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The Air Force AFWERX SBIR program is soliciting proposals under topic DAF26BZ03-DV020 to develop an AI-driven humanoid robotic fleet management platform that coordinates teams of humanoid maintenance robots performing depot, flightline, and base sustainment tasks.
The topic targets the orchestration layer above individual humanoid platforms, including AI task allocation, fleet-level autonomy, predictive maintenance integration, human-robot teaming interfaces, and safety oversight. Awards are made under the AFWERX Open Topic SBIR process with typical Phase II ceilings of approximately $2 million and clear pathways to operational transition through AFWERX SBIR Phase III contracts.
Submissions close July 22, 2026.
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Search similar grants →According to the current listing, eligibility includes: U.S. small businesses meeting standard SBIR eligibility (fewer than 500 employees, more than 50% U.S. citizen or permanent resident ownership). Companies must register on the DoD SBIR/STTR portal. Strong fit for humanoid robotics startups, fleet management software companies, and AI orchestration platforms. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
The current listing shows approximately $2,000,000 per Phase II award, with Phase I and direct-to-Phase II pathways available under the AFWERX Open Topic process. Phase III pathways to operational transition contracts are typical for successful performers. Verify award ceilings, matching requirements, and allowable costs in the official notice.
Applications for Air Force AFWERX SBIR Humanoid Robotic Fleet Management Topic DAF26BZ03-DV020 for AI-Driven Maintenance Robotics are due July 22, 2026. Build your timeline backwards from this date to cover registrations, approvals, and final submission checks.
Air Force AFWERX SBIR Humanoid Robotic Fleet Management Topic DAF26BZ03-DV020 for AI-Driven Maintenance Robotics is funded by U.S. Department of the Air Force (AFWERX SBIR Program). Verify program details on the funder's official page before applying.
Start from the official opportunity page linked in this listing — it carries the sponsor's submission instructions.
DARPA's SAFRON (Safe and Assured Foundation Robots for Open Environments) program addresses safety and assurance challenges for foundation-model-enabled robots operating in open-world environments. It focuses on mitigating risks such as hallucination, false confidence in reasoning, and manipulation via jailbreaking that could prevent successful task execution. Research targets formal verification, runtime monitors, uncertainty-aware policies, and red-teaming for foundation-model robotic systems that take natural language commands in unstructured environments. Initial solicitation DARPA-EA-24-01-05 closed January 2025; follow-on Exploration Announcement DARPA-EA-25-02 continues the program. SAFRON outputs are intended to enable assured deployment of LLM/VLM-driven robots in defense and dual-use civilian settings.
The Department of the Navy's NAVAIR and NAVSEA divisions are soliciting Phase I SBIR proposals under topic DON26BX03-NP002 for Counter-Unmanned Air Systems (C-UAS) technologies that detect, track, identify, and neutralize hostile drones and drone swarms threatening naval and shore-based assets. Priority AI capabilities include multi-sensor track fusion, RF/EO/IR classification, swarm intent prediction, and autonomous mitigation effector cueing. Phase I awards are approximately $315,000, with follow-on Phase II awards up to $1.8M and direct paths to operational deployment through Navy programs of record. The topic is part of the broader DoD push to scale counter-drone capability in response to growing UAV threats observed in recent conflicts. Submissions close July 22, 2026.
The Army Applications Lab's DevX Autonomy open call seeks commercial autonomous and unmanned system solutions that can address Army capability gaps in maneuver, sustainment, and force protection. The solicitation accepts proposals on a rolling monthly basis through August 31, 2026, and is targeted at non-traditional defense vendors with autonomy software, AI perception systems, and unmanned ground or aerial platforms. AAL provides early access to Army end users for problem refinement, prototype evaluation, and transition planning. Awards are structured as Other Transaction Agreements, with awards typically between $500K and $2M and a pathway to follow-on Army programs of record. AAL is part of the U.S. Army Futures Command innovation portfolio.
The DSO DPA26BZ03 drop pairs a wearable closed-loop sleep system and a host-pathogen interactome predictor with a brutal Rydberg-sensor manufacturing topic and air-independent high-density batteries. All four open June 24 and close July 22, 2026. Here is what each topic is really asking for, and which small businesses are positioned to win.
Read articleThe Department of the Navy pre-released FY26 Release 3 SBIR/STTR on June 3, 2026 — 12 BAA topics and one Commercial Solutions Opening for Counter-Unmanned Air Systems. Topics span adaptive sensor management, anomalous behavior detection, satellite imagery optimization, real-time zero-trust data for combat systems, and gun weapon systems modernization. Technical questions cut off June 23. Proposals open June 24 and close July 22. NAVAIR and NAVSEA co-host a Counter-UAS webinar June 16. Phase I funding tops out at $315,000. The CSO open topic for AI-powered drone defense is the structural news: it's the first time NAVAIR has used a CSO vehicle to fund counter-drone work outside the conventional Phase I/II structure, and it changes how small businesses can engage with the Navy's most urgent capability gap.
Read articleOn June 3, the Department of the Navy pre-released FY26 Release 3 SBIR/STTR — 12 conventional BAA topics and a Counter-Unmanned Air Systems Commercial Solutions Opening. Topics span adaptive sensor management, anomalous behavior detection, satellite imagery optimization, real-time zero-trust data for combat systems, and gun weapon systems modernization. The proposal window runs June 24 to July 22, 2026. The technical questions cutoff is June 23. NAVAIR and NAVSEA are hosting a Counter-UAS webinar on June 16. Here is what the topic mix actually signals about Navy priorities and how small businesses should position.
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