ARIA Enduring Atmospheric Platforms

ARIA Enduring Atmospheric Platforms sits under the Advanced Research and Invention Agency's Scoping Our Planet space and backs UK-based work on persistent high-altitude sensing platforms. The programme is aimed at for-profit R&D performers, including international teams that can operate in the UK context, and it is framed around atmospheric systems rather than broad climate tech. Funding is provided as grants of roughly £250,000 to £3 million, with a median award of £1 million. The eligibility window runs from TRL 3 to TRL 6, non-profits and individuals are excluded, and applicants are expected to be competing in a single solicitation rather than returning to the same call. The programme runs annually and does not require matched funding. The strongest fit is a team that can show credible technical progress on sensing platforms for the upper atmosphere and that can move quickly through a defined R&D tranche. ARIA's model here rewards focused engineering work, not loose concept papers, so applications need a clear system boundary, a strong execution plan, and a plausible path from early prototypes to field-relevant capability.

No upcoming rounds verified. Cadence: Annual.