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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Electronic Warfare Technology (ONRBAA14-006)

1) What is the title and funding opportunity number for this grant?

The opportunity is titled "Electronic Warfare Technology" and the Funding Opportunity Number is ONRBAA14-006.

2) Which agency offered this funding opportunity?

The sponsoring agency is the Office of Naval Research (ONR).

3) What type of solicitation is this?

This was an ONR Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) offered as a discretionary grant.

4) What is the program focus or overarching objective?

The objective is to advance next-generation electronic warfare (EW) capabilities for U.S. naval forces (Navy and Marine Corps) by improving how friendly forces operate in and control the electromagnetic spectrum. The effort aims to help U.S. and allied systems preserve spectrum access while enabling friendly forces to exploit, deceive, or deny adversary use of the spectrum.

5) Which parts of the electronic warfare mission set does this opportunity support?

The opportunity is intended to strengthen the full EW mission set:

• Electronic Support (ES): improved detection, situational awareness, and threat warning.
• Electronic Attack (EA): disrupting, degrading, or denying adversary systems.
• Electronic Protection (EP): hardening U.S. weapons and C4ISR systems against intentional jamming and unintentional interference.

6) What ONR program framework is this tied to?

ONR framed the work under its Electronic Warfare Discovery and Invention (DI) program, emphasizing technology development and demonstrations that can translate into future fleet-relevant systems.

7) Is the intent basic research only, or does it include demonstrations?

Based on the description, the intent goes beyond basic theory toward technology development and demonstrations, including integrated prototypes (for example, subsystem demonstrators) that are relevant to future fleet systems.

8) What is the CFDA number and program category?

The opportunity is listed under CFDA 12.300, categorized as Basic and Applied Scientific Research.

9) How much funding was estimated to be available?

The opportunity listed an estimated total funding level of $31.5 million.

10) Is cost sharing or matching required?

No. The opportunity stated that cost sharing/matching was not required.

11) Who was eligible to apply?

Eligibility was described as unrestricted, meaning it was open to a wide range of applicant types (such as industry, academia, nonprofits, and others), subject to any additional clarifications that may have been included in the full announcement.

12) What are the main technical topic areas identified in the solicitation?

White papers and full proposals were steered into four topic areas:

1. RF and Millimeter Wave (mmW) Electronic Warfare Subsystem Demonstrators (SSDs)
2. Compact and efficient EW antennas covering HF through VHF (3 to 300 MHz)
3. W-band millimeter wave high-power transmitters
4. Innovative EW concepts (novel ideas not fitting neatly into the other categories)

13) What does ONR mean by "Subsystem Demonstrators (SSDs)" in this context?

The description indicates a focus on integrated, demonstrable subsystem-level prototypes, rather than isolated components. In other words, the emphasis is on solutions that can be demonstrated as part of a cohesive EW subsystem.

14) What frequency range is targeted for the compact antenna topic?

The compact antenna topic targets HF to VHF, specifically 3 to 300 MHz.

15) Why is HF-to-VHF antenna work highlighted as a challenge area?

The announcement notes that the 3 to 300 MHz span is "notoriously challenging" for size and efficiency. The interest is in designs and packaging approaches that reduce physical footprint while maintaining performance and bandwidth suitable for operational EW tasks.

16) What is the W-band transmitter topic asking for?

It calls for W-band millimeter wave high-power transmitters, indicating interest in robust, high-output mmW sources appropriate for advanced applications in very high-frequency regimes.

17) What qualifies as an "innovative EW concept" under this opportunity?

This topic area is reserved for novel ideas that do not fit the other categories but could meaningfully change how EW is performed, integrated, or protected in future operational environments.

18) Does ONR allow proposals that build on prior ONR or other government-funded work?

Yes, but with an important condition. If an applicant is extending existing ONR or other government-funded work, the team must clearly explain:

• What has already been accomplished
• Where the new proposed work begins (the "point of departure")
• What prior results or hardware/software will be carried forward
• What truly new development and testing will be performed under this announcement

19) What is the purpose of the "point of departure" requirement?

The stated intent is to prevent teams from simply repackaging old work while still allowing more mature efforts to transition into more advanced demonstrations. It forces clarity on what is new versus what is inherited from prior funding.

20) What operational outcomes is the opportunity trying to improve?

The opportunity is aimed at EW improvements that support threat warning, countermeasures, options against adversary C4ISR, and protection of friendly systems operating in contested electromagnetic environments, consistent with the ES/EA/EP mission set described in the announcement.

21) When was the opportunity posted, and what were the key dates?

The opportunity was originally posted on December 18, 2013. The original closing date was May 6, 2014, later reflected with a current closing date of May 27, 2014. The archive date was June 17, 2014.

22) How were white paper submission dates handled?

The description states that white paper submission timing was governed by the BAA instructions, rather than a single universal date stated in the summary.

23) Who is the listed contact for access issues with the full announcement?

The contact listed for access issues with the full announcement was Alan Kesten, identified as a contract specialist, with a note directing Grants.gov questions accordingly.

24) Which military services are the intended end users?

The opportunity explicitly targets U.S. naval forces, including both the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps.

25) What is the practical goal of funding in this area?

The practical goal is to deliver new science and technology that improves control of the electromagnetic spectrum for friendly forces, including the ability to exploit or deny adversary spectrum use while maintaining spectrum access for U.S. and allied systems.