Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Enterprise Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO)
AFRL will fund innovative technologies, processes, methods, or new applications of existing technologies through enterprise CSO spiral solicitations for fixed-price contracts or prototype other transactions, and foreign participation is not allowed.
⚑ Competitive solicitations are separate spiral postings on SAM.gov, not the CSO notice itself. · Award vehicles are fixed-price FAR Part 12 contracts or 10 USC 4022 OT prototype awards. · Foreign participation is not authorized.
This is a broad AFRL applied-research contracting vehicle centered on defense technology, materials, computing, and AI, with no clear social-science, public-opinion, risk-perception, or policy-evaluation component. The team’s security survey work is about attitudes toward defense and threats, not developing AFRL technology, so this is not a plausible PI-level fit.
JUDGED AGAINST THE ROSTER'S PUBLICATION DOSSIER · GPT-5.4-MINI · 2026-10-30
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 75 strong | technical depth: central; funds applied research |
| IPPRA | 58 good | portfolio topic: national_security_defense (primary); social/behavioral work is minor; funds applied research; university can only partner, not lead |
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 45 partial | funds applied research; prototyping/demonstration stage; deep-tech content |
Description
29 Oct 2026: The CSO is amended to incorporate changes pursuant to Class Deviation 2026-O0028 Rev 1, 22 Oct 2026, and to correct the Attachment 1 - Areas of Interest - file name. No other attachments are affected. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8 Sep 2026: The CSO is amended. Attachment 1 - Areas of Interest and Mission Organization Alignment is revised to correct Tables 1.4 and 1.5. All other attachments remain unchanged. -------------------------------------------- 8 July 2026: The CSO is amended to remove all references to the Centralized Open Spiral. Attachment 1 - Areas of Interest is updated to include Mission Organization Alignment. All other attachments remain unchanged. The Spiral Tracker posted 4 June 2026 is unchanged. --------------------------------------------- 4 June 2026: Spiral Tracker is updated. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 29 April 2026: The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Procurement Headquarters (PK), located at 1864 4th St, Bldg. 15, Wright Patterson AFB, OH 45433, has issued the AFRL Enterprise CSO under the authority of 10 USC 3458, as implemented by DFARS Subpart 212.70. The CSO serves as the overarching enterprise announcement broadly defining Areas of Interest (AOI) that encompass the full range of AFRL requirements. It provides the framework for the issuance of competitive centralized and decentralized Spirals releases which will solicit innovative technologies and services that fulfill the needs of the AFRL enterprise. Spirals will be posted to the Governmentwide Point of Entry (GPE), https://sam.gov, as separate solicitations. Refer to the enclosed Spiral Tracker for active Spiral solicitation numbers and search for the soliciation within the GPE accordingly. Resulting solutions awarded under the CSO shall meet the definition of "innovative", which is defined as: (1) Any technology, process or method, including research and development, that is new as of the date of submission of a proposal; or (2) Any application that is new as of the date of submission of a proposal of a technology, process or method existing as of such date. Resultant awards will be fixed-price type FAR Part 12 contracts, or 10 USC 4022 Other Transactions for Prototype (OTP). Foreign participation is not authorized. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 27 April 2026: Q&A is posted in anticipation of the final CSO Announcement and Centralized Open Spiral posting later this week. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 26 February 2026: Presolicitation Notice and Draft Announcement.
Eligibility
Applicant restrictions (federal contract). Set-aside: . Notice type: Special Notice. Organization: DEPT OF DEFENSE / DEPT OF THE AIR FORCE / AIR FORCE RESEARCH LABORATORY.
Apply
Proposal brief SEE AN EXAMPLE →
A one-page internal memo: fit assessment, submission requirements, document scaffold, and next steps dated back from the deadline — tailored to your project idea if you add one.
Proposal shell · Department of Defense (BAA-style) conventions SEE A DOD EXAMPLE →
Funder-faithful document skeletons — Department of Defense (BAA-style)'s document set with section headings, page limits, reviewer guidance, and writing prompts; add a project idea to get [DRAFT] starter bullets. Download as .md for Word or Overleaf.