FEMA C-UAS Grant: The November 16 Deadline and What Comes After

Applications for the FY 2027 FEMA Counter-UAS (C-UAS) Grant Program are due Monday, November 16, 2026, at 5 p.m. ET. One week out, most agencies have already finalized their projects with their State Administrative Agency (SAA). This article covers what our earlier guides did not: how the final submission works, why a project that is not ranked first can still be funded, how FEMA scores projects after award, and what recipients commit to once the money arrives.

Short answer: Only SAAs submit, and only through FEMA GO by 5 p.m. ET on November 16. SAAs forward projects worth 150% of their allocation, so lower-ranked local projects stay in consideration. FEMA expects to select projects on December 2 and issue awards on December 10, 2026. Projects are then scored out of 100 points, and recipients must report system usage, detections and investigations for the life of the award.

If your agency is still looking for its SAA or its internal deadline, start with our SAA and funding guide. For program basics, see FEMA's $250M Counter-UAS Grant: Key Details for States and Agencies.

The deadline, exactly

The federal deadline is a hard cutoff in FEMA's grants system. The NOFO sets out how the final submission works:

• One application per state or territory. The SAA consolidates every local request into a single package and submits it in FEMA Grants Outcomes (FEMA GO).
• The submitter must be SAA staff. The Authorized Organization Representative must be a current employee or official of the SAA. Consultants and contractors cannot submit, and an application submitted by one is ineligible.
• System problems must be reported by 3 p.m. ET. SAAs experiencing FEMA GO issues on November 16 have until 3 p.m. ET to notify FEMA. New system issues are not addressed after that.
• Proof of submission is an email. FEMA GO sends the submitter a date and time stamp and a tracking number. Applications not received by 5 p.m. ET are not accepted.
• SAM.gov must be active. An expired SAM.gov registration or missing Unique Entity Identifier makes an application ineligible.

For local agencies, the practical deadline is usually earlier. Most SAAs set internal deadlines to review and rank local projects before November 16. If your SAA's window has closed, contact them directly to ask whether your project can still be considered. The NOFO also allows certain required information to be submitted after award, with FEMA's approval.

Why a project not ranked first is still in play

SAAs do not submit only the projects they plan to fund. The NOFO asks each SAA to forward Investment Justifications (IJs) totaling 150% of the state's allocation. If one local project is found ineligible, or a large share of its costs is unallowable, FEMA can fund the next project on the list.

The NOFO's own examples show the scale:

SAAs must also forward the IJs they do not recommend, including incomplete ones. Within 30 days of award, applicants submit project-level details covering the full 150%. For a local agency, this means a well-documented project has a path to funding even if the SAA ranks it lower on the list.

Agencies funded in the FY 2026 round can apply again. Their projects must show how the new request expands, sustains or complements the earlier investment rather than duplicating it.

How FEMA scores projects after award

FY 2027 projects are scored after awards are issued, not before. Every state and territory receives a statutory minimum ($3,325,000 for each state, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia; $760,000 for each smaller territory). Funding above that minimum is allocated using the DHS Terrorism Risk Methodology and a post-award effectiveness review.

In that review, subject matter experts from the DHS Science and Technology Directorate score each project out of 100 points using a technology effectiveness checklist:

The two largest categories, events and mitigation, account for 70 of the 100 points. The remaining 30 reward how complete, connected and ready a detection project is.

What a detection-focused project can earn

Many local agencies are not accredited to operate mitigation and are not requesting it. Under the scoring table, a project that detects, tracks and identifies drones without mitigation can still earn up to 26 points from the non-event categories, and up to 66 points when it supports a qualifying NSSE or SEAR 1 or 2 event.

The 26 points come from six areas:

1. Sensor coverage (8 points). Radar, EO/IR, passive RF direction finding and Remote ID each add 2 points when the proposal describes how each sensor is sited, integrated or cued.
2. Wide-area service and data sharing (6 points). A proposal earns these by enabling lawful data sharing with federal C-UAS entities, using a service that has applied for or received FAA approval as a UTM data provider, and covering a metro area of at least 100 square miles.
3. Deployment and connectivity (4 points). Networking, point-to-point or mesh links, and dedicated vehicles or trailers count when they are tied to the sensors they support.
4. A complete DTI chain (2 points). The proposal explains how a drone moves from first detection to a tracked, identified event.
5. Training and readiness (2 points). A role-based plan for operators, maintainers and supervisors, with an exercise or validation step.
6. New capability and speed (up to 4 points). First-time capabilities and a realistic 6-month path from award to operation earn the top score in each category.

The implementation timeline matters beyond its 2 points. SAAs are told not to fund projects that cannot be fully implemented within 36 months, and the NOFO's long-term target is that most grant-funded mitigation systems support the 2028 Games and other national events.

Key dates after November 16

FEMA plans to move from deadline to award in under four weeks. The NOFO lists these milestones:

Two rules shape procurement timing. Pre-award costs are not allowed, so no grant-funded purchase can be charged before December 10, 2026. And funds stay on hold until the SAA accepts the award and meets all award conditions. Local agencies should expect their own subaward agreements to follow the state's acceptance, not the federal award date.

What recipients commit to reporting

The grant does not end at purchase. For three years, recipients must show that funded systems are in use and producing results. FEMA states it will not rely only on self-reporting and may verify performance through inspections, site visits and milestone reviews.

Performance measures. Recipients share, for each funded system:

• Total hours in active use since acquisition
• Cumulative drone detections, including repeat detections of the same drone
• Distinct drones identified, with repeat detections counted once
• Criminal investigations launched from C-UAS intelligence

Close-out data. At the end of the period of performance, recipients report the make, model and configuration of each sensor, along with hardware, installation, training and maintenance costs, for FEMA's cost-efficiency analysis.

Federal data access. Any recipient or subrecipient that buys, leases or subscribes to detection hardware, software or services with grant funds must share relevant detection data with DHS. This covers detection events, tracks, Remote ID data, sensor metadata and system status. Vendor agreements must permit that access through feeds, APIs, viewer access or shared cloud access.

Mutual aid. States agree to provide C-UAS mutual aid to one another, including for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, without reimbursement for equipment use.

Routine grant reporting. Quarterly financial reports, semi-annual performance reports and Biannual Strategy Implementation Reports apply throughout the award. Equipment that is not regularly used may be recalled, and funds may have to be returned.

For procurement, this means the system's own records matter. A platform that logs detections, identifies repeat drones and exports data to other systems makes these reports a byproduct of daily operations rather than a manual task.

Where AirGuard fits

AirGuard is AirSight's open-architecture, hardware-agnostic drone detection platform. It combines radar, camera, RF and Remote ID sensors to detect drones and, where the drone's signals allow, locate the pilot, all in one operating picture. This layered approach supports the detection, tracking and identification categories FEMA scores.

For FY 2027 projects, AirGuard offers three advantages:

• Drone and pilot detection. Multiple sensor types work together, so a drone detected by one sensor can be confirmed, tracked and identified by others, and the pilot can be located when that data is available.
• Mobile deployment. The AirSight mobile unit is a solar-powered trailer that carries detection sensors and can be placed and moved between locations, from a stadium on game day to a parade route or a torch relay segment. Trailers dedicated to C-UAS equipment are an allowable cost, and specialized trailers count toward the deployment and connectivity score.
• Data sharing. AirGuard sends detection data to other systems, supporting the DHS data access condition and sharing with partner agencies.

AirGuard is a detection, tracking and identification platform. Mitigation under the grant is limited to accredited law enforcement and correctional agencies using authorized systems.

If your agency is finalizing sensors, coverage or an implementation schedule this week, book a demo with our team.

Frequently asked questions

What is the FEMA C-UAS grant deadline? SAA applications are due in FEMA GO by 5 p.m. ET on Monday, November 16, 2026. Local agencies apply through their SAA, which usually sets an earlier internal deadline.

Can a local agency or a vendor submit directly to FEMA? No. The SAA is the only eligible applicant, and the submitter must be a current SAA employee or official. Applications submitted by consultants or contractors are ineligible.

What happens if FEMA GO fails on the deadline day? The SAA must notify FEMA of system-related issues by 3 p.m. ET on November 16. Issues raised after that are not addressed.

When will awards be announced? FEMA anticipates selecting projects on December 2, 2026 and issuing awards on December 10, 2026.

Can we buy equipment before the award? No. Pre-award costs are not allowed. Costs can be incurred from December 10, 2026, the start of the period of performance.

Does a project need mitigation to score well? Mitigation is worth up to 30 points, but a detection, tracking and identification project can earn up to 26 points outside the event category and up to 66 points when it supports a qualifying national event.

Do detection systems require NCUTC certification? Radar, EO/IR cameras, acoustic sensors and Remote ID receivers do not. RF detection systems that intercept or access drone control communications require NCUTC Detection and Warning Certification or enrollment. The online course is free and has no waitlist.

What data must recipients share? Recipients must give DHS access to relevant detection data, including detection events, tracks, Remote ID data, sensor metadata and system status, as permitted by law.