The United States Army Futures Command (AFC), through its Artificial Intelligence Integration Center (AI2C), has issued a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) under the funding opportunity number W519TC-25-S-0001. This BAA invites proposals for basic, applied, and advanced scientific research in artificial intelligence (AI) and associated technologies. It is open from May 1, 2024, to May 31, 2029, and allows for various types of awards including procurement contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, technology investment agreements (TIAs), and other transactions (OTs). The AI2C is looking to support novel technological developments and translational research efforts that align with military needs.

The funding opportunity is designed to foster innovation in a wide range of AI-related fields. Foundational topics of interest include autonomous platforms, AI and machine learning algorithms, decision support systems, human-AI integration, synthetic environments, distributed AI, and underpinning methodologies. Applicants may also respond to special topic amendments posted throughout the BAA's open period. Research efforts should aim to enhance military capabilities, improve decision-making processes, and support autonomous and distributed systems within contested environments.

Eligible applicants include domestic and foreign institutions of higher education, non-profit and for-profit organizations. U.S. Government laboratories, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), and U.S. Service Academies are not eligible as prime recipients but may participate via direct government transfers if involved in selected proposals. Cost sharing is not generally required, although some award instruments like OTs may necessitate a 50/50 cost share.

Applications proceed in a three-stage process: Unique Entity Identifier registration, optional submission of a white paper, and submission of a full proposal. White papers and proposals must address technical merit, relevance to the Army’s mission, and feasibility. The submission must adhere strictly to formatting and content guidelines. Applications are to be submitted via Grants.gov or by email, depending on the award type, with contact maintained through specified government channels.

Proposals will be evaluated based on scientific and technical merit, contribution to the Army's mission, qualifications of personnel and institutions, cost realism and appropriateness, and past performance. Successful applicants must comply with extensive administrative and national policy requirements related to conflicts of interest, protection of human subjects, animal welfare, and export control. Questions and communications should be directed to the email address usarmy.pittsburgh-pa.futures-cmd.mbx.ai2c-baa-submissions@army.mil.