Amendment 4

Solicitation# 697DCK-25-R-00278

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)
UAS Integration Office (AUS)
Broad Agency Announcement (BAA)
Solicitation # 697DCK-25-R-00278
Amendment 0004

Posting Date: March 16, 2026

Solicitation# 697DCK-25-R-00278

I.

II.

III.

IV.

Solicitation# 697DCK-25-R-00278

I.

Background
The Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), solicitation number 697DCK-25-R-00278, is sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Office (AUS), Research, Engineering & Analysis Division (AUS-300). The UAS BAA is being posted to the FAA’s Contract Opportunities website https://sam.gov/ as a means of soliciting Whitepapers from Respondents within the UAS industry. The UAS BAA outlines focus areas related to the integration of UAS into the national airspace system (NAS). This UAS BAA is open through September 30, 2028, unless terminated sooner.

Legislation
The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 (Public Law 118-63) was signed into law on May 16, 2024. This authorization runs through Fiscal Year 2028 and communicates congressional priorities for how the agency carries out its mission to provide the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world.
Section 925 UAS TEST RANGES of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 states: § 44803. Unmanned aircraft system test ranges

(a)TEST RANGES. —

(1)IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall carry out and update, as appropriate, a program for the use of unmanned aircraft system (in this section referred to as UAS) test ranges to—
(A) enable a broad variety of development, testing, and evaluation activities related to UAS and associated technologies; and (B) the extent consistent with aviation safety and efficiency, support the safe integration of unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system….I

(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. —

(1) ESTABLISHMENT. —Out of amounts authorized to be appropriated under section 106(k), $6,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2028, shall be available to the Administrator for the purposes of— (A) providing matching funds to commercial entities that contract with a UAS test range to demonstrate or validate technologies that the FAA

Solicitation# 697DCK-25-R-00278

considers essential to the safe integration of UAS into the national airspace system; and
(B) supporting or performing such demonstration and validation activities