The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Information Directorate has issued a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) FA8750-21-S-7004, titled "Multi-Source, Multi-Domain Data Exploitation for Battlespace Awareness and Decision Support." This open, two-step BAA invites white papers and proposals for research, development, demonstration, integration, test, and evaluation of data exploitation technologies to enhance battlespace awareness and improve decision-making processes. The initiative aims to leverage multi-source, multi-domain data processing and DevSecOps methodologies to increase real-time decision support capabilities.

The BAA is open until January 30, 2026, with white papers strongly encouraged by specific annual deadlines to align with projected funding cycles. AFRL seeks innovations in fusing, assessing, and characterizing data from multiple sources, improving course-of-action (COA) execution, enhancing collaboration across warfighting domains, and developing automated, scalable security solutions for military decision-making. Proposals should focus on real-time data processing, AI-driven analytics, automation, and software-defined networks.

AFRL expects to issue multiple awards under procurement contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or Other Transactions (OTs). Awards may range from $500,000 to $5 million per project, with an overall program budget of $49 million spread across FY21-FY25. The period of performance for individual awards is typically up to 48 months.

Eligible applicants include industry, academia, research organizations, and small businesses. Foreign participation is generally prohibited, except for fundamental research that meets U.S. government security standards. FFRDCs and government laboratories may participate with written approval.

AFRL will evaluate proposals based on scientific and technical merit, innovation, relevance to Air Force missions, feasibility, and cost realism. Proposals should demonstrate a clear transition path to operational use and alignment with DoD’s enterprise DevSecOps initiatives.

White papers must be submitted electronically via email to the Technical Points of Contact (TPOCs), and full proposals will be invited based on white paper evaluations. Applicants are encouraged to monitor SAM.gov for updates.

For additional details, applicants may contact:

BAA Manager: Carolyn Sheaff (Carolyn.Sheaff@us.af.mil)
Secondary BAA Manager: Peter Rocci (Peter.Rocci@us.af.mil)
Contracting Officer: Amber Buckley (Amber.Buckley@us.af.mil)