DARPA's STO seeks innovative ideas and disruptive technologies that provide the U.S. military and national security leaders with trusted, disruptive capabilities across all physical domains (Air, Space, Sea, and Land) and across the spectrum of competition. STO programs deliver solutions at speed and scale for today's warfighters while developing the resilient "breakthrough" systems and technologies needed for future battlespaces. STO does not focus on one area of responsibility or phenomenology. Rather, STO programs capture the strategic, logistical, and tactical complexity of today's national security environments.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) anticipates funding a limited number of proposals under this solicitation. Specifically excluded is research that primarily results in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of practice. Proposed research should investigate innovative approaches that enable revolutionary advances in science, devices, or systems.
The Strategic Technology Office (STO) at DARPA regularly publishes BAAs requesting responses to specific program topics. This announcement seeks revolutionary research ideas for topics not addressed by ongoing STO programs or other published BAA solicitations.
To avoid proposals that duplicate existing activities or are responsive to other published STO solicitations, potential bidders are highly encouraged to review current STO programs and solicitations, respectively listed at http://www.darpa.mil/about-us/offices/sto and http://www.darpa.mil/work-withus/opportunities. Contacting STO program managers to discuss their research interests is also encouraged. A current list of program managers is available at http://www.darpa.mil/about-us/people.
Research areas of current interest to STO include, but are not limited to, the following topics:
- Acoustic communication and sensing
- Adaptability
- Advanced computing
- Additive manufacturing
- Architecture and advanced systems engineering
- Artificial intelligence
- Autonomy and control algorithms
- Big data” analytics
- Combat identification
- Command and control (C2)
- Communications and networking, virtual and adaptive
- Complexity management
- Critical infrastructure defense
- Decision aids and C2 technology
- DevOps and novel software development and integration
- Directed energy (DE)
- Distributed autonomy and teaming (machine-machine, human-machine)
- Economic security
- Effects chain functions (disaggregated find, fix, finish, target, engage, assess)
- Electro-optic/infrared sensors
- Electromagnetic warfare (EW)
- High-frequency (HF) communications and sensing
- High voltage electric power systems and architecture
- Human behavior modeling
- Human-machine symbiosis
- Industrial engineering
- Integration and reliability technologies
- Interoperability
- Logistics
- Modeling and simulation
- Microwave and millimeter wave communications and sensing
- Novel kinetic effects
- Non-kinetic effects (EW, DE, cyber)
- Optical technologies
- Photonics
- Radio technologies (especially software-defined and novel waveforms and processing)
- Radar and adaptive arrays
- Robotics
- Seekers and other expendable sensors and processing
- Sensors and analytics
- Signal processing
- Space sensors, communications, autonomy, and architectures (especially supporting proliferated low earth orbit constellations)
- Strategy analysis technology
- Supply chain analytics
- System of systems
- Undersea and seabed technology
- Tactics development technology
- Testing and data collection
- Very low earth orbit (VLEO) technology
- Very low frequency (VLF) technology
Proposers are welcome to submit proposals of any scope and duration. However, submissions proposing short-duration exploratory projects, such as analytical studies or proof of concept experiments, to inform new program ideas will be given priority. An ideal study helps a program manager answer some of the Heilmeier Questions (see https://www.darpa.mil/work-withus/heilmeier-catechism), such as: Why do you think your approach will be successful?”; What are the risks?”; and What difference will it make?” In STO, we are a mission-centric office and try to align our answers to these questions with how a new capability will change the nature of warfare and the manner in which the U.S. defends itself
Prior to submitting a full proposal, proposers are strongly encouraged to first submit an abstract as described below. Attachments A and B contain specific instructions and templates and constitute a full proposal submission. This process allows a proposer to ascertain whether the proposed concept is (1) applicable to the STO Office-wide BAA and (2) currently of interest. For the purposes of this BAA, applicability is defined as follows:
Executive summaries, abstracts, and full proposals that are not found to be applicable to the STO Office-wide BAA as defined above may be deemed non-conforming and removed from consideration. All executive summaries, abstracts, and full proposals must provide sufficient information to assess the validity/feasibility of their claims as well as comply with the requirements outlined herein for submission formatting, content and transmission to DARPA.