The Pentagon’s research and technology arm, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), has released a sweeping new funding solicitation through its Biological Technologies Office (BTO), calling on industry, academia, and research institutions to propose breakthrough solutions that harness biological processes for national security applications.
The Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), designated HR001126S0003, outlines a multi-year initiative aimed at transforming how the United States detects threats, protects troops, and sustains military readiness.
According to the announcement, DARPA is seeking technologies that go beyond incremental advancements.
“The Biological Technologies Office is soliciting proposals that leverage biological properties and processes to revolutionize our ability to protect the nation’s warfighters,” the document states, adding that evolutionary improvements to existing systems will not be considered.
A central theme of the BAA is the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning into biological research and operational systems. BTO is looking for new ways to accelerate biological modeling, develop foundation models that combine biological and chemical data, and use virtual testbeds and synthetic data to improve predictive capabilities.
The call also focuses heavily on battlefield medicine. DARPA wants technologies that allow non-specialist personnel to perform critical medical tasks near the point of injury, decision-support tools for managing mass casualty events, and advanced diagnostics and therapeutics that can function in extreme conditions.
Human performance enhancement is another priority. The agency is inviting proposals on cognitive resilience, neural processing, fatigue mitigation, and continuous physiological monitoring, as well as research into biohybrid systems that merge biological and physical technologies.
DARPA’s solicitation also targets breakthroughs in bio-inspired materials, miniature sensor systems, and new computational tools to design and engineer biological systems from the molecular to the ecosystem level. The aim is to create predictive models and hybrid systems that outperform traditional engineering solutions in both defense and civilian contexts.
The BAA further emphasizes technologies to counter environmental and agricultural threats, improve ecosystem resilience, and support post-disaster recovery — including innovations in synthetic biology and bio-inorganic capabilities for operations in extreme environments.
With biological threats becoming increasingly complex, DARPA is seeking new solutions for biosafety, biosecurity, and the detection and attribution of emerging pathogens — whether natural, engineered, or unknown. Proposals may include advanced data analytics for surveillance, attribution capabilities for genetic or isotopic signatures, and novel sensing platforms capable of detecting weak biological signals on a global scale.
On the biodefense front, the agency wants systems for rapid and automated production of therapeutics, new cellular therapies, and advanced platforms for targeted delivery of biologics. These technologies are expected to strengthen U.S. readiness against biological threats while enabling faster responses to emerging crises.
As biological innovation becomes a central pillar of national defense, DARPA’s latest solicitation aims to push the boundaries of what’s possible — from battlefield care and biosecurity to human performance and beyond.