Aviation and Missile R&D BAA

Army Contracting Command–Redstone Arsenal is procuring aviation and missile research and development through a five-year Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), with responses due July 3, 2027. The BAA is not set-aside and welcomes small businesses, large businesses, academic institutions, and HBCUs/minority institutions as eligible applicants; U.S. firms must serve as prime contractors, though foreign entities may participate as subcontractors.

Three primary research areas are active under this BAA. The Supplemental Power, Efficient Engines, and Drives (SPEED) program targets rotorcraft engine and drive system technologies at Technology Readiness Levels 3–5, with a total budget of $11.4 million across fiscal years 2026–2030 and multiple awards anticipated annually; individual project periods run 12–24 months with annual funding ranging from $1.5 million to $2.7 million. The Hybrid Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) effort seeks data and insights on hybrid-electric aircraft for unoccupied systems weighing up to 10,000 pounds, with a total budget of $3.2 million across fiscal years 2025–2027. The Autonomy Technologies for Complex Advanced Teaming Operations (CATO) initiative focuses on autonomous mission planning, knowledge representation, mission oversight, human-autonomy interfaces, and network management for uncrewed aviation systems in denied and degraded communications environments, with a total budget of $29 million across fiscal years 2026–2029 ($5 million, $8 million, $11 million, $5 million respectively).

The BAA employs a two-step process for SPEED and Hybrid VTOL (concept papers followed by full proposals) and a three-step process for CATO (summary offers, oral presentations, and cost proposals). Concept papers for SPEED drives topics are due annually by October 1; engine topic papers for FY26 are due December 1, 2025. For CATO, summary offers may be submitted at any time before the 36-month closing date, with initial evaluation beginning June 4, 2026, for submissions received by that date. Submissions under the original solicitation number W911W625R0006 continue to route through SAM.gov, though the BAA has been assigned a new procurement instrument identifier, W911W626RA002.