Office of Naval Research Grants

Office of Naval Research

GlobalX Challenge 26.1: AI-Native Air Interface for Tactical Communication Networks

Office of Naval Research

This purpose of the GlobalX Challenge is to accelerate the traditional knowledge generation cycle, proving or disproving an applied research theory on an advanced timeline, leading to the discovery of revolutionary dual-use capability for the benefit of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, the commercial marketplace, and the public. The expected outcomes of this Challenge are promising, potentially game-changing, applied concepts whose maturity may be accelerated under separate follow-on technology development efforts.

Office of Naval Research

GlobalX Challenge 26.2: Naval Southern Hemisphere Space Weather and Plasmas (NSHSWP)

Office of Naval Research

The purpose of the GlobalX Innovation Challenge is to accelerate the traditional knowledge generation cycle, rapidly testing applied research theories to enable the discovery of revolutionary dual-use capabilities for the benefit of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, the commercial marketplace, and the public. Led by the Office of Naval Research Global and targeted at researchers in the Indian subcontinent, this challenge addresses a joint Naval need and seeks to deliver outcomes of value to both the U.S. and India. The expected results are promising, potentially game-changing applied concepts whose maturity may be further advanced through separate follow-on technology development efforts.

Office of Naval Research

FY25 Long Range Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Navy and Marine Corps Science and Technology

Office of Naval Research

ONR, ONRG, and MCWL are interested in receiving proposals for Long-Range S&T Projects that offer potential for advancement and improvement of Navy and Marine Corps operations. Readers should note that this is an announcement to declare ONR, ONRG and MCWL s broad role in competitive funding of meritorious research across a spectrum of science and engineering disciplines.All responsible sources from academia, industry and the research community worldwide may submit proposals under this BAA. All businesses, both small and large, are encouraged to submit proposals and compete for funding consideration.

Office of Naval Research

Special Program Announcement for Office of Naval Research Research Opportunity: FY27 Communications and Networking Applied Research

Office of Naval Research

The proposed topic will develop and mature Communications and Networking technologies for Naval operations.Background:A Design for Maritime Superiority (2018) describes an operational architecture for distributed maritime operations (DMO) that "... will provide accurate, timely, and analyzed information to units, warfighting groups, and fleets." A critical component of this architecture is the Naval Tactical Grid (NTG) to connect distributed units into groups and distributed groups into fleets.Communications and networking technologies that can provide seamless, robust, connectivity are key enablers for the NTG. These technologies will be deployed on a variety of platforms, both manned and unmanned, operating under challenging environmental and operational warfare conditions (lack of infrastructure, mobility, spectrum limitations, interference, multipath, atmospherics, jamming, electronic intercept, size/weight/power constraint, etc.) in different domains (land, maritime [includes both surface and undersea], cyber, and space). SuccessfulCommand and Control (C2) and decision making, at all levels of command, for DMO is critically dependent on these communications and networking technologies

Office of Naval Research

Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Department of the Navy (DoN) Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Institutions (HBCU/MI) Program

Office of Naval Research

Key programmatic objectives of the DoN HBCU/MI Program are achieved through the implementation and performance of three program goals: enhancing the research and educational capabilities of HBCU/MIs in scientific and engineering disciplines critical to the defense mission of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, encouraging cross-institutional, collaborative efforts that explore innovative solutions to naval science and technology (S&T) challenges, and increasing the engagement of students in STEM fields important to the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps.This particular NOFO aims to enhance the research capacity and research infrastructure for HBCU/MIs. Competitive white papers and invited full proposals submitted to this NOFO must clearly and succinctly describe efforts that advance basic naval-relevant S&T, engage faculty and students in STEM discovery, and expand the research capacity of participant institutions.This announcement is only for research efforts that also promote student/faculty engagement, and expand the institution s research capacity. This announcement is not intended for projects that focus on non-research STEM activities.The technical content of any proposed effort must contribute to the S&T mission and vision of the DoN.DeadlinesWhite Paper Inquiries and Questions-Email: don_hbcufoa@navy.mil09 September 2026 (Wednesday)White Papers must be received no later than18 September 2026 (Friday) at 5:00 PM Eastern TimeApplication Inquiries and Questions04 December 2026 (Friday)

Office of Naval Research

This BAA Call announces the GlobalX Innovation Joint Challenge: AI for Advancing Maritime Security and describes new funding to be awarded under authority of N0001425SB001, Long Range Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Navy and Marine Corps Science and Technology. See related documents for full details.

Office of Naval Research

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is interested in receiving proposals for real-time full spectrum cybersecurity Science and Technology (S&T) Projects which offer potential for advancement and improvement of Navy and Marine Corps operations. Readers should note that this is an announcement to declare ONR s broad role in competitive funding of meritorious research across a spectrum of science and engineering disciplines. A brief description of the ONR Program science and technology thrusts that ONR is pursuing is provided below. The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is interested in receiving proposals addressing Full-Spectrum Cyber (FSC) science and technology for real-time cyber-resilient systems including current and legacy Industrial Control & Combat Systems (ICCS) with complex and evolving software. This BAA originates from the ever-growing need for comprehensive and novel methods for cybersecurity and resiliency of legacy and currently deployed information systems including real-time ICCS. The critical nature, real-time requirements, and physical effects of such systems impact the health and safety of human lives and the critical systems. The availability of real-time security solutions is limited because such systems have not been the traditional focus of cybersecurity research and development. The objective of this BAA is to solicit solutions to enhance the cybersecurity, resiliency, integrity, and availability of real-time systems. This solicitation is broken up into three separate S&T cyber thrust areas of interest: - Cyber-attack resilient and fault-tolerant communications - Cyber-attack resilient and fault-tolerant systems - Proactive-cyber shaping Cyber-attack resilient and fault-tolerant communications The ONR is interested in proposals for developing new approaches for implementing real-time cyber resiliency. This section of the BAA is concerned with communication channels which must be robust against cyber disruptions affecting the communication s integrity and availability. ICCS are designed for survivability and availability of operations over a long lifecycle that may span multiple decades. Completely redesigning or replacing them is not a viable solution. Therefore, we are interested in cyber resiliency solutions for communication channels that can be retrofitted into legacy systems. Additionally, current control systems communicate across numerous interfaces, protocols, and physical channels that span from traditional IP networks to low-level system backplanes. Unlike traditional computer systems, allowing faults and exploitation of weaknesses with control systems is not acceptable, as it will pose a significant risk to the health and safety of human lives or result in serious damage to its environment. Traditional IP network cybersecurity proposals will be reviewed but are not the primary focus of this BAA. Proposed research should enhance the cybersecurity/robustness of a low-level communication channel or system backplane. A successful proposal at this level may require an understanding of non-standard or legacy backplane architecture and protocols. Proposals should concentrate on the detection and mitigation of malicious cyber events for assured operations and communication robustness in tactical and real-time communication channels that exist on manned and unmanned Naval platforms. Cyber-attack resilient and fault-tolerant systems The ONR is interested in proposals for developing new approaches for implementing real-time cyber resiliency. This section of the BAA is concerned with real-time systems which must be resilient against naturally occurring faults and cyber disruptions affecting the operations of an individual controller. Computing components that comprise real-time control systems are expected to operate over a long lifecycle that may span multiple decades. As such, it is not practical to completely redesign or replace them. Therefore, we are interested in technologies to enhance real-time control system resiliency that can be retrofitted into legacy systems. Traditionally, the components of real-time control systems have generally been designed to be tolerant of physical and random faults. In contrast, faults and other adverse behavior due to cyber exploits result in total system failure or corruption even under the protection of typical fault-tolerant mechanisms. This BAA solicits novel approaches to enhance fault-tolerance in real-time control systems so that a system is resilient to a cyber attack, allowing it to operate continuously while maintaining the integrity of its operations. Due to their real-time nature, controllers often require that outputs are generated periodically and processed with regular frequency (sometimes referred to as the epoch). The cyber exploit resiliency mechanism needs to perform detection and recovery within a window of time such that the physical system remains stable without a control signal. Upon recovery, a controller s knowledge of the physical system state must also be restored. Control systems are typically engineered to withstand some loss of state, such that the loss does not impact the overall stability of the physical system. Any state information lost should be within the tolerable amount for maintaining physical system stability, which is application specific, and often a small multiple of the epoch. The recovery mechanism should be able to remove a malicious input and recover to a known good state within the acceptable limits of the physical system. Proposals should concentrate on the detection and mitigation for assured cybersecurity and resiliency of tactical and real-time controllers on manned and unmanned Naval platforms. Proactive-Cyber Shaping Proactive-cyber shaping focuses on developing effective new approaches in cyber, information, and control systems to support tactical decision makers with agile and responsive battlespace shaping capabilities in a rapidly evolving cyberspace. Proactive-cyber shaping capabilities for real-time ICCS will provide an in-depth understanding of a system s cyber health and status, as well as inform the development of novel protocols, security mechanisms, secure computing platforms, modeling, and evaluation techniques for these ICCS. Producing FSC effects will encompass all necessary capabilities to assure access to, and integrity of, all information in the battlespace. Specific proposals should focus on tactical and real-time cyber capabilities for both manned and unmanned US Naval platforms. Desired technologies focus on real-time hardware and software, sensing, monitoring, analysis, and technical applications that protect the US Naval information enterprise. Research ideas are being sought after that build upon fundamental research in computer and information sciences for ensuring the integrity of the US Naval information enterprise including the protection of our ICCS. The cyberspace domain in which the US Naval Forces operate requires advances in cyber that enable our warfighters to remain persistently ahead of the adversary. Proposals are desired that aim to develop methods to assure access to cyberspace and the integrity of command and control, along with advancing research on the convergence of cyber and electromagnetic maneuver.

Office of Naval Research

The purpose of this Global-X Challenge is to discover, and ultimately provide a catalyst through a research grant, for subsequent development and delivery of revolutionary capability to the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, the commercial marketplace, and the public. The expected outcomes of this Global-X Challenge are promising, potentially game-changing, concepts whose technology maturity may be accelerated under separate follow-on technology development efforts.

Office of Naval Research

The DoD Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI), one element of the University Research Initiative (URI), is sponsored by the DoD research offices: the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the Army Research Office (ARO), and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) (hereafter collectively referred to as "DoD agencies").The MURI program supports basic research in science and engineering at U.S. institutions of higher education (hereafter referred to as "universities") that is of potential interest to DoD. The program is focused on multidisciplinary research efforts where more than one traditional discipline interacts to provide rapid advances in scientific areas of interest to the DoD. As defined by the DoD, basic research is systematic study directed toward greater knowledge or understanding of the fundamental aspects of phenomena and of observable facts without specific applications towards processes or products in mind. It includes all scientific study and experimentation directed toward increasing fundamental knowledge and understanding in those fields of the physical, engineering, environmental, and life sciences related to long-term national security needs. It is farsighted high payoff research that provides the basis for technological progress. (DoD 7000.14.R, vol. 2B, chap.5). DoD s basic research program invests broadly in many specific fields to ensure that it has early cognizance of new scientific knowledge.

Office of Naval Research

The ONR seeks proposals for developing innovative solutions that directly support the development and maintenance of a robust STEM workforce. The goal of any proposed effort should be to provide "game changing" solutions that will establish and maintain a diverse pipeline of U.S. citizens who are interested in uniformed or civilian DoN (or Navy and Marine Corps) STEM related workforce opportunities. While this announcement is relevant for any stage of the STEM pipeline, for FY15, funding efforts will be targeted primarily towards High School, Post-Secondary education, and outreach designed to enhance the DoN (or Naval) STEM workforce and its mission readiness. Emphasis will be given both to key engineering and scientific areas outlined in the Naval S&T Strategic Plan such as our National Naval Responsibilities (see ONR website), and to identified STEM related workforce gaps and new strategic goals on the uniformed and civilian side. The FULL ANNOUNCEMENT is available on the Grants.gov website.

Office of Naval Research

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) announces the following research opportunity: Department of Defense Explosive Ordnance Disposable Science and Technology. The purpose of this announcement is to (1) focus attention of the scientific & technology community on the areas of interest, (2) encourage dialogue amongst those interested in these areas with ONR, and (3) provide a planned timetable for the submission of white papers and proposals.