DARPA-SN-26-28.pdf

DARPA-SN-26-28 CLARA Information Session Webcast

Special Notice (SN) DARPA-SN-26-28 Compositional Learning-And-Reasoning for AI Complex Systems Engineering (CLARA)

Disruption Opportunity (DO) Information Session February 19, 2026

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office (DSO) is sponsoring an Information Session webcast to provide information to potential proposers on the objectives of an anticipated Compositional Learning-And-Reasoning for AI Complex Systems Engineering (CLARA) Disruption Opportunity (DO). The Information Session will be held via webcast on February 19, 2026, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Time). Advance registration is required for viewing the webcast. Note that all times listed in this announcement and on the registration website are Eastern Time.

The goals of the CLARA DO Information Session are to: (1) introduce the research community (industry, academia, and government) to the CLARA DO vision and goals; and

(2) explain the mechanics of a DARPA DO and the milestones of this particular effort.

DARPA anticipates releasing the CLARA DO in February 2026. If released, it will be available on https://sam.gov/. After the Information Session, DARPA may post the presented materials to the DARPA website.

Disruption Opportunities are released as Solicitation Notices under the Disruptioneering Program Announcement (DARPA-PA-25-07) and are rapid, targeted, limited-scope investments as part of an overall balanced portfolio. The Disruptioneering Program Announcement enables DARPA to initiate a new investment in less than 120 calendar days from idea inception.1

PROGRAM OBJECTIVE AND DESCRIPTION

CLARA is an exploratory fundamental research program that aims to create high assurance, broadly applicable AI systems of systems. This will be accomplished by creating a scientific, theory-driven architectural foundation for the hierarchical composition of a wide variety of both Machine Learning (ML) and Automated Reasoning (AR, also known as Knowledge Representation and Reasoning) subsystems. CLARA seeks to create a foundation that is algorithmic, highly reusable, and (computationally) scalable. AI systems of systems means systems that are hierarchically composed of constituent subsystems that employ ML and AR techniques and contain ML and AR models whose outputs are composed to create the overall system response. Assurance here means verifiability with strong explainability to humans, based on automated logical proofs and hierarchical, vetted logic building blocks.

All awards resulting from the CLARA DO and issued under the Disruptioneering Program Announcement will be Other Transactions (OTs) for prototype projects awarded under the authority of 10 U.S.C. § 4022. Potential proposers are highly encouraged to review Section 7 of the Disruptioneering Program Announcement for information on who may be eligible to respond to a Disruption Opportunity. The Disruptioneering Program Announcement is available on SAM.gov under solicitation number DARPA-PA-25-07 (https://sam.gov/opp/bae5fa32f4ee4cdb9a070a14309b2c66/view).

1 For the purposes of this Special Notice, “idea inception” is defined as the date an individual Solicitation Notice (Disruption Opportunity) is posted to https://sam.gov.

https://sam.gov/ https://sam.gov/opp/bae5fa32f4ee4cdb9a070a14309b2c66/view https://sam.gov/

Potential proposers may choose to share their information with other registrants via 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 CLARA Information Session attendees. The registration website will ask registrants to indicate whether they approve distribution of their contact information.

2. Proposer Profile (limited distribution): Information session registrants interested in discovering collaboration opportunities for this announcement may submit a one-page profile. The proposer’s profile should include 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 emailed to CLARA@darpa.mil no later than 4:00 p.m. on February 23, 2026. After this deadline, the consolidated Proposer Profile will be sent via email to Information Session registrants who submitted a valid profile for distribution. Specific content, communications, networking, and team formation are the sole responsibility of the participants. Neither DARPA nor the Department of Defense (DoD) endorse the information and organizations contained in the consolidated Proposer Profile document, nor does DARPA or DoD exercise any responsibility for improper dissemination of the Proposer Profile.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

The CLARA DO Information Session will be webcast on February 19, 2026, from 1:00 p.m.

to 4:00 p.m. There is no registration fee for the Information Session webcast.

Registration opens: As of publication of this announcement.

Registration website: https://events.sa-meetings.com/CLARAInformationSession Registration closes: February 11, 2026, at noon or when capacity is reached, whichever comes first.

Advance registration via the above website is required in order to receive access to the webcast and is mandatory for every individual intending to view the webcast alone or as part of a group.

Registrants in excess of the maximum capacity limitations (350 individuals) may be added to a waitlist. Individuals who are unable to register because the deadline has passed may request to be added to the waitlist. If slots become available due to cancellations, the slots may be filled on a first-come, first-served basis from the waitlist.

ELIGIBILITY

DARPA is hosting this Information Session to: (1) provide potential proposers with information on whether and how they might respond to the government’s research and development solicitations; and (2) increase efficiency in proposal preparation and evaluation.

Therefore, this event is only open to registered potential proposers, i.e., the events are closed to the general public and media. In addition, for this DO, Information Session registration is open to potential proposers who are U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents, and foreign nationals.

mailto:CLARA@darpa.mil https://events.sa-meetings.com/CLARAInformationSession

All registrants who are not U.S. citizens must complete and submit either a DARPA Form 60 (U.S. Permanent Resident and Foreign National Visit Request – e.g., industry or academia) or an Official Visit Request (for foreign government personnel, only) through their country’s embassy based in Washington, DC, no later than noon on February 11, 2026. Form 60 submission instructions are provided on the registration website and in the registration confirmation email. Registrants who have submitted a Form 60 that was approved within the last six months do not need to re-submit. The Form 60 will remain valid for six months.

Contact your Embassy staff for assistance in submitting the Official Visit Request.

Q & A Administrative, technical, and contractual questions about the CLARA DO should be emailed to CLARA@darpa.mil. All questions must be in English and must include the name and email address of a point of contact. Following the Information Session, DARPA may post an FAQ list on the DARPA website.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Please refer to the CLARA Information Session in all correspondence.

Technical Point of Contact: Benjamin Grosof, Program Manager, CLARA@darpa.mil

Registration Website: https://events.sa-meetings.com/CLARAInformationSession

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

DISCLAIMERS AND IMPORTANT NOTES

Viewing the CLARA DO Information Session webcast is voluntary and is not required to propose to the anticipated CLARA solicitation. Interested parties to this notice are cautioned that nothing herein obligates the Government to issue a solicitation. The Information Session 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 an RFI, the Government will not accept submissions against this notice, with the exception of the one-page profile referenced above. No classified, International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) controlled, or proprietary information shall be presented by the Government at the Information Session. DARPA will not provide reimbursement for costs incurred to participate in this Information Session. Recording the Information Session webcast is not permitted.

For those new to DARPA or national security, DARPA makes available a free, comprehensive resource via DARPAConnect on how to do business with the agency. In addition to DARPA 101 materials, relevant preparatory modules include “Making the Most of a Proposers Day” and “Understanding DARPA Broad Agency Announcements.” Registration and access are free at www.darpaconnect.us.

mailto:CLARA@darpa.mil mailto:CLARA@darpa.mil https://events.sa-meetings.com/CLARAInformationSession https://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/opportunities http://www.darpaconnect.us/