Strategic Technology Office-wide Broad Agency Announcement

Proposed research should investigate innovative approaches that enable revolutionary advances in science, devices, or systems. 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.

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-with-us/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.

A. STO MISSION AND THRUST AREAS

DARPA's STO is seeking 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 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.

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STO is a "systems office" seeking to create new "proof-of-concept" mission systems. Its goals are to develop and demonstrate new capabilities that expand what is technically possible.

B. TOPIC AREAS OF INTEREST

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

• Resilient systems

• 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