Coordinating Austere Nodes through Virtualization and Analysis of Streams (CANVAS)
This grant focuses on coordinating nodes using virtualization and stream analysis, but applications must be submitted through SAM.gov, not Grants.gov.
Funder: Air Force -- Research Lab
Due Dates: June 15, 2025 (FY26 white paper) | June 15, 2026 (FY27) | June 15, 2027 (FY28) | June 15, 2028 (FY29) | May 21, 2029 (final deadline)
Funding Amounts: Total BAA funding approx. $24.9M; typical awards $200K–$3M over up to 48 months; multiple awards anticipated.
Summary: Supports research to develop distributed command and control (C2) systems for Agile Combat Employment using virtualization and stream analysis.
Key Information: White papers only; submit via SAM.gov, not Grants.gov. FY25 cycle is closed; FY26 white papers due June 15, 2025. Foreign participation is highly restricted.
Description
This Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) seeks innovative research to enable distributed command and control (C2) in contested environments, specifically for Agile Combat Employment (ACE) operations. The CANVAS program aims to develop and prototype systems that virtualize and orchestrate C2 workflows across distributed, austere nodes, leveraging intent-based networking and real-time analysis of operational streams. The focus is on maintaining centralized command while enabling distributed control and decentralized execution, increasing survivability and operational flexibility in dynamic, degraded, or contested environments.
For the FY26 cycle (white papers due June 15, 2025), the BAA is open for proposals addressing Technical Area 1 (TA1): Virtualization and Visualization of Distributed C2 Workflows. Proposals for Technical Area 2 (TA2) or shaded components of TA1 will not be considered for FY26.
