DARPA-SN-26-109.pdf

DARPA-SN-26-109 Fox Tail Industry Day

Special Notice (SN) DARPA-SN-26-109 Fox Tail

Industry Day August 31, 2026

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office (DSO) is sponsoring a collateral SECRET Industry Day to provide information to potential proposers on the objectives of an anticipated Program Solicitation (PS) for the Fox Tail program. The Industry Day will be held on August 31, 2026, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) in Arlington, VA. The event will not be webcast. Advance registration is required for attending the Industry Day. Note that all times listed in this announcement and on the registration website are Eastern Time.

The goals of the Fox Tail Industry Day are to: (1) introduce the cleared research community (industry, academia, and Government) to the Fox Tail program vision and goals; (2) explain the solicitation mechanics and milestones of this particular effort; and (3) encourage and promote teaming arrangements among potential organizations that have the relevant expertise, facilities, and capabilities for executing a research and development program responsive to the Fox Tail program goals.

DARPA anticipates releasing the Fox Tail PS in September 2026. The Fox Tail solicitation is expected to consist of an Unclassified PS with a collateral SECRET addendum. If released, the Unclassified PS will be available on https://sam.gov/ with instructions for requesting access to the Classified Addendum. Following the Industry Day, DARPA may make the classified presentation materials and the list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) available to eligible recipients.

PROGRAM OBJECTIVE AND DESCRIPTION

Fox Tail is soliciting innovative proposals in the general area of extreme-scale hydrodynamics, including, but not limited to, high amplitude wave propagation, very high Reynolds number flows, and abrupt phase changes. Proposed research should investigate innovative theoretical and computational modeling approaches relying on first principles-based closures of the governing laws of fluid motion under such conditions.

TEAMING

DARPA highly encourages teaming before proposal submission and will facilitate the formation of teams with the necessary expertise. Potential proposers may choose to participate in either, none, or both of the following options:

1. Attendee List (limited distribution): Participant contact information (name, organization, email address) will be distributed to all other Fox Tail Industry Day attendees. The registration website will ask registrants to indicate whether they approve distribution of their contact information.

2. Proposer Profile List (limited distribution): Interested parties will submit a one-page unclassified profile consisting of their contact information (name, organization, email, telephone number, mailing address, and, if applicable, organization website), a brief description of their technical competencies, and, if applicable, their desired expertise from other teams/organizations. All profiles must be unclassified and emailed to https://sam.gov/

FoxTail@darpa.mil no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on September 3, 2026. Following the deadline, the consolidated teaming profiles will be sent via email to the proposers who submitted a valid profile. Specific content, communications, networking, and team formation are the sole responsibility of the participants. Neither DARPA nor the Department of War (DoW) endorses the information and organizations contained in the consolidated teaming profile document, nor does DARPA or DoW exercise any responsibility for improper dissemination of the teaming profiles.

LIGHTNING TALKS

Attendees may be afforded the opportunity to give a Lightning Talk (a brief, 5-minute oral presentation) outlining their interests and capabilities. The purpose of these presentations is to facilitate teaming discussions among the attendees. Upon registering, attendees may indicate if they would like to give a Lightning Talk. Due to limited availability, DARPA will accept submissions on a first-come, first-served basis and does not guarantee that an attendee’s requests to brief will be fulfilled. Submitted briefing materials should use the template provided via the registration website and are limited to a single, unclassified PDF-format slide, which should be appropriate for public release, as they will be shared with the Industry Day participants. While the submitted materials must be unclassified, accompanying voice track may be up to the collateral SECRET level. The slide must be submitted to FoxTail@darpa.mil by 5:00 p.m. ET on August 24, 2026.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

The Fox Tail Industry Day will be held on August 31, 2026, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET in Arlington, VA. There is no registration fee for the Industry Day meeting.

Registration opens: As of publication of this announcement.

Registration website: https://events.sa-meetings.com/FoxTailIndustryDay/ Registration closes: August 24, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. ET or when capacity is reached, whichever comes first.

Advance registration via the above website is required for attending the Industry Day in person. There will be no on-site registration. Attendees should send visit requests, security clearances, and other applicable documents to the points of contact listed below in the Eligibility section prior to the close of registration listed above.

Due to the limitations of the conference facility space, attendance is restricted to the first 100 registrants with a maximum of three (3) individuals from any one organization and no more than two (2) representatives per division/department of that organization. The determination of what constitutes an organization and division/department will be made by the DARPA Program Manager. Registration may close prior to the registration deadline if the venue capacity if met. As a result, if any change to the registration deadline is made, it will be captured in an update to the registration website. Interested parties are encouraged to coordinate attendance internally within their organizations prior to registration. Virtual attendance will not be allowed; there will be no webcast associated with this Industry Day.

Registrants in excess of the maximum capacity limitations may be added to a waitlist.

Individuals who are unable to register for attendance because the deadline has passed or capacity has been reached may have the option of choosing to be added to the waitlist. If slots become available due to cancellations, the slots may be filled on a first come, first mailto:FoxTail@darpa.mil mailto:FoxTail@darpa.mil https://events.sa-meetings.com/FoxTailIndustryDay/ served basis from the waitlist.

ELIGIBILITY

The Fox Tail Industry Day registration is open to potential proposers who are U.S. citizens and have at minimum a final (i.e., not interim) collateral SECRET DoD security clearance.

Interim collateral SECRET DoD security clearance will not be accepted. No persons will be allowed to participate in the Industry Day without a collateral SECRET visit request on file by 5:00 PM ET on August 24, 2026 with the event venue.

For collateral-level visits, please fax your clearance/visit request to Strategic Analysis, Inc. at

(703) 527-5445. Via DISS, the requesting Facility Security Officer (FSO) may send a visit request using the SMO Code: 44609. The Meeting POC is Jamie Pilot (jpilot@sainc.com) and the Security POC is Carl Clayton 571-237-7604. The purpose statement is “To attend the DARPA Fox Tail Industry Day on August 31, 2026.” For clearance receipt/verification, please email jpilot@sainc.com. Clearances must be received by 5:00 p.m. ET on August 24, 2026.

Q & A Unclassified administrative, technical, and contractual questions about Fox Tail should be emailed to Fox Tail@darpa.mil. All questions must be in English and must include the name and email address of a point of contact. Following Industry Day, DARPA may post an unclassified FAQ list on the DARPA website. Do not email classified questions to FoxTail@darpa.mil. Please refer to the Fox Tail Industry Day in all correspondence.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Please refer to the Fox Tail Industry Day in all UNCLASSIFIED correspondence.

• Technical Point of Contact: Carlo Scalo, Program Manager, FoxTail@darpa.mil

• Registration Website: https://events.sa-meetings.com/FoxTailIndustryDay/

• DARPA Opportunities Website: https://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/opportunities

DISCLAIMERS AND IMPORTANT NOTES

Attendance at the Fox Tail Industry Day is voluntary and is not required to propose to the anticipated Fox Tail PS. Interested parties to this notice are cautioned that nothing herein obligates the Government to issue a solicitation. The Industry Day does not constitute a formal solicitation for proposals or abstracts. This announcement is issued solely for information and program planning purposes and is not a Request for Information (RFI). Since this is not a RFI, the Government will not accept submissions against this notice, with the exception of the one-page profile referenced in the Teaming section above and briefing materials associated with Lightning Talks. No classified or International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)-controlled information should be included in materials submitted in support of the unclassified Lightning Talks. Inclusion of proprietary information during Lightning Talks is at the presenter’s discretion. DARPA will not provide reimbursement for costs incurred to participate in this Industry Day. Recording Industry Day is not permitted.

For those new to DARPA or national security, DARPA makes available a free, comprehensive “DARPA 101” resource via DARPAConnect on how to do business with the agency. Registration and access are free at www.darpaconnect.us.

mailto:jpilot@sainc.com mailto:jpilot@sainc.com mailto:Fox%20Tail@darpa.mil mailto:FoxTail@darpa.mil mailto:FoxTail@darpa.mil https://events.sa-meetings.com/FoxTailIndustryDay/ https://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/opportunities http://www.darpaconnect.us/