DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office (TTO) focuses on conceiving, designing, developing, and testing advanced technology platforms that provide U.S. forces with overwhelming tactical and strategic advantage, including vehicles, weapons, and other full-scale, potentially field-deployable systems. Whether designed to operate on the ground, at sea, in the air, in space or across domains, TTO platforms and supporting technologies have a common origin: as innovative ideas generated by program managers (PMs), companies, or individuals. TTO periodically hosts Proposers Days to describe the kinds of innovations it is most interested in and to hear from companies and individuals about their most exciting new ideas.
To provide access to a larger audience, TTO will host a Virtual Proposers Day on Wednesday and Thursday, May 3-4, 2017. Through pre-recorded videos on the web and opportunities for potential proposers to engage directly with TTO program managers through PM Meetings, the event is designed to provide information about TTO’s goals and interest areas and on how to submit proposals through the office’s upcoming Office-Wide Broad Agency Announcement (BAA). The BAA will call for executive summaries, white papers, and full proposals describing ideas for advanced research, development, and demonstration of innovative systems for military missions. Information is available at http://events.sa-meetings.com/2017TTOVirtualProposersDay.
“DARPA is not about the incremental. We’re interested in the disruptive,” said TTO Deputy Director Fred Kennedy. “If the Defense Department is moving down a certain tech development path, we’re actually happy to hear you say, ‘Wait a minute, we have a crazy idea—going off in a completely different direction could solve a number of problems.’ That’s the kind of compelling story we’re looking for and it’s going to get our attention, and—with an innovative approach and a strong proposal—a potential contract.”
The BAA will seek responses addressing the following Focus Areas:
- Ground Systems
- Maritime Systems
- Air Systems
- Space Systems
- Cross-Domain Systems (systems that address the “seams” between domains that potential adversaries may target)
In addition to these domains, the BAA focuses on cross-cutting capabilities to enhance TTO platform demonstrations. These include agile hardware and software development, autonomy, cross-domain collaboration, and cost inversion.