Solicitation
Liquid Surge
Department of Defense · Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
AI summaryAbstract step first: an abstract is due November 3, 2026, 4:00 PM Eastern, and the announcement says a proposal without a conforming abstract is removed from consideration; full proposals are due December 14, 2026, 4:00 PM Eastern. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office wants a prototype measurement system and a computer prediction tool for shock waves in liquids (the "Liquid Surge" program), awarded as an Other Transaction (OT) for Prototype: a flexible agreement that is not a standard federal contract. The award is a 9-month Phase 1 base plus a 9-month Phase 2 option, with total value limited to $995,000. More in the summary
AI summary Beta
This summary may miss requirements: 1 of 3 attachments weren't read (Liquid_Surge_Streamlined_Cost_Buildup_Workbook.xlsx). Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
Abstract step first: an abstract is due November 3, 2026, 4:00 PM Eastern, and the announcement says a proposal without a conforming abstract is removed from consideration; full proposals are due December 14, 2026, 4:00 PM Eastern. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office wants a prototype measurement system and a computer prediction tool for shock waves in liquids (the "Liquid Surge" program), awarded as an Other Transaction (OT) for Prototype: a flexible agreement that is not a standard federal contract. The award is a 9-month Phase 1 base plus a 9-month Phase 2 option, with total value limited to $995,000.
Who can bid
- A conforming abstract must be submitted by November 3, 2026, 4:00 PM Eastern before you can send a proposal. The abstract template says abstracts are not required, so confirm with DARPA.
- Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Level 1 self-assessment, a basic level for protecting Federal Contract Information, for primes and subcontractors.
- FFRDCs, UARCs, government entities and National Laboratories cannot propose as the prime; a proposal submitted directly by them may be deemed non-conforming and not evaluated.
How to submit: Upload to the DARPA Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Portal at https://baa.darpa.mil as one zip file; email submissions are not accepted for abstracts. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (10)
From the version posted Oct 14, 2026.
- Serious: Abstract required before a proposal: due November 3, 2026. A business that skips the abstract step may be shut out, because proposals without a conforming abstract are removed from consideration.
- Serious: Abstract rule conflicts: required in the announcement, not required in the template. The announcement calls the abstract phase required, while the Abstract Template says submitting an abstract is not required; ask DARPA at LiquidSurge@darpa.mil which governs, and submit an abstract to be safe.
- Worth checking: Research prototype work with demanding accuracy metrics. The work needs a lab shock-wave rig, physics-based computer modeling and proof against accuracy targets, which suits research labs and specialist firms; DARPA may remove proposals that do not show how they can meet or approach the metrics.
Show all 10Show fewer
- Worth checking: Phase 2 is an option with a go/no-go decision at month 9. Only Phase 1 is committed; the second 9 months and its $445,000 depend on DARPA's decision, and meeting the metrics does not guarantee a follow-on award.
- Worth checking: Government Purpose Rights and no blocking of background intellectual property. DARPA wants at least Government Purpose Rights (use by the Government and others for government purposes) on what is built, and will not accept limits on background IP that block transition, which can be a problem for firms with proprietary technology.
- Worth checking: Award terms come from a sample OT agreement. Unless you send tracked-change edits, DARPA treats you as accepting the sample agreement's terms, so read it before submitting.
- Worth checking: Registrations can take up to a month. A new DARPA BAA Portal account and a SAM Unique Entity ID (UEI) registration can take from one business day to one month, so they must be done before the abstract and proposal can be submitted. Check a SAM.gov registration.
- Worth checking: Evaluation criteria and proposal format are in a separate announcement. Section 5 (format) and Section 6 (evaluation) of DARPA-PA-25-07 govern, and are not in the documents read for this brief.
- Minor: Upload must be finalized before the deadline. A submission that is not finalized in the portal with time for the upload to finish counts as late.
- Minor: Possible publication restrictions. If DARPA treats the work as non-fundamental research, the awardee may need DARPA permission before publishing results.
Read from the notice and 2 attachments. 1 of 3 not read. Show which files.
- DARPA-PA-25-07-05.pdf (read)
- Liquid_Surge_Abstract_Template.docx (read)
- Liquid_Surge_Streamlined_Cost_Buildup_Workbook.xlsx: not read (the AI doesn't read this file type yet): open it on SAM.gov
Full summary
What they want
- Build prototype wave diagnostic hardware that measures fast pressure waves in pressurized liquids under controlled conditions (Thrust (a): experimental diagnostics and validation)
- Build a standalone physics-based computer tool that predicts the full shock profile of a wave from the starting fluid state, able to run on commonly available high-performance computers (Thrust (b)); both thrusts must be in the same proposal
- Phase 1 Feasibility Study (9 months, base): fixed payable milestones at months 1, 3, 6 and 9, with a go/no-go decision at month 9
- Phase 2 Proof of Concept (9 months, option): fixed payable milestones at months 12, 15 and 18, including double the maximum shock intensity and final accuracy demonstration
- Meet the accuracy metrics in the announcement's table (measurement accuracy and prediction error at 9 and 18 months)
- Deliver reports, including a mid-program (9 month) and final (18 month) report on how well the experiments and computer predictions agree, plus tabulated shock-jump data for sea water
- Deliver the prediction code and draft then final technical drawings and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the hardware and the tool
- Take part in a kick-off meeting, monthly teleconferences, virtual principal investigator (PI) meetings every 3 months and in-person meetings and site visits
- Contract type
- Other Transaction (OT) for Prototype project, with fixed payable milestones
- Period of performance
- Phase 1 base of 9 months plus Phase 2 option of 9 months (no more than 18 months combined); planned program start February 15, 2027
- Estimated value
- Ceiling, not a Government estimate: total award value for Phase 1 plus Phase 2 is limited to $995,000 (Phase 1 up to $550,000, Phase 2 up to $445,000), including any cost share
- Contract vehicle
- DARPA Program Announcement for Disruptioneering, DARPA-PA-25-07 (this is Disruption Opportunity DARPA-PA-25-07-05)
- Offers due
- December 14, 2026, 4:00 PM Eastern
- How to submit
- Upload to the DARPA Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Portal at https://baa.darpa.mil as one zip file; email submissions are not accepted for abstracts
- Page limits
- Abstract: 2 pages (1-page cover sheet plus 1-page technical description). Proposal page limits are in Section 5 of DARPA-PA-25-07, which was not read.
What to include when you submit
- Submit a conforming abstract first, by November 3, 2026, 4:00 PM Eastern, on the Abstract Template: a cover sheet plus a technical description answering four questions on what the work does, how it is done today, what is new, and who cares and what the impact is. Use 8-1/2 by 11 inch pages, 1-inch margins, 12-point font, in PDF or Word.
- Proposals must follow the format in Section 5 of DARPA-PA-25-07, use the templates attached to that announcement, and use the Streamlined Cost Buildup Workbook (an Excel price workbook) that comes with this opportunity.
- Cover both phases: a Phase 1 Feasibility Study (base) and a Phase 2 Proof of Concept (option), and address both thrusts (experimental diagnostics and the prediction tool) in the same proposal. Proposals must be unclassified.
- Price Volume (Volume 2): complete the Schedule of Milestones and Payments tab of the Streamlined Cost Buildup Workbook, addressing each fixed payable milestone.
- Use the Task Description Document template from DARPA-PA-25-07 (it becomes Attachment 1 of the OT agreement).
- Explicitly address each metric in the metrics table with a detailed technical justification, including quantitative projections or first-order calculations.
- Include in the schedule and costs: an in-person program kick-off meeting, monthly teleconferences, at least one in-person progress report at DARPA per phase, and at least one site visit per phase by the DARPA Program Manager. No conferences or overseas travel are paid by DARPA.
- State whether the proposed research is fundamental research (open publication) or not, and explain it for any subawardee's part as well.
- State Intellectual Property assertions in the Volume 3 template (Administrative and National Policy Requirements) from DARPA-PA-25-07; DARPA expects at least Government Purpose Rights on deliverables developed with DARPA or mixed funding.
- Review the Disruptioneering OT sample agreement. You may send a copy with tracked-change edits; if you send none, DARPA assumes you accept its terms.
- If a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), University Affiliated Research Center (UARC), government entity or National Laboratory is proposed as a subcontractor, define its role and a point of contact in the technical proposal, give a rough order of magnitude cost in the technical proposal only, and keep its funding out of the price proposal. A UARC also needs an organizational conflict of interest (OCI) mitigation plan.
- Upload as one zip file (.zip or .zipx) of no more than 100 MB containing only requested, unclassified documents, and click Finalize in time for the upload to complete before the deadline.
After award, you must have
- Foreign nationals working on the project, including the PI and students, are screened and registered through DARPA if the proposal is selected for award negotiation. From DARPA-PA-25-07-05.pdf:
All foreign nationals working on DARPA projects are subject to screening, to include the PI…
Not in the notice text
- Evaluation criteria (Section 6), proposal format and page limits (Section 5), eligibility (Section 7) and the sample OT agreement are in the Program Announcement DARPA-PA-25-07 on SAM.gov (https://sam.gov/opp/ab7b4ecf5cbd4225ae1ebe16e22a8330/view), which was not read; the Streamlined Cost Buildup Workbook (an Excel file) was also not read.
- How the award will be decided and which factors are scored.
- Page limits for the full proposal.
- Whether an abstract is required or optional, since the announcement and the Abstract Template disagree.
- Place of performance is not stated.
- Set-aside status is not stated on SAM.gov and none appears in the documents.
Eligibility and how to respond
- No set-aside: any business, large or small, can bid unless the notice says otherwise.
- How to submit, from the AI summary: Upload to the DARPA Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Portal at https://baa.darpa.mil as one zip file; email submissions are not accepted for abstracts. Check it in the notice before you send anything.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 14, 2026
- Notice type
- Solicitation
- Office
- Def Advanced Research Projects Agcy, Arlington, VA
- Product/service code
- AC12 · National Defense R&D Services; Department of Defense – Military; Applied Research
- Business type
- Engineering, architecture & research (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 541715)
- Versions
12 versions have been posted. The newest 5 are listed, newest first.
- Oct 14, 2026 · Amendment (this version)Due Dec 14, 2026 (changed)
- Sep 25, 2026 · AmendmentDue Oct 30, 2026
- Sep 11, 2026 · AmendmentDue Oct 30, 2026 (changed)
- Aug 19, 2026 · AmendmentDue Sep 29, 2026
- Sep 30, 2025 · SolicitationDue Sep 29, 2026
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
- How to respond to a solicitation (8 steps)
- How to read a government solicitation
- How to price a government contract
Terms on this notice: Solicitation
Full notice text from SAM.gov
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office (DSO) is issuing a Disruption Opportunity (DO), inviting submissions of innovative basic or applied research concepts in the technical domain of developing novel metrology for understanding wave propagation in compressible fluids. This DO is issued under the Program Announcement for Disruptioneering, DARPA-PA-25-07. All awards will be made in the form of an Other Transaction (OT) for Prototype project.