# Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program (12.800)

Source: https://welltoldgrants.com/programs/12-800-air-force-defense-research-sciences-program/  
Publisher: Well Told Grants. Data: USAspending.gov and Grants.gov, updated November 7, 2026.

Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program is run by Department of Defense. From fiscal 2021 to 2025 it awarded $3.7 billion in 3,902 grants, about $943,430 per award.

## Objectives

To maintain technological superiority in the scientific areas relevant to Air Force needs; to prevent technological surprise to our nation and create it for our adversaries; to maintain a strong research infrastructure composed of Air Force laboratories, industry, and universities; and to complement the national research effort.

## Funding by fiscal year

| Year | Amount | Awards |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $562 million | 1,428 |
| 2022 | $592 million | 1,532 |
| 2023 | $1.1 billion | 1,721 |
| 2024 | $844 million | 1,445 |
| 2025 | $573 million | 1,325 |

## Largest recipients

| Recipient | State | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Bioindustrial Manufacturing and Design Ecosystem | California | $539 million |
| National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining | Pennsylvania | $309 million |
| Flextech Alliance, Inc. | California | $233 million |
| The Research Foundation for the State University of New York | New York | $128 million |
| Cornell University | New York | $74.0 million |
| The Leland Stanford Junior University | California | $70.7 million |
| Red Rock Biofuels LLC | Colorado | $68.7 million |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Massachusetts | $65.0 million |
| Purdue University | Indiana | $53.4 million |
| Regents of the University of Michigan | Michigan | $51.9 million |
| University of Illinois | Illinois | $49.8 million |
| The Regents of the University of Colorado | Colorado | $49.2 million |
| Cincinnati Univ of | Ohio | $44.3 million |
| University of Texas at Austin | Texas | $42.3 million |
| The Pennsylvania State University | Pennsylvania | $42.1 million |
| The Ohio State University | Ohio | $40.9 million |
| University of California, San Diego | California | $40.2 million |
| Advanced Technology International | South Carolina | $40.1 million |
| Georgia Tech Research Corp | Georgia | $38.4 million |
| University of Dayton | Ohio | $35.6 million |

## Open opportunities

- [Air Force Fiscal Year 2027 Young Investigator Program (YIP)](https://welltoldgrants.com/grants/fa955026s0003-air-force-fiscal-year-2027-young-investigator-program/), closes December 4, 2026
- [AFRL/AFOSR-Taiwan NSTC Frontiers in Materials and Nanostructures: AI-Driven Discovery, Quantum Geometry, and Energy-Efficient Information Technologies 2027-2030](https://welltoldgrants.com/grants/fa955027s0002-afrl-afosr-taiwan-nstc-frontiers-in-materials-and/), closes February 19, 2027
- [AFRL/AFOSR Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 University Center for High-Speed Aerothermoelasticity](https://welltoldgrants.com/grants/fa955027s0001-afrl-afosr-fiscal-year-fy-2027-university-center/), closes April 2, 2027
- [Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Department of War (DoW) Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative (MURI)](https://welltoldgrants.com/grants/nofoafrlafosr20260002-fiscal-year-fy-2027-department-of-war-dow/), closes April 9, 2027
- [US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Indo-Pacific Fundamental Research Collaboration Opportunities](https://welltoldgrants.com/grants/fa520922s0001-us-army-combat-capabilities-development-command-devcom-indo/), closes August 30, 2027
- [CHEERS Open Period 1 - All Technical Areas](https://welltoldgrants.com/grants/fa238424s2334-cheers-open-period-1-all-technical-areas/), closes September 30, 2027
- [CHEERS Open Period 2 - All Technical Areas](https://welltoldgrants.com/grants/fa238424s2335-cheers-open-period-2-all-technical-areas/), closes September 30, 2027
- [FOUNDATIONS OF TRUSTED SYSTEMS](https://welltoldgrants.com/grants/fa875025s7001-foundations-of-trusted-systems/), closes December 5, 2028
- [Coordinating Austere Nodes through Virtualization and Analysis of Streams (CANVAS)](https://welltoldgrants.com/grants/fa875024s7003-coordinating-austere-nodes-through-virtualization-and/), closes May 22, 2029
- [Research and Development (RAD) Directed Energy (RD) University Assistance Instruments](https://welltoldgrants.com/grants/rdk-rad-foa-2024-research-and-development-rad-directed-energy-rd-university/), closes July 18, 2029
- [Air Force Basic Research Sciences Conference and Workshop Support](https://welltoldgrants.com/grants/fa955026s0002-air-force-basic-research-sciences-conference-and-workshop/), closes August 31, 2029
- [Automated Processes for Knowledge Discovery and Information Retrieval](https://welltoldgrants.com/grants/fa875024s7006-automated-processes-for-knowledge-discovery-and-information/), closes September 9, 2029
- [Pioneering Aerospace Capabilities, Engineering and Research (PACER)](https://welltoldgrants.com/grants/fa2391-23-s-2403-pioneering-aerospace-capabilities-engineering-and-research/), closes May 10, 2043
- [Continuing Human Enabling Enhancing Restoring and Sustaining](https://welltoldgrants.com/grants/fa238424s2233-continuing-human-enabling-enhancing-restoring-and-sustaining/), closes August 22, 2044
- [Research Interests of the United States Air Force Academy (formerly USAFA-BAA-2021)](https://welltoldgrants.com/grants/fa7000-21-s-0001-research-interests-of-the-united-states-air-force/), closes not stated
- [Research Interests of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research](https://welltoldgrants.com/grants/fa955026s0001-research-interests-of-the-air-force-office-of/), closes not stated
- [STARBASE Wright Patt](https://welltoldgrants.com/grants/foa-afrl-pzlda-2021-0001-starbase-wright-patt/), closes not stated
- [DIRECTED ENERGY TECHNOLOGY EXPERIMENTATION RESEARCH ADVANCED RESEARCH ANNOUCEMENT (DETER ARA)](https://welltoldgrants.com/grants/fa9451-21-s-0001-directed-energy-technology-experimentation-research/), closes not stated