TTO Office Wide (OW) BAA 2025

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Tactical Technology Office is soliciting innovative proposals for research and development across four focus areas—Design/Build/Buy, Surge and Sustain, Long Range Effects, and Disruptive Innovation—with an Executive Summary due April 17, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. ET and Full Proposal due June 22, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. ET.

All responsible sources, including non-U.S. organizations, may submit subject to applicable export control laws and security regulations. University-Affiliated Research Centers and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers are highly discouraged from proposing unless they obtain written waivers from the point of contact. DARPA prohibits concurrent participation as both a Systems Engineering Technical Assistance provider and technical performer.

This BAA follows a mandatory two-stage submission process: proposers must submit an Executive Summary (two pages maximum, PDF or Word format, 1-inch margins, 12-point font) and receive a signed "Encourage Full Proposal" letter from DARPA within 45 calendar days before submitting a Full Proposal. Full Proposals are limited to 25 pages (Technical and Management Volume, excluding cover sheets, transmittal letters, tables of contents, resumes, references, and technical papers). The BAA is structured to fund multiple awards using various instruments: Procurement Contracts, Grants, Cooperative Agreements, and Other Transactions for Prototypes.

The four focus areas address distinct capability gaps: Design/Build/Buy emphasizes innovative design approaches, manufacturing processes, and testing validation to reduce production timelines; Surge and Sustain targets technologies for rapid replenishment and high-volume maintenance of military systems; Long Range Effects seeks systems enabling decisive military effects in anti-access/area-denial zones; and Disruptive Innovation pursues technologies that disrupt the tactical battlefield in non-obvious, rapidly fielded ways.

Evaluation prioritizes Overall Scientific and Technical Merit, Potential Contribution and Relevance to the DARPA Mission, and Cost Realism, with tailored evaluation questions for each focus area addressing quantitative scale, manufacturing agility, transition to end-users, production needs, adversary countermeasures, and disruption analysis. A Proposers Day is scheduled for October 1-2, 2025.

The opportunity operates under CFDA 12.910 (Research and Technology Development). Full proposals require completion of Attachments B (Proposal Instructions and Volume I Template), C (Cost Proposal Instructions and Volume II Template), D (DARPA Standard Cost Proposal Spreadsheet), and E (Classified Submission Instructions if applicable), along with mandatory forms including SF 424 R&R, biographical sketches, and budget documentation submitted through Grants.gov.