Solicitation
TTO Office-Wide Solicitation 2026
Dept of Defense · Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) · Sol. DARPA-PS-26-123
Due in 250 days
Track this notice by email. We'll email you if it's amended or awarded, and a week and two days before responses are due.
AI summary Beta
DARPA's Tactical Technology Office (TTO) is running an open, office-wide call for research and prototype ideas on new naval and aerospace platforms, propulsion, autonomy and advanced munitions. Companies first send a short abstract (due April 16, 2027); only those DARPA encourages can send a full proposal (due June 17, 2027). Multiple awards are expected, made as Other Transaction (OT) agreements rather than standard contracts.
Watch out for
- Costs to bid are not reimbursed and no award is guaranteed. A small business pays for its own abstract, proposal and any travel, and DARPA may select none, one or all of the submissions.
The Government will not pay proposers’ costs associated with preparing and submitting an
- Cybersecurity (CMMC) and SPRS posting required. Your CMMC status must be posted in SPRS before award, and any subcontractor handling CUI must meet the same level; this takes time and money to set up.
Prime proposers are responsible for verifying subcontractor compliance.
- Conflicting CMMC level in the document. The overview says Level 2 (Self-Assessment) is required, but section 7.2 says all DARPA efforts need at least Level 1; confirm with DARPA which applies.
Level 2 focuses on the protection of CUI and incorporates the 110
- Strict, rejectable submission rules. Wrong format, over-length pages, a missing encouragement letter or a second submission while one is under review can be thrown out without review.
Non-conforming submissions that do not follow the instructions herein may be rejected
- Government can take unlimited rights to your IP. Anything not clearly marked as restricted in your proposal is assumed to be delivered with unlimited rights, and IP terms count in the evaluation.
the Government will assume unlimited rights to all IP not explicitly identified as restricted in the proposal.
- Research-grade, high-innovation bar. DARPA wants revolutionary advances in defense technology, so this suits R&D firms; ordinary services or incremental work will not compete.
Specifically excluded is research that primarily results in
- Possible classified work and clearances. Submissions and work may involve classified or special-access information, which needs facility clearances and approved systems.
If proposers believe it is highly relevant to include classified responses, they may request
- Limits on AI-altered data. Using AI tools to change or enhance technical, cost or performance data in a way that misrepresents results is not allowed.
Proposers should not manipulate, alter, or enhance technical, performance, cost, or other factual
Read from the notice and 4 attachments.
- DARPA-PS-26-123.pdf
- DARPA-PS-26-123-Attachment-A-Abstract-Instructions.docx
- DARPA-PS-26-123-Attachment-C-Classified-Submission-Instructions.docx
- DARPA-PS-26-123-Attachment-B-Full-Proposal-Instructions-and-Template.docx
Full brief
What they want
- Innovative research and prototype concepts for new naval and aerospace platforms
- Novel propulsion technologies
- Advanced autonomy
- Advanced munitions
- Concept demonstrations, pilots and agile development that adapt commercial technologies or Government-owned capabilities for defense use
- Revolutionary advances in science, devices or systems; incremental improvements to current practice are excluded
- Contract type
- Multiple Other Transaction (OT) award agreements under 10 U.S.C. 4021, 4022 and 4023; not a standard FAR contract
- Contract vehicle
- DARPA TTO Office-Wide Solicitation (DARPA-PS-26-123), submitted through DARPA's BAA website
- How they'll choose
- Two-step review. Abstracts are scored on scientific and technical merit and on relevance to the DARPA mission. Full proposals are scored on three criteria in descending order of importance, each judged on its own merit and not against other submissions.
- Offers due
- Abstract: April 16, 2027, 4:00 p.m. ET. Full proposal (by invitation only): June 17, 2027, 4:00 p.m. ET. DARPA says these dates may change.
- How to submit
- DARPA Broad Agency Announcement Tool (BAAT) website, baa.darpa.mil; one .zip file per submission, no bigger than 100 MB
- Page limits
- Abstract: 2 single-sided pages, 11-point font. Full proposal: 25 pages, 12-point font, mandatory template.
What they'll judge offers on
- Overall Scientific and Technical Merit
- Potential Contribution and Relevance to the DARPA Mission (including the effect of proposed IP rights on the Government's ability to use the technology)
- Cost Realism
What to include when you submit
- Submit an abstract first; it is required
- A full proposal can only be sent if DARPA has given you a signed "Encourage Full Proposal" letter; the letter must be included with the proposal
- Abstract must be marked "ABSTRACT" and include organization name, title, technical point of contact, CAGE code and Unique Entity ID
- Abstracts go in Word or PDF; no transmittal letter or extra forms are needed
- Full proposal must use the mandatory template (Attachment B), including cover sheet, management plan, key personnel, task description document, schedule, OCI disclosures, IP assertions and the DARPA OT representations and certifications
- Register early for a BAA website account: it needs an Extranet account first and two separate emails with login details
- Only one submission per business component can be under review at a time
- Optional Proposers Day October 26-28, 2026
You must have
- Open to all responsible sources including large and small businesses and nontraditional defense contractors; there is no small business set-aside
no portion of this announcement will be set aside for these organizations’ participation due to the
- Current CMMC status (Final or Conditional) and an annual CMMC affirmation posted in SPRS for the prime; the solicitation states Level 2 (Self-Assessment) is the required level
To be eligible for award under this solicitation, the CMMC Unique Identifier (UID) associated
- Able to follow CUI rules (DoDI 5200.48 and NIST SP 800-171) and protect controlled data
All proposers must comply with export control laws and ITAR and be able to protect sensitive
- Signed "Encourage Full Proposal" letter from DARPA before sending a full proposal
Proposers must possess a signed “Encourage Full Proposal” letter from DARPA to submit a full
- SAM registration with a Unique Entity ID, and WAWF invoicing registration, are needed to receive an award
Proposers must register in the SAM and must have a SAM Unique Entity ID (UEI).
- Cost sharing is required for traditional defense contractors who are not teamed with a nontraditional defense contractor (all small businesses count as nontraditional)
cost sharing is required if the proposer is a traditional defense contractor who is not
- Contractors that also provide SETA or advisory support to DARPA cannot be technical performers without a written waiver; teams must disclose such work
contractors/performers from concurrently providing Systems Engineering Technical Assistance
- Compliance with ITAR and export control laws; may need State Department ITAR registration
Not in the notice text
- Estimated award sizes or total funding
- Period of performance for resulting agreements
- Place of performance
- Which specific technical topics DARPA will favor, beyond the broad list; DARPA suggests talking to TTO program managers
- Final dates, which DARPA says may change
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Key facts
- Response due
- Jun 17, 2027, 8:00 PM UTC
- Posted
- Aug 31, 2026
- Notice type
- Solicitation
- Solicitation
- DARPA-PS-26-123
- Agency
- Dept of Defense · Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
- Office
- Def Advanced Research Projects Agcy
- NAICS
- 541715
- Product/service code
- AC12
- Business type
- Engineering, architecture & research
- Contracting contact
- TTO OW Solicitation CoordinatorDARPA-PS-26-123@darpa.mil
What similar contracts paid
227 contracts at this agency for the same NAICS and product/service codes had activity in the last 5 years, according to USAspending.gov. Small businesses won 15% of the dollars in this market over the last 3 fiscal years.
Typical contract$4MMiddle half: $2.5M to $5.8M
Typical per year$1.5MValue divided by years of performance
Before you respond
Full notice text from SAM.gov
TTO seeks to redefine warfare to provide overwhelming advantages to the United States by accelerating the development of new classes of platforms and weapons that dominate existing battlespaces and define new ones at a velocity that adversaries cannot match.
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