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Air Force -- Research Lab · Department of Defense

Research and Development (RAD) Directed Energy (RD) University Assistance Instruments

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Key facts

Deadline
Due Jul 18, 2029 · 1014 days left
Award size
Up to $49M
Match ?
Not required · Work out your budget and match
Who can apply
Anyone (unrestricted)
Where
Anywhere in the U.S., including Tennessee

How this fits you

  • Available in Loudon County (nationwide program)
  • No match required
  • Past Tennessee awards on file: 43

Tell us who you are to see whether you're eligible.

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About this grant

Original Solictation: • Closing Date of the FOA • FROM: 18 July 2024 • TO: 18 July 2029 • Cost Ceiling • $49M • Contracting/Agreements Points of Contact (POC) • Agreements Officer • Mariah Salazar • Agreements Specialist • Monique Esquibel-Sena • Emails: mariah.salazar@us.af.mil; monique.esquibel_sena@us.af.mil Solicitation Amend 1: • Closing Date of the FOA • FROM: 18 July 2024 • TO: 18 July 2029 • Cost Ceiling • $49M • Contracting/Agreements Points of Contact (POC) • Agreements Officer • Mariah Salazar • Agreements Specialist • Monique Esquibel-Sena • Emails: mariah.salazar@us.af.mil; monique.esquibel_sena@us.af.mil (Revisions made: Updated information on Mandatory Letter of Intent to allow for interested parties to submit Letters of Intent through Valid Eval portal) Solicitation Amend 2: • Closing Date of the FOA • FROM: 18 July 2024 • TO: 18 July 2029 • Cost Ceiling • $49M • Contracting/Agreements Points of Contact (POC) • Agreements Officer • Mariah Salazar • Agreements Specialist • Monique Esquibel-Sena • Emails: mariah.salazar@us.af.mil; monique.esquibel_sena@us.af.mil (Revisions made: Added detail for Letter of Intent Evaluation Criteria) Solicitation Amend 3: • Closing Date of the FOA • FROM: 18 July 2024 • TO: 18 July 2029 • Cost Ceiling • $49M • Contracting/Agreements Points of Contact (POC) • Agreements Officer • Mariah Salazar • Alternate Agreements Officer • Jennifer Jaramillo • Agreements Specialist • Monique Esquibel-Sena • Brendan Merritt • Emails: mariah.salazar@us.af.mil; monique.esquibel_sena@us.af.mil, jennifer.jaramillo@us.af.mil, brendan.merritt@us.af.mil (Revisions made: Changed Letter of Intent review from 10 business days to 30 business days, Added verbiage to Section, D. Review and Selection Process, on Security Risk Review, added Agreement Specialist, Brendan Merritt, brendan.merritt@us.af.mil) Solicitation Amend 4: • Closing Date of the FOA • FROM: 18 July 2024 • TO: 18 July 2029 • Cost Ceiling • $49M • Contracting/Agreements Points of Contact (POC) • Agreements Officer • Mariah Salazar • Alternate Agreements Officer • Jennifer Jaramillo • Agreements Specialist • Monique Esquibel-Sena • Emails: mariah.salazar@us.af.mil; monique.esquibel_sena@us.af.mil, jennifer.jaramillo@us.af.mil (Revisions made: Changed Attachment 2 of Solicitation to DoD R&D General Terms...

Who can apply, from the official notice

See FOA for Eligibility

Ask a partner for a letter

Your schedule, working back from the deadline

  1. Oct8
    Check that your SAM.gov registration is active (or start it now)
    Grants.gov: allow up to 10 business days for SAM registration, weeks or months if information isn't verified. It must be renewed every year. Grants.gov
  2. Jun27
    Ask partners for letters of support or commitment
    Suggested: partners need about three weeks to write and sign letters.
  3. Jul11
    Finish a complete draft for a final review
    Suggested: leave about a week for someone else to read the draft.
  4. Jul16
    Submit
    Grants.gov: submit at least 24–48 hours before the deadline: uploads fail, systems slow down, errors need fixing. Grants.gov blog
  5. Jul18
    Deadline
    From the funder.

Save this grant to put these dates in My grants and your private calendar.

Writing the need statement? Loudon County facts with citations.

What the official notice requires

Pulled from the official notice 1._RDK-RAD-FOA-2024_AMEND3.pdf (23 pages) so you can see the requirements at a glance. Each item shows the notice's own words. Open the page to read it in context.

Registrations you need first (3)

  • Grants.gov · p. 2
    “Amendments to the original funding opportunity announcement (FOA) will be posted to the Grants.gov Webpage: https://www.grants.gov/.” Open page 2
  • SAM.gov · p. 3
    “Unique entity identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) E.” Open page 3
  • Unique Entity ID (UEI) · p. 19
    “Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) Number will also be given upon SAM registration.” Open page 19

Registration is free but can take weeks, so start now, not when the deadline is close. Get-ready checklist

Steps before the deadline

  • Letter of intent · p. 1
    “Prior to submitting a full application, Recipients are required to submit a Letter of Intent through the Valid Eval Portal at https://usg.valideval.com/teams/afrl_rad/signup.” Open page 1
  • Letter of intent · p. 6
    “Prior to submitting an application, Applicants are required to submit a Letter of Intent.” Open page 6
  • Letter of intent · p. 6
    “Applicants are required to submit a Letter of Intent through the Valid Eval Portal at https://usg.valideval.com/teams/afrl_rad/signup, which will then be reviewed for potential selection, to submit a full application.” Open page 6
  • Letter of intent · p. 9
    “Actions Required by Applicants/Recipients at letter of intent submission.” Open page 9

What to submit

  • Project abstract or summary · p. 15
    “Include a concise (not to exceed 300 words) (publicly releasable) abstract describing the research objective, technical approaches, anticipated outcome and impact of the specific research, and public purpose in accordance with 32 CFR §22.205.” Open page 15
  • Budget narrative / justification · p. 16
    “In addition to the Research and Related Budget forms available on Grants.gov, the budget proposal should include a budget justification for each year, clearly explaining the need for each item.” Open page 16
  • Form SF-424 · p. 23
    “Attachment IV, SF424 5.” Open page 23

Length limits

  • Page limit (see quote): 20 pages max · p. 11
    “Any application pages more than the allowable 20-page limitation will not be reviewed.” Open page 11
  • Word limit (see quote): 300 words max · p. 15
    “Include a concise (not to exceed 300 words) (publicly releasable) abstract describing the research objective, technical approaches, anticipated outcome and impact of the specific research, and public purpose in accordance with 32 CFR §22.205.” Open page 15

Formatting rules

  • double-spaced · p. 17
    “Spacing – single or double spaced” Open page 17
  • 12-point font · p. 17
    “Font – Times New Roman 12 point” Open page 17
  • single-spaced · p. 17
    “This includes cover page, charts, graphs, maps, and photographs when printed using the formatting requirements set forth above and single spaced.” Open page 17

Cost share or match

  • Cost share / match · p. 11
    “Cost Sharing or Matching Cost sharing is not required under this FOA.” Open page 11

Mistakes that get applications rejected (6)

  • Late or not validated: Letters of Intent and/or Applications received after the Final Submission Deadline will be deemed late and... · p. 6
    “Letters of Intent and/or Applications received after the Final Submission Deadline will be deemed late and will not be accepted for review.” Open page 6
  • Missing a required part: Applications must substantially comply with the application submission instructions identified in (Section... · p. 11
    “Applications must substantially comply with the application submission instructions identified in (Section IV - Submitting the Application) or they will be rejected.” Open page 11
  • Over the length limit: Any application pages more than the allowable 20-page limitation will not be reviewed. · p. 11
    “Any application pages more than the allowable 20-page limitation will not be reviewed.” Open page 11
  • Could get your application rejected: Applications submitted without prior submission of a Letter of Intent, will NOT be considered for the... · p. 12
    “Applications submitted without prior submission of a Letter of Intent, will NOT be considered for the proposed effort.” Open page 12
  • Could get your application rejected: Valid Eval will result in being disqualified for potential award. · p. 13
    “Valid Eval will result in being disqualified for potential award.” Open page 13
  • Could get your application rejected: If an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time the Federal awarding agency is... · p. 19
    “If an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time the Federal awarding agency is ready to make a Federal award, the Federal agency may determine that the applicant is disqualified.” Open page 19

Who in Tennessee has won this program

25 awards to Tennessee groups in 3 counties since 2019 · 0 in Loudon County. Largest shown:

Past Tennessee winners
Past winnerWhereAmountFiscal year
University of TennesseeTullahoma, Franklin County$17.9M2024
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson County$5M2022
University of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox County$2.2M2022
State of TennesseeNashville$2M spent that year2025
University of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox County$2M2021
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville$1.4M spent that year2025
University of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox County$980K2019
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson County$897K2020
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson County$731K2023
University of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox County$601K2020
University of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox County$541K2023
University of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox County$450K2021

Source: USAspending.gov; Federal Audit Clearinghouse. Past awards show who this program funds. They don't guarantee future awards.

Tennessee groups that got this money through a state agency or another organization

This federal money also reaches local groups as pass-through grants. 18 pass-through grants on file · 0 in Loudon County. Largest shown:

Tennessee pass-through grant winners
Past winnerWhereThroughAmountFiscal year
East Tennessee State UniversityJohnson City, Washington CountyBioindustrial Manufacturing and Design Ecosystem$1.3M2023
University of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox CountyUniversity of Texas at Austin$705K2025
Tennessee State UniversityNashville, Davidson CountyOhio State University, the$210K2025
University of TennesseeTullahoma, Franklin CountyOhio State University, the$192K2023
University of TennesseeTullahomaOhio State University, the$192K2023
2Nd Order Effects LLCFairviewNational Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining$170K2026
University of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox CountyUniversity of Southern California$165K2023
University of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox CountyUniversity of Southern California$165K2024
University of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox CountyUniversity of California, Los Angeles$160K2023
State of TennesseeNashvilleUniversity of Southern California$142K spent that year2023
State of TennesseeNashvilleThe University of Texas at Austin$125K spent that year2025
State of TennesseeNashvilleThe University of Southern California$82K spent that year2025

Source: USAspending.gov pass-through reports (the first recipient reports each one of $30,000 or more).

About the federal program

Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program
Program number 12.800 (the federal Assistance Listing number) · U.S. Department of Defense, Department of the Air Force · Project grant

How applications are judged

Awards decisions will be based on a competitive selection of proposals resulting from a peer and/or scientific review.

Match

None required (federal program listing).

This program on SAM.gov

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What's wrong?

Source: Federal grants from Grants.gov · the official federal record. Last checked by GrantMe Oct 8, 2026.

Reference numbers: official notice number RDK-RAD-FOA-2024 · program number 12.800