Opportunity Information: Apply for DARPA BAA 16 18
Apply for DARPA BAA 16 18
- The DOD-DARPA-STO in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Strategic Technologies" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.910.
- This funding opportunity was created on Dec 23, 2015 and posted on Dec 23, 2015.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Dec 21, 2016. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.
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Opportunity Summary:
DARPA's Strategic Technology Office (STO) solicitation, titled Strategic Technologies (DARPA BAA 16-18), is a broad agency announcement aimed at finding high-risk, high-payoff research ideas that could lead to major leaps in U.S. defense capabilities. The emphasis is on disruptive concepts rather than incremental upgrades, with DARPA explicitly looking for proposals that could produce revolutionary advances in underlying science, new devices, or entirely new system-level approaches. The opportunity is structured to support a limited number of awards, reflecting DARPA's typical approach of funding a small set of ambitious efforts with the potential to change what is technically possible.
The technical scope is intentionally wide and aligned to STO focus areas. Topics include Battle Management, Command and Control (BMC2), meaning technologies that improve how forces plan, coordinate, and execute operations in complex environments. It also includes Communications and Networks, covering resilient connectivity, contested communications, and networking approaches that can survive disruption or adversary interference. Electronic Warfare is another central area, pointing to technologies that can sense, protect, deceive, or deny within the electromagnetic spectrum. Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) is included as well, encompassing sensing, collection, processing, and exploitation methods that could significantly increase awareness and decision advantage. Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) indicates interest in alternatives or complements to GPS, as well as robust timing and navigation in denied or degraded environments. Maritime technologies are within scope, suggesting new capabilities for undersea, surface, or littoral operations. Finally, the solicitation highlights Foundational Strategic Technologies and Systems, which is a catch-all for enabling breakthroughs that can underpin multiple mission areas, such as new architectures, materials, algorithms, sensors, or system concepts that could translate into wide defense impact.
A key constraint is what DARPA does not want. The announcement specifically excludes existing mature solutions, meaning proposals centered on already-developed products, near-commercial systems, or straightforward engineering integration are unlikely to be competitive. It also excludes research that only delivers evolutionary improvements, such as modest performance tuning, incremental range increases, or small efficiency gains to established approaches. The expectation is that proposed work will explore fundamentally different methods or new principles that could yield step-change performance, new operational concepts, or entirely new capability categories.
From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary funding opportunity under CFDA 12.910, issued by DOD-DARPA-STO. The program allows multiple award instruments depending on what fits the effort, including cooperative agreements, grants, procurement contracts, and other mechanisms. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning it is broadly open to a wide range of applicants (industry, universities, nonprofits, federally funded research and development centers, and other entities), subject to any additional eligibility clarifications in the full announcement. The opportunity was posted on December 23, 2015, and the listed closing date is December 21, 2016. The notice does not provide an award ceiling or an expected number of awards in the provided data, but it does state that DARPA anticipates funding only a limited number of proposals, consistent with highly selective, breakthrough-oriented BAAs.
In practical terms, the most responsive proposals to this BAA would clearly articulate a disruptive technical hypothesis, explain why it could outperform existing methods by a wide margin, and lay out a credible research plan that can reduce key technical risks. Competitive submissions typically connect the technical novelty to operational relevance in one or more STO areas while still being grounded in measurable research outcomes, such as demonstrations, prototypes, experiments, or validated models that show the approach can plausibly scale into a future capability.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is this DARPA STO opportunity?
This opportunity is DARPA's Strategic Technology Office (STO) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) titled Strategic Technologies (DARPA BAA 16-18). It is designed to identify high-risk, high-payoff research ideas that could lead to major leaps in U.S. defense capabilities.
What kind of research is DARPA looking for under this BAA?
DARPA is seeking disruptive concepts rather than incremental upgrades. The solicitation emphasizes proposals that could produce revolutionary advances in underlying science, enable new devices, or introduce entirely new system-level approaches that can change what is technically possible.
How is a BAA different from a typical product-focused funding opportunity?
Based on the description provided, this BAA is not oriented around buying finished products. Instead, it focuses on research ideas with the potential for breakthrough impact. Proposals centered on mature or near-commercial solutions are specifically described as unlikely to be competitive.
What are the main technical topic areas included in the scope?
The technical scope is intentionally wide and aligned to STO focus areas. The topics called out include:
- Battle Management, Command and Control (BMC2)
- Communications and Networks
- Electronic Warfare
- Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR)
- Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT)
- Maritime technologies (undersea, surface, or littoral)
- Foundational Strategic Technologies and Systems (enabling breakthroughs spanning multiple mission areas)
What does DARPA mean by Battle Management, Command and Control (BMC2) in this announcement?
In this BAA, BMC2 refers to technologies that improve how forces plan, coordinate, and execute operations in complex environments.
What does "Communications and Networks" cover here?
It includes research aimed at resilient connectivity, contested communications, and networking approaches that can survive disruption or adversary interference.
What does the Electronic Warfare topic area include?
Electronic Warfare in this solicitation points to technologies that can sense, protect, deceive, or deny within the electromagnetic spectrum.
What does ISR mean in this BAA?
Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) includes sensing, collection, processing, and exploitation methods intended to significantly increase awareness and create decision advantage.
What does Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) focus on?
PNT indicates interest in alternatives or complements to GPS and approaches that enable robust timing and navigation in denied or degraded environments.
What types of maritime technologies are within scope?
The BAA includes maritime technologies that suggest new capabilities for undersea, surface, or littoral operations.
What are "Foundational Strategic Technologies and Systems" in this context?
This area is described as a broad enabling category for breakthroughs that can underpin multiple mission areas, including (as examples mentioned) new architectures, materials, algorithms, sensors, or system concepts that could translate into wide defense impact.
What kinds of proposals are specifically discouraged or excluded?
The announcement explicitly excludes:
- Existing mature solutions (already-developed products, near-commercial systems, or straightforward engineering integration)
- Research that only delivers evolutionary improvements (modest performance tuning, incremental range increases, or small efficiency gains to established approaches)
Does DARPA want incremental improvements if they are well-engineered and low risk?
No. The provided description emphasizes that incremental or evolutionary improvements are excluded. The expectation is that proposed work explores fundamentally different methods or new principles leading to step-change performance or entirely new capability categories.
How competitive is this opportunity?
It is described as highly selective. DARPA anticipates funding only a limited number of proposals, consistent with its typical approach of supporting a small set of ambitious efforts.
Who is the issuing organization for this solicitation?
The solicitation is issued by DOD-DARPA-STO (Department of Defense, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Strategic Technology Office).
Is this a discretionary funding opportunity?
Yes. The description states it is a discretionary funding opportunity.
What is the CFDA number associated with this opportunity?
The CFDA number listed is 12.910.
What types of award instruments may be used?
The program allows multiple award instruments depending on what fits the effort, including:
- Cooperative agreements
- Grants
- Procurement contracts
- Other mechanisms
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning it is broadly open to a wide range of applicants (including industry, universities, nonprofits, federally funded research and development centers, and other entities), subject to any additional clarifications in the full announcement.
When was this opportunity posted?
The opportunity was posted on December 23, 2015.
What is the closing date for the opportunity?
The listed closing date is December 21, 2016.
Is there an award ceiling or a stated expected number of awards?
The provided data does not list an award ceiling or an expected number of awards. It does state that DARPA anticipates funding only a limited number of proposals.
What would a strong, responsive proposal look like based on the description?
The most responsive proposals are described as those that:
- Clearly articulate a disruptive technical hypothesis
- Explain why it could outperform existing methods by a wide margin
- Present a credible research plan to reduce key technical risks
- Connect technical novelty to operational relevance in one or more STO areas
- Include measurable research outcomes such as demonstrations, prototypes, experiments, or validated models
Does DARPA require measurable outcomes or demonstrations?
The description indicates that competitive submissions are grounded in measurable outcomes, such as demonstrations, prototypes, experiments, or validated models, to show the approach can plausibly scale into a future capability.
Do proposals need to tie to operational relevance?
Yes. The description notes that competitive submissions typically connect technical novelty to operational relevance in one or more STO areas, while still remaining grounded in measurable research outcomes.
What is the overall goal of the solicitation?
The goal is to uncover ambitious research efforts that could yield step-change performance, new operational concepts, or entirely new capability categories that would translate into major leaps in U.S. defense capabilities.
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