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DARPA Seeks High-Assurance AI Proposals for CLARA Program
The new solicitation aims to develop AI systems that combine machine learning and automated reasoning with strong verifiability and explainability.
Apr. 13, 2026 at 8:55am
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An advanced AI "system of systems" that fuses machine learning and automated reasoning to deliver high-assurance decision-making capabilities for critical applications.Arlington TodayThe Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is seeking proposals for high-assurance artificial intelligence under a new Disruption Opportunity (DO) issued by its Defense Sciences Office as part of the Disruptioneering program. The solicitation, known as the CLARA program, calls for basic and applied research to develop AI "systems of systems" that combine machine learning (ML) and automated reasoning (AR) with strong verifiability and explainability.
Why it matters
DARPA is aiming to overcome a longstanding trade-off in artificial intelligence: ML techniques offer broad applicability but limited explainability, while AR approaches provide verifiability and logical transparency but struggle with scalability and flexibility. The CLARA effort seeks to integrate these approaches into a unified, theory-driven architecture that delivers both scalability and high assurance for critical applications like course-of-action planning, medical decision-making, and supply chain optimization.
The details
The CLARA program is structured into two technical areas. Technical Area 1 focuses on developing new high-assurance ML/AR approaches, including theory, algorithms, and open-source software. Technical Area 2 centers on building a software integration library to enable interoperability among Technical Area 1 solutions. Phase 1 will focus on initial theory development and experimentation, while Phase 2 will extend these approaches to additional AI methods and demonstrate more advanced system integration and training capabilities.
- The solicitation was announced on April 13, 2026.
- Proposals are due by April 17, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. EDT.
- DARPA aims to complete awards within 120 days of the announcement.
The players
DARPA
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military.
What’s next
DARPA expects to hold coordinated activities such as workshops and hackathons to evaluate interoperability and performance across teams that receive awards under the CLARA program.
The takeaway
The CLARA program represents DARPA's effort to advance the state of artificial intelligence by developing systems that can combine the broad applicability of machine learning with the verifiability and transparency of automated reasoning, enabling high-assurance AI solutions for critical defense and civilian applications.
