DTRA BASIC Research

The Basic Research for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) project, as the nation’s primary basic research portfolio dedicated to CWMD, is a core strategic investor in future scientific and technological progress across the Defense Threat Reduction Agency's (DTRA) mission areas. This project concentrates on high-risk, high-payoff basic research, leveraging world-class expertise in academia, government, and industry, to increase the foundational body of scientific knowledge supporting DTRA’s Applied Research and Advanced Technology Development budget activities. This project aligns with DTRA’s strategic objectives that support policy and planning guidance from the Executive Office of the President, the Department of War, and the broader Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) threat reduction community. Specifically, research projects support CWMD and include accelerating the development of standoff radiological/nuclear detection capabilities; securing vulnerable materials; defeating WMD agents; strategic radiation hardened microelectronics; and leveraging science, technology, and innovation through domestic partnerships and agreements. This project solicits, coordinates, and conducts research to build a robust, forward-looking fundamental research portfolio targeting strategic, mission-focused, basic research with high potential impact for CWMD. Research projects are selected for scientific merit, technical quality, and the potential for innovation. Each research project offers opportunities to expand the knowledge base to help the warfighter, to bring to bear new science solutions with a fresh approach, or to leverage revolutionary approaches to technical surprise, building a foundation for future CWMD solutions. This research will enable new capabilities to control, defeat, disable, and/or dispose of WMD threats.