Advanced Liquid Hydrogen Storage and Employment Methodologies for Unmanned Aerial Systems

The U.S. Navy is seeking an STTR solution for advanced liquid hydrogen storage and delivery for unmanned aerial systems to improve endurance, range, and continuous payload power for Navy and Marine Corps aircraft. The work calls for a holistic liquid hydrogen storage, delivery, and filling approach, with Phase I focused on design and validation, Phase II on building a prototype vessel and gaseous delivery system and demonstrating filling and bench testing, and Phase III on manufacturing maturity and operational procedures. The solution must target a gravimetric hydrogen storage efficiency of at least 40%, volumetric density above 40 g/L, boil-off below 10% mass per day, reusable operation beyond 100 fill cycles, integration across Group 2 to Group 5 UAS, and compliance with safety and environmental requirements including MIL-STD-810H. The solicitation opens May 6, 2026 and closes June 3, 2026 at 16:00 UTC, under DON26TZ01-NV003.