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Funder · Federal agency

U.S. Department of Defense

Funds Department of Defense, the United States department managing defence science, manufacturing, and technology transition portfolios.

United Stateswww.defense.gov
Key stats
Annual funding$2B
Programs14
Active grants1
Total grants5
About

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) — operationally renamed 'Department of War' (DoW) under the current administration, though the legal/statutory name remains DoD pending Congressional amendment — is the largest federal funder of defense R&D, advanced manufacturing, and technology transition. Its $841.4 billion national defense budget spans 3.4 million service members and civilians across 4,800 …

Programs & grants under this funder
APFIT — Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies

Helps APFIT Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies for Procurement bridge funding of .

1 grant
APFIT-1 — Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies
Between cycles
— pool
OSD ManTech — Defense Manufacturing Technology Program

Helps OSD ManTech Defense Manufacturing Technology Program for DoD advanced manufacturing scientific advancement delivered.

1 grant
OSD ManTech / MII Project Calls
Closed
— pool
RISE — Rapid Integrated Scalable Enterprise (formerly Rapid Innovation Fund)

Helps RISE Rapid Integrated Scalable Enterprise for small businesses to insert innovative technologies into DoD acquisition programs.

DoD SBIR/STTR Umbrella Program

Helps DoD and Umbrella Program for DoD-wide and funding across components.

1 grant
DoD SBIR/STTR
Open
— pool
Bilateral Academic Research Initiative (BARI)

Funds bilateral collaborations between United States universities and partner nations on defence topics.

Defense Established Programs to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR)

Funds research capacity in universities in underrepresented states through mentorship and collaboration support.

DoW HBCU/MI Program

Supports historically underrepresented colleges and universities through capacity-building and centres of excellence.

Laboratory University Collaboration Initiative (LUCI)

Connects United States defence scientists with university researchers for collaborative studies.

Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI)

Funds multi-team university projects combining disciplines for defence knowledge creation and transfer.

DoW SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research)

Funds small businesses in the United States. on mission topics through non-dilutive technical contracts.

1 grant
DoW SBIR — Open Topics
Between cycles
— pool
DoW STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer)

Funds partnerships between United States. small businesses and universities on mission-focused national security problems.

1 grant
DoW STTR — Open Topics
Between cycles
— pool
Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship (VBFF)

Funds distinguished faculty fellowships for advanced individual research in defence science.

DoD SBIR Phase I

Funds United States small businesses with defense-focused early research contracts through Department of Defense innovation pathways.

DoD SBIR Phase II

Funds United States defense teams with DoD support for maturing prototypes into deployable systems.

Last verified: 1 Jun 2026Source: www.defense.gov