Innovation Funding Database
Aerospace & Space Tech Funding
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Types of Opportunities
Broad Topics
Broad topics cover wide areas of interest where the government wants solutions. They’re open-ended and give you room to define how your idea fits the mission.
Specific Topics
Specific topics describe clearly defined needs with exact technical goals or outcomes. They’re focused requests for solutions that meet specific requirements.
Broad Topic Opportunities:
Start Applying ASAP:
Either the deadline is approaching or there is a competitive reason for applying early (such as funds that will be awarded on a first come first serve basis)
Deadline: September 30th
Funding Award Size: Est. $500K to $5M
Description: Apply for FY26 Navy propulsion and power R&D funding through NAWCAD’s open BAA. Submit white papers by 30 September 2026 across energy, propulsion, and aircraft systems.
Deadline: Rolling Submissions
Funding Award Size: $500k - $10m
Description: Apply to the Golden Dome for America Commercial Solutions Opening. Rolling submissions through 30 September 2035 for innovative defense technologies, prototypes, and mission-critical capabilities.
Deadline: Rolling deadline until December 31, 2026
Funding Award Size: Est. $500K to $5M
Description: Rolling submission program connecting commercial technologies to USSOCOM needs across AI, ISR, cyber, mobility, medical, and more, with multiple non-dilutive funding pathways.
Deadline: Rolling Deadline Until September 30, 2026
Funding Award Size: Est. $500K to $5M
Description: Funding for basic and applied research across defense-critical areas including AI, materials, energy, cybersecurity, sensing, and space systems to advance U.S. Navy capabilities.
Deadline: Rolling Submissions
Funding Award Size: $400k
Description: Apply for FAA Aviation Research 2025 funding through a rolling BAA. Awards up to $400K/year for aviation R&D across pavements, AI/ML, flight systems, and safety technologies.
Deadline: Rolling until September 2026
Funding Award Size: $500k - $5m
Description: The Air Force AMIC Commercial Solutions Opening (FA4890-CSO-0001-24) seeks innovative commercial technologies for AI, cybersecurity, communications, counter-UAS, and data systems. Submissions accepted until September 5, 2026.
Deadline: April 3rd, 2026
Funding Award Size: $14m
Description: The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is seeking contractors for the COMET IDIQ supporting missile evaluation, testing, and intelligence analysis at the Missile & Space Intelligence Center. Proposals due APR 03, 2026 04:00 PM
Deadline: Rolling
Funding Award Size: $500k - $5m
Description: The Air Force Research Laboratory’s “Networking the Fight” BAA offers up to $24M per award for technologies enabling secure cross-domain data sharing and resilient networking at the tactical edge.
Deadline: February 27, 2026
Description: Apply to DIU’s Runway Independent Maritime & Expeditionary Strike (RIMES) opportunity. Prototype OT funding for long-range unmanned aerial systems. Deadline: February 27, 2026 at 23:59:59 US/Eastern Time.
Deadline: Submit White Paper ASAP
Funding Award Size: $250k to $10 million
Description: Funding for research, development, and qualification of strategic and critical materials to strengthen domestic supply chains and support Department of Defense requirements.
Deadline: February 17, 2026 at 23:59:59 US/Eastern Time
Funding Award Size: $300K to $5M+
Description: Apply for DIU funding for containerized autonomous drone delivery systems. OT prototype contracts with DoD. Deadline Feb 17, 2026.
Deadline: March 26, 2026
Funding Award Size: $300K to $5M+
Description: Funding for demonstration and validation of mature energy, water, cybersecurity, and building technologies that improve resilience, efficiency, and mission assurance at DoD installations.
Deadline: Submit ASAP while funds are available. Closes 1/1/27
Funding Award Size: Est. $500K to $5 million
Description: Funding and collaboration to research, integrate, and demonstrate novel technologies on a high-mobility specialist vehicle platform to inform future UK land manoeuvre capabilities.
Deadline: Submit ASAP while funds are available. Closes 5/31/29
Funding Award Size: Est. $500K to $5 million
Description: Funding for scientific and technical research that enhances homeland security capabilities across DHS operational environments and mission areas.
Deadline: White Papers Due June, 22nd
Funding Award Size: Est. $500K to $5M
Description: This BAA solicits innovative basic research, applied research, advanced technology development, and prototype efforts that advance naval aviation capabilities and directly support Department of the Navy mission needs.
Deadline: White Papers Due May, 20th
Funding Award Size: Est. $100K to $10M
Description: The Air Force Research Laboratory is seeking innovative research and development in advanced radio frequency (RF) and electro-optical / infrared (EO/IR) sensing technologies to support future air, space, and command-and-control sensor systems.
Deadline: Executive Summary Due April 17, 2026
Funding Award Size: Est. $500K to $5 million
Description: DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office seeks revolutionary defense technologies and systems that enable rapid design, manufacturing, sustainment, and disruptive battlefield capability across multiple focus areas.
Deadline: Submit white papers ASAP before funds are allocated.
Funding Award Size: $100K to $10 Million+
Description: Funding for research and development of spacecraft propulsion technologies to improve resiliency and counter satellite threats, including chemical, electric, and multi-mode propulsion systems.
Deadline: March 31, 2026
Funding Award Size: $1M (Track A) to $3M (Track B)
Description: Funding for U.S. companies to develop and demonstrate robotic surface and aerial mobility systems capable of transporting and deploying science payloads in Martian environments.
Deadline: April 9, 2026
Funding Award Size: $500K - $5M
Description: Funding for research and development supporting advanced naval air platforms, sensors, computing, security, and mission systems for manned and unmanned aviation.
Deadline: Apply ASAP. Rolling Deadline until May 16, 2026
Funding Award Size: $500k - $2m
Description: Funding for innovative R&D solutions supporting FBI enterprise technology problem sets, including AI, cybersecurity, biometrics, counterintelligence, and data fabric.
Deadline: February 27, 2026
Funding Award Size: $500 - $50 Million
Description: Funding vehicle enabling AFRL to award unclassified science and technology research task orders across air, space, cyber, and cross-cutting defense domains.
Deadline: Rolling Submissions until September 30, 2027
Funding Award Size: $2M to $200M
Description: DoD OTA funding for prototype projects that strengthen U.S. defense manufacturing capacity, workforce readiness, and supply chain resilience across priority industrial base sectors.
Deadline: Rolling Project Pitches
Funding Award Size: $305K + $1.25M+ in follow-on funding
Description: Non-dilutive funding for early-stage startups to develop high-risk, high-impact technologies based on novel science or engineering, with strong commercial and societal potential.
Deadline: February 27, 2026
Funding Award Size: $500K+
Description: Funding for basic and applied research supporting Navy ship, submarine, and maritime technology priorities, including digital ecosystems, hydrodynamics, naval platform integrity, design, signature management, and unmanned systems.
Deadline: Rolling Deadline.
Funding Award Size: Est. $2-$10 Million
Description: Funding for research and development supporting military engineering, environmental science, infrastructure resilience, geospatial systems, computing, materials, energy, and related defense and civil works technologies.
Deadline: June 2, 2026
Funding Award Size: Est. $2 million
Description: Funding for revolutionary basic or applied research that advances science, devices, or systems for national security applications.
Deadline: The Request for Solutions (RFS) is expected December 17, 2025 with Gauntlet I beginning February 17, 2026 (est.). This is a multi-phase program running through January 2028.
Funding Award Size: $5 Million+
Description: The Department of War’s Drone Dominance Program seeks low-cost, U.S.-made small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) capable of One-Way Attack (OWA) missions. The program aims to rapidly scale American industrial capacity to produce cheap, attritable, combat-ready drones at volume. Companies compete in Gauntlet field events, and high-scoring systems receive fixed-price production orders.
Deadline: September 29, 2030
Funding Award Size: $10 million to $50 million
Description: Funding to develop cyber operations prototypes that can transition into operational DoD platforms to maintain U.S. superiority in the cyber domain.
Specific Topic Opportunities:
Start Applying ASAP:
Either the deadline is approaching or there is a competitive reason for applying early (such as funds that will be awarded on a first come first serve basis)
Deadline: April 20, 2026
Funding Award Size: Est. $500K to $5M
Description: Funding for development of small, low-cost unmanned aircraft systems capable of autonomous, high-speed, long-range operations in contested environments for asymmetric warfare missions.
Deadline: April 29, 2026 (Estimated)
Funding Award Size: $240,000 (Estimated)
Description: Funding to develop robust autopilot flight control for heterogeneous manned/unmanned formation “wake surfing,” enabling precise station-keeping in vortex upwash for 10–20% fuel savings with minimal added hardware and low/zero datalink dependency.
Deadline: April 29, 2026 (Estimated)
Funding Award Size: $1.5 Million (Estimated)
Description: Develop software and firmware enhancements for software-defined radios to enable ad-hoc networking and synchronization across heterogeneous RF systems. The solution will improve interoperability among communication, C2, EW, and SAR platforms while maintaining primary mission functions.
Deadline: April 29, 2026 (Estimated)
Funding Award Size: $240,000 (Estimated)
Description: Funding to develop an integrated metal-ceramic matrix infusion for high-strength steel landing gear components to replace hard chrome and HVOF, improving wear/corrosion resistance, durability, readiness, and lifecycle cost while reducing hazardous processes.
Deadline: April 29, 2026 (Estimated)
Funding Award Size: $240,000 (Estimated)
Description: Funding to develop RF photonic front-end technologies that enhance the resilience, bandwidth, and interference resistance of communications and navigation systems, enabling reliable wireless connectivity and assured position, navigation, and timing (PNT) in contested electromagnetic environments.
Deadline: April 29, 2026 (Estimated)
Funding Award Size: $240,000 (Estimated)
Description: Funding to develop scalable multiphysics modeling tools that predict frontal polymerization cure behavior (front temperature/velocity/cure) and resulting distortion/residual stress, while optimizing resin additives and preventing front self-extinguishing.
Deadline: April 29, 2026 (Estimated)
Funding Award Size: $2 Million (Estimated)
Description: Funding to develop a portable AI/ML-enabled diagnostic module that integrates with optical reflectometry tools to detect, classify, and troubleshoot faults in military avionics fiber-optic networks with centimeter-level precision, improving maintenance efficiency, predictive diagnostics, and aircraft mission readiness.
Deadline: April 29, 2026 (Estimated)
Funding Award Size: $240,000 (Estimated)
Description: Funding to design a reduced-cost, multi-frequency helicopter dipping sonar that expands ASW inner/middle-zone coverage and adds aviation mine countermeasures (AMCM) capability in a single, retrofit-compatible transducer system.
Deadline: April 29, 2026 (Estimated)
Funding Award Size: $250,000 (Estimated)
Description: Develop modular payload technologies for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) compatible with the Picatinny Common Lethality Interface Kit (CLIK) standard. Solutions may include EO/IR sensing, communications relay, electronic warfare, signals intelligence, or cargo delivery payloads integrated across multiple UAS platforms.
Deadline: April 29, 2026 (Estimated)
Funding Award Size: $240,000 (Estimated)
Description: Funding to develop and demonstrate a cryogenic liquid hydrogen storage and delivery system for Navy/USMC UAS that achieves high mass fraction and low boil-off, improving endurance, range, and continuous payload power.
Deadline: April 29, 2026 (Estimated)
Funding Award Size: $240,000 (Estimated)
Description: Develop nonlinear optical dyes embedded in sol-gel glass that act as optical power limiters to protect EO/IR sensors from frequency-agile lasers and dazzlers while maintaining high infrared transmission and fast response times.
Deadline: April 29, 2026 (Estimated)
Funding Award Size: $2 Million (Estimated)
Description: Develop and demonstrate a 10-inch air-launched rocket motor integrating Highly Loaded Grain (HLG) propulsion to increase total impulse and extend operational range by ~30%. The effort advances propulsion performance, thrust shaping, and manufacturing readiness for next-generation tactical rocket systems.
Deadline: April 29, 2026 (Estimated)
Funding Award Size: $240,000 (Estimated)
Description: Develop an AI/ML-enhanced optical fire detector capable of operating in aircraft engine nacelles up to 400°F, enabling rapid fire detection, reduced false alarms, and reliable performance in high-temperature environments.
Deadline: April 29, 2026 (Estimated)
Funding Award Size: $240,000 (Estimated)
Description: Funding to build an M&S tool that generates validated, high-fidelity EO/IR virtual clutter models (weather-explicit 3D clouds and/or debris fields) with thermal/optical/physical attributes for real-time scene generation (60 Hz–1 kHz) to test missile warning, IR countermeasure, and ISR systems in high-clutter environments.
Deadline: April 29, 2026 (Estimated)
Funding Award Size: $240,000 (Estimated)
Description: Develop robotic systems to automate or assist the assembly of Expeditionary Airfield matting in austere environments, enabling autonomous navigation, heavy mat handling, and precise alignment to improve deployment speed, reduce manual labor, and enhance operational safety.
Deadline: April 29, 2026 (Estimated)
Funding Award Size: $240,000 (Estimated)
Description: Develop a low-SWaP, open-architecture airborne software-defined radio using MOSA and MBSE to support multi-band communications, secure waveforms, and interoperability across Navy and Marine Corps aircraft platforms.
Deadline: April 29, 2026 (Estimated)
Funding Award Size: $240,000 (Estimated)
Description: Funding to develop an A-size deployable low-frequency vertical line array of vector sensors for long-range passive ASW detection, directional sensitivity, and STANAG 4718 compliant communications in deep-water operations.
Deadline: April 29, 2026 (Estimated)
Funding Award Size: $240,000 (Estimated)
Description: Development of a portable induction welding system that enables in-situ repair of thermoplastic composite aircraft components on naval aviation platforms, reducing downtime and scrap rates by allowing field maintenance without removing damaged material.
Deadline: April 29, 2026 (Estimated)
Funding Award Size: $240,000 (Estimated)
Description: Develop a modern, modular tropical cyclone forecasting software suite with containerized architecture that integrates legacy and new models, data sources, and APIs to automate storm analysis, prediction, and dissemination for operational forecasting centers.
Deadline: April 29, 2026 (Estimated)
Funding Award Size: $2 Million (Estimated)
Description: Develop and integrate Highly Loaded Grain (HLG) propellant into a 2.75" Mk66 rocket motor to increase total impulse and extend weapon range by ~30% while maintaining compatibility with existing rocket motor materials, systems, and operational environments.
Deadline: April 29, 2026 (Estimated)
Funding Award Size: $240,000 (Estimated)
Description: Develop a high-speed telemetry antenna system for reentry test bodies that transmits encrypted inflight data via K/Ka-band links to geostationary satellites, enabling real-time communication and improved data capture during ballistic missile flight testing.
Deadline: April 29, 2026 (Estimated)
Funding Award Size: $240,000 (Estimated)
Description: Funding to develop a high-power (10W CW) blue laser (425–475 nm) with long coherence length (>10 m) and high pulse repetition (>100 MHz) for reliable continuous operation in demanding Navy environments.
Deadline: April 29, 2026 (Estimated)
Funding Award Size: $240,000 (Estimated)
Description: Funding to develop passive, thermal-equilibrium alkali atom sources (Rb/Cs) with synthetically controlled vapor density to simplify thermal management and improve stability/SWaP for practical atom-based quantum sensors.
Deadline: April 29, 2026 (Estimated)
Funding Award Size: $240,000 (Estimated)
Description: Funding to develop a throttleable solid-fuel rotating detonation ramjet by integrating a controllable gas generator for precise fuel regulation, enabling stable detonation operation and efficient high-speed propulsion across varied mission profiles.
Deadline: April 29, 2026 (Estimated)
Funding Award Size: $240,000 (Estimated)
Description: Funding to develop an integrated multidisciplinary design, analysis, and optimization (MDAO) framework for hypersonic boost-glide weapons. Solutions should combine physics modeling, AI/ML, and reduced-order models to optimize vehicle geometry, trajectory, and control while supporting cost, manufacturability, and mission trade studies.
Deadline: April 29, 2026 (Estimated)
Funding Award Size: $240,000 (Estimated)
Description: Research the impact of additive materials in 3D-printed polymers to control electromagnetic properties while maintaining structural and thermal performance for defense systems, enabling RF attenuation and optimized materials for applications such as antenna radomes and other weapon system components.
Deadline: April 29, 2026 (Estimated)
Funding Award Size: $240,000 (Estimated)
Description: Develop low-cost, moldable metastructure or frequency-selective materials that can adhere to naval platforms and protect RF, microwave, and EO/IR systems while maintaining broadband performance and durability in harsh maritime environments.
Deadline: April 29, 2026 (Estimated)
Funding Award Size: $240,000 (Estimated)
Description: Funding to develop advanced overlay/bond coatings plus an ICME-based coating degradation model to predict and extend turbine hardware life against marine hot corrosion, oxidation, and stress-driven damage across varying temperatures.
Deadline: April 29, 2026 (Estimated)
Funding Award Size: $240,000 (Estimated)
Description: Funding to build a prototype GIS-based Arctic navigation planning tool that fuses onboard, airborne, satellite, and model data to forecast sea ice (12–96 hrs) and recommend optimized, vessel-aware routes through ice-infested waters.
Deadline: April 29, 2026 (Estimated)
Funding Award Size: $240,000 (Estimated)
Description: Funding to develop a lightweight passive spectral imager + dual-wavelength topo-bathy LiDAR payload for Group 2 UAVs, enabling real-time littoral mapping, bathymetry to ~20m, and underwater target/terrain characterization with onboard processing and downlink.
Deadline: Rolling Submission Deadline
Funding Award Size: $20M–$100M
Description: AFRL MSDEW ARA offers $20M–$100M awards for electronic warfare, sensor fusion, and defense systems. Rolling calls open through 13 JULY 2027.