Special Program Announcement for Office of Naval Research Research Opportunity: FY27 Communications and Networking Applied Research
🏛 Office of Naval Research
Can you apply?
This grant is for academic, industry, and nonprofit organizations developing communications and networking technologies for naval operations.
Eligible applicants include universities, research institutes, small and large businesses, and research organizations worldwide. HBCUs and minority institutions are encouraged to apply. FFRDCs, Navy labs, DOD labs, and other government laboratories are ineligible. UARCs are eligible unless precluded by their sponsoring agreement.
Proposed work must develop or mature communications and networking technologies for the Naval Tactical Grid. Technologies must operate under challenging conditions including limited infrastructure, jamming, spectrum constraints, and multipath environments across maritime, cyber, and space domains.
All applicant types compete on equal footing for $250,000-$500,000 awards. No set-asides exist for any socioeconomic category.
Program description
The proposed topic will develop and mature Communications and Networking technologies for Naval operations.
Background:
A Design for Maritime Superiority (2018) describes an operational architecture for distributed maritime operations (DMO) that “… will provide accurate, timely, and analyzed information to units, warfighting groups, and fleets.” A critical component of this architecture is the Naval Tactical Grid (NTG) to connect distributed units into groups and distributed groups into fleets.
Communications and networking technologies that can provide seamless, robust, connectivity are key enablers for the NTG. These technologies will be deployed on a variety of platforms, both manned and unmanned, operating under challenging environmental and operational warfare conditions (lack of infrastructure, mobility, spectrum limitations, interference, multipath, atmospherics, jamming, electronic intercept, size/weight/power constraint, etc.) in different domains (land, maritime [includes both surface and undersea], cyber, and space). Successful
Command and Control (C2) and decision making, at all levels of command, for DMO is critically dependent on these communications and networking technologies
Who can apply
Eligible applicants
How to apply
Application links
Key dates & requirements
Required documents
- Proposal narrative (technical approach)
- Budget and budget justification
- Biographical sketches of key personnel
- Organizational capability statement
- DUNS number and SAM registration
- Conflict of interest disclosure
- Cost accounting standards compliance documentation
Program contact
- 👤 Veronica Lacey Grantor
- 📧 stephen.t.hughes.civ@us.navy.mil
- 📞 703-696-2593
Funding track record
Recent awards under CFDA 12.300 from the last 3 years — real organizations that won funding through this same program.
Top 10 Largest Recent Awards
-
$112,259,544
-
$75,710,642
-
$67,720,186
-
$41,543,065
-
$40,990,349
-
$36,741,779
-
$36,400,000
-
$35,252,372
-
$30,000,001
-
$28,978,496
Top States by Funding
- MA 7 awards $191.5M
- DC 8 awards $166.9M
- CA 9 awards $162.4M
- FL 7 awards $118.3M
- HI 7 awards $99.7M
Source: USAspending.gov — federal spending transparency. Data covers last 3 years.
Funding history
Annual funding for this program — Federal obligations (CFDA 12.300). How funding has trended year over year.
| 2024 | $334,244,206 | |
| 2025 | $218,929,958 | |
| 2026 est. | $333,130,069 |
FAQ
Who is eligible to submit proposals?
Universities, research institutions, companies, and nonprofits worldwide may apply. Government labs, FFRDCs, and Navy labs are ineligible.
Can small businesses compete?
Yes. Small and large businesses compete equally with no set-asides for any category.
What technologies are in scope?
Communications and networking systems for naval operations, especially the Naval Tactical Grid, that work under harsh conditions like jamming and limited infrastructure.
What is the typical award amount?
Individual awards range from $250,000 to $500,000, though total pool varies.
Can international organizations apply?
Yes. The BAA explicitly invites proposals from research communities worldwide.
💡 Tips for applicants
- Focus on demonstrated technical maturity. Show prior work on challenging naval communications environments, not theoretical concepts.
- Address operational constraints explicitly. Explain how your solution handles jamming, multipath, spectrum limits, and power restrictions typical of naval platforms.
- Emphasize integration with Naval Tactical Grid. Directly connect your technology to DMO architecture and explain command-and-control benefits.
- Form teaming partnerships strategically. Academic-industry or multi-institution teams often score higher than solo submissions.
- Use naval terminology and operational context. Demonstrate understanding of distributed maritime operations, not just generic networking challenges.
⚠️ Common mistakes
Proposals too focused on academic novelty rather than near-term naval operational deployment. Underestimating power, weight, and size constraints of shipboard and unmanned systems. Failing to address how solution handles electronic warfare, jamming, and denied/degraded communication scenarios.
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