U.S. Department of Defense, Department of the Air Force
Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program
Key facts
Open now
- Fiscal Year 2027 Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP) · Due Nov 6, 2026 · 30 days left
- Air Force Fiscal Year 2027 Young Investigator Program (YIP) · Due Dec 4, 2026 · 58 days left
- Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Department of War (DoW) Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative (MURI) · Due Apr 9, 2027 · 184 days left
- CHEERS Open Period 1 - All Technical Areas · Due Sep 30, 2027 · 358 days left
- CHEERS Open Period 2 - All Technical Areas · Due Sep 30, 2027 · 358 days left
- FOUNDATIONS OF TRUSTED SYSTEMS · Due Dec 5, 2028 · 790 days left
- Coordinating Austere Nodes through Virtualization and Analysis of Streams (CANVAS) · Due May 22, 2029 · 958 days left
- Research and Development (RAD) Directed Energy (RD) University Assistance Instruments · Due Jul 18, 2029 · 1015 days left
- Air Force Basic Research Sciences Conference and Workshop Support · Due Aug 31, 2029 · 1059 days left
- Automated Processes for Knowledge Discovery and Information Retrieval · Due Sep 9, 2029 · 1068 days left
- Pioneering Aerospace Capabilities, Engineering and Research (PACER) · Due May 10, 2043 · 6059 days left
- Continuing Human Enabling Enhancing Restoring and Sustaining · Due Aug 22, 2044 · 6529 days left
- Research Interests of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research · No deadline listed: see the official notice
- Research Interests of the United States Air Force Academy (formerly USAFA-BAA-2021) · No deadline listed: see the official notice
Opening soon
Announced, but you can't apply yet. Get ready now.
- DIRECTED ENERGY TECHNOLOGY EXPERIMENTATION RESEARCH ADVANCED RESEARCH ANNOUCEMENT (DETER ARA) · Opening date not announced
- STARBASE Wright Patt · Opening date not announced
What it pays for
To maintain technological superiority in the scientific areas relevant to Air Force needs; to prevent technological surprise to our nation and create it for our adversaries; to maintain a strong research infrastructure composed of Air Force laboratories, industry, and universities; and to complement the national research effort.
Who can apply
Private/public educational institutions; other private/public nonprofit organizations which are operated primarily for scientific, educational, or similar purposes in the public interest, and commercial concerns.
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).
Who in Tennessee has won this program
25 awards to Tennessee groups since 2019. Largest shown:
| Past winner | Where | Amount | Fiscal year |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Tennessee | Tullahoma, Franklin County | $17.9M | 2024 |
| Vanderbilt University | Nashville, Davidson County | $5M | 2022 |
| University of Tennessee | Knoxville, Knox County | $2.2M | 2022 |
| State of Tennessee | Nashville | $2M spent that year | 2025 |
| University of Tennessee | Knoxville, Knox County | $2M | 2021 |
| Vanderbilt University | Nashville | $1.4M spent that year | 2025 |
| University of Tennessee | Knoxville, Knox County | $980K | 2019 |
| Vanderbilt University | Nashville, Davidson County | $897K | 2020 |
| Vanderbilt University | Nashville, Davidson County | $731K | 2023 |
| University of Tennessee | Knoxville, Knox County | $601K | 2020 |
| University of Tennessee | Knoxville, Knox County | $541K | 2023 |
| University of Tennessee | Knoxville, Knox County | $450K | 2021 |
Source: USAspending.gov, Federal Audit Clearinghouse.
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. Largest shown:
| Past winner | Where | Through | Amount | Fiscal year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Tennessee State University | Johnson City, Washington County | Bioindustrial Manufacturing and Design Ecosystem | $1.3M | 2023 |
| University of Tennessee | Knoxville, Knox County | University of Texas at Austin | $705K | 2025 |
| Tennessee State University | Nashville, Davidson County | Ohio State University, the | $210K | 2025 |
| University of Tennessee | Tullahoma, Franklin County | Ohio State University, the | $192K | 2023 |
| University of Tennessee | Tullahoma | Ohio State University, the | $192K | 2023 |
| 2Nd Order Effects LLC | Fairview | National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining | $170K | 2026 |
| University of Tennessee | Knoxville, Knox County | University of Southern California | $165K | 2023 |
| University of Tennessee | Knoxville, Knox County | University of Southern California | $165K | 2024 |
| University of Tennessee | Knoxville, Knox County | University of California, Los Angeles | $160K | 2023 |
| State of Tennessee | Nashville | University of Southern California | $142K spent that year | 2023 |
| State of Tennessee | Nashville | The University of Texas at Austin | $125K spent that year | 2025 |
| State of Tennessee | Nashville | The University of Southern California | $82K spent that year | 2025 |
Source: USAspending.gov pass-through reports (the first recipient reports each one of $30,000 or more).