In the trenchesMaintaining U.S. “overwhelming technological advantage” over adversaries

DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office (TTO) creates advanced platforms, weapons, and space systems to help preserve U.S. military superiority through overwhelming technological advantage. Constantly evolving technologies, however, along with shifting soldier mission requirements and limited budgets, mean TTO must always seek new ways to leverage innovation while fulfilling its duties. 

To help address these challenges, TTO is planning by mid-April 2013 to release a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) calling for Innovative Systems for Military Missions. A DARPA release reports that innovative systems often incorporate emerging advanced technologies and must show significant promise to revolutionize U.S. military capabilities, significantly augment mission effectiveness, or substantially reduce system costs and inefficiencies.

“We’re looking for potentially huge leaps forward from the existing state of the art, not incremental improvements,” said TTO director Brad Tousley. “We want to work with innovative risk-takers, including nontraditional and traditional, large and small contractors, and research/academic institutions. For qualified systems developers who have always wanted to work with DARPA, this is the opportunity to learn how.”

To support the BAA and familiarize potential participants with TTO’s technical objectives, DARPA will host its first-ever TTO Office-Wide Proposers’ Day on Tuesday, 23 April 2013, and Wednesday, 24 April 2013. Advance registration is required. Registration closes on Friday, 5 April 2013 at 4 p.m. EDT.

The Proposers’ Day will educate potential contributors about TTO’s entire portfolio, instead of about one specific program. The events are designed to improve two-way communication and collaboration with key communities, foster interdisciplinary innovation and ultimately make agency programs even more successful.

On the second day, attendees can schedule 1-on-1 meetings with DARPA program managers to acquire insights about working with the agency. After the event, attendees will have access to a list of registrant contact information to facilitate dialogue among interested parties.

TTO seeks contributors in the following focus areas:

• Ground Systems: Soldier/Squad Technologies, Combat Vehicles and Tactical Operations in Urban Environments
• Maritime Systems: Surface and Subsurface Technologies
• Air Systems: Novel Air Vehicles
• Space Systems: Spacecraft Technologies, Space Situational Awareness, Systems for Access and Hypersonic Airframes

“We envision a holistic overhaul of dismounted infantry and increasing the reach and protection of vital assets at sea,” Tousley said. “We want to push the envelope in all dimensions for air systems. We want to expand space operations while helping them become as routine, accessible and cost-effective as air operations.”

TTO is particularly interested in engaging contributors with experience in systems engineering, manned-unmanned teaming and autonomous systems. Such proposals should address rapid experimentation, iteration and demonstration of prototypes in real-world situations.

See the DARPA Special Notice announcing the Proposers’ Day and describing the specific capabilities sought.