At a glance
Possible toolACQ-06 · Other statutory tools
Authority holder: Secretary of Defense and military-department Secretaries
Other statutory tools
Mechanism tags describe the source text; they do not expand the authority.
Availability and verificationExpress statutory pathway; award-specific appropriations, available balances, delegations, implementation and approvals not independently verified.
Program process and intake
Checked 2026-10-04 · program documented. Program evidence is separate from legal authority, available funds and transaction approval.
AFRL CHEERS Open Period 2 explicitly invokes section 4023 and publishes a two-step white-paper process through September 30, 2027. Funding remains contingent, and the solicitation has an overall ceiling.
AFRL CHEERS — Experimental Purposes Open Period 2
- Who this route serves
- Businesses and research performers addressing the specified human-performance and aerospace-medicine technical areas
- Administering office / routing lead
- AFRL Human Effectiveness Directorate (RH), US Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, and the solicitation contracting office
Direct implementationSection 2.1 of Open Period 2 expressly limits this solicitation to experimental or test purposes under section 4023. Its November 2025 text predates the December 2025 statutory expansion; the instruments listed in the umbrella are not interchangeable.
What this evidence label means Published white-paper window; funding contingentAmendment 01 states that white papers are accepted through September 30, 2027; full proposals are invited separately. Check later amendments and topic restrictions before submission.
Status reference date: 2026-10-04 · research checked 2026-10-04
CHEERS Open Period2 ARA, Amendment01 · PDFpp.3,5–7: authority, white-paper deadline, ceiling, scope, funding, cost share and two-step submissionofficial solicitation · published 2025-11-20 · Evidence record Program eligibility
Steps and preparation
Find the separate experimental-purposes solicitation FA238424S2335 and its current amendments, not just umbrella FA238424S2233.
Grants.gov — CHEERS MAA FA238424S2233 · Description: AFRL/RH and USAFSAM; Open Period 2, Experimental Purposes ARA FA238424S2335; last updated 13 May 2026solicitation or program notice · Evidence recordFor a two-step call, submit its required white paper and rough-order-of-magnitude costs before any invited full technical/cost proposal. The guide specifies five pages, solicitation ID, UEI/CAGE, objectives, deliverables and time-phased cost; the individual solicitation controls deviations.
AFRL CHEERS Industry Guide, version 2.0, 20 November 2025 · Chapters 1–4 and 8; PDF pp. 3–6, 15–17, 32solicitation or program notice · Evidence recordSubmit only the required white paper to the organizational address stated in the current solicitation, AFRL.711HPW.MAA@us.af.mil; submit a full proposal only following an invitation and its instructions.
CHEERS Open Period2 ARA, Amendment01 · PDFpp.3,5–7: authority, white-paper deadline, ceiling, scope, funding, cost share and two-step submissionofficial solicitation · published 2025-11-20 · Evidence record
Funding, limits and authority relationship
Funding and financial terms
- Solicitation ceiling; funding contingent · Amendment01 datedNovember20,2025
The solicitation-wide total ceiling is$499.87million, not a per-award amount or available appropriation. No award is made until funds are available.
CHEERS Open Period2 ARA, Amendment01 · PDFpp.3,5–7: authority, white-paper deadline, ceiling, scope, funding, cost share and two-step submissionofficial solicitation · published 2025-11-20 · Evidence record - Solicitation terms · Amendment01 datedNovember20,2025
Cost sharing is not required in this Open Period2 solicitation; amounts and performance schedule depend on the proposed approach.
CHEERS Open Period2 ARA, Amendment01 · PDFpp.3,5–7: authority, white-paper deadline, ceiling, scope, funding, cost share and two-step submissionofficial solicitation · published 2025-11-20 · Evidence record
Exclusions and limits
Authority relationship source
CHEERS Open Period2 ARA, Amendment01 · PDFpp.3,5–7: authority, white-paper deadline, ceiling, scope, funding, cost share and two-step submissionofficial solicitation · published 2025-11-20 · Evidence recordRead current retrieved CHEERS Open Period2 solicitation →
solicitation: Experimental-purposes two-step intake; also read the MAA and Industry Guide and check later amendments.
Research scope and sources checked
The earlier access gap was resolved by the corrected official attachment filename, HTTP200; all8pages of Amendment01 were downloaded and read. Exact4023 authority, deadline, white-paper route,$499.87m aggregate ceiling, no-cost-share and contingent-funding language verified. The unrelated BAA-track moratorium was not presumed to close Open Period2.
- AFRL CHEERS Industry Guide, version 2.0, 20 November 2025 · Chapters 1–4 and 8; PDF pp. 3–6, 15–17, 32solicitation or program notice · Evidence record
- AFRL CHEERS Multiple Authority Announcement, amended 20 November 2025 · Sections 3 and 4; PDF pp. 7–8official news or announcement · Evidence record
- Grants.gov — CHEERS MAA FA238424S2233 · Description: AFRL/RH and USAFSAM; Open Period 2, Experimental Purposes ARA FA238424S2335; last updated 13 May 2026solicitation or program notice · Evidence record
- CHEERS Open Period2 ARA, Amendment01 · PDFpp.3,5–7: authority, white-paper deadline, ceiling, scope, funding, cost share and two-step submissionofficial solicitation · published 2025-11-20 · Evidence record
What remains unverified
- No individual selection, award obligation or remaining program balance verified; later amendments and topic-specific restrictions still control.
A dated source check is not continuing monitoring. Recheck the linked official notice before preparing a submission. Browse program research →
Funding conditions
- Appropriation matching experiment/prototype purpose; statutory flexibility does not waive appropriations law.
Read the funding and execution guide
Who contributes what
Need & planning
- USD(R&E) and Service science-and-technology executives
Office profile - DARPA or Service laboratory/program manager
Resources
- Sponsoring component RDT&E budget owner; component comptroller
Office profile
Approval
- Secretary of Defense or military-department Secretary; valid delegate must be confirmed
Office profile
Execution
- DARPA Contracts Management Office or Service contracting/grants/agreements office
Office profile - Performing laboratory or external research performer
Partners & review
- Operational customer / acquiring program
- Security, export-control, counsel and fiscal officials as applicable
Office links are editorial matches to the original role text, not verified delegations. Composite labels and unmatched actors are preserved.
Coordination pathwayTechnical sponsor → experimental-purchase determination → contracting office → evaluation → separate production pathway if needed.
Actor and execution-role sources
What this research establishes
Legal basisSources linkedLegal sources and instrument limits are recorded.
RequirementsGates recordedRead the requirements for this instrument; applicability depends on the proposed action.
Public fundingRules recordedAppropriation matching experiment/prototype purpose; statutory flexibility does not waive appropriations law. Office budget figures are separate institutional context, not an allocation to this instrument. Assigned rolesRoles recordedPublic sources describe institutional authority. The instrument identifies approval and execution roles; a specific signature remains transaction-dependent. EngagementProcess sourcedAFRL CHEERS Open Period 2 explicitly invokes section 4023 and publishes a two-step white-paper process through September 30, 2027. Funding remains contingent, and the solicitation has an overall ceiling. Program check: 2026-10-04; see each route for intake status. Confidence: High on express authority and cited conditions; execution assignment is illustrative unless statute expressly names it.
Currentness: GovInfo 2024 Code (includes FY2025 NDAA, P.L. 118-159) read in full for cited provision; targeted FY2026 NDAA P.L. 119-60 amendment/repeal sweep. No claim of complete legislative currency through 2026-10-02; remaining 2026 delta needs counsel validation.
Review scope: Original research target October 2, 2026; no record-specific last-review date supplied. Publication is not legal-currentness certification.