Collaborative Distributed Swarm Radar

A collaborative distributed swarm radar system is being sought to advance networked sensor capabilities for ground and maritime surveillance through a phased approach. Phase I focuses on evaluating hardware architectures and developing simulation algorithms to model networked UAS configurations and quantify performance improvements over traditional single-sensor systems. Phase II transitioned to a practical testbed involving a small swarm of three or more UAS surrogates, each equipped with compact radar modules, to experiment with newly proposed sensing techniques and operational paradigms in a controlled environment. Phase III will expand evaluation to diverse service concepts of operation, ensuring adaptability across multiple mission scenarios. The initiative is designed as a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) set-aside, open exclusively to small businesses with fewer than 500 employees, and is sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense under the Department of Defense. The technology holds dual-use potential beyond defense applications, including environmental monitoring through autonomous glider swarms, terrain mapping, disaster response, and civilian surveillance operations. The solicitation, titled Collaborative Distributed Swarm Radar with identifier OSW26BZ05-DV019, was posted on August 5, 2026, and requires proposals to be submitted by August 26, 2026.