The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office (DSO) has released its annual Office-wide Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), inviting research proposals that could lead to transformative advances in science, technology, and systems relevant to national security. Through this solicitation, DSO is seeking revolutionary, high-risk, high-reward ideas, not incremental advancements of existing or ongoing DARPA programs. While DSO welcomes any proposal that aligns with its mission, applicants are strongly encouraged to align their proposal to DSO’s four technical thrust areas: Materials, Manufacturing, and Structures; Sensing, Measuring, and Affecting; Math, Computation, and Processing; or Complex, Dynamic, and Intelligent Systems.
Multiple awards with varying amounts are anticipated and can take the form of procurement contracts, cooperative agreements, or other transaction agreements. Similar to the review process that DARPA has adopted for other awards, including prior DSO BAAs, all personnel proposed on a project will be assessed for security risks and vulnerability to undue influence. The BAA remains on a rolling basis through June 2, 2026. More details can be found in the Lewis-Burke Report.
June 6, 2025