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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the Strategic Technologies opportunity (DARPA BAA 14-48)?

The Strategic Technologies opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number: DARPA BAA 14-48) is a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) from DARPA's Strategic Technology Office (STO). It seeks high-risk, high-payoff research ideas that could produce major leaps in U.S. defense capabilities, with an emphasis on disruptive innovation rather than incremental improvements.

What type of work is DARPA looking to fund under this BAA?

This BAA is aimed at research and development that can credibly move beyond pure theory into workable technical approaches. Depending on the maturity of the proposed effort, that may include prototypes, demonstrations, or experimentally validated results. The unifying theme is meaningful capability change for national-security-relevant missions.

Is this opportunity focused on incremental upgrades or disruptive innovation?

The focus is on disruptive innovation. The announcement indicates DARPA is not primarily looking for incremental upgrades, but for concepts, technologies, and demonstrations that could substantially change what is possible in defense mission areas.

Which DARPA office is sponsoring this opportunity?

This opportunity is sponsored by DARPA's Strategic Technology Office (STO).

How broad is the technical scope of DARPA BAA 14-48?

The technical scope is intentionally broad and spans multiple STO focus areas. It is positioned as a broad entry point for strategic, defense-relevant technologies, rather than a narrow topic-specific solicitation.

What technical areas are explicitly included in the scope?

The announcement explicitly calls out the following areas: Battle Management, Command and Control (BMC2); Communications and Networks; Electronic Warfare; Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR); Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT); Maritime; and Foundational Strategic Technologies and Systems.

What does Battle Management, Command and Control (BMC2) cover in this context?

BMC2 generally covers how forces sense, decide, coordinate, and act in complex operational environments, especially when information is incomplete or contested.

What kinds of topics fall under Communications and Networks for this BAA?

The Communications and Networks area reflects needs for resilient connectivity and adaptive networking, including mission-relevant data movement in conditions where bandwidth and latency are constrained and where jamming, cyber threats, or infrastructure loss can make traditional approaches unreliable.

What does the Electronic Warfare focus area suggest DARPA is interested in?

Electronic Warfare as a focus area indicates interest in technologies that can operate effectively in contested electromagnetic environments. Examples described in the opportunity include systems that can detect, classify, protect against, or exploit electromagnetic effects while staying robust to interference and deception.

What does ISR mean here, and what is DARPA emphasizing?

ISR stands for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance. The opportunity points to collecting and processing information from diverse sensors and platforms, and extracting timely, actionable understanding from large volumes of data in dynamic settings.

What does PNT refer to, and what is the relevance to GPS-denied environments?

PNT stands for Position, Navigation, and Timing. The BAA indicates interest in alternatives or complements to GPS, resilient timing distribution, navigation in denied environments, and approaches that can detect or mitigate spoofing and jamming.

What does the Maritime focus area cover?

The Maritime area suggests technologies relevant to operations in or over the ocean, littorals, and related undersea or surface contexts. The description highlights themes such as sensing, communications, autonomy, and survivability considerations.

What are "Foundational Strategic Technologies and Systems" in this BAA?

This category is described as a home for enabling technologies: components, architectures, methods, and system-level innovations that can underpin multiple mission applications across the other areas.

What is the funding category and activity type for this opportunity?

The opportunity is categorized as discretionary. The activity category is science and technology and other research and development, and the CFDA listing is 12.910 (Research and Technology Development).

What kinds of award instruments may DARPA use under this BAA?

The BAA supports multiple instrument types, including cooperative agreements, grants, other procurement contracts, and similar arrangements. This mix signals flexibility in how awards may be structured based on the nature of the work, expected government involvement, and transition goals.

Does the announcement require cost sharing or matching funds?

No. The opportunity states there is no cost-sharing or matching requirement.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning it is broadly open to qualified applicants across organization types, subject to any clarifications in the full text of the announcement.

What does "unrestricted eligibility" mean in practical terms?

Based on the notice, unrestricted eligibility generally means industry (including large and small businesses), universities, nonprofit research organizations, and other capable entities may be able to propose. Teams and consortia may also be possible, as long as solicitation requirements are met.

When was this opportunity posted, and what were the closing dates?

The posting date was September 18, 2014. The original and current closing date was September 17, 2015. The archive date was October 17, 2015.

How long was the BAA open?

Based on the posted dates, it was open for about one year (from September 18, 2014 to September 17, 2015), which the notice characterizes as consistent with a rolling-style BAA window typical of DARPA solicitations.

Where can applicants find the full solicitation details?

The notice states the full solicitation is provided via an additional information link and references availability through FedBizOpps for DARPA BAA 14-48. The full solicitation is where the critical details would be found.

What kinds of details are typically found only in the full solicitation?

According to the notice, the full announcement would contain the specific technical interest areas, proposal structure, evaluation criteria, submission instructions, security or classification notes, export control considerations, and any deadlines for white papers versus full proposals if applicable.

Is this BAA limited to a single technical topic?

No. The scope is described as intentionally broad and spanning multiple STO focus areas.

Who should be contacted for access issues or problems retrieving the announcement?

The contact listed is the DARPA BAA 14-48 Coordinator. The notice specifically advises reaching out if there are problems retrieving the announcement electronically.

What is the overall purpose of this opportunity?

The opportunity is positioned as a broad entry point into DARPA STO funding for strategic, defense-relevant technologies across command and control, communications, electromagnetic-spectrum operations, sensing and ISR, resilient navigation and timing, maritime missions, and foundational systems that could enable new operational capabilities.