Weekly picks
Eight AI and autonomy calls still open for defense small businesses, drawn from this week's scored digests. The list mixes DoW SBIR 27.BZ pre-release topics on agentic systems with near-term SAM.gov industry days and open BAAs.
Call: worth pursuing
Why: Calls for a platform-agnostic agentic SI swarm with embedded guardrail enforcers for multi-domain naval operations, a strong match for teams building bounded autonomy and runtime assurance.
Watch-out: Still in pre-release until Dec 2, 2026; expect heavy verification work and confirm phase eligibility and ITAR handling on the official DSIP topic PDF.
Call: worth pursuing
Why: Open AFRL BAA exploring AI, automation, and human-machine teaming for all-domain command and control, with a multi-year window for white papers.
Watch-out: This is a broad standing BAA, not a single topic award, so keep any white paper tightly scoped and check the latest instructions on SAM.gov.
Call: worth a closer look
Why: DARPA SBIR topic for metacognitive AI that orchestrates multi-modal intelligence collection and produces traceable, constraint-bounded recommendations.
Watch-out: Pre-release DoW SBIR 27.BZ topic; proposers need auditable decision records and credible multi-domain sensing or ISR experience.
Call: worth a closer look
Why: Seeks government-configurable operator decision models for constructive T&E simulations, a natural fit for AI test-and-evaluation and human-in-the-loop modeling teams.
Watch-out: Delivery must integrate into missile-defense constructive simulation environments, not only advisory AI governance work.
Call: worth a closer look
Why: Near-term industry day on autonomy and artificial intelligence for naval aviation, useful for hearing upcoming prototype needs.
Watch-out: Informational event rather than an award; RSVP closes Nov 20, 2026, and follow-on work is not guaranteed from attendance alone.
Call: worth a closer look
Why: DARPA program on collaborative autonomy for multi-agent decision problems during mission execution.
Watch-out: Closes Dec 4, 2026, and favors teams that can evaluate collaborative approaches across tens to hundreds of agents.
Call: worth a closer look
Why: NSF SBIR topic covering trustworthy AI across safety, transparency, explainability, privacy, and security.
Watch-out: Civilian NSF topic with limited defense-specific language; confirm your commercial market story meets NSF SBIR rules.
Call: worth a closer look
Why: STO-wide opening that funds revolutionary research in AI, autonomy, control algorithms, and human-machine teaming.
Watch-out: Looks for a clear leap beyond current practice, not incremental upgrades, and abstracts must show that novelty.
This archive is anonymized public picks. The free weekly digest matches open calls to your company profile.
This digest is informational only and is not legal, contracting, or proposal advice. Briefs summarize public data from DSIP, SBIR.gov, SAM.gov, Grants.gov, DIU, Army xTech, NSTXL, SOSSEC, and Tradewinds. Recommendations are generated with the help of automated tools and may contain errors. Always confirm dates, eligibility, and requirements on the official notice before you act. AI Eval Corp is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Government.
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