Description
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office (DSO) is issuing a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) inviting innovative, revolutionary research concepts in any scientific or engineering domain that could advance national security. Proposals must target one or more of four technical thrust areas—Materials, Manufacturing & Energy Systems; Sensing, Measuring & Affecting; Math, Computation & Processing; Complex, Dynamic & Intelligent Systems—or any other breakthrough idea not covered by existing DSO programs. Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis through August 27 2027, with a mandatory pre‑proposal executive summary or abstract before a full proposal. Multiple award instruments are possible (cooperative agreements, procurement contracts, other transactions). The solicitation emphasizes non‑evolutionary, high‑impact research and includes an optional talent award (up to $150k/yr) for a U.S. citizen graduate student or post‑doc.
• Posting date: Aug 28 2026; questions due Aug 6 2027.
• Executive summary/abstract submission (mandatory pre‑proposal) – rolling until Aug 27 2027.
• Full proposals accepted – rolling until Aug 27 2027.
• Multiple awards anticipated; instrument types include cooperative agreements, contracts, OT‑R, OT‑P.
• Optional DSO Fundamental Defense Research Talent Award (up to $150,000 per year).
• No geographic restriction; work to be performed by U.S. entities (non‑U.S. participants must meet security/export controls).
• CMMC Level 1 compliance required for contract/OT awards.