Closed · NOFOAFRLAFOSR20250006 · CFDA 12.800 · Discretionary
Air Force Fiscal Year 2026 Young Investigator Program (YIP)
Federal grant opportunity posted by Air Force Office of Scientific Research, cataloged on Grants.gov.
- $150K-$450K
- Award range
- Closed
- Status
- September 19, 2025
- Close date
- 50
- Expected awards
The verdict
Air Force Fiscal Year 2026 Young Investigator Program (YIP) is a closed discretionary listing from Air Force Office of Scientific Research that offered $150,000 -- $450,000 across 50 expected awards. Future funding cycles may be published under the same CFDA number.
- $150K-$450K
- award range
- Closed
- application status
- 50
- expected awards
- 12.800
- CFDA program
Opportunity snapshot. This Grants.gov announcement - Air Force Fiscal Year 2026 Young Investigator Program (YIP) - is cataloged under number NOFOAFRLAFOSR20250006 and tied to CFDA assistance listing 12.800, posted by Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Grants.gov currently shows the opportunity as closed, first posted on June 30, 2025 and last updated on August 12, 2025. The funding category is Discretionary, delivered as a grant.
Award economics. The award range on file is $150,000 -- $450,000. The agency has projected $4.5 million in total estimated funding for this announcement. It expects to issue 50 awards. If the agency funds the expected 50 awards from the $4.5 million estimated pool, the average award works out to roughly $90,000. Cost sharing is not required, so applicants do not need to commit matching funds to be competitive on this opportunity. Federal award ranges are often upper bounds; actual allocations reflect program appropriations, the strength of the applicant pool, and the evaluation committee's scoring.
Deadline and action path. This opportunity closed on September 19, 2025. Future funding cycles may be published under the same CFDA number, so monitoring the parent program page is the most reliable way to catch re-announcements. Every Grants.gov submission requires an active SAM.gov registration and a Unique Entity ID. Review the Eligibility section below carefully, federal eligibility categories (nonprofit, state or local government, tribal, individual, educational institution, small business) have distinct registration and reporting requirements. Pre-application outreach to the listed agency contact is permitted and often welcomed, it helps clarify scope and scoring priorities. Before acting on the deadline or award figures above, verify them directly on the official Grants.gov listing, amendments can change dates and amounts after this page was last refreshed.
Award Range
$150,000 -- $450,000
Close Date
September 19, 2025
Posted
June 30, 2025
Est. Total Funding
$4,500,000
Expected Awards
50
Instrument
Grant
Description
This is a special Notice of Funding Opportunity Announcement (NOFO) sponsored by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), which will hereafter generally be referred to as “we, us, our, or AFOSR.” The Fiscal Year 2026 Air Force Young Investigator Research Program (YIP) intends to support individual early in career scientists and engineers who have received Ph.D. or equivalent degrees by 01 April 2018 or later showing exceptional ability and promise for conducting basic research. The program objective is to foster creative basic research in science and engineering; enhance early career development of outstanding young investigators; and increase opportunities for the young investigator to recognize the Air Force and Space Force mission and related challenges in science and engineering.Individual awards are made to U.S. institutions of higher education, industrial laboratories, for- profit, or non-profit research organizations where the principal investigator (PI) is employed on a full-time basis and holds a regular, non-contractor position. A YIP PI must be a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident. Researchers working at a Federally Funded Research and Development Center, or a Department of Defense (DoD) Laboratory are not eligible for this competition.YIP awards are funded up to $150,000 per year for three years, for a total of $450,000. No single year may exceed $150,000. Please review the remainder of this announcement for additional information.Under this competition, an anticipated thirty-seven (37) traditionally funded YIPs and two (2) YIPs funded in partnership with the Laboratory for Physical Sciences (LPS) in the Quantum Information Sciences research discipline may be awarded. There may be potential for an additional 37 YIPs funded from other AFOSR research funding. All actions are based on the availability of funds.KEY DATES:Pre-proposal inquiries due NLT 04 JUL 2025Government response posted NLT 11 JUL 2025White papers due by 25 JUL 2025Feedback anticipated NLT 22 AUG 2025Proposals due by 19 SEP 2025Anticipated award date 01 MAR 2026
Eligibility
Grants.gov lists this opportunity under eligibility category codes 06, 12, 13, 20, 22, 23. These codes correspond to applicant types (state/local government, tribal organization, nonprofit, educational institution, individual, small business, etc.) defined in Grants.gov's own eligibility reference. See the current Grants.gov eligibility categories or check the official listing below for this opportunity's exact eligibility statement.
Official Listing on Grants.gov
View full details, application forms, and submission instructions.
Agency Contact
AFOSR RBKR1 Grantor Phone 703-696-9517
Key Dates
Frequently Asked Questions
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Disclaimer: This information is sourced from Grants.gov and SAM.gov and is for informational purposes only. Opportunity details, deadlines, and eligibility requirements change frequently. Always verify current information directly on Grants.gov before applying. PlainGrants is not affiliated with any federal agency.
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Related
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| Sources | the SAM.gov Assistance Listings and Grants.gov |