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. PlainGrants indexes 136 other opportunities from Air Force Office of Scientific Research.
- $150K-$450K
- award range
- Closed
- application status
- 50
- expected awards
- 12.800
- CFDA program
Archived opportunity record
Air Force Fiscal Year 2026 Young Investigator… is closed (last close September 19, 2025). Check the agency catalog for replacement NOFOs. Air Force Office of Scientific Research still indexes 136 other opportunities here.
According to Grants.gov (extract vintage 2026-08-10), this record reflects the officially published listing. See methodology.
Deadline tracker
Application window closed
Closed September 19, 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
Market-open applicant set · includes for-profit door
The eligibility set for Air Force Fiscal Year 2026 Young Investigator… includes a for-profit door among 6 printed types (Public / state-controlled institutions of higher education; Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status (other than IHEs); Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status (other than IHEs); Private institutions of higher education; +2 more). Competitive traffic can include commercial applicants alongside other listed classes. The extract does not mark applicant cost-sharing as required. Instrument: Grant. Funding-activity code maps to Science and Technology / R&D (ST). Only 2 other Air Force Office of Scientific Research listings share this exact eligibility-code string (1% of 137).
- Code 06
- Public / state-controlled institutions of higher education
- Code 12
- Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status (other than IHEs)
- Code 13
- Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status (other than IHEs)
- Code 20
- Private institutions of higher education
- Code 22
- For-profit organizations other than small businesses
- Code 23
- Small businesses
Codes are Grants.gov eligibility category values from the extract vintage 2026-08-10. Confirm the full eligibility statement on the official listing or the Grants.gov eligibility reference.
Official Listing on Grants.gov
View full details, application forms, and submission instructions.
Agency Contact
AFOSR RBKR1 Grantor Phone 703-696-9517
More from Air Force Office of Scientific Research
What to do next
Air Force Fiscal Year 2026 Young Investigator… is closed; use the parent program and agency catalog for the next funding cycle.
- Browse open federal opportunities in the same category when this listing is closed. Open opportunities
- Look up CFDA 12.800 across all indexed listings before you commit to this opportunity alone. Eligibility finder
- Compare award ranges across federal categories before you pick a single CFDA. All categories
Opportunity deadlines and eligibility change on Grants.gov; PlainGrants mirrors the extract and is not the submission system.
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.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
| Publisher | PlainGrants |
| Sources | the SAM.gov Assistance Listings and Grants.gov |