Who funds drone research?

We count 98 funded drone projects, active between 2021 and 2031, from 7 funders. The most came from EU · MSCA (18 projects), EU · ERC (10 projects) and EU · Climate, Energy and Mobility (9 projects). The median award is $769K, across the 98 of 98 projects that list an amount.

Funded projects

98

Funders

7

Median award

$769K

Open calls now

2

Top funders of drone research

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

Open drone funding calls

2 open calls mention drone today.

• NIJ FY 2026 Research and Evaluation on Drones as First Responders
  National Institute of JusticeUp to $3,500,000Deadline: November 30, 2026 ·
• ONR Open Topic for Low-Cost Heads Up Displays (HUDs) for Virtual & Augmented Reality (VR/AR)
  U.S. Department of Defense – Navy (SBIR)Not specifiedDeadline: November 25, 2026 ·

Forecast: announced, not open yet

1 forecast call on drone. 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 drone projects

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

• CAREER: SIM-Integrated Air-to-Ground Autonomous Vehicle Networks
  NSF · CISE · $632,414 · ends 2031
• CAREER: Asymmetric avian morphing for enhanced lateral maneuverability
  NSF · BIO · $835,828 · ends 2031
• IUCRC Phase I Purdue University: Center for Accurate Georeferencing of the Environment (CAGE)
  NSF · ENG · $500,000 · ends 2030
• Honey bees (apis mellifera) experience significant annual mortality due to many factors including parasites and diseases, erratic weather…
  USDA · $1,000,000 · ends 2030
• RI: Uncertainty Quantification for Robust Decision Making
  NSF · CISE · $1,000,000 · ends 2030
• Agriculture is becoming increasingly dependent on advanced technologies such as sensors, drones, artificial intelligence (ai), and…
  USDA · $650,000 · ends 2030
• Invasive pests like insects, diseases, and weeds harm u.s
  USDA · $728,000 · ends 2030
• Composite Adaptive Predictive Safety via Barrier-Constrained Optimization
  NSF · ENG · $304,351 · ends 2029
• MRI: Track 1: Development of a Computational System for Agricultural Structural Modeling and Analysis
  NSF · CISE · $1,200,000 · ends 2029
• REU Site: Safe, Efficient, and Collaborative Intelligence for Autonomous Systems
  NSF · ENG · $465,000 · ends 2029

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 “drone or drones or uav”. 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.