported by a characterization and failure analysis branch with in-house testing capabilities.

a. Ceramic Material Technologies. Ceramic materials for application in military parts to take advantage of properties such as exceptional hardness, wear resistance, corrosion resistance and applicability for high temperature environments. Areas of particular interest include applications for lightweighting, non- conductive, and non-magnetic applications.

b. Composites. Applications for composite materials that offer enhanced strength-to-weight ratios, improved corrosion resistance and increased durability compared to traditional materials. Of particular

interest are applications for composite rubbers for tracks and wheeled vehicle systems and applications of advanced composites for protective systems.

c. Composite and Transparent Armor. Commercial armor and advanced armor technologies to include transparent armor, reactive armors, and advanced material solutions for enhanced survivability for vehicles, payloads, and personnel.

d. Coatings. Coatings provide means of enhancing the properties of existing materials and components beyond what they are typically capable of. Advanced coating technologies, such as nanocoatings and thin- film coatings, offer improved properties, such as self-cleaning, antimicrobial, and anti-reflective characteristics. Coatings are also used to reduce friction, improve fuel efficiency, and minimize waste. Overall, coating technologies play a critical role in enhancing the performance, reliability, and lifespan of materials and components, while also reducing maintenance and operational costs.

e. Castings and Forging. GVSC is interested in advanced technologies which can support low volume, flexible, and responsive production of castings and forgings. This includes additive technologies, which enable substitution of the additive manufactured parts; incremental forming technologies; enabling technologies for rapid production of molds and dies; and computational tools to accelerate design and qualification of large castings and forgings with location-specific property prediction.

f. Tooling. GVSC is interested in advanced technologies which can support low volume, flexible, and responsive production of tooling. This includes technologies for rapid production of low volume tooling for composites, plastics, and other techniques suitable for low to medium volume production.

GROUND VEHICLE SURVIVABILITY AND PROTECTION:

Focuses on advancing vehicle and crew survivability for tracked and wheeled tactical and combat ground vehicles. The goal is to meet the Army’s increasing goal for higher mobility while maintaining or improving the survivability of the combat fleet. This will be made possible by exploiting increased computer power and implementation of AI in emerging active protection systems as well as innovative passive material solutions.

a. Next-Generation Vehicle Protection Systems Base Kit. Seeking innovative partners to deliver a critical technology for our next-generation vehicle protection strategy: the Vehicle Protection Systems Base Kit (VBK). This is a unique opportunity to contribute to a revolutionary, Modular Open Systems Architecture (MOSA)-based Active Protection System (APS) framework designed to dramatically enhance soldier survivability and reduce lifecycle costs.

The VBK: A Foundation for Adaptable Protection

The VBK program is focused on creating a flexible, scalable, and rapidly adaptable APS framework – instantiated by the VBK Controller – that can be seamlessly integrated with a wide range of APS subsystems across diverse missions and platforms. We are partnering with industry leaders to build the core components of this framework, including the Modular Active Controller (MAC), Safety Control Interface Panel (SCIP)/User Interface Control Panel (UICP) and the optional Power Management Distribution System (PMDS).

Seeking a partner to build and deliver production-intent VBK prototypes based on Government-provided Technical Data Packages (TDPs).

The MAC, the main component of the VBK control system, is a high-performance 3U VPX chassis featuring:

• SOSA-Compliant Architecture: Ensuring interoperability and future-proofing.

• Powerful Compute Capabilities: Supporting advanced algorithms with multiple compute-intensive payload slots (3-5) and options for Intel Xeon or NVIDIA Jetson AGX (Orin or Thor) based processing.

• Versatile I/O Connectivity: A cutting-edge FPGA I/O card enabling high-speed data transfer via 1/10 Gigabit TSN Ethernet, RS-422, CAN, SDI, DisplayPort, HDMI, and a comprehensive range of discrete signals.

Deliverables & Impact:

Seeking delivery of fully functional, production-ready VBK prototypes, including individual Line Replaceable Units (LRUs) based on the Government-provided Technical Data Packages (TDPs) for the MAC, SCIP, UICIP and PMDS plus all necessary support components (cables, breakout connectors, special tools, mounting hardware).

By responding to this area of interest, you will:

• Shape the Future: Contribute to a groundbreaking system that will enable vehicle protection for years to come.

• Leverage Government Investment: Utilize provided TDPs to accelerate development and reduce risk.

• Become a Key Partner: Establish a strong relationship with the GVSC and the U.S. Army.

We invite qualified organizations with expertise in hardware development, firmware integration, and MOSA principles to submit proposals for delivery of 10 VBK prototypes, with a follow-on option to deliver additional kits.

See attachment 0001 and 0002

Suspense date for submittal under this AOI is 01/30/2026.

b. Signature Management Technologies. Seeking innovative commercial solutions to mitigate ground vehicle and marine vehicle signatures. The signatures being requested include thermal, acoustic, and radio frequency, but others will also be considered. The technologies may be applique or coatings.

SOFTWARE ENGINEERING CENTER (SEC):

SEC provides full software lifecycle management; to engineer, develop, integrate and field precise software solutions; to improve Current Force effectiveness; and to provide superior software capabilities for the Future Force.

a. Government-Off-the-Shelf (GOTS) Common Operating System. The Army seeks innovative support to advance its Government-Off-the-Shelf (GOTS) Operating System (OS) for ground vehicle platforms. This initiative aims to establish a common, government-owned software foundation to reduce costs associated with commercial licensing, maintenance, and complex systems integration. Leveraging a standardized GOTS OS promotes software reuse, enhances cybersecurity through a common security posture, and ensures long-term scalability and maintainability across the fleet. The goal is to accelerate fielding schedules and reduce duplicative engineering efforts by providing a pre-accredited, adaptable operating system architecture for all vehicle programs.

Closing date for submittal under this AoI is 05/15/2026.

b. Embedded Software Maintenance. SEC is focused on providing software maintenance and sustainment for multiple vehicle platforms including Bradley Fighting Vehicles. This includes specific software development, integration, testing, validation, and fielding. The goal is to understand and innovate software solutions to integrate emerging technology and capabilities as it relates to obsolescence issues with legacy vehicle systems and equipment.

• Focus will be on tactical code development with military approved software (VXWorks, GHS, AdaCore) and communication systems (MIL-STD-1553, RS232/RS422/RS485)

• Automated and hybrid testing methodologies include simulation conception, testing development linking requirements traceability, and lab hardware/vehicle platform test management.

• Innovative hardware solutions to support design and building testing platforms, experimental/prototype vehicle integration efforts, and support priority equipment needs for software testing and validation.

g. Software & Hardware Integration and Fielding Support for Ground Vehicle Platforms - Data Integration for Ground Systems (DIGS) & Digital Logbook (DLB). The Army seeks innovative support to advance the integration and sustainment of the DIGS Kit and DLB for ground vehicle platforms. This initiative aims to automate manual processes, enhance equipment readiness visibility, and improve sustainment operations by digitizing maintenance tasks, streamlining Preventative Maintenance Checks and Services (PMCS), and error-proofing parts ordering. DIGS leverages vehicle sensors to capture usage and fault data, enabling the generation of accurate 5988-E forms and supporting commanders in making informed decisions.

The DLB, installed on the Operator Support Device (OSD), ensures vehicle configuration management, provides access to specific technical manuals based on vehicle configurations, restricts NSN ordering errors, and maintains updated Interactive Electronic Technical Manuals (IETMs) via network architecture. DLB facilitates guided PMCS steps, fault recording, and requisition validation, seamlessly integrating with the Global Combat Support System - Army (GCSS-A) for fault and requisition communication. Additionally, DLB supports disconnected operations through QR code generation and network printing capabilities.

The SEC is focused on providing full software lifecycle management, including development, integration, testing, validation, and fielding of DIGS kits and DLB software. The goal is to innovate software solutions that integrate emerging technologies and address obsolescence issues in legacy vehicle systems and equipment, ensuring operational efficiency and readiness across multiple vehicle platforms.

h. Diagnostic Software (DS) for Vehicle Maintenance. The Army seeks innovative support to advance DS Viper, the latest generation of Army standard diagnostic software. DS Viper is designed to maintain Army Ground Combat Systems, Tactical Wheeled Vehicles, and Watercraft, providing a unified diagnostic solution to enhance maintenance operations across diverse platforms. DS Viper delivers decoupled diagnostics to support the Army’s transition to a single viewer, the Interactive Authoring and Display Software (IADS). As part of the Project Director Test, Measurement, and Diagnostic Equipment (PD TMDE) Maintenance Support Device (MSD) system image, DS Viper ensures seamless integration, cybersecurity compliance, and eliminates licensing fees. The software simplifies training requirements by offering a standardized look and feel across platforms, reducing complexity and improving operational efficiency.

The SEC is focused on providing full software lifecycle management, including development, software sustainment/maintenance, integration, testing, and validation of the DS Viper software. The goal is to innovate software solutions that integrate emerging technologies and address obsolescence issues in legacy vehicle systems and equipment, ensuring operational efficiency and readiness across multiple vehicle platforms. This government-owned diagnostic solution underscores the Army’s commitment to delivering a cost-effective, scalable, and secure tool that enhances vehicle maintenance operations and supports readiness across the fleet.

i. Software Configuration Management (SCM). The SCM team is soliciting a user-friendly tool that can integrate with Source Management and code tools (Atlassian or GitLab) to track and manage final deliverables for all the projects we support. It needs to be able to establish what we expect to receive for each Release per Project and track if it was received, dates, from who, etc. with a hierarchy of deliverables and sub-components maintained. Store location information for both physical and electronic versions. Additionally, it needs to track physical and electronic receipt of information from external sources, who, what, where and their storage locations.

j. CI/CD Pipelines. The SEC is seeking an industry partner with GovCloud development experience to test and validate capabilities between our on-premise infrastructure and AWS cloud environment. Must have demonstrated experience in automation, responsible for developing Infrastructure as Code (IaC), with tools like Terraform or CloudFormation, and building CI/CD pipelines to ensure seamless building and integration of software source code and automated test. A strong background in AWS services, scripting (Python/Bash), and hybrid cloud security along with experience in the Army RMF process.

k. Artificial Intelligence in Software Engineering and Development. This topic focuses on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to assist software engineering professionals throughout the software development lifecycle—including requirements, architecture, design, implementation, and testing—to improve software quality and accelerate development.

Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

- Code generation models trained specifically for embedded, military, or safety-critical software development environments.

-AI-assisted expansion of unit testing in legacy code bases, including automated test generation and identification of gaps in test coverage.

-AI-assisted modernization of legacy software systems, including migration from legacy or military-centric programming languages to modern or general-purpose programming languages.

-AI-assisted acceleration of model-based software engineering, including generation of Unified Modeling Language (UML)/Systems Modeling Language (SysML) models from legacy documentation and/or source code.

- AI-assisted analysis of software engineering artifacts, including gap analysis and evaluation of design documentation and UML/SysML models.

-AI-assisted comprehension of legacy code bases, including extraction of architecture, interfaces, and system behavior from existing source code.

-AI-assisted refactoring and restructuring of software systems to improve maintainability, modularity, and performance.

-AI-assisted generation and maintenance of software documentation, including design descriptions, interface documentation, and developer guidance.

-AI-assisted traceability analysis across requirements, models, source code, and test artifacts.

-AI-assisted detection of software defects, vulnerabilities, and violations of safety or security coding standards.

-AI-powered developer assistants integrated into software development environments to support code generation, debugging, and refactoring.

l. Simulated/Emulated Hardware Targets for Automated Testing and Digital Twins. Provide subject matter expertise on the development of simulated/emulated hardware targets for embedded systems that can be used for automated testing and digital twin applications. The intent is to gain visibility on the state-of-the-art tools and practices for abstracting from hardware, understand in what situations to use specific tools, and potentially develop a reference architecture (e.g., a sample robot or vehicle) that can be used to assess capabilities and grow competency on how to build integrated pipelines and automation.

m. Multi-Tenant Cloud Solutions for Embedded Software Development. Provide subject matter expert support to bring industry best practices into the architectural design, implementation, and maintenance of a multi-tenant based cloud solution for hosting software development and test projects, with a primary focus on embedded software. This effort seeks experts to assist the government team in deploying concepts within government-owned cloud environments (e.g., SPDS, GDEV-C). The solution should provide projects with scalable, isolated cloud resources by default and include the ability for the defense industrial base to use the environment. A key focus is on automation, the adoption of AI (including pipeline development), and DevSecOps practices in alignment with DoW modernization goals. Subject matter experts will work with the government team and could form the basis of a persistent operations team or, at a minimum, inform the government on how best to organize such a team and identify the skills/resources needed to support the effort operationally.

n. Adoption and Use of Containerization in Embedded Systems. Provide subject matter expert support to bring industry best practices into the adoption and use of containerization within software development and test activities, including those with an embedded system focus. This effort seeks to leverage expert knowledge to address current gaps in security and utilization, and to discover more effective ways to use containerization to its fullest potential. A specific focus is desired on the hardening of containers and the enabling infrastructure, along with general supply chain management considerations. This includes various levels of usage for containers, from deploying enterprise solutions versus VMs, looking at how to do builds/tests for things like CIE, the possible application on actual embedded targets, and the general use of containers for tools and builds in general pipelines.

o. Software Test Automation. The SEC is advancing an enterprise Software Test Automation capability to modernize verification and validation across Army ground vehicle platforms. This initiative integrates automated and hybrid testing methodologies into the full software lifecycle, enabling continuous regression, requirements traceability, and objective digital evidence generation. Leveraging reusable automation frameworks (CATS), centralized orchestration platforms (CTAP), and Software-in-the-Loop (SITL) and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HITL) environments, SEC reduces manual regression cycles, improves defect detection, and accelerates software fielding. The capability supports tactical code validation across approved military software environments and communication interfaces (e.g., MIL-STD-1553, CAN, serial protocols), while enhancing cybersecurity validation and sustainment readiness. The objective is to convert repetitive manual testing effort into scalable, reusable infrastructure that improves quality, lowers lifecycle cost, and supports rapid capability integration across current and future vehicle platforms.

p. Software Safety. The SEC provides comprehensive Software Safety engineering support across Army ground vehicle platforms to ensure safe, reliable, and mission-assured system operation. This capability includes support for Preliminary Hazard Analysis (PHA), Functional Hazard Analysis (FHA), system and software hazard tracking, enforcement of coding standards such as MISRA, and implementation of safety-critical test requirements including C/DC and MC/DC coverage. SEC conducts independent technical reviews of software design, code, and verification artifacts while maintaining bidirectional traceability from hazards through requirements, architecture, implementation, and test results. The objective is to reduce safety risk, ensure compliance with Army and DoD safety standards, and support safe integration of new capabilities into both legacy and future vehicle systems.

q. Digital Distribution. The SEC seeks innovative support to advance its Digital Distribution capability to modernize the delivery and sustainment of software for ground vehicle platforms. Digital Distribution provides a secure, centralized platform for the rapid deployment of software updates, patches, and new capabilities, eliminating the need for physical media. This approach ensures that all systems remain up-to-date with the latest approved software versions, reducing downtime and enhancing mission readiness. By leveraging encryption and authentication protocols, Digital Distribution protects against unauthorized access and tampering, ensuring the integrity of critical software. The objective is to streamline version control and ensures consistency across the fleet, enabling faster and more efficient software fielding.

r. Software Bill of Materials (SBOM). The SEC seeks to enhance its SBOM capability to improve transparency and security across the software lifecycle. SBOM provides a comprehensive inventory of all software components, libraries, and dependencies used in a system, enabling proactive management of vulnerabilities and compliance with government standards. By identifying and tracking software components, SBOM ensures rapid detection and mitigation of cybersecurity risks, reducing the potential for exploitation. It also facilitates lifecycle management by addressing obsolescence issues and ensuring long-term maintainability. This objective is to support the Army’s efforts to improve software quality, enhance cybersecurity, and ensure compliance with Executive Order 14028 on improving the nation’s cybersecurity.

s. Hardware Line Replaceable Unit (LRU) Simulation. The SEC seeks to advance its Hardware LRU Simulation capability to modernize its software development and testing processes. Hosted in the cloud, this simulation environment provides a scalable and cost-effective solution for testing and validating software without the need for physical hardware. Hardware LRU Simulation enables developers to replicate the behavior of hardware components and systems, allowing for early detection of defects and interoperability issues. This approach accelerates development timelines, reduces costs associated with hardware procurement and maintenance, and supports the integration of emerging technologies. The objective is to provide a virtual environment for testing and have Hardware LRU Simulations to ensures that software is thoroughly validated and ready for deployment, enhancing the reliability and performance of Army ground vehicle platforms.

GROUND VEHICLE POWER AND MOBILTIY (GVPM):

GVPM provides the Army with solutions in Ground Vehicle Mobility, Power, and Propulsion. GVPM has developed powertrains, power generation, power distribution and energy storage systems. GVPM facilities encompass labs in engine research, engine/electric machine testing and development, and vehicle performance testing under all climate conditions.

Priority is placed on near term solutions that have the potential for rapid transition to a high Technology Readiness Level (TRL). GVPM maintains interest in longer term technology that advances the performance or enables compact power generation and propulsion systems. In addition, GVPM has interest in emerging technologies for ground vehicle applications for high power, power dense generators, and advanced power electronics that have been integrated into demonstrations as part of a vehicle.

a. Durable Replacement Track System for M88A2 Vehicle. Seeking a drop-in replacement for the M88A2 vehicle existing track systems. The desired solution should require minimal changes to the vehicle, limited to components such as the sprocket and carrier. It is highly desirable to retain the current OEM roadwheels. The solution should leverage proven, commercially available technologies that balance performance and durability with affordability. The T107 track system is currently on the Readiness Driver List, which could inversely affect the vehicles’ availability. PM Mounted Armored Vehicles (MAV) seeks an optimized and modern track solution that can be integrated into the M88A2 platform with minimal modifications while providing better availability, durability and value for the Government.

Requirements

The replacement track system must meet the following preliminary requirements:

1) Compatibility: The track system must be compatible with the current M88A2 platform, requiring minimal modifications (e.g., sprocket and carrier changes). It is highly desirable to retain the current OEM roadwheels.

2) Durability: The track system must demonstrate significantly improved durability compared to the current system, with reduced failure rates while following current OMS/MP (20% Primary roads, 40% secondary and 40% Cross Country roads. 30% of each of these will be completed in “Towed” conditions).

a) Track Pads: 1,000 miles Threshold (T) 2,000 Objective (O)

b) Track Body: 2,000 miles Threshold (T) 3,000 Objective (O)

3) Size and Weight: The track system must conform to the size and weight constraints of the 70T M88A2 vehicle. There is not a specific requirement for a maximum allowed track weight, however track weight and its impact on vehicle performance and life-cycle cost could be used for rating purposes.

4) Performance: The track system must maintain or improve the vehicle's mobility, traction, and operational performance in diverse terrains. Improved tractive effort during towing operations on sloped surfaces is highly desirable.

5) Proven Solution: The track system should be an existing, commercially available product with a proven track record of performance. Solutions used in Foreign Military Sales (FMS) or similar vehicles are encouraged.

6) Ease of Integration: The track system must be designed for straightforward integration into the M88A2 platform without requiring extensive modifications or redesign. Simplicity of integration is a key factor in reducing overall program cost.

7) Cost-Effectiveness: Solutions must demonstrate value through a low Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Respondents should describe how their solution minimizes costs over the entire life cycle, including acquisition, maintenance, and replacement.

Offeror must submit country of Origin for the proposed track system or percentage of the system that is made in the USA.

Suspense date for submittal under this AOI is 04/06/2026.

b. Vehicle Power Generation and Distribution. These systems or kits install a power generation capability to a vehicle at power levels 30kW to 350kW. Power dense packaging allows minimal engineering for installation in a vehicle with severe space availability. Utilize mechanical power takeoff interfaces from transmissions or engines. These solutions can include components that convert, condition, and provide connection for power to the common end user voltages (i.e. 600VDC, 440VAC 60hz, 208VAC 60hz, 110VAC 60hz, 24VDC, 12VDC, et. Al). Solutions showing previous demonstrations in a vehicle are of interest.

c. Components Required to Enable Vehicle Power Generation and Power Distribution. GVPM has interest in highly integrated electric machines/systems that are highly compact, nearing serial production, and installed on a vehicle system. Also, interest lies in innovative packaging of electric machines, power controllers and thermal management systems to allow complete compact packaging under space constrained conditions. Capabilities at power levels 30kW to 350kW demonstrated on a vehicle are of interest.

d. Propulsion Systems. Highly integrated power dense drive systems integrating electric machines, energy storage (regen and et. al), braking, and gear reduction. End system applications for 8000lbs to 75000lbs GVW. Any integrated combination of multiple component functions mentioned are also of interest. Solutions showing previous demonstrations in a vehicle are of great interest.

.MODELING AND SIMULATION (M&S)

The GVSC M&S mission is to accelerate innovation through rapid prototyping and experimentation, leveraging industry expertise and soldier feedback to quickly iterate and refine Army ground platform capabilities, optimize design and performance by reducing development time and costs to rapidly evaluate multiple design approaches and incorporate continuous soldier feedback for enhanced usability and operational effectiveness, and inform strategic decisions by maintaining a competitive advantage with data-driven insights by quantifying capabilities, identifying critical technology gaps, and illuminating capability investment opportunities. This effort focuses on advancing modeling and simulation tools and capabilities through industry partnerships and collaborations.

a. Innovative Training Aids and Simulators. With increases in onboard capabilities and increasing technical sophistication of ground vehicles, GVSC is interested in commercial solutions that can improve training, fielding, and maintenance of ground vehicles. This includes providing training and simulations using on- board computing capabilities but also includes standalone equipment.

b. Applying Artificial Intelligence Algorithms to Expedite the Platform Concepting Process for Early

Requirements Shaping and Trade Studies. GVSC M&S is looking to develop an on-premises, SME-credible AI-assisted ground-vehicle concepting demonstration that produces constraint-checked, auditable platform concepts suitable for early requirements shaping and trade studies. While the scope of this project includes expediting concept generation using a wide array of available AI methods, emphasis is placed on using LLM prompts to directly generate/expedite usable Computer-Aided Design (CAD) components. This work will be using decades worth of Government generated data and concepts and will not require additional contractor data. These AI methods must be usable within a U.S. government environment with expectations that the U.S. government will own rights to both the data being used as input but also for the resulting models.

c. Relocatable Facility Accreditation: Agile SCIF Security Oversight. The Government is executing a rapid prototyping effort to design, construct, build and deploy a relocatable facility, the Cybersecurity and Vehicle Cyber Center (CVCC), which requires accreditation for classified use up to the Top Secret level with eligibility for SCI access. This facility is being designed, constructed, built and deployed in the United States. Historically, applying the rigid Intelligence Community Directive (ICD) 705 security standards to rapid, commercially modified prototyping programs has proven difficult to execute without causing significant schedule delays. This creates a critical need for a dedicated Site Security Manager (SSM) to bridge the gap between commercial manufacturing processes and strict government security oversight to include interactions with an Accrediting Official.

The Government seeks innovative commercial solutions to provide comprehensive security oversight. The traditional, sequential methodology for ICD 705 compliance is often incompatible with the speed of commercial prototyping. Therefore, the Government requires an "agile compliance process"—a solution that successfully integrates and enforces legacy ICD 705 government security oversight within a rapid, commercially driven prototyping program for a relocatable facility.

The Government is seeking industry partners capable of acting as the Site Security Manager (SSM) to ensure the aforementioned prototyping effort achieves full ICD 705 accreditation. The company shall have a Top Secret Facility Clearence Level. Submissions should demonstrate innovative methodologies for integrating security into the commercial prototyping lifecycle. Specific areas of interest include:

• Lifecycle Site Security Management (SSM) Oversight: This sub-topic seeks the provision of a qualified SSM to serve as the primary liaison between the commercial prototyping vendor, the Government Program Office, and the Accrediting Official (AO) / Certified TEMPEST Technical Authority (CTTA). The SSM must provide continuous oversight of architectural designs, material procurement, and physical construction, ensuring all deviations or commercial modifications are evaluated for their impact on ICD 705 compliance. The person shall have a Top Secret clearance with eligibility for SCI access.

• Agile Construction Security Plan (CSP) Development and Execution: This sub-topic focuses on the development, approval, implementation, and management of a CSP that adapts to a rapid commercial build schedule. The solution must meet the stringent physical, acoustic, and technical (TEMPEST) requirements of ICD 705 and ICS 705-1. Desired outcomes include innovative approaches to conducting security inspections, documenting construction phases, performing construction surveillance duties, and managing secure supply chains without halting commercial manufacturing timelines.

• Accelerated Accreditation Documentation and Delivery: This sub-topic focuses on the streamlined generation and management of all required accreditation artifacts. The desired solution will enable the agile preparation of the Fixed Facility Checklist (FFC), TEMPEST addendums, acoustic testing reports, and the final accreditation package to ensure the facility is ready for immediate operational deployment and AO approval upon delivery.

Anticipated Schedule: four months design activities, followed by five months pre-construction activities, followed by 11 months on site construction work immediately after award.

Suspense date for submittal under this AOI is 06/19/2026

VEHICLE ELECTRONICS AND ARCHITECTURE (VEA):

The VEA mission is to design, integrate and deliver vehicle electronics systems by leveraging advanced technologies to provide enhanced capabilities for military ground vehicles.

a. High Performance Compute Solution: The US Army is actively researching and evaluating embedded high-performance computing solutions to support next-generation capabilities in challenging operational environments. We are particularly interested in MOSA-based platforms capable of seamlessly hosting and integrating emerging technologies, including AiTR (AI-enabled Targeting & Recognition), Anti-jamming, Automated Lethality, Survivability, Electronic Warfare (EW) and Defense. The goal is to take current algorithms for these technologies as well as Artificial Intelligence/ Machine Learning (AI/ML) capabilities and evaluate them for true processing needs. We are interested in learning more about system architecture, processing power (specifically relating to AI/ML workloads), ruggedization, thermal cooling, security features, C-UAS, power efficiency, and demonstrated performance in similar applications.

DETROIT ARSENAL PROTOTYPE INTEGRATION FACILITY (DTA PIF):

The DTA PIF mission is to provide robust, innovative solutions to our customer requirements for our shared military missions.

a. Advance Vehicle Development - Rapid Response Hardware Solutions. To address emergent capability gaps, DTA-PIF is soliciting innovative commercial solution briefs targeting rapid response hardware solution focused on dual-use, modular, and easily deployable systems. The objective is to procure tangible hardware solutions capable of being manufactured, configured, and fielded in an expedited manner, rather than the months or years associated with traditional defense hardware programs. This initiative seeks industry partners to provide end-to-end development and delivery of turn-key hardware systems, from initial concept through low-volume manufacturing and sustainment.

What could I use the funding for?

Depending on the applicable Area of Interest, awards may support activities such as:

• Commercial technology adaptation

• Prototype development

• Pilot projects

• Demonstrations

• Agile software development

• Commercial integration

• Technology maturation

• Testing and validation

• Systems integration

• Sustainment activities

The Government also states that awards may support commercially available technologies, commercial technologies enhanced through strategic investment, existing government-owned capabilities, or concepts intended for broader defense applications.

Are there any additional benefits I would receive?

In addition to potential funding, selected companies may receive opportunities to:

• Demonstrate technology directly to Army subject matter experts.

• Participate in Army experimentation activities.

• Collaborate with Government technical experts.

• Mature commercial technologies for military applications.

• Potentially transition technologies into future Army programs.

The solicitation also provides flexibility to use several acquisition pathways, including commercial contracts under FAR Part 12, Other Transaction Agreements (OTAs), and Cooperative Agreements, depending on the specific effort.

What is the timeline to apply and when would I receive funding?

Most Areas of Interest remain open for solution brief submissions unless an individual AoI specifies its own submission deadline.

The solicitation states that awards may be made throughout 2029, and additional Areas of Interest may be added at any time during the life of the CSO. Companies are encouraged to regularly monitor SAM.gov for new or amended topics.

The general evaluation process consists of:

1. Phase 1 – Solution Brief

2. Phase 2 – Presentation or Demonstration (if requested)

3. Phase 3 – Invitation to submit a Commercial Solution Proposal (CSP)

The Government may bypass phases, request additional information, or accelerate evaluations based on program priorities and available funding. Funding timelines are not specified in the solicitation.

Where does this funding come from?

This Commercial Solutions Opening is administered by the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) under the authority provided by 10 U.S.C. 3458 for Commercial Solutions Openings.

GVSC is the Army's research and development organization for advanced ground vehicle technologies and supports Army modernization priorities across numerous technical disciplines including autonomy, mobility, survivability, power systems, software engineering, cyber engineering, manufacturing, and modeling and simulation.

Who is eligible to apply?

The solicitation is intended for companies and organizations with innovative commercial technologies that can help advance Army ground vehicle capabilities.

The solicitation specifically defines and references the following entity types:

• Commercial companies

• Small businesses

• Nontraditional Defense Contractors

• Nonprofit institutions

• Foreign-owned businesses (subject to applicable approvals and restrictions)

• Other organizations capable of providing innovative commercial products, technologies, or services

Companies must also satisfy standard federal contracting requirements before receiving an award, including obtaining a Unique Entity ID (UEI), maintaining an active SAM registration, registering in the required government invoicing system, and being determined responsible by the Contracting Officer.

Who is not eligible to apply?

The solicitation does not provide a general list of ineligible applicants.

However, organizations may be unable to receive an award if they:

• Are suspended or debarred from doing business with the Federal Government.

• Are prohibited by law or Executive Order from receiving federal awards.

• Cannot satisfy required registration requirements.

• Cannot obtain any required security approvals associated with a particular project.

Foreign-owned businesses may submit solution briefs independently or as part of a team. However, the solicitation notes that the ability to ultimately receive an award may depend upon obtaining the necessary clearances and approvals required for the proposed work.

What companies and projects are likely to win?

The solicitation does not prescribe a preferred company size or business model. Instead, GVSC emphasizes commercially viable, innovative technologies that can rapidly address Army modernization needs.

During Phase 1, solution briefs are evaluated primarily on:

• Responsiveness to the Area of Interest.

• Technical merit.

• Innovation.

• Commercial applicability.

• Availability of funding.

Across later evaluation phases, the Government also considers:

• Technical feasibility.

• Technology maturity.

• Schedule realism.

• Price reasonableness.

• Business viability.

• Intellectual property considerations.

• Ability to support Army requirements with commercially available or rapidly adaptable technology.

Overall, companies with mature commercial technologies that require limited additional development before Army demonstration or transition are likely to be well aligned with this CSO.

How competitive will this solicitation be?

The solicitation does not specify the expected number of awards or anticipated success rate.

Several factors suggest this opportunity will be highly competitive:

• It remains open across numerous technology areas.

• It is available to a broad range of commercial innovators.

• New Areas of Interest may be added throughout the life of the solicitation.

• Funding availability may vary by topic.

• The Government reserves the right to select all, some, or none of the submitted solutions.

Because solution briefs are evaluated against the published criteria rather than directly against competing submissions, applicants should focus on demonstrating clear alignment with the specific Area of Interest and providing a compelling commercial solution.

Are there any restrictions I should know about?

Important requirements include:

• Solution briefs, presentations, and proposals must be Unclassified.

• Individual solution briefs may address only one concept for a given Area of Interest.

• Companies may submit multiple solution briefs if each represents a separate concept.

• The Government generally expects a period of performance of 12 months or less, unless otherwise specified within an Area of Interest.

• Technical data with military applications may require export approvals.

• Proposal preparation costs are not reimbursed unless specifically stated.

• Proprietary information should be properly marked.

• Additional submission instructions may vary by Area of Interest.

Applicants should always review the individual AoI before preparing a submission, as additional technical requirements or deadlines may apply.

How long will it take me to prepare an application?

The solicitation does not specify how long applicants should expect to prepare a submission.

The initial Phase 1 submission is intentionally brief.

Unless otherwise stated by the applicable Area of Interest, Phase 1 consists of either:

• A written solution brief of no more than five single-sided pages, or

• A presentation deck of no more than fifteen slides.

Companies invited to later phases should expect additional preparation for presentations and Commercial Solution Proposals.

How can BW&CO help?

The DEVCOM GVSC CSO is significantly different from a traditional federal grant competition. Rather than preparing a lengthy proposal upfront, companies typically begin with a concise Solution Brief that must quickly demonstrate technical merit, commercial innovation, and alignment with the Army's Area of Interest.

BW&CO helps companies:

• Determine which Area(s) of Interest best align with their technology.

• Develop compelling Phase 1 Solution Briefs.

• Position commercial technologies for defense applications.

• Strengthen commercialization and transition strategies.

• Prepare presentation materials for later evaluation phases.

• Develop Commercial Solution Proposals (CSPs) when invited.

• Navigate the unique requirements of Commercial Solutions Openings, OTAs, and Army acquisition pathways.

Additional Resources

Review the solicitation here.

DIU: Specular MIST Prize Challenge

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Executive Summary:

The DIU Specular MIST Prize Challenge is a Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) prize competition seeking commercial technologies that improve maritime electronic warfare, electronic surveillance, and radar training capabilities for crewed and autonomous Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs). The challenge is conducted in collaboration with the Department of the Navy Rapid Capabilities Office (DONRCO) and Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific.

The solicitation is focused on accelerating the development, prototyping, and production of modular payloads that can be integrated onto manned and autonomous surface vessels. Companies compete through a three-phase process consisting of a written proposal, an at-sea demonstration, and a potential post-demonstration pathway that may include additional prize funding and eligibility for follow-on prototype or production opportunities.

Applications are accepted under three Lines of Effort (LOEs):

• LOE 1 – Threat Radar Simulators

• LOE 2 – Active Electronic Attack (EA)

• LOE 3 – Passive Electronic Surveillance

The solicitation emphasizes modular open-system architectures, software-defined capabilities, scalability, production readiness, and solutions designed for maritime environments.

The Phase 1 submission deadline is July 22, 2026 at 23:59:59 US/Eastern Time. Companies interested in participating should begin preparing their White Paper and Pitch Deck immediately because selected vendors may be invited to demonstrate their technology less than two months later during the live at-sea event.

How much funding would I receive?

The solicitation states there is a total cash prize pool of $5,000,000, distributed across multiple phases of the challenge.

Funding opportunities include:

Phase 1

• Vendors selected to advance from the written proposal evaluation receive up to $250,000 to fund participation in the live demonstration.

Phase 2

• Companies selected following the At-Sea Challenge may receive up to $1,000,000 per selected company.

Phase 3

• Additional prize funding may be awarded as companies continue supporting operational units and iterative product development. The solicitation does not specify individual Phase 3 award amounts.

What could I use the funding for?

The funding supports development, demonstration, maturation, and potential fielding of technologies that address maritime sensing, electronic warfare, and training challenges.

Projects must align with one of three Lines of Effort.

LOE 1 – Threat Radar Simulators

Develop maritime-compatible radar simulators that:

• Emit complex S-band signals

• Operate from moving vessels

• Operate remotely

• Support future integration onto autonomous USVs

• Meet the technical specifications outlined in the solicitation.

LOE 2 – Active Electronic Attack

Develop systems capable of:

• Autonomous electronic warfare

• Detecting multiple RF signals

• Adaptive real-time jamming

• Operating without operator intervention

• Integration onboard autonomous USVs.

LOE 3 – Passive Electronic Surveillance

Develop remotely operated RF surveillance systems capable of:

• Monitoring the RF environment

• Supporting VHF and UHF bands

• Operating with multiple layers of encryption

• Hosting government-provided software

• Supporting Navy cybersecurity requirements.

Across all applicable LOEs, solutions should address:

• Modular open-system architectures

• Software-defined capabilities

• SWaP optimization

• Maritime environmental resilience

• Remote command and control

• Production scalability

• Cost-effective manufacturing.

Are there any additional benefits I would receive?

Beyond prize funding, the solicitation identifies several potential benefits.

These include:

• Direct operational engagement with leaders across multiple branches of the U.S. Department of Defense.

• Live operational testing with military end users during the At-Sea Challenge.

• Eligibility for potential follow-on Prototype Other Transaction (OT) agreements under 10 USC 4022.

• Eligibility for prize awards under 10 USC 4025.

• Potential system procurement for extended testing.

• Opportunity for continued operational feedback and iterative product development during Phase 3.

The solicitation also states that there is no guarantee that follow-on awards or contracts will be awarded.

What is the timeline to apply and when would I receive funding?

Challenge Timeline

• July 8, 2026: Challenge opens and solicitation is released.

• July 22, 2026 at 23:59:59 US/Eastern Time: Phase 1 submission deadline for the White Paper and Pitch Deck.

• July 29, 2026: Companies selected to advance to Phase 2 are announced.

• August 5, 2026: Virtual Q&A session for selected Phase 2 participants.

• September 10, 2026: At-Sea Challenge live demonstration begins in Southern California.

• September 25, 2026: At-Sea Challenge live demonstration concludes.

• October 23, 2026: Prize Challenge Board completes deliberations.

• October 30, 2026: Prize Challenge winners are announced.

Funding is distributed across the challenge phases.

• Phase 1 participants selected to advance receive up to $250,000.

• Phase 2 down-selected companies may receive up to $1,000,000.

• Phase 3 participants may receive additional prize funding, although specific amounts are not specified.

The solicitation does not specify when individual prize payments will be disbursed after each phase.

Where does this funding come from?

The Specular MIST Prize Challenge is sponsored by the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) in collaboration with the Department of the Navy Rapid Capabilities Office (DONRCO) and Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific.

The challenge is intended to accelerate the development, prototyping, and fielding of commercial technologies that address maritime training and operational needs for the Department of Defense. According to the solicitation, DIU uses the challenge to identify innovative, scalable, and cost-effective solutions that can be rapidly transitioned into operational use.

The solicitation states that high-performing participants may become eligible for:

• Prize awards under 10 USC 4025

• Prototype Other Transaction (OT) agreements under 10 USC 4022

• Potential system procurement for extended testing

The solicitation also states that there is no guarantee that follow-on awards or contracts will be made.

Who is eligible to apply?

The solicitation is an open call to small businesses and non-traditional defense contractors developing innovative commercial technologies that address one or more of the three Lines of Effort.

Companies may:

• Submit separate proposals for LOE 1, LOE 2, and/or LOE 3.

• Submit a combined proposal covering LOE 1 and LOE 2.

• Submit teaming proposals if multiple organizations are needed to deliver the required capabilities.

For Phase 1, the solicitation states:

• An active Facility Clearance (FCL) is not required to submit a proposal.

• All Phase 1 work will be conducted in unclassified environments.

• Applications must be fully unclassified.

To participate in Phase 2, applicants must meet additional security requirements, including:

• Contractor personnel requiring classified access must possess and maintain a final U.S. Government SECRET security clearance or higher. Interim clearances are acceptable for initial performance.

• Compliance with applicable SIPRNet or JWICS access requirements.

• Compliance with DD Form 254 requirements for classified work.

• If classified material will be stored at the contractor's facility, possession of a DCSA-approved classified storage capability at the SECRET level or higher.

Who is not eligible to apply?

The solicitation does not provide a standalone list of ineligible applicants, but it identifies several situations that would prevent participation or make a submission noncompetitive.

Examples include:

• Companies proposing solutions that do not address one of the three specified Lines of Effort.

• Proprietary solutions that are "walled off" or require extensive integration effort for third-party technologies.

• Applicants unable to satisfy the security requirements necessary for Phase 2 participation.

• Applications that are not submitted through the official DIU portal before the submission deadline.

• Classified submissions, since Phase 1 applications must be fully unclassified.

The solicitation also states that companies with ideas outside the scope of the solicitation should not submit them.

What companies and projects are likely to win?

The solicitation describes the characteristics evaluators will use when selecting companies throughout each phase of the competition.

Competitive projects are expected to demonstrate:

• Strong alignment with the technical requirements of the selected Line of Effort.

• Technical viability and a clear approach to solving the identified capability gap.

• Modular, open-system architectures.

• Software-defined capabilities where applicable.

• Optimization for Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP).

• Ability to operate in maritime environments.

• Scalability for production at increasing unit quantities.

• Realistic pricing and lifecycle maintenance planning.

• Demonstrated production capability and corporate expertise.

• Clear operational value for Department of Defense users.

During the live demonstration, evaluators will also consider:

• Operational performance under realistic maritime and electromagnetic conditions.

• Ease of use by military operators.

• Training documentation provided by the company.

• Quality of the company presentation and value proposition.

• Potential commercial viability outside the defense market.

For Phase 3, evaluators additionally consider:

• Ability to rapidly manufacture operational systems.

• Positive impact on military tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs).

How competitive will this solicitation be?

The solicitation does not specify the number of expected applications or the number of Phase 1 awards.

However, the challenge is structured as a multi-phase competitive down-selection process, with companies advancing through progressively more rigorous evaluations.

Participants compete through:

• Phase 1 written proposal evaluation.

• Phase 2 live operational demonstration.

• Phase 3 operational assessment and user-driven iteration.

Throughout the competition, proposals are evaluated on technical performance, company capability, production scalability, pricing, operational effectiveness, and end-user feedback. Only selected companies advance between phases.

Because the solicitation includes live demonstrations, military operator evaluations, and multiple down-selection stages, applicants should expect a highly competitive process. The solicitation does not specify anticipated success rates or award percentages.

Are there any restrictions I should know about?

The solicitation includes several important requirements and limitations applicants should consider before applying.

Submission requirements

• Applications must be fully unclassified.

• Proposals must be submitted through the official DIU portal before the submission deadline.

• Companies may submit separate proposals for LOE 1, LOE 2, and LOE 3. LOE 1 and LOE 2 may also be combined into a single proposal, while LOE 3 requires a separate submission.

White Paper requirements

Applicants must submit:

• A White Paper of no more than 6 pages.

• Font size 11 or 12.

• 1-point line spacing.

• 1-inch margins.

• The White Paper must state the current Technology Readiness Level (TRL), with TRL 6+ preferred for the sensor package, identify the applicable Line of Effort, and include a Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) for cost and schedule.

Pitch Deck requirements

Applicants must also submit:

• A PDF presentation in 16:9 (1920 × 1080) format.

• A maximum of 8 slides, plus one additional slide for each Line of Effort included in the proposal.

Technical expectations

For applicable Lines of Effort, solutions should address:

• Modular, open-system architectures.

• Software-defined capabilities.

• Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) optimization.

• Maritime environmental resilience.

• Production scalability.

• Remote command and control capabilities.

• Technical requirements specific to the selected Line of Effort.

Security requirements

While Phase 1 is entirely unclassified, companies advancing to Phase 2 must satisfy the personnel clearance, network access, and classified safeguarding requirements described in the solicitation.

Intellectual Property

Applicants retain ownership of their existing intellectual property. By submitting, applicants grant DIU a limited license to use submitted intellectual property for testing and evaluation related to the challenge. Any additional use, integration, or development would be negotiated separately.

How long will it take me to prepare an application?

The solicitation does not specify how long applicants should expect to spend preparing a submission.

However, applicants must prepare both:

• A technical White Paper meeting the solicitation's formatting and content requirements.

• A Pitch Deck describing the proposed operational solution.

Applicants should also be prepared to document:

• Technical capabilities.

• Technology Readiness Level (TRL).

• Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) cost and schedule.

• Size, Weight, Power, and Cost (SWaP-C).

• Production scalability.

• Delivery timelines.

• Training plans.

• Technical performance and ruggedness.

• Relevance to the selected Line of Effort.

Because the Phase 1 submission deadline is July 22, 2026 at 23:59:59 US/Eastern Time, companies should begin preparing their submissions as soon as possible.

How can BW&CO help?

Preparing a competitive submission requires more than simply responding to the solicitation requirements. BW&CO works with technology companies to develop proposals that clearly communicate technical capabilities, commercialization potential, and alignment with Department of Defense priorities.

For the Specular MIST Prize Challenge, BW&CO can help your team:

• Determine the most appropriate Line of Effort for your technology.

• Develop a compliant White Paper that addresses the evaluation criteria.

• Prepare a compelling Pitch Deck for the Phase 1 review.

• Clearly communicate your technology's operational value, production readiness, and scalability.

• Position your company for potential follow-on opportunities, including Prototype Other Transaction (OT) agreements, if selected.

With the July 22, 2026 at 23:59:59 US/Eastern Time submission deadline, companies should begin preparing application materials immediately.

Additional Resources

Review the solicitation here.

DIU - Massed Modular Aircraft CSO

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Executive Summary:

The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is seeking commercial solutions for Massed Modular Aircraft (MMA)—cost-effective, theater-range unmanned aircraft designed to operate in large numbers despite expected combat losses. The Joint Force is looking for modular platforms capable of carrying a variety of payloads, including Full Motion Video (FMV) sensors, while supporting long-range strike, intelligence, electronic warfare, and communications missions.

DIU is specifically interested in technologies that can provide affordable, rapidly manufacturable unmanned aircraft capable of overwhelming sophisticated air defenses through mass rather than relying on small numbers of high-cost platforms.

Applications are due by 2026-07-23 23:59:59 US/Eastern Time. Companies should begin preparing immediately, as DIU rarely grants extensions and solution briefs must be submitted electronically through the DIU website.

How much funding would I receive?

The solicitation does not specify the amount of the award but typically these opportunities range from about $500,000 to about $5 million

What could I use the funding for?

Funding may support prototype projects for technologies that address the Massed Modular Aircraft Area of Interest, including solutions that provide:

• Cost-effective, theater-range modular unmanned aircraft

• Long-range payload delivery

• Full Motion Video (FMV) sensor integration

• Weapons employment

• Intelligence collection

• Electronic warfare

• Communications relay

• Modular payload integration

• Rapid technology integration using Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) principles

• Prototype development and flight testing

The solicitation identifies the following desired capabilities:

• Payload capacity of at least 2,800 lbs

• Unrefueled combat radius of at least 2,300 nautical miles

• One-way self-deployment of at least 8,000 nautical miles

• One-to-many operator-to-UAS control

• Hybrid SATCOM/mesh networking

• Operation from 6,000-foot or shorter prepared or semi-improved runways

• Approximately 25kW available power and 5kW cooling for payloads

• Full-scale prototype flight testing within 21 months of award

• Target Initial Operating Capability (IOC) in FY2031 consisting of 20 mission-ready aircraft delivered to an operational unit.

Capabilities Sought:

Primary Attributes Sought

• Risk Tolerance: Designed for affordable, high-rate manufacture, and minimized total ownership cost

• Sufficient Munition and Sensor Payload Capacity: Payload capacity of at least 2800 lbs

• Meaningful Range: Unrefueled combat radius of at least 2300 nautical miles while carrying payload and ability to self-deploy one-way at least 8,000 nautical miles

• Maximum Interoperability, and Integration: Capable of rapid integration and upgrades via exploitation of the following Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) tenets: a) Government Reference Architectures; b) Model Based Systems Engineering; c) formal methods-based software verification

Secondary Attributes Sought

• Autonomy for Control: a one-to-many operator-to-UAS control ratio

• Sufficiently Resilient and Integrated Communications: Hybrid SATCOM/mesh network connecting to Department of the Air Force-Battle Network (DAF-BN); execution of local airfield operations (taxi, takeoff, landing, and divert) under highly degraded or denied primary C2/SATCOM conditions

• Tactically Relevant: At least 200 knots true airspeed; operation from 6,000-foot runway or shorter, semi-improved or prepared

• Sufficient SWaP-C: Sufficient available size, weight, power (25kW), and cooling (5kW) to host a variety of internal and/or external payloads. Enables rapid payload exchange

Are there any additional benefits I would receive?

The solicitation states that a successful Prototype Other Transaction Agreement may result in the direct award of a follow-on production contract or agreement without further competitive procedures if the prototype project is successfully completed.

The follow-on production effort may be used by one or more Department of Defense organizations and could be significantly larger than the Prototype OT agreement.

What is the timeline to apply and when would I receive funding?

Application deadline

• 2026-07-23 23:59:59 US/Eastern Time

After submission:

• DIU evaluates Phase 1 Solution Briefs.

• Selected companies are invited to a Phase 2 virtual or in-person pitch.

• Companies selected after the pitch may be invited to submit a full written proposal for a Prototype OTA.

• Full-scale prototype flight testing is expected within 21 months of award.

• The target Initial Operating Capability (IOC) is FY2031.

The solicitation does not specify when awards or funding will be issued.

DIU states it will generally notify companies within approximately 30 days if it is interested in moving forward with a pitch.

Where does this funding come from?

Funding comes from the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) using the Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) process.

Awards are made as Prototype Other Transaction Agreements (OTAs) under 10 U.S.C. § 4022.

Who is eligible to apply?

The solicitation states it is open to:

• U.S. vendors

• International vendors

To utilize an Other Transaction Agreement, the requirements of 10 U.S.C. 4022 must be satisfied, including at least one of the following:

• At least one nontraditional defense contractor or nonprofit research institution participates to a significant extent;

• All significant non-government participants are small businesses or nontraditional defense contractors; or

• At least one-third of the prototype project cost is funded from non-federal sources.

Companies selected for award that do not already have a CAGE code are required to register in SAM.gov.

Who is not eligible to apply?

The solicitation does not identify specific categories of organizations that are prohibited from applying.

However, companies must satisfy the statutory eligibility requirements for Prototype Other Transaction Agreements under 10 U.S.C. 4022, and companies receiving awards must register in SAM and meet federal responsibility requirements.

What companies and projects are likely to win?

Based on the stated evaluation criteria, DIU is seeking solutions that:

• Directly address the Massed Modular Aircraft problem statement

• Demonstrate strong technical merit

• Are technically feasible

• Offer a unique or innovative commercial approach

• Show company viability

• Demonstrate manufacturability

• Present acceptable pricing and schedules during Phase 2

• Address modularity, affordability, long-range performance, and operational relevance

The solicitation also emphasizes demonstrated commercial technology rather than conceptual ideas whenever possible.

How competitive will this solicitation be?

The solicitation indicates that DIU routinely receives more Solution Briefs than it has resources to award.

Only a select number of companies will be invited to the Phase 2 pitch, even if multiple submissions are considered technically meritorious.

Are there any restrictions I should know about?

Applicants should note:

• Solution Briefs should be approximately 5 pages or 15 slides.

• Submissions must be submitted electronically through the DIU website.

• Late submissions will not be evaluated.

• Only one concept may be included in each Solution Brief.

• Solution Briefs must be unclassified.

• Companies must certify submission requirements, including compliance regarding Controlled Unclassified Information.

• Any resulting agreement will require compliance with Section 889 of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019.

• Prototype projects generally should have periods of performance no greater than 24 months.

How long will it take me to prepare an application?

The solicitation does not specify the expected preparation time.

Applicants are encouraged to prepare a concise Solution Brief that is approximately five pages or fifteen slides and includes company information, an executive summary, technology description, commercialization information, and company viability details.

How can BW&CO help?

BW&CO can help your team prepare a competitive DIU submission by:

• Assessing alignment with the Area of Interest

• Developing a compliant Solution Brief

• Positioning your commercial technology against DIU evaluation criteria

• Strengthening technical and commercialization messaging

• Preparing your team for the Phase 2 pitch

• Supporting proposal development if invited to submit a full written proposal

Additional Resources

Review the solicitation here.

Rapid Prototyping and Flight Demonstration of Medium-Range Affordable Mass Munition Air Vehicle Configurations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft and Fighter Platforms

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Executive Summary:

The Rapid Prototyping and Flight Demonstration of Medium-Range Affordable Mass Munition (MRAMM) Air Vehicle Configurations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft and Fighter Platforms challenge seeks prototype solutions that increase missile density, reduce cost, and improve operational flexibility for air-to-air engagements in contested environments. The effort focuses on designing, integrating, and flight demonstrating affordable mass air-to-air weapon configurations that support collaborative combat aircraft (CCA), autonomous collaborative platforms (ACP), tactical fighter aircraft, and future manned or unmanned operational platforms.

The Government intends to rapidly prototype representative MRAMM air vehicle configurations capable of improving magazine capacity, aerodynamic performance, scalable manufacturing, and operational integration while generating data to support future force design and fielding decisions.

Application deadline: Oct 08, 2026, 09:32 AM, as listed in the Marketplace challenge. Reviews begin 17 Jul and occur biweekly, making early submission advantageous.

How much funding would I receive?

The solicitation does not specify the amount of the award but typically these opportunities range from about $500,000 to about $5 million

What could I use the funding for?

Prototype efforts may include:

• Designing prototype MRAMM air vehicle configurations

• Fabricating representative prototype systems

• Developing modular open system architectures

• Validating rail-launch compatibility

• Demonstrating scalable manufacturing approaches

• Integrating prototypes onto platforms such as the XQ-58A or other CCA/ACP assets

• Conducting captive-carry and flight demonstrations

• Evaluating aerodynamic performance and maneuverability

• Generating operational, manufacturing, aerodynamic, and integration data

• Supporting future force design and operational employment concepts

Desired solutions are intended to increase missile density while maintaining tactically relevant medium-range performance and reducing cost through scalable manufacturing.

Are there any additional benefits I would receive?

If successful, prototype efforts are intended to:

• Support future force design decisions

• Inform operational employment concepts

• Support future transition pathways

• Generate evidence for future operational experimentation

• Reduce technical and operational risk through rapid prototyping

The solicitation does not specify any commercialization assistance, mentoring, follow-on funding, or other participant benefits beyond the prototype effort.

What is the timeline to apply and when would I receive funding?

Key dates listed in the solicitation include:

• Reviews begin: 17 Jul and occur biweekly

• Application deadline: Oct 08, 2026, 09:32 AM

• ONI anticipates a rapid down-select within 30–45 days of posting.

The solicitation does not specify when awards will be made or when funding will be received.

Where does this funding come from?

This opportunity is sponsored by:

• Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Research and Engineering Prototyping & Experimentation (ODASW(P&E))

The contracting path states that award will be made under the ONIX OTA in coordination with ACC-RI.

Who is eligible to apply?

The solicitation states that the opportunity is open to:

• U.S.-based industry organizations

• Academic organizations

• Nonprofit organizations

Respondents must register on gocolosseum.org to submit.

Who is not eligible to apply?

The solicitation does not specify additional ineligible applicant categories beyond stating eligibility is limited to U.S.-based industry, academic, and nonprofit organizations.

What companies and projects are likely to win?

Based on the stated evaluation criteria, competitive proposals are likely to demonstrate:

• Strong aerodynamic performance

• Rail-launch compatibility

• Medium-range performance and maneuverability

• Modular open system architecture

• Increased magazine density

• Performance in contested, jammed, and stealth-enabled environments

• Lower unit cost

• Scalable manufacturing

• Successful flight demonstration

• Integration with XQ-58A or other CCA/ACP platforms

Evaluation emphasizes technical performance (40%), operational effectiveness (24%), cost and manufacturing (20%), and integration and demonstration (16%).

How competitive will this solicitation be?

The solicitation does not specify:

• Expected number of submissions

• Number of anticipated awards

• Historical success rates

Submissions will be evaluated through subject matter expert review and ONI's AI-powered rubric generation tools using the published evaluation criteria.

Are there any restrictions I should know about?

Applicants should note:

• Responses should be 2–10 pages maximum

• Registration on gocolosseum.org is required

• Proposals should include:

  • Company information

  • Past performance

  • Period of performance

  • Technical approach

  • Deliverables

  • Schedule and milestones

  • Payment schedule

  • Patents and data rights

  • Costs by milestone (ROM at a minimum)

The solicitation does not specify additional restrictions regarding cost share, TRLs, intellectual property requirements, or security clearances.

How long will it take me to prepare an application?

The solicitation requests a relatively concise submission of 2–10 pages together with company information, past performance, technical approach, milestones, costs, and supporting proposal information.

The solicitation does not specify an estimated proposal preparation time.

How can BW&CO help?

BW&CO can help organizations prepare a competitive submission by:

• Interpreting the solicitation requirements

• Developing a compliant technical narrative

• Aligning the proposal with the published evaluation rubric

• Highlighting prototype maturity, manufacturing scalability, and operational impact

• Preparing milestones, schedules, and cost narratives

• Reviewing the submission for compliance before submission

Additional Resources

Review the solicitation here.

Long Range Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for NSWC Crane - N0016424SNB35

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Executive Summary:

The Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Crane Long Range Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) is an always-open opportunity for companies, universities, nonprofits, and research organizations developing innovative defense technologies that support U.S. national security. Rather than focusing on a single topic, this BAA accepts revolutionary research ideas and technology demonstrations across ten broad technical capability areas, allowing organizations to submit proposals when they have a compelling solution.

Proposals and abstracts may be submitted on a rolling basis. The current response deadline is July 7, 2027, at 4:00 PM EDT. Multiple awards are anticipated, and selected projects may be funded through procurement contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or other transactions depending on the nature of the work. Organizations with technologies aligned to NSWC Crane's mission should engage early, as proposals are evaluated as they are received and funding availability varies by project.

How much funding would I receive?

The solicitation does not specify award amounts.

The BAA states:

• Multiple awards are anticipated.

• Individual award values will vary depending on the technology area and the proposed technical approach.

• Periods of performance will also vary by project.

• Awards may be made as:

  • Procurement contracts

  • Grants

  • Cooperative agreements

  • Technology Investment Agreements (TIAs)

  • Other Transaction Agreements (OTAs)

What could I use the funding for?

Funding is intended to support innovative research, development, prototyping, technology demonstrations, and related activities that advance NSWC Crane's mission.

The BAA seeks projects supporting one or more of the following technical capability areas:

• Electronic Warfare

• Infrared and Pyrotechnic Countermeasures

• Strategic Systems Hardware

• Expeditionary Warfare and Systems

• Advanced Electronics

• Sensors and Surveillance Systems

• Hypersonic Weapon Systems

• Power and Energy Systems

• Electro-optic and Infrared Technologies

• Force Level Electronic Warfare Mission Analysis, Advanced Concepts and Technologies

Within these areas, NSWC Crane is interested in technologies including (but not limited to):

• Artificial intelligence and machine learning

• Trusted microelectronics

• Radar and RF systems

• EO/IR sensors

• Quantum technologies

• Power and energy storage

• Advanced batteries

• Directed energy enabling technologies

• Cybersecurity

• Counter-UAS technologies

• Modeling and simulation

• Autonomous systems

• Advanced manufacturing

• Digital engineering

• Hypersonic technologies

• Sensor fusion

• Radio frequency-enabled cyber capabilities

Projects supporting multiple technical capability areas are encouraged but are not required.

Topic Areas:

• 1. Electronic Warfare (EW)

  Research and development for materials, material processing, microelectronics, radio frequency (RF), electro-optic infrared (EOIR) and other hardware that improves the efficiency, capability and responsiveness of EW systems used in all warfighting domains (land, sea, air, space, and cyber). Algorithms, digital signal processing techniques and photonics approaches that improves EW system responsiveness and accuracy. Hardware and software-based solutions focused on manipulation of electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) signatures or emissions to include signature management. Material and non-material solutions that improve sustainability and affordability of EW systems and their components. Novel and low-cost approaches to EW test and evaluation (T&E) supporting fast-to-field initiatives. Technology demonstrations that include prototypes of component or system level solutions to EW problems. EW mission analysis that may include a combination of live, virtual or constructive representations of EW systems, platforms or unique capabilities in single or multiple engagements and campaign simulations. Research and development that enable improvements in EW component or EW system Size, Weight and Power (SWAP). Research and development that support the integration of EW capability into unmanned systems. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) approaches with emphasis on accuracy, generalizability, and tactical employment of AI and ML in support of all EW functions.

• 2. Infrared and Pyrotechnic Countermeasures

  Research, design, development, prototyping, and demonstration of safe, reliable, and effective infrared (IR) and electro-optic (EO) countermeasures, countermeasure systems, and pyrotechnics for platform protection, target enhancement, counterintelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C-ISR), illumination, and signaling and marking. Seeking innovative approaches to Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force platform protection through design, development, modeling and simulation (M&S), integration, test and evaluation (T&E), and fielding of camouflage, concealment, and deception devices, countermeasures, threat warning, and dispensing systems. Unique solutions that improve current capabilities in M&S, T&E, simulators, and all infrared countermeasure and pyrotechnic solutions, especially those that also incorporate RF with EO/IR are encouraged.

• 3. Strategic Systems Hardware

  Research and development, prototyping, technology demonstration, and test & evaluation of safe, reliable, secure and effective hardware that supports the Department of Navy and DoD nuclear deterrence community. Innovation around Strategic Systems Hardware design starting at the physics level for materials and devices including quantum, mechanics, thermodynamics, electronics and electromagnetism. Application to specific systems and subsystems such as acoustic sensors, navigation, fire control, launch, flight, guidance, onboard & pier side mechanical & electrical support systems, as well as modeling & simulation and integrated verification & validation of those systems. Approaches that facilitate strategic hardware reliability through design, manufacturing and assessment of radiation hardened microelectronics for space missions, nuclear modernization, and missile defense are desired. Special emphasis is placed on research that enables secure, robust, and resilient microelectronics, sensors and embedded systems for military applications in severe environments. Other areas of interest include digital engineering and system modeling of requirements, interface management, system level architecture integration with model-based systems engineering. Data analytics, intelligent design with artificial intelligence and machine learning, configuration and data management, and improved procedures and trainings with augmented and virtual reality will be beneficial.

• 4. Expeditionary Warfare and Systems (ExWar)

  Research, development, prototyping, and demonstration of technology associated with Expeditionary Warfare, commonly considered mission sets executed by the USMC, NAVSPECWAR & SOF, NECC, and other maritime & land-based forces. ExWar technologies can include sensor systems, battle management systems, communications and command & control systems, and kinetic & non-kinetic effectors. Unmanned (UxS) and Counter-Unmanned (C-UxS) systems technologies are of particular interest to this area of research. Novel, end-to-end capability development and demonstration via rapid prototyping and fleet experimentation is a goal for the ExWar area of research. Areas of concentration at NSWC Crane in support of ExWar capabilities include EO/IR Sensor Systems, Radar Sensor Systems, Command & Control Systems, Cyber Security, Weapon Systems & Munitions, Power & Energy, Mobility Systems, and Electronic Warfare Systems. Capabilities that enable Naval expeditionary strategies and concepts, such as Distributed Maritime Operations, Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations, and force modernization are a focus for NSWC Crane.

• 5. Advanced Electronics

  Research, development, prototyping, and demonstration of affordable, sustainable microelectronics solutions that provide asymmetric capability for the Department of Navy and the DoD Enterprise in support of the following platforms but not limited to hypersonic weapon systems and their platforms, ballistic missile defense systems, electronic warfare systems, command; control; communications; computing; intelligence; surveillance; and reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems, cyber-physical systems, space surveillance systems, maritime and undersea autonomous systems. Areas of interest but not limited to basic and applied trusted microelectronics research & development (including design, development, acquisition, test and evaluation, advanced prototyping, technology maturation and technology demonstration) in support of security systems engineering to integrate advanced electronics within complex systems satisfying security and resilience objectives. Microelectronics technology areas of interests include but are not limited to active and passive electronic devices, circuit cards, advanced Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) logic for ASICs and programmable logic, volatile and nonvolatile memory, radiation hardened technologies, advance packaging to include heterogeneous integration, advanced interconnect technologies, electronic controls, solid state transmit/receive modules, digital receiver exciters, digital beamforming electronics, DC to DC converters, microwave tubes, other radio frequency and optoelectronics technologies. Microelectronics technology test and evaluation areas of interests include but are not limited to model and simulation at the board, component, and circuit level, as well as operational environments to include radiation, cyber, electronic warfare across all identified microelectronics technologies. Additionally, solutions in development and demonstration of tools, techniques, and technologies for evaluation of microelectronics devices to support the confidentiality and integrity objectives of the DoD are desired.

• 6. Sensors and Surveillance Systems

  Basic research; applied research; advanced technology development; and advanced component development and prototypes that facilitate the maturation of Sensors and Surveillance System technologies and manufacturing capabilities. Sensors and Surveillance Systems include multi-domain sensors and systems supporting Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR); Counter-Uncrewed Systems (C-UxS); Radar; Electromagnetic Warfare (EW); Signals Intelligence (SIGINT); Electronic Intelligence (ELINT), Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT), and Communications missions and activities. Solutions of interest target improvements to sensor size, weight, power, cost, and/or performance. Research and development areas of interest to demonstrate include innovations associated with metamaterials, microelectronics, 2.5- and 3-Dimensional packaging, advanced sensor architectures, power systems, thermal management solutions, mechanical technologies, networking solutions, processing systems, modeling and simulation capabilities, sensor fusion, and algorithms.

• 7. Hypersonic Weapon Systems (HWS)

  Research and development of technologies that support the development, integration, test and evaluation of HWS to include aerodynamics, aerothermal prediction and analysis, guidance, navigation and control, high temperature materials, thermal management, sensors and supporting algorithms. Any approach including materials and manufacturing processes that improve HWS performance, lethality, survivability, lowers costs or improves HWS and HWS component manufacturability (cost and capacity) is strongly desired. Innovative approaches and prototypes that lower the cost or increase the cadence of HWS testing and evaluation are also strongly desired. M&S of HWS components, subsystems and systems at all M&S levels (Engineering, Engagement, Mission and Campaign). Power and Energy solutions for HWS that reduce Size, Weight and Power (SWAP), improve power density or lower costs are welcome. Solutions that enhance microelectronics and HWS component, subsystem and system reliability and survivability in natural and prompt radiation environments are desired.

• 8. Power and Energy Systems

  Research, development, prototyping, test and evaluation, materials analysis, safety analysis, modeling, digital engineering, data analytics, data management, specification development, and production and demonstration of advanced battery technologies, advanced high energy density storage systems, high power energy storage systems, hybrid and all-electric propulsion systems, energy transfer systems, alternative and renewable energy systems, and battery management systems. Applications include space, airborne, missile, surface, land, undersea, manned, and unmanned platforms, hybrid and all-electric vehicles, human portable energy storage systems, and portable energy storage and energy conversion systems. Desired outcomes are as follows: (1) Improvements in battery power density in support of directed energy systems. (2) Improvements in battery energy density in support of extended mission endurance for space, airborne, missile, surface, land, undersea, manned, and unmanned applications. (3) Improvements in battery cycle life in support of aerospace applications and austere mission environments. (4) Enable integration onto high value surface, air, and undersea platforms by mitigating safety risks associated with lithium chemistry batteries. This includes advancements in battery casualty containment and early failure detection. This also includes advancements of battery technologies utilizing nonflammable electrolyte and solid-state electrolyte batteries. (5) Improvements of lithium chemistry battery performance in extreme cold weather environments. (6) Improvements in power management and distribution systems efficiency. (7) Improvements of solar array technology efficiency to support expeditionary mission sets. (8) Supply chain risk mitigations associated with power and energy technologies. This includes advancement of technologies, methodologies, and materials that increase availability of domestic raw materials, address obsolescence issues, enable processing of raw materials, and reduce dependence of rare earth metals. This also includes development and advancement of batteries and electric motors that utilize alternative materials. (9) Development of cost effective and supportable high voltage and high-power battery test systems.

• 9. Electro-optic and Infrared Technologies

  The objective of the Electro-Optic and Infrared (EO/IR) is to develop high-performance, low-cost, next generation EO/IR sensors, devices and autonomous processing to provide real-time detection, tracking, classification, and identification of air, sea-surface, and ground targets in all weather conditions. The primary interest is for systems working in the visible and infrared (near, short-wave, mid-wave, and long-wave) regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, which is typically considered to be 0.4 um to 15 um in wavelength. Beyond imaging and detection, this area also includes supported EO/IR technologies and sub-systems such as optics, software, targeting and tracking, sensor protection, visual augmentation systems (VAS), laser pointers, free space optics (FSO), laser markers, and laser designators. Approaches and technologies that offer improvements or improved understanding in of these areas is of interest. Additionally, innovative approaches, prototypes, and tools that benefit modeling and simulation (M&S), test and evaluation (T&E), systems installation, logistics, or other approaches that reduced cost or benefit to the management of the entire EO/IR lifecycle are of interest.

• 10. Force Level EW Mission Analysis, Advanced Concepts and Technologies

  Research and development of technologies and capabilities that support development, integration, modeling and simulation, test and evaluation of distributed and integrated electromagnetic warfare mission capabilities to support joint and naval kinetic and non-kinetic operations delivering lethal and non-lethal effects in the air, surface, ground, space and cyber domains of the electromagnetic spectrum. Seeking innovative approaches to provide a comprehensive modeling and simulation and analytical foundation to represent non-kinetic effects and complex electromagnetic environments for evaluation at the engineering, engagement, mission and campaign levels of modeling to facilitate rapid evaluation of current and emerging electromagnetic systems and system of systems capabilities. Seeking novel model-based systems engineering approaches, non-kinetic models, and visualization of non-kinetic effects in a modeling and simulation environment. Solutions and prototypes that are focused on advancing radio frequency enabled cyber, hardware agnostic electromagnetic spectrum capabilities, advanced electromagnetic sensors and systems, decision-making aids, many on many threat simulators, and advanced countermeasures are welcome. Innovative approaches and prototypes that benefit modeling and simulation, test and evaluation, and development and evaluation of integrated and distributed system of systems capabilities to help reduce cost and enable rapid analysis and evaluation are of interest.

Are there any additional benefits I would receive?

Potential benefits include:

• Opportunity to receive funding through multiple award mechanisms depending on project needs.

• Ability to submit proposals on a rolling basis.

• Opportunity for follow-on work where appropriate under applicable contracting authorities.

• Access to collaboration with NSWC Crane technical subject matter experts throughout project execution when appropriate for the selected award instrument.

The solicitation also notes that awardees may be eligible to use Department of Defense High Performance Computing Program resources with appropriate approvals.

What is the timeline to apply and when would I receive funding?

Key dates include:

• Abstracts: Accepted on a rolling basis.

• Proposals: Accepted on a rolling basis.

• Response deadline: July 7, 2027, at 4:00 PM EDT.

• Project start dates are unique to each individual award.

The solicitation does not specify how long proposal evaluations or award negotiations will take before funding is issued.

Where does this funding come from?

Funding is provided by:

Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division (NSWC Crane)

within the

U.S. Department of the Navy

The BAA supports research across funding categories 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, and 6.4 and is intended to advance technologies supporting U.S. Navy, Department of Defense, and broader national security missions.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligible applicants include:

Businesses of any size

Startups

Small businesses

Large businesses

Universities

University Affiliated Research Centers (unless prohibited by their UARC agreements)

Nonprofit research organizations

Other responsible research organizations

Teams and consortia

The BAA also encourages participation from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Institutions (MIs), although no funding is specifically set aside for these organizations.

Who is not eligible to apply?

The solicitation states that the following organizations are not eligible to receive awards directly:

• Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), although they may participate through eligible teaming arrangements where permitted.

• Department of Defense laboratories.

• Navy laboratories.

• Military universities.

• Warfare centers.

• Other federal civilian agency laboratories.

Additional eligibility restrictions may apply depending on the selected award instrument.

What companies and projects are likely to win?

NSWC Crane evaluates proposals using three equally weighted criteria:

• Overall scientific and technical merit.

• Potential military relevance and contribution to NSWC Crane and Department of the Navy missions.

• Availability of funding.

Strong proposals will generally demonstrate:

• Innovative technical approaches.

• Clear understanding of the state of the art.

• Qualified technical personnel.

• Strong technical capabilities and facilities.

• Meaningful relevance to one or more NSWC Crane technical capability areas.

• Potential impact on national security missions.

The solicitation also notes that proposals supporting multiple technical capability areas are highly desired, although not required.

How competitive will this solicitation be?

This opportunity is expected to be highly competitive.

The solicitation:

• Accepts proposals from all responsible sources.

• Anticipates multiple awards.

• Does not reserve funding for any specific business category.

• Evaluates proposals solely on technical merit, military relevance, and funding availability.

Because the BAA remains open for an extended period and accepts rolling submissions, organizations are competing against a continually evolving pool of innovative technologies rather than against a single submission deadline. The solicitation does not specify anticipated success rates or award percentages.

Are there any restrictions I should know about?

Applicants should be aware that:

• Proposal preparation costs are not reimbursed.

• Award amounts are not guaranteed.

• NSWC Crane may fund all, some, or none of the proposals received.

• Applicants must maintain an active SAM registration before award.

• Export control requirements may apply.

• Classified proposals are permitted under specified submission procedures, but resulting awards may remain unclassified depending on the effort.

• Cost sharing is generally not required and is not evaluated, although voluntary cost sharing may be considered.

• Certain award types prohibit profit or fee.

• Intellectual property, security, reporting, and other compliance requirements vary depending on the award instrument selected.

How long will it take me to prepare an application?

The solicitation does not specify the expected preparation time.

However, applicants should plan sufficient time to:

• Engage the appropriate NSWC Crane technical point of contact when appropriate.

• Develop either a white paper or full proposal.

• Prepare technical and cost information.

• Complete required registrations (including SAM if not already active).

• Assemble any required compliance documentation associated with the proposed award instrument.

How can BW&CO help?

BW&CO helps defense technology companies maximize their chances of success by:

• Determining whether your technology aligns with one or more NSWC Crane technical capability areas.

• Positioning your innovation around the evaluation criteria used by NSWC Crane.

• Developing compelling white papers and full proposals.

• Preparing compliant technical, management, and budget documentation.

• Managing proposal development from kickoff through submission.

• Supporting commercialization and follow-on defense funding strategy.

Additional Resources

Review the solicitation here.

Event-Based Sensing Hardware and Algorithms for Navigation - SBIR Topic MDA26BZ04-NV008

Funding Amount:

$314,000

Deadline to Apply:

August 19th, 2026

ITAR:

The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130, which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services, including export of sensitive technical data, or the Export Administration Regulation (EAR), 15 CFR Parts 730-774, which controls dual use items. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals (FNs), their country(ies) of origin, the type of visa or work permit possessed, and the statement of work (SOW) tasks intended for accomplishment by the FN(s) in accordance with the Announcement. Offerors are advised foreign nationals proposed to perform on this topic may be restricted due to the technical data under US Export Control Laws.

Objective:

Develop novel and innovative low size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C) event-based sensing navigation solution suitable for hostile flight and/or space environments that is not reliant on Global Positioning System (GPS) or Global navigation Satellite System (GNSS) inputs.

Description:

The proposed initiative focuses on the development of event-based sensing technology that utilizes advanced neural network models to enhance the navigation capabilities of kill vehicles and satellites. This system aims to operate independently of GNSS yet synergistically with existing inertial navigation systems (INS) or units, providing critical inputs that improve overall navigational accuracy and responsiveness in dynamic environments.

By leveraging neural networks, the technology will process event-driven data—such as changes in the vehicle's surroundings or mission-specific stimuli—allowing for real-time decision-making and adaptive navigation. Solutions should enhance the vehicle's ability to react to unforeseen circumstances but also allows for the integration of various sensor modalities, thereby enriching the situational awareness of the system.

The performance benchmarks for this technology are set to align with the precision of current GPS standards, ensuring that the navigation capabilities meet or exceed the existing levels of accuracy required for advanced military operations. Development should plan on integration into current Missile Defense Agency platforms to maintain compatibility with established navigation frameworks.

PHASE I:

Design and develop innovative solutions, methods, and concepts for an advanced visual navigation system utilizing event-based sensing technologies capable of low-earth orbit and/or extremely highspeed flight environments. Deliverables will include, description and data supporting initial design through modeling, experimentation, and/or testing.

PHASE II:

-Refine and document detailed requirements in collaboration with the platform(s) system integrator.

-Develop a functional system prototype or algorithm able to perform on representative hardware.

-Conduct comprehensive testing of prototypes in representative operational environments.

-Demonstrate successful navigation operation without GPS inputs.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS:

-Define clear navigation system requirements and interface specifications in collaboration with the system integrator.

-Produce flight ready prototype in accordance with test required volumes, power needs and interfaces.

-Demonstrate successful navigation outputs during powered flight that mirror GPS within acceptable tolerances stated by platform engineers and security allowances

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.

Request to talk with a member of our team by completing the form below:

Ground-Based Affordable Mass (G-BAM) Challenge - SBIR Topic ARM26BX04-DV010

Funding Amount:

$2,000,000

Deadline to Apply:

August 19th, 2026

Note:

The following topic number, ARM26BX04-DV010 – Ground-Based Affordable Mass (GBAM), in this release is tied to a Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) Challenge Commercial Solutions Opening.

The DIU G-BAM Prize Challenge will be used to identify small business concerns that meet the criteria for a potential SBIR Direct-to-Phase II (DP2) award under this topic.

Finalists selected from the DIU G-BAM Prize Challenge will be the only firms eligible to submit an SBIR DP2 proposal under this topic.

Proposals submitted to this topic by non-winners of the DIU Prize G-BAM Challenge will not be evaluated.

How to Apply

Visit the DIU Open Solicitations page to read the full Challenge Announcement, topic details, and application instructions:

https://www.diu.mil/work-with-us/open-solicitations

Key Dates

• July 2, 2026: White paper submission window opens via the link above.

• July 14, 2026 at 11:59:59 PM ET: Response deadline via the link above.

(Challenge Submission Window Subject to Change. Please refer to the DIU Open Solicitations page for the latest information.)

DIU Prize Challenge applications are NOT submitted through DSIP.

Small business concerns that do not submit an application through the DIU Open Solicitations page (https://www.diu.mil/work-with-us/open-solicitations) before the deadline will be ineligible to compete or submit a full SBIR proposal to DSIP.

The DSIP proposal submission window tied to this topic is for the winners of the competition only.

Objective:

The United States currently faces an "unprecedented" military buildup by China and increasing air and missile threats that demand a robust deterrent. However, the current inventory of longrange strike weapons is dominated by high-cost, low-volume systems or aging strategic assets like the Minuteman III, which dates back to the 1960s. The lack of a cost-effective, ground-launched payload delivery system prevents the Joint Force from achieving producibility at scale, leaving the U.S. vulnerable in high-intensity, multi-domain environments where high-end munitions would be rapidly depleted. The objective of this topic is to facilitate innovative research on low-cost, rapidly manufacturable, payload delivery systems.

Description:

The Department of War (DoW) is pivotally shifting toward "affordable mass" to counter peer adversaries who are rapidly expanding their military capabilities.

While hypersonic systems offer high speeds, their exorbitant costs—exceeding $50 million per round—limit the military's ability to achieve the "magazine depth" necessary for prolonged conflict.

This project proposes a ground-based, non-hypersonic, long-range precision payload delivery system that leverages low-cost production methods and commercial technologies to provide a scalable, high-volume alternative that is a tenth of the price of current high-end munitions.

PHASE I:

This topic is accepting DP2 submissions for a cost limit up to $2,000,000 and a 12-18 month period of performance.

(DIRECT TO) PHASE II:

This topic is a DP2 topic.

In order for proposers to submit a DP2 proposal, they must provide justification documentation to substantiate that the scientific and technical merit and feasibility described above has been met and describes the potential military and/or commercial applications.

Documentation should include all relevant information including, but not limited to:

• Technical reports.

• Test data.

• Prototype designs/models.

• Performance goals/results.

This justification must be provided during the DIU G-BAM Challenge in order to be selected as a winner and eligible to submit a DP2 proposal under this topic.

The results from the DIU G-BAM Challenge demonstration event will be used to determine eligibility for DP2.

The objectives during Phase II are to produce prototype solutions that will be easy to operate by a Soldier.

These products will be provided to select Army or other Department of War (DoW) units for testing and experimentation with end Users in a realistic field environment.

Feedback from testing and experimentation will be provided directly to Small Businesses to iterate rapidly on recommended modifications or improvements for Army operational use.

In addition, companies will work with Army partners to develop a draft technology transition and commercialization plan for DoW and commercial markets.

Prototype capabilities sought include:

• Cost Efficiency: Achieve a "flyaway" unit cost of less than $2 million, representing a significant reduction from current advanced tactical missiles.

• Producibility: Demonstrate a company manufacturing process capable of producing at least 500 units annually.

• Operational Range: Validate a ground-launched threshold range exceeding 300 nm, matching or exceeding the capabilities of the Precision Strike Missile Increment One.

• Employment: Should not require the Army to develop or modify other systems for employment. Should be a “plug and play” system that easily integrates with existing transport, targeting, and situational awareness systems.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS:

The sub-system technologies developed for low-cost, long-range payload delivery have significant applications in the civilian/commercial aerospace and logistics sectors.

The artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous navigation systems required for these munitions can be adapted for commercial cargo delivery drones and autonomous maritime vessels.

Additionally, the push for additive manufacturing and rapid prototyping in the Indo-Pacific region to support these systems can revitalize domestic high-tech manufacturing, providing private companies with advanced production techniques that reduce costs for civilian infrastructure projects.

Additionally, this space lends itself to the potential for development of low-cost alternate fuel technologies.

Companies participating in the shoot-off are encouraged to propose tech development for manufacturing methods, materials, guidance, seekers, alternate propulsion, etc. to enhance their products.

These are the primary opportunities for commercialization.

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.

Request to talk with a member of our team by completing the form below: