DARPA Tactical Technology Office (TTO)
Bradford C. Tousley, Director
January 29, 2014
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Mission
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
was established in 1958 to prevent strategic surprise
from negatively affecting U.S. national security and create
strategic surprise for U.S. adversaries by maintaining the
technological superiority of the U.S. military.
To fulfill its mission, the Agency relies on diverse
performers to apply multi-disciplinary approaches to both
advance knowledge through basic research and create
innovative technologies that address current practical
problems through applied research.
As the DoD’s primary innovation engine, DARPA
undertakes projects that are finite in duration but that
create lasting revolutionary change.
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DARPA
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9
5
7
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First orbiting satellite. The satellite was not a
threat, but the level of technology indicated that
the Soviet Union possessed superior capability for
intercontinental reconnaissance and bombing.
Sputnik
9
5
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34th President of the United States 1953-1961.
Coined the term “military-industrial complex”
and warned against its unwarranted influence.
Created DARPA in response to Sputnik.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
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DARPA technical offices
TTO
Tactical
Technology
Office
• Electronics &
Photonics
• Physical
sciences
• Cyber
• Neuroscience
• Data analytics
at massive scale • Imaging
• Materials
• ISR exploitation
• PNT
• Battle
Management,
Command &
Control
• Communications
and Networks
• Mathematics
• Computing
• Biology
• Engineering
Biotech
• Intelligence,
Surveillance,
and Recon
• Biological
Microsystems
• Electronic
Warfare
• Directed
Energy
• Positioning,
Navigation, &
Timing (PNT)
DSO
I2O
MTO
STO
Defense
Sciences
Office
Information
Innovation
Office
Microsystems
Technology
Office
Strategic
Technology
Office
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• Ground,
Maritime, Air,
& Space
systems
• Agile
Development
• Cooperative
Autonomy
• Unmanned
Systems
• Power and
Propulsion
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Tactical Technology Office (TTO)
Vision
TTO will rapidly develop new prototype military capabilities that create an asymmetric
technological advantage and provide U.S. forces with decisive superiority and the ability
to overwhelm our opponents.
Tactical
Technologies (8)
Objective
Aero-&
Hydrodynamic
To provide or prevent strategic and tactical surprise with very high-payoff, high-risk
Systems (13)
development of revolutionary new platforms, weapons, critical technologies and systems,
approaches addressing affordability, as well as rapid agile development.
TTO Focus Areas
Ground, Air, Space, and Maritime Systems
Agile Development
Cooperative Autonomy
Unmanned Systems
Power and Propulsion
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TTO past and current programs
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The environment
Multipolar
Areas of potential threats
- Diverse threats
- Low to high intensity spectrum
- Counter-insurgency
Peer/Non-peer threats
- Pacific and other
- Denied environments
- Countermeasures
Source: DARPA; based on collation of publicly available metrics, including (1) Foreign Policy Failed States Index, (2) Aon
Political Risk Map, (3) Control Risks Political Risk Map, and (4) Bradburys Security Risk Map.
Cost challenge
- Rapid and expansive red force
modernization
- Long U.S. development cycles of
complex systems
- Smaller U.S. defense industrial base
- Increasing lifecycle cost
Source: DefenceWeb.co.za
Global market and tech
proliferation
Source: NavyTimes.com
- Medium technology swarms
- Rapid countermeasure development
- Cost of labor
Source: AirForce-Technology.com
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What we look for in programs
• Big wins; decisive superiority
• Drive cost-effectiveness (system and countermeasures)
• Decisive and flexible systems (unbalance)
• Rapid developmental program execution (agile)
Artist’s concept
DARPA Robotics Challenge
• Demonstrating prototypes (new capabilities)
• Unmanned leverage (maximize effectiveness)
• Develop Service buy-in (transition)
ALASA
• Cross-domain capabilities – cover the “seams”
across Service stovepipes
Phoenix
Artist’s concepts
VTOL X-Plane
Artist’s concepts
Artist’s concept
ACTUV
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Systems focus areas
Ground
Systems
Maritime
Systems
Air
Systems
Space
Systems
Amplify unit /
soldier effectiveness
Control the sea,
influence events on
land
Control the air
anytime / anywhere
Normalize and
simplify space
Artist concept
Artist concept
Artist concept
Robotics Challenge
Artist concept
ACTUV
VTOL X-Plane
Phoenix
Cross-cutting Themes
Agile development approach, autonomy, unmanned systems, power and propulsion
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Partnerships with industry and universities
• Focus on business case and capabilities
• Focus on enabling technologies through the BAA and contracting process
− TTO BAA link:
https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=5ac6c5b92db270c8f96fc1
124145e3ce&tab=core&_cview=1
• Demand the A-team from performers; if we don’t get it, we don’t start
• Develop good relationships with partners
• Develop platforms and aim for demonstration
• Partners with resources can really help us make a difference
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A vision for the future
Infrastructure beyond LEO and GEO
Seamless exchange of information from all domains
Space traffic control
Civilian accessible space
Global Hawk
This is a translation of "Changdi Airport" © 2007 by J Petersen,
used under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-sa/ 3.0/deed.en.
All images are artist’s concept
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Current TTO programs
Ground Systems
Legged Squad Support System (LS3)
DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC)
Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordinance
(EXACTO)
Persistent Close Air Support (PCAS)
Air Systems
Hypersonic Technologies
Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL)
X-Plane
Maritime Systems
ASW Continuous Trail Unmanned
Vessel (ACTUV)
Tactically Exploited Reconnaissance
Node (TERN)
Hydra
Space Systems
Space Surveillance Telescope (SST)
OrbitOutlook
Galileo
Experimental Spaceplane (XS-1)
Airborne Launch Assist Space Access
(ALASA)
Phoenix
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www.darpa.mil
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Ground Systems current programs
Legged Squad Support System (LS3)
DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC)
Artist’s concept
Develop a highly mobile, semi-autonomous
quadruped ground vehicle to lighten the
Soldiers’ load
Develop human-compatible robot
system for response to natural and
man-made disasters
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Ground Systems current programs (cont.)
Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordinance
(EXACTO)
Persistent Close Air Support
(PCAS)
Demonstrate closed-loop guided flight of a
.50-caliber bullet/weapon system and
survivability of bullet components
Enhance dismounted ground agent
effectiveness with equipment enabling
precise coordination and command of
airborne weapons
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Maritime Systems current programs
ASW Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel
(ACTUV)
Tactically Exploited Reconnaissance Node
(TERN)
Demonstrate unmanned vehicle’s capability to track and
monitor a diesel submarine to offload tasks from
manned platforms
Develop Medium-Altitude, Long-Endurance Unmanned Vehicle
(MALE UAV) performance operable from smaller ships
Hydra
Artist’s concept
Leverage mature and emerging component technologies to costeffectively develop a new undersea launch platform with modular
payloads, including air vehicle and undersea vehicle payloads
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Air Systems current programs
Hypersonic Technologies
Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL)
X-Plane
ISR
Artist’s Concepts
Develop and demonstrate technologies that enable
long-range, high-performance maneuvering
hypersonic flight; explore vehicle concepts for
tactical-range hypersonic cruise missiles and
hypersonic boost glide vehicles
Transformational vertical flight capabilities
applicable to light-medium
class aircraft
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Space Systems current programs
Space Surveillance Telescope (SST)
OrbitOutlook
Government space
based sensors
Space object
Government ground
based sensors
Commercial RF
tracking
Commercial
optical tracking
International
Joint Space
Operations Center partner data
Data gathering
and analysis
University optical tracking
Artist Concept
Develop an advanced ground-based optical system for
rapid, wide-area, uncued detection and tracking of faint
objects in deep space
Galileo
Demonstrate a cost-effective way to increase the amount
and quality of Space Situational Awareness (SSA)
information critical to warfighters: purchase data rather
than build and operate sensors
Artist’s Concept
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Develop technology to image a GEO
satellite from the ground by utilizing
fixed mobile telescopes, each with
adaptive optics and a guide star, to
create multiple baselines that can be
used to reconstruct the image through
an inverse Fourier transform
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Space Systems current programs (cont.)
Experimental Spaceplane
(XS-1)
Airborne Launch Assist Space Access
(ALASA)
Artist’s concepts
Artist’s concepts
Enable routine-access space/hypersonic vehicles by
integrating, testing, and maturing technologies and
lean operations
Deploy small satellites to orbit from an airborne platform,
allowing performance improvement, reducing range costs,
and flying more frequently, which drives cost per pound down
Phoenix
Artist’s concepts
ISR
Artist concept
Tele-presence control of onorbit Robotic Servicer/Tender
at GEO.
Artist concept
Modular satellites that
can be aggregated for
scalability, reconfigured,
and easily replaced.
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