LEARN ABOUT DARPA

DARPA is the research and development arm of the U.S. Department of Defense. DARPA's mission is to maintain the technological superiority of the U.S. military and prevent technological surprise from threatening our national security.

DARPA funds unique and innovative research through the private sector, academic and other non-profit organizations as well as government labs.

DARPA research runs the gamut from conducting scientific investigations in a laboratory, to building full-scale prototypes of military systems. We fund research in biology, medicine, computer science, chemistry, physics, engineering, mathematics, material sciences, social sciences, neuroscience, and more.

DARPA research projects evolve into military use through technology transition.

OBTAIN RESEARCH FUNDING

DARPA funds unique and innovative research through the private sector, academic and other non-profit organizations as well as government labs. DARPA program managers develop ideas for research programs and issue solicitations requesting proposals from researchers.

We continually publish solicitations for each research program. All DARPA solicitations are published on the Federal Business Opportunities and/or Grants.gov websites. We select which researchers to fund based on a competitive evaluation of the proposals submitted under each solicitation.

WORK FOR DARPA

Are you a scientist or engineer with an idea you believe could provide change for the U.S. military? Would you like to lead the country’s most capable experts to make that idea become reality in a period of just a few years? If so, you should consider joining DARPA as a program manager.

DARPA embraces innovative ideas leading to new capabilities for U.S. men and women in uniform.

TECHNOLOGIES & PROGRAMS

DARPA has seven offices. Each office website includes information on the office's solicitations, programs, and personnel.

DARPA looks beyond today’s technological limits and imagines future military capabilities and needs. DARPA program managers are in search of revolutionary ideas to create programs that will bridge the gap between fundamental discoveries and new military capabilities.

DARPA research projects evolve into military use through technology transition.