NOAA Uncrewed Systems Operations Center Funding Opportunities

NOAA Uncrewed Systems Operations Center Funding Opportunities is sponsored by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This opportunity supports mission-aligned projects and measurable outcomes.

NOAA announces $3. 6M in funding to support breakthroughs with uncrewed systems | Office of Marine and Aviation Operations NOAA announces $3. 6M in funding to support breakthroughs with uncrewed systems In 2025, NOAA’s Uncrewed Systems Operations Center funded 10 projects to facilitate breakthroughs for NOAA with uncrewed systems.

These projects aim to develop uncrewed systems capabilities with broad applications across NOAA missions, acquire data from otherwise inaccessible or data-sparse regions, integrate NOAA’s growing fleet of uncrewed systems, and identify other mission critical applications. Building on past innovation through partnership, each selected project will work with U.S. academic institutions to meet its objectives.

Such partnerships have proven to be valuable collaborations, developing cutting edge applications of uncrewed systems, while advancing the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics ( STEM ) workforce. Collectively, 12 academic institutions across the United States are involved. Projects funded in this cycle use uncrewed systems across NOAA mission areas.

Example work includes assessing the impact of uncrewed systems data in NOAA’s hurricane forecasting, supporting marine mammal assessments using uncrewed aircraft and uncrewed marines systems, operationalizing uncrewed aircraft to gather weather observations, and adapting an uncrewed aircraft for beyond visual line of sight operations in marine clouds.

Many projects build on prior investments by the Uncrewed Systems Operations Center to operationalize uncrewed systems in support of NOAA missions. Projects were submitted through an internal NOAA process and reviewed by subject matter experts. The 10 selected projects were part of a pool of 33 proposals totaling $32 million.

Each project will receive financial and project management support from the Uncrewed Systems Operations Center over a three-year period.

Project: Automating Aerial Image Processing and Analysis with Artificial Intelligence Academic Partners: University of Washington Program: NOAA Fisheries, Alaska Fisheries Science Center Project: Operationalizing Adaptable Weather Uncrewed Aircraft Technologies into the National Airspace System for the National Weather Service Academic Partners: Oklahoma State University, Virginia Tech Program: National Weather Service, Weather Forecast Office - Tulsa Project: Integration of High-frequency Acoustics with Seaglider for Long-duration Offshore Ecosystem Monitoring Applications Academic Partners: University of Miami, Scripps Institution of Oceanography Program: NOAA Research, Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory Project: Evaluating Uncrewed Aircraft Payloads for Mapping Bathymetry and River Flow in Riverine Salmon Habitats Academic Partners: Oregon State University Program: NOAA Fisheries, Southwest Fisheries Science Center Project: Expanding Understanding of Uncrewed Aircraft Observation Impacts on Regional Weather Prediction Tools Using Simulated Experiments Academic Partners: University of Colorado, University of Nebraska Lincoln Program: NOAA Research, Global Systems Laboratory Project: Assessment of the Impact of Joint Uncrewed System Tropical Cyclone Atmospheric and Ocean Observations in NOAA's Operational Hurricane Analysis and Forecasting System Academic Partners: University of Miami Program: NOAA Research, Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory Project: Expanding Capabilities for Tag Deployment on Marine Mammals using Small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Academic Partners: Duke University Program: NOAA Fisheries, Southeast Fisheries Science Center Project: CopterSonde LAAIRS: Laboratory for Advanced Atmospheric Investigation using Robotic Sondes Academic Partners: University of Oklahoma, University of Washington Program: NOAA Research, National Severe Storms Laboratory Project: Adaptation of a Hybrid Vertical-Take-Off-and Landing Fixed Wing Uncrewed Aircraft for Flight in the Marine Atmosphere Academic Partners: University of Washington Program: NOAA Research, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory Project: Improving NOAA Forecasts by Advancing the Capabilities of Uncrewed Aircraft to Sample Tropical Cyclones from the Ocean Surface to the Stratosphere Academic Partners: University of Miami, Embry Riddle Program: NOAA Research, Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory Project: Glider-Based and Moored Passive Acoustic Monitoring in the Caribbean: Filling a Critical Marine Mammal Data Gap for Marine Development and Impact Assessment Academic Partners: University of Miami, University of the Virgin Islands Program: NOAA Fisheries, Southeast Fisheries Science Center