The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is announcing the upcoming Carbon Crunch program, which aims to innovate the production of hypersonic aeroshells through advanced composite manufacturing methods, particularly focusing on carbon-carbon (C-C) materials. The program seeks to develop faster, scalable manufacturing processes that ensure high-quality and cost-effective production from pre-form layup to near-net-shape densification, ultimately supporting hypersonic programs of record. A Proposers Day is scheduled for early February 2026 in Arlington, VA, and interested parties can find the Program Solicitation on sam.gov. For further inquiries, contact the TTO BAA Coordinator at CarbonCrunchSupport@darpa.mil.

DARPA-SN-26-15.pdf

DARPA's Tactical Technology Office (TTO) has issued Special Notice DARPA-SN-26-15, announcing the upcoming Carbon Crunch program. This program aims to revolutionize the production of hypersonic aeroshells by developing and implementing faster, more scalable composite manufacturing methods, specifically focusing on carbon-carbon (C-C) materials. The goal is to enable rapid, high-quality, and cost-effective end-to-end manufacturing processes, from pre-form layup to near-net-shape densification, ultimately transitioning these advancements to hypersonic programs of record. A Proposers Day is scheduled for early February 2026 in Arlington, VA, and the Program Solicitation (PS) will be available on sam.gov. DARPA also encourages new collaborators to utilize DARPAConnect for support and guidance.

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.

Carbon Crunch Future Program Announcement

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/).

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