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Office of Naval Research · United States

Special Program Announcement for Office of Naval Research Research Opportunity

Full title in the source: Special Program Announcement for Office of Naval Research Research Opportunity: FY27 Communications and Networking Applied Research

Open

Office of Naval Research expects to make 6 awards of $250,000 – $500,000 each. Applications close on 16 Nov 2026. Eligible applicant types include others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification).

About this call

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). Successful

Who can apply

• Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

All responsible sources from academia, industry and the research community

worldwide may submit proposals under this BAA. Historically Black Colleges and

Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Institutions (MIs) are encouraged to submit

proposals and join others in submitting proposals; however, no portion of this BAA

will be set aside for HBCUs/MIs, small businesses or other socio-economic

participation. All businesses, both small and large, are encouraged to submit proposals

and compete for funding consideration.

Federally Funded Research & Development Centers (FFRDCs), including Department of Energy National Laboratories, are not eligible to receive awards under this BAA.

However, teaming arrangements between FFRDCs and eligible principal Offerors are

allowed so long as such arrangements are permitted under the sponsoring agreement

between the Government and the specific FFRDC.

Navy laboratories, military universities and warfare centers as well as other

Applicant categories are a starting point. The official call decides eligibility.

Topics

Science and Technology and other Research and Development

How to apply

1. Read the full notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) linked from the official page: eligibility, cost sharing and evaluation criteria.
2. Make sure your organisation has an active SAM.gov registration and Unique Entity ID (UEI); registration can take several weeks.
3. Register with Grants.gov and set up a Workspace for this opportunity, with the right roles for your organisation.
4. Prepare the required forms, narrative, budget and attachments exactly as the NOFO specifies.
5. Submit before the deadline and keep the tracking number. Check for amendments before you submit.

From the call text

Who can apply

Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page

Company stage

Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page

Single applicant or consortium

Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page

Where applicants must be based

Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page

Where to apply

Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page

Contact

Veronica Lacey · stephen.t.hughes.civ@us.navy.mil · 703-696-2593

Where these facts come from

Official sources

Official call page · Funder's programme page

Facts on this page come from the funder’s official data, taken on 13 Nov 2026. The funder's own documents, including later amendments, always take precedence.

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