Bid document

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Agency-Wide Announcement
Research Solutions Opening

DARPA-PA-26-08

June 2, 2026
This publication also constitutes a long-term open call following and satisfying the competitive requirements of 10 U.S.C. § 4001 and § 4021. Any resulting award negotiations will comply with applicable laws, regulations, and statutes, as specified in the Research Solutions Opening.

DARPA-PA-26-08

1. VISION

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is an independent research and development agency within the U.S. Department of War (DoW). Established in response to the launch of Sputnik in 1957, DARPA stands as our Nation’s commitment to never again face a strategic technical surprise. Working with innovators across government, academia, and industry, DARPA has repeatedly delivered on its mission by transforming seemingly impossible ideas into world-changing defense and U.S. national security capabilities. Many DARPA innovations have also become foundational to modern civilian life.
DARPA’s mission is to create and prevent technological surprise for U.S. national security. The Agency achieves this by fostering a dynamic innovation ecosystem that engages government, academic, and industry partners. By cultivating a high-performance environment, DARPA empowers its collaborators to move rapidly, pursue bold ideas, and deliver transformative outcomes.
From transforming communications through the internet to revolutionizing prosthetics, DARPA’s work has altered the trajectory of modern life. These breakthroughs are the result of deliberate acts of intellectual audacity, forged at the intersection of research excellence, strategic foresight, and national purpose. DARPA convenes leading scientists, engineers, and technical experts from academia, industry, and government to confront the Nation’s hardest problems—those with no clear solutions, only bold hypotheses and the determination to explore them. Behind every breakthrough is a thinker who refused to accept limits. The question is not whether it can be done. The question is, will you be the one who does it?
This Research Solutions Opening (RSO) aims to strengthen the DARPA Program Manager (PM) community by engaging academic researchers capable of addressing DARPA's hard problems. PMs that are passionate about tackling the most complex technical challenges, pushing the boundaries of science and technology, and shaping the future of defense and innovation. Together, through this effort, we will pioneer revolutionary solutions, foster interdisciplinary