Air Force Office of Scientific Research

Supports Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Department of the Air Force portal for external foundational science partnerships.

The Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) is the extramural basic-research arm of the Air Force Research Laboratory and now sits in AFRL's Foundational Technology directorate after the April 2026 reorganization. It is the Department of the Air Force's basic research office, with a mission to discover, shape, champion, and transition high-risk work that can matter to the future Air and Space Force.

AFOSR funds research through BAAs and named programs that span academia and industry laboratories. The main routes in this record are the Young Investigator Research Program, DURIP, MURI, the AFRL/AFOSR Center of Excellence, STTR, and the HBCU/MI Program. Its portfolio runs through engineering and complex systems, information and networks, physical sciences, and chemistry and biological sciences, with structured award ceilings of $450,000 for YIP, $1.5 million for DURIP, $7.5 million for MURI, and $750,000 for STTR.

Applicants do best when the proposal is technically sharp, clearly relevant to Air Force needs, and easy to defend in peer review. AFOSR expects a strong idea statement, a realistic budget, and a clear case for novelty or transformational potential. Traditional grants can be open year-round through the main BAA, while YIP, DURIP, MURI, and HBCU/MI routes follow more specific deadlines or eligibility rules.