IARPA Launches Five AI Programs Under Accelerated Framework: ARCADE, COSMIC, DECIPHER, LOCUS, MOVES
The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity released five new research programs in early 2026 under its Emerging Technology Accelerator framework, a procurement mechanism designed to move from solicitation to award faster than standard acquisition channels allow. The five programs — ARCADE, COSMIC, DECIPHER, LOCUS, and MOVES — were introduced at an IARPA Proposers’ Day in January attended by more than 550 participants, a turnout that reflects the degree to which commercial AI firms are now treating intelligence community research funding as a primary market rather than a secondary one.
ARCADE targets the design of electrical circuits, deploying an AI-driven knowledge assistant capable of ingesting schematics and technical datasheets to accelerate component selection and design decisions. The application is directly relevant to the IC’s need to maintain capability development speed against adversaries who have demonstrated willingness to reverse-engineer and replicate U.S. systems. COSMIC focuses on geospatial intelligence, integrating commercial remote sensing data and open-source geolocation information into dynamic models capable of answering intelligence questions through agentic AI systems — autonomous agents that do not require an analyst to formulate each query.
DECIPHER addresses linguistic analysis, specifically targeting novel and low-frequency terms including emerging slang, jargon, coded language, and undefined acronyms that adversary communications increasingly use to evade detection. LOCUS improves geolocation capabilities beyond current IC baselines, while MOVES explores neurological diagnostic AI systems — the latter indicating IARPA’s expansion into human performance domains alongside its traditional technical collection focus.
The Emerging Technology Accelerator’s other transaction authority model is the structural feature that makes these programs consequential beyond their individual technical merits. By reducing barriers to entry for commercial firms and enabling iterative development with rapid prototyping cycles, IARPA is attempting to solve the IC’s persistent problem of acquiring technology after the competitive window has closed. The requirement that at least one non-traditional defense contractor or non-profit research institution participate in each project ensures that the programs draw from outside the established defense industrial base. Whether the five programs produce operationally relevant capabilities within their intended timelines will be the test of whether the ETA framework actually changes IC acquisition behavior or simply repackages it.