RAAPTR Proposers Day

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is hosting a Proposers Day on June 16, 2026, at its Arlington, Virginia headquarters to provide information and facilitate planning for the upcoming RF Architectures Applying Photonic Timing and Routing (RAAPTR) program. This event is designated as UNCLASSIFIED, and all participants must register by June 8, 2026, through the designated website. Attendees are required to present government-issued photo identification upon entry, and any presentations or materials shared must be suitable for unlimited public release and exclude Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) or classified content. Non-U.S. citizens must complete DARPA Form 60 to request access. The Proposers Day is purely informational and does not constitute a solicitation; the formal Program Solicitation (PS) for RAAPTR is expected to be released after the event via sam.gov and will include detailed submission requirements. The NAICS code for this effort is 541715, and the contracting office is part of the Department of Defense under agency code HR0011. The RAAPTR program aims to develop chip-scale photonic systems capable of generating microwave frequencies with exceptionally low phase noise and high timing precision, tailored for use on compact, mobile defense platforms such as supersonic missiles. The program spans two phases: Phase 1, lasting 24 months, focuses on designing, fabricating, and testing vibration-hardened photonic oscillators alongside ancillary RF components, with key performance targets including phase noise levels of -120 dBc/Hz at 100 Hz and -150 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz, output frequency tunability between 1 and 40 GHz, timing deviation of no more than 1 ps over 1 to 100 seconds, oscillator volume limited to 300 cc, and operation under environmental conditions of -40 to 85 °C with vibration exposure matching MIL-STD-883-2, Method 2026, Test Condition I/B. Phase 2, lasting 18 months, involves integrating these components into a brassboard prototype and demonstrating full system compliance with all program metrics during an on-platform test. DARPA strongly prefers prime proposers to lead architectural, integration, testing, and system analysis efforts, with component development tasks flowed down to team members. Designs related to vibration-hardened photonic oscillators and RF architectures are