Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I - Topic AF252-P1: High Altitude Platforms

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I - Topic AF252-P1: High Altitude Platforms is sponsored by U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) - Air Force. DOD SBIR funds small businesses for high-altitude platform innovations, explicitly including aerostats and buoyant systems for stratospheric operations. This program should be reviewed carefully against your organization's mission, staffing capacity, timeline, and compliance readiness before you commit resources to a full application. Strong submissions usually translate sponsor priorities into concrete objectives, clear implementation milestones, and measurable public benefit.

For planning purposes, treat March 20, 2026 as your working submission target unless the sponsor publishes an updated notice. A competitive project plan should include a documented need statement, implementation approach, evaluation framework, risk controls, and a realistic budget narrative. Even when a grant allows broad program design, reviewers still expect credible evidence that the proposed work can be executed within the grant period and with appropriate accountability.

Current published award information indicates $75,000 - $150,000 Organizations should verify the final funding range, matching requirements, and allowability rules directly in the official opportunity materials before preparing a budget. Finance and program teams should align early so direct costs, indirect costs, staffing assumptions, procurement timelines, and reporting obligations all remain consistent throughout drafting and post-award administration.

Eligibility guidance for this opportunity is: U.S. small businesses If your organization has partnerships, subrecipients, or collaborators, define responsibilities and compliance ownership before submission. Reviewers often look for implementation credibility, so letters of commitment, prior performance evidence, and a clear governance model can materially strengthen the application narrative and reduce concerns about delivery risk.

A practical approach is to begin with a focused readiness review, then build a workback schedule from the sponsor deadline. Confirm required attachments, registration dependencies, and internal approval checkpoints early. This reduces last-minute issues and improves submission quality. For the most accurate requirements, always rely on the official notice and primary source links associated with Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I - Topic AF252-P1: High Altitude Platforms.

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Learn how we help, and about our programs See how our mission and goals affect small businesses Economic and Annual Reports Interact with our SBIR/STTR portfolio’s data sets Better understand the application process and eligibility Find Topics and Solicitations Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Stay connected with our innovation ecosystem Federal and State Technology (FAST) Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC) Topics and solicitations are known by many names including Request for Proposals (RFP), Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), or simply Topic/Solicitation.

No matter what it's called, they outline specific rules and guidance on how to prepare a response, also called an application or a proposal. Participating Agencies post SBIR/STTR funding opportunities on a regular periodic basis throughout the year. Some agencies have multiple solicitations throughout the year, while others may only have one solicitation release each year.

Once you identify a relevant agency to target, learn more about that specific Funding planner with estimated dates. All agencies have a 45 day lead in period.

DHS is from September to October 2025, DoD has multiple dates, DOE is from May to August, and September to January, DOT is February to April, ED is November to January 2026, EPA is April to June, HHS is April to May, June to August, and September to November, NASA is February to April, May to June, and August to October, NOAA is November to February 2026, NSF is January to April, June to August, and USDA is June to August.

of Defense releases are the first Wednesday of each month, and closes the last Wednesday of the following month (e. g. , opens 03/26/2025, closes 04/23/25) NOTE: The Solicitations and topics listed on this site are copies from the various SBIR agency solicitations and are not necessarily the latest and most up-to-date.

For this reason, you should visit the respective agency SBIR sites to read the official version of the solicitations and download the appropriate forms and rules. For best search results, use the search terms first and then apply the filters. Search results are downloadable for 10,000 or fewer records.

Select a Solicitation Status Department Of Agriculture ⮡ National Institute of Food and Agriculture ⮡ National Institute of Standards and Technology ⮡ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ⮡ Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency ⮡ Defense Health Agency ⮡ Defense Logistics Agency ⮡ Defense Microelectronics Activity ⮡ Defense Threat Reduction Agency ⮡ Missile Defense Agency ⮡ National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency ⮡ Office for Chemical and Biological Defense ⮡ Office of the Secretary of Defense ⮡ Space Development Agency ⮡ Special Operations Command ⮡ Strategic Capabilities Office ⮡ Institute of Education Sciences ⮡ Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services / National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research Department of Health and Human Services ⮡ Administration for Community Living ⮡ Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health ⮡ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ⮡ Food and Drug Administration ⮡ National Institutes of Health Department of Homeland Security ⮡ Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction ⮡ Domestic Nuclear Detection Office ⮡ Domestic Nuclear Detection Office SBIR Program ⮡ Science and Technology Directorate Department of the Interior Department of Transportation Environmental Protection Agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration National Science Foundation Nuclear Regulatory Commission Small Business Administration Report Fraud, Waste & Abuse SBA Connect Accessibility Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Need website support or have feedback?