Counter UAS Sensing for Homeland and Mobile Defense is sponsored by Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). This project seeks sensors that can detect small drones threatening military installations across the United States, and potentially for civil defense. The sensors must detect Group 1 UAVs (weighing less than 20 pounds) at a minimum range of 2 kilometers, with a secondary attribute to spot Group 2 and 3 drones. Preference is given to passive approaches, and desired attributes include multiple and redundant sensors, minimal setup time, and broad-spectrum RF sensing. Acoustic detection systems are explicitly mentioned as a relevant technology.

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.

Development of an Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Passive Detection, Tracking, And, Identification System for Ground Vehicles is sponsored by U.S. Army SBIR. This Army SBIR topic aims to develop a drone detection, tracking, and identification system using passive sensors, with low power consumption, based on passive electronic devices that don't radiate energy. The goal is the detection, tracking, and identification of airborne drones from their radio frequency transmissions, visual or acoustic signatures using passive sensors. It specifically mentions the application of artificial intelligence (AI) for computational and signal processing problems in identifying multiple targets in a drone swarm.

The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) issues Commercial Solutions Openings (CSOs) to rapidly prototype and field commercial AI and autonomous systems technologies for defense applications. With an FY2026 budget of $979 million ($661 million in RDT&E), DIU focuses on mature commercial AI products that can be adapted for military use. CSOs cover areas including AI-enabled decision support, autonomous systems, predictive maintenance, logistics optimization, and computer vision. The Thunderforge project specifically targets commercial AI for theater-level military planning. DIU's streamlined contracting process is designed for non-traditional defense vendors, meaning companies do not need cleared facilities or prior DoD contracts to participate. Prototype agreements typically range from $500,000 to $5 million and can lead to production contracts across the Department of Defense.

NAVAIR & NAVSEA Open Topic for Counter Unmanned Air Systems (C-UAS) is sponsored by Department of Defense (DOD), Department of the Navy (DON). This SBIR Open Topic seeks innovative solutions to detect, track, identify, and neutralize single and multiple UAS threats in complex operational environments, leveraging AI, machine learning, sensor fusion, and non-kinetic defeat solutions. It also includes the 'AI-Powered Counter-UAS Technologies for Drone Threat Defense' topic. The program aims to enhance existing prototypes or concepts to improve C-UAS operations for Navy missions. The topic specifically mentions AI-powered target recognition for C-UAS and AI/ML-enhanced swarm detection, tracking, and anomalies.

NAVAIR & NAVSEA Open Topic for Counter Unmanned Air Systems (C-UAS) is sponsored by Department of the Navy (DoN). This SBIR Open Topic seeks innovative solutions that can detect, track, identify, and neutralize single and multiple UAS threats in complex operational environments. It specifically mentions AI-Powered Target Recognition for C-UAS, AI/ML-Enhanced Swarm Detection, Tracking, and Anomalies, and Non-Kinetic / Low Kinetic Defeat System for Small UAS, aligning well with passive sensing and edge AI for counter-UAS.

NAVAIR & NAVSEA Open Topic for Counter Unmanned Air Systems (C-UAS) is sponsored by Department of Defense, Navy. This SBIR Open Topic seeks innovative solutions to detect, track, identify, assess, and neutralize single and swarms of UAS from air, sea, or ground leveraging manned or unmanned platforms to address the rapidly changing UAS threat for Naval installations, aircraft, and ships. Primary technology areas of interest include AI-powered target recognition, AI/ML-enhanced swarm detection, tracking, and anomalies, and non-kinetic/low kinetic defeat systems for small UAS.