Threat Countermeasures

DARPA’s Strategic Technology Office (STO) is focused on technologies that enable fighting as a network to increase military effectiveness, cost leverage, and adaptability.

DARPA’s Strategic Technology Office (STO) is focused on technologies that enable fighting as a network to increase military effectiveness, cost leverage, and adaptability. STO's areas of interest include: Battle Management, Command and Control; Communications and Networks; Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance; Electronic Warfare; Positioning, Navigation, and Timing; and Foundational Strategic Technologies and Systems.

Defense forces rely on electromagnetic dominance for command, control, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and related applications that use the electromagnetic spectrum. Similarly, spectrum use by our adversaries, and extensive unaffiliated commercial uses result in an increasingly congested, space, time and frequency environment. Severe pressure on available spectrum from all spectrum users creates a situation demanding significant adaptivity and flexibility of our communications systems to communicate successfully and achieve mission goals.

The electromagnetic (EM) spectrum is a scarce resource, in which a variety of friendly, unfriendly and neutral entities contend for available spectrum at any given time, location and frequency. DoD radio frequency (RF) systems, such as communication networks and radar, must operate within the context of an increasingly congested and contested electromagnetic spectrum.

Dr. Thomas J. Burns is the director of the Strategic Technology Office (STO). As STO director, he is responsible for a diverse portfolio of programs in battle management, command and control; communications and networking; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; electronic warfare; and positioning, navigation and timing.