The Ohio Federal Research Network Round 3 Sustaining Ohio's Aeronautical Readiness and Innovation in the Next Generation (SOARING) solicitation closed on June 1, 2018.


The OFRN Round 3 SOARING awardees and their research and development projects are:

  1. Ghostwave, Wright State University, The Ohio State University, Sinclair, Converge Technologies, Event38, and Lockheed Martin's "UAS Detect and Avoid Sensor Fusion of Stealthy Radars and Vision"
  2. The Ohio State University, University of Dayton Research Institute, and Safran's "Brushless Doubly-fed Machine and Drive System for Aviation Application"
  3. University of Cinncinati, Sinclair, Demeter, and Simlat's "Regional Unmanned Traffic Management System (RUTMS)"
  4. Persistent Surveillance Systems, Ohio University, Wright State University, Autonodyne, Bosma Tech, MacAir Aviation, and MacNauchtan Development's "Autonomous/Remote Cirrus SR22 Aerial Surveillance Platform and Personnel Air Vehicle “Air Uber” System"

Round 3 Projects Overview

Read the full announcement here. ​​​​​​​

About Round 3 SOARING

The Ohio Federal Research Network (OFRN) received funding from the Ohio General Assembly in the fiscal year 2016-2017 biennial operating budget as a strategic priority initiative identified by the Ohio Federal and Military Jobs Commission (OFMJC). In the FY 2018-2019 Ohio Biennium Budget, the State reaffirmed its commitment to OFRN with the inclusion of additional funding for this initiative as a standalone project managed by the Ohio Department of Higher Education. SOARING seeks to fund projects that align with needs identified by its federal, State, and commercial stakeholders. Broadly, these relate to performance, safety, and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) flight certification across diverse classes, target applications, and technology domains.

The SOARING Request for Proposal (RFP) is focused on expanding Ohio’s leadership in federal and industry aerospace research, development, and sustainment for unmanned air systems (UASs), personal air vehicles (PAVs), and logistics delivery air vehicles (LDVs). Across the different classes, target applications, and technologies, several barriers persist, including FAA flight certification, safety concerns, and specific technical and market validation needs. OFRN’s federal and industry partners verified these concerns in their responses to OFRN’s Request for Information (October 2017). The focus of the SOARING request for proposal (RFP) was to leverage the unique federal and Ohio assets to systematically address these challenges.


Key Events & Dates