Who funds aviation research?

We count 248 funded aviation projects, active between 2020 and 2032, from 7 funders. The most came from EU · Climate, Energy and Mobility (135 projects), EU · MSCA (26 projects) and EU · ERC (16 projects). The median award is $2.8M, across the 244 of 248 projects that list an amount.

Funded projects

248

Funders

7

Median award

$2.8M

Open calls now

8

Top funders of aviation research

Projects whose title or summary mentions aviation. Median award: of the projects that list an amount, in US dollars; “—” when fewer than 3 do.

Open aviation funding calls

8 open calls mention aviation today.

• Aircraft Defensive Electro-optical Protection Technologies (ADEPT)
  Air Force Research LaboratoryNot specifiedDeadline: November 9, 2026 ·
• Fiscal Year 2027 Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) Grant Program
  Department of Homeland Security - FEMA$822,338 – $18,665,396Deadline: November 16, 2026 ·
• Sustainable aircraft circular design and additive manufacturing, towards a climate neutral aviation
  European Commission · Horizon EuropeUp to €2,500,000Deadline: April 14, 2027 ·
• Noise reduction breakthroughs for new ultraefficient aircraft
  European Commission · Horizon EuropeUp to €2,500,000Deadline: April 14, 2027 ·
• Aviation
  National Science Foundation (SBIR/STTR)Not specifiedDeadline: July 7, 2027 ·
• FAA Aviation Research Grants Program
  DOT - FAA Aviation Research GrantsUp to $6,000,000Deadline: September 7, 2027 ·
• Center of Excellence for Alternative Jet Fuels and Environment
  FAA-COE-AJFE$1 – $20,000,000Deadline: September 30, 2027 ·
• Joint Center of Excellence for Advanced Materials Research
  FAA-COE-JAMSUp to $20,000,000Deadline: Not listed

Forecast: announced, not open yet

1 forecast call on aviation. Funders publish forecasts before a call opens; you can't apply to these yet, and dates can change.

• ForecastFY26 US DOT Drone Infrastructure Inspection Grants (DIIG) Program
  69A345 Office of the Under Secretary for Policy$500,000 – $9,000,000Expected to open September 15, 2026

Funded aviation projects

A sample, latest start first, at most three per program.

• Enhancing our understanding of volcanic clouds using long-term satellite records and next-generation instruments
  UKRI · NERC · £907,041 · ends 2032
• REU Site: Michigan Semiconductor Hands-On Research Experience (M-SHORE)
  NSF · ENG · $410,186 · ends 2031
• NSF AI Institute in Dynamic Systems
  NSF · ENG · $20,000,000 · ends 2031
• NSF-University of Wyoming King Air Research Aircraft Operations & Maintenance
  NSF · GEO · $14,818,934 · ends 2031
• CAREER: Quantum-Inspired Dynamic Control in Composite Metastructures with Long-Range Coupling
  NSF · ENG · $596,099 · ends 2031
• CAREER: Global Characteristics, Predictability, and Future Projections of Polar Subtropical Jet Superposition Events
  NSF · GEO · $912,177 · ends 2031
• Advancing Life Sciences with Diamond-II
  Wellcome · £40,452,000 · ends 2031
• Virtual Exascale Calculations Transform Aviation (VECTA)
  UKRI · EPSRC · £6,991,489 · ends 2030
• Collaborative Research: DMREF: Discovery and Design of Self-Lubricating Wear-Resistant Metals for High-Temperature Environments
  NSF · MPS · $1,099,851 · ends 2030
• Lidar Investigation of Geospace-Atmosphere Temperature, Composition, Chemistry, and Dynamics at McMurdo, Antarctica
  NSF · Office of the Director · $1,800,000 · ends 2030

How we count

Funded projects come from public award records (NIH RePORTER, NSF, EU CORDIS, UKRI Gateway to Research, Wellcome, the Gates Foundation, DOE, NASA and USDA NIFA) whose title or summary matches “aviation or aircraft”. NIH lists each budget year separately; one project counts once. Amounts are as the funder lists them; medians use only projects that list one, in US dollars. Open calls and forecasts are from our listings of October 28, 2026. A project can mention a topic without being mainly about it, so treat the counts as a guide to who funds the area.