Information & Communications Technology

The Information & Communications Technology Program (PE 0602303E), managed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), is a research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) initiative focused on advancing computing systems and communications technologies for national defense. Its overarching goal is to develop innovative hardware, software, and integrated systems that address the growing complexity and data intensity of defense missions. The program emphasizes robust transition planning and collaboration with entrepreneurs to ensure that DARPA-funded technologies mature into operational capabilities for the U.S. military and broader national security applications.

IT-02: High Productivity, High-Performance Responsive Architectures targets the development of next-generation computer hardware and software platforms for computationally and data-intensive national security applications. The project addresses the need to manage rapidly increasing sensor data, leverage advances in machine learning and quantum computing, and maintain the security of DoD information systems. A key effort under this line seeks to evaluate disruptive designs for fault-tolerant quantum computers, demonstrate enabling subsystems, and construct a prototype utility-scale quantum computer within a decade. The program also aims to create computing platforms that efficiently extract information from large, chaotic datasets using embedded systems with low size, weight, and power requirements, supporting a wide range of scientific and engineering applications.

IT-03: Cyber Security is dedicated to developing technologies that protect DoD, U.S. government, and civilian information infrastructures, including cyber-physical and embedded systems. The program responds to the increasing sophistication of cyber threats by enhancing the resilience of information systems, enabling situational awareness in the cyber domain, and providing safe, calibrated cyber response capabilities. Projects include rapid delivery of cyber technologies for military cyberspace operations, AI agents for network defense against advanced persistent threats, automated identification and mitigation of business logic vulnerabilities, tools to prevent adversarial code reuse, tools to assess exploit chains, formal methods for continuous software verification, and several others focused on network resilience, secure patching, and legacy software modernization.

IT-04: Artificial Intelligence and Human-Machine Symbiosis aims to develop technologies that enable machines to operate as trustworthy partners to human operators in defense contexts. The program focuses on systems capable of understanding human language, extracting and categorizing information from diverse media, answering questions, reasoning, and learning from experience. These capabilities are critical as the tempo of military operations increases beyond human capacity to process information unaided. Projects include AI-driven automated vulnerability discovery and remediation, AI-based supply chain and critical mineral market forecasting, machine learning for platform control under damage or modification, hybrid neuro-symbolic AI for trustworthy autonomy, robust transfer of autonomy from simulation to real-world platforms, automated scientific feasibility assessment, quantification of generative AI capabilities, adaptive anti-money laundering algorithms, theory of mind for agent behavior modeling, robustness of battlefield AI systems, and geoeconomic theory for national security.

Each project within these budget lines is justified by the need to address specific technological gaps or vulnerabilities in current defense systems. Quantum computing research under IT-02 is motivated by the potential for transformative advances in computational power. Cyber security initiatives under IT-03 are driven by the escalating threat landscape and the need for resilient, adaptive defense mechanisms. The AI and human-machine symbiosis efforts under IT-04 are justified by the operational demands for faster, more reliable decision-making and autonomous system deployment in contested environments.

The program also includes transition planning, with many efforts moving to new program elements in FY 2026 to align with evolving DoD priorities in supply chain, logistics, and operational technology integration. Funding adjustments reflect congressional reductions, execution adjustments, and program transitions. Acquisition strategies are not specified, as these are primarily research and development activities intended to mature technologies for future procurement and operational use.