Carbon Crunch Future Program Announcement
SOL #: DARPA-SN-26-15Special Notice
Overview
Buyer
DEPT OF DEFENSE
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa)
DEF ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGCY
ARLINGTON, VA, 222032114, United States
Place of Performance
Place of performance not available
NAICS
Research and Development in the Physical (541715)
PSC
National Defense R&D Services; Department Of Defense Military; Applied Research (AC12)
Set Aside
No set aside specified
Original Source
Timeline
1
Posted
Dec 17, 2025
2
Last Updated
Dec 18, 2025
3
Action Date
Feb 3, 2026, 11:59 PM
Qualification Details
Fit reasons
- NAICS alignment with historical contract wins in similar service areas.
- Scope strongly matches core technical capabilities and delivery model.
Risks
- Past performance thresholds may require one additional teaming partner.
- Potential clarification needed on staffing minimums before bid/no-bid.
Next steps
Validate eligibility requirements, assign capture owner, and schedule partner outreach to confirm teaming strategy before submission planning.
The purpose of this Special Notice (SN) is to provide public notification of additional research areas of interest to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Tactical Technology Office (TTO), specifically for the contemplated forthcoming Carbon Crunch program.
If released, the Carbon Crunch Program Solicitation (PS) will be made available at https://sam.gov/. Additionally, a Proposers Day is planned for early February 2026 in Arlington, VA (SN also to be made available at https://sam.gov/).
Carbon Crunch aims to accelerate Carbon-Carbon (C-C) hypersonic aeroshell production by developing and applying cutting edge composite manufacturing methods that are inherently faster and more scalable. Performers will be asked to demonstrate an end-to-end manufacturing process (pre-form layup to near-net-shape densification) that demonstrates high quality, rapid production, and quick design-cycle turnaround. Once the process has demonstrated improved throughput at a reasonable cost hypersonic program of record at a production rate of 100 all-up-rounds (AURs) per month, the technology can be transitioned to programs of record in the future. By targeting the most constraining production bottlenecks, Carbon Crunch will enable scalable, fast, and agile production of hypersonic aeroshells.
If released, the Carbon Crunch Program Solicitation (PS) will be made available at https://sam.gov/. Additionally, a Proposers Day is planned for early February 2026 in Arlington, VA (SN also to be made available at https://sam.gov/).
Carbon Crunch aims to accelerate Carbon-Carbon (C-C) hypersonic aeroshell production by developing and applying cutting edge composite manufacturing methods that are inherently faster and more scalable. Performers will be asked to demonstrate an end-to-end manufacturing process (pre-form layup to near-net-shape densification) that demonstrates high quality, rapid production, and quick design-cycle turnaround. Once the process has demonstrated improved throughput at a reasonable cost hypersonic program of record at a production rate of 100 all-up-rounds (AURs) per month, the technology can be transitioned to programs of record in the future. By targeting the most constraining production bottlenecks, Carbon Crunch will enable scalable, fast, and agile production of hypersonic aeroshells.
People
Points of Contact
TTO BAA CoordinatorPRIMARY
Files
Files
No files attached to this opportunity
Versions
Version 2
Special Notice
Posted: Dec 18, 2025
Version 1Viewing
Special Notice
Posted: Dec 17, 2025