Strategically Hardened Facility Defeat (SHFD)

Program Manager: Dr. Brian Hearing

The DARPA Strategically Hardened Facility Defeat (SHFD) program seeks to develop non-nuclear earth-penetrating technologies in an end-to-end system for the defeat of hard and deeply buried targets (HDBTs) with major strategic capabilities. The threat posed by our adversaries' use of hard and deeply buried targets around the world is increasing. Use of such facilities is especially prominent among “rogue” nations whose possession of weapons of mass destruction present a significant threat to our security. These strategically hardened facilities are used to harbor our adversaries’ most dangerous assets including senior leaders, command and control functions, and weapons of mass destruction. Because of this, the U.S. must be able to defeat these facilities and hold adversaries’ assets at risk. The Strategically Hardened Facility Defeat program seeks to leverage recent advances in non-nuclear earth-penetrating technologies for the defeat of strategically hardened targets. System and technology areas to be developed in this program include: new penetration technologies, robust self-contained aerial deployment options, sensing and navigation subsystems, and packaging and integration subsystems for harsh environments.