SAM #HM047627XXXX

NGA LASER research effort for AI/ML detection of surface and underwater objects using space-lidar data

NGA’s BIG-ST Topic 7 LASER opportunity seeks research and development of AI/ML methods for finding surface and underwater man-made objects in space-lidar data. - Government buyer: National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), including the NGA PM Office, NGA-Q, ATTN: MS S84 - OCS, and LASER Topic Call Section 4. - OEMs and vendors: No commercial OEMs, vendors, or resellers are named. NASA is identified for coordination and as the source of ICESat-2 and GEDI data, not as a vendor. - Core effort: Develop, test, and transition automated detection and classification methods using NASA ICESat-2 and GEDI lidar data; compare results with government-approved ground truth and support handoff to NGA. - Key performance goals: 1-meter elevation agreement for underwater targets; centimeter-scale accuracy for above-ground targets; probability of detection above 75% and probability of error below 25%. - Services and deliverables: Kickoff meeting and brief; technical, prototype AI/ML, detection, field-test, bi-weekly, and data-intercomparison reports; containerized software, source code, user and installation documentation; a live prototype demonstration; and program-protection, test, transition, and quality-assurance plans. - Notable requirements: Test plans cover field data collection and software validation, including NASA coordination for ICESat-2 and GEDI. The prototype must demonstrate autonomous identification of surface and subsurface objects, and the transition plan must address operational use by NGA. - Quantities and value: No hardware products or commercial product quantities are specified. The attachment describes one research effort; an estimated value range is provided separately because no contract value is stated.

Description

The Boosting Innovative GEOINT-Science and Technology (BIG-ST) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) invites proposers to submit innovative concepts to address hard GEOINT problems that align to one or more of the following technical domains:

(1) Foundational GEOINT,

(2) Advanced Phenomenologies, and

(3) Analytic Technologies.

BAA Process and Topic Call Publication:

The BIG-ST BAA, HM047623BAA0001, is a general announcement of NGA’s research interest, including criteria for selecting proposals and soliciting the participation of all offerors capable of satisfying the Government’s needs.

The requests for abstracts and proposals are transmitted via Topic Calls that are published separately under the BIG-ST BAA General Solicitation at various times during the open period of the General Solicitation. Topic Calls will be published via updates to the BIG-ST BAA General Solicitation site on Sam.gov, Grants.gov, and/or the Classified IC-Acquisition Research Center (https://acq-ui.ace.proj.nro.ic.gov). For Classified Topic Calls, interested parties must have an account to log into the Classified IC-ARC to see the notice, and all associated RFP documents. For additional support with account access, please contact the Classified ACE Help Desk at 855-4ACE. Interested parties should periodically check these websites for updates.

No submissions shall be accepted to the General Solicitation; abstracts and proposals will only be reviewed in response to open Topic Calls.  Please refer to the Topic Calls for Abstract and Proposal due dates. 

The BIG-ST BAA General Solicitation, HM047623BAA0001 Revision 4 (dated 07/30/2026), is posted and applies to Topic 6 and forward.  See Attachments/Links.

Closed Topics:

Topic 1 - Geospatial-Intelligence Foundational Model (GFM) is closed

Topic 2 - Magnifying University Science Expertise (MUSE) is closed.

Topic 3 - VLBI+G Signal Chain Development (VLBI+G) is closed.

Topic 5 - Better Ingested GEOINT - Identifying Artificial Intelligence and Manually Manipulated Media (BIGISLAND) is closed.

Topic 6 - Magnifying University Science Expertise (MUSE 2) is closed.

Canceled Topics:

Topic 4 - Production of Radio Frequency (RF) Surveys from Commercial On-orbit Passive RF (RF-COP) is canceled.

Active Topics:

10/01/2026 Update: Topic 7 

Topic 7 – Lidar Analysis for Surface & Environmental Reconnaissance (LASER) is open.

Please review the following new/updated documents under Attachment/Links:

New: BIGST-BAA_T7_LASER_20261001

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