AI/ML Verification of Microelectronic Integrity for High-Assurance Systems — Department of Defense funding opportunity
Department of Defense · Federal agency

AI/ML Verification of Microelectronic Integrity for High-Assurance Systems

Posted 23d ago

Topic Funding Opportunities Back to Funding Opportunities Search AI/ML Verification of Microelectronic Integrity for High-Assurance Systems Funding Agency DOW DTRA Year: 2027 Topic Number: DTR27TZ02-NV002 Solicitation Nu...

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Award Up to $250k Deadline Jan 6 Location Alabama Type grant Level Federal Open posted Dec 2, 2026
✦ AI Summary
  • Who can apply: small business, research institution, university.
  • Funding amount: up to $250,000.
  • Next deadline: January 6, 2027.
  • Issued by: Department of Defense.
How was this generated?

The “key facts” mode pulls structured fields directly from the official source posting (amount, deadline, eligibility tags). The AI mode adds a short plain-English narrative on top, generated from the same source. Always verify with the agency before applying.

AI-generated. Always verify with the official source.

Who can apply — at a glance

  • Eligible applicants: see the Eligibility tab for the criteria from the official announcement.
  • Where: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, District of Columbia.
  • Award: Up to $250k.
  • Matching funds: not required.
  • Deadline type: Fixed.

Compiled from the official listing's structured fields — always verify with the funder before applying.

About the funder

Department of Defense is a federal-level funder.

See all 4 open programs from this agency →

Award amount
Up to $250k
Deadline
Jan 6
Jan 6, 2027

About this opportunity

Topic Funding Opportunities Back to Funding Opportunities Search AI/ML Verification of Microelectronic Integrity for High-Assurance Systems Funding Agency DOW DTRA Year: 2027 Topic Number: DTR27TZ02-NV002 Solicitation Number: 27.TZ Tagged as: STTR BOTH Solicitation Status: Open NOTE: The Solicitations and topics listed on this site are copies from the various SBIR agency solicitations and are not necessarily the latest and most up-to-date. For this reason, you should use the agency link listed below which will take you directly to the appropriate agency server where you can read the official version of this solicitation and download the appropriate forms and rules. View Official Solicitation Release Schedule Release Date November 4, 2026 Open Date December 2, 2026 Due Date(s) January 6, 2027 Close Date January 6, 2027 Description The Department of War relies heavily on advanced microelectronics sourced from a globally distributed commercial supply chain. Securing this supply chain against malicious insertion is a critical national security imperative, repeatedly highlighted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) as a high-risk area. For defense systems operating in contested environments, compromised hardware represents a catastrophic vulnerability. Advanced adversaries are capable of introducing microscopic logic alterations ( dopant-level Trojans, malicious dormant circuitry) during fabrication or transit. A primary use case of concern involves hardware-level Trojans engineered to bypass software encryption, forcing ultra-secure communications gear or deployable sensor packages to execute unauthorized radio frequency (RF) transmissions, thereby exposing sensitive mission telemetry to hostile forces. Furthermore, there is a critical emerging requirement to address sophisticated vulnerabilities residing between the hardware and firmware boundaries. The DoW seeks capabilities to identify malicious logic that facilitates unauthorized data inspection within the data layer, allowing an adversary to silently alter encrypted traffic streams at the silicon level. Additionally, the solution must investigate vectors where the data layer is manipulated to trigger unintended electromagnetic emanations from legitimate components, or the covert activation of dormant RF elements, for out-of-band exfiltration. The DoW seeks proposals for an automated, AI-driven inspection capability to mitigate these threats. The desired solution should ingest a Level 3 Technical Data Package (TDP) or Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) Digital Twin to establish a definitive baseline of intended logic gate behavior. It must then utilize advanced algorithms to process data from Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) techniques to physically and logically interrogate the delivered hardware against that baseline, identifying deviations that could enable data-layer subversion, unauthorized emissions, or system failure. Digital Provenance Integration: This effort seeks to establish an algorithmic layer of assurance compatible with modern secure supply chain initiatives. Proposals should consider the architectural requirements necessary for the proposed engine to interface with emergent DoW digital provenance frameworks, generating unique, verifiable identifiers for individual components before they are integrated into sensitive operational packages. Data Sourcing Strategy • Training Dataset (Performer Sourced): Performers must leverage synthetic data (MBSE/GAN generated) and existing open-source physical benchmarks to train models. • Validation Dataset (Performer Sourced): The performer is responsible for the independent physical acquisition of the ICs and Digital Twins required for validation.

Funding agency

Department of Defense
Federal agency

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Who can apply

Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) eligibility: applicant must be a small business concern (<= 500 employees) partnered with a non-profit research institution (university or federally-funded R&D center). Small business performs at least 40% of the work; research institution performs at least 30%. | eligibility Apply Find Topics and Solicitations Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Lab to Market Hub Program Tutorials Community Stay connected with our innovation ecosystem Community Event Spotlight News and Events Newsletter Sign-up Federal and State Technology (FAST) Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC) Topic Funding Opportunities Back to Funding Opportunities Search AI/ML Verification of Microelectronic Integrity for High-Assurance Systems Funding Agency DOW DTRA Year: 2027 Topic Number: DTR27TZ02-NV002 Solicitation Number: 27.TZ Tagged as: STTR BOTH Solicitation Status: Open NOTE: The Solicitations and topics listed on this site are copies from the various SBIR agency solicitations and are not necessarily the latest and most up-to-date. For this reason, you should use the agency l

Geographic eligibility

  • Alabama
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Hawaii
  • Idaho
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Maine
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Mississippi
  • Missouri
  • Montana
  • Nebraska
  • Nevada
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New Mexico
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • North Dakota
  • Ohio
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • Pennsylvania
  • Rhode Island
  • South Carolina
  • South Dakota
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Utah
  • Vermont
  • Virginia
  • Washington
  • West Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • Wyoming
  • District of Columbia

How to apply

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Source documents

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Canonical NOFO, application packet, and forms
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Citation details

Source systemsbir-gov-sttr
Source IDDTR27TZ02-NV002-13148
PostedDec 2, 2026

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