UARCs are University Affiliated Research Centers associated with one or more universities. They are formally established by the Director of Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E), Office of the Secretary of Defense to ensure defense critical engineering and technology capabilities are maintained and advanced.

The mission of the RITA UARC is to develop partnerships between academia, government, and industry to solve real-world tactical autonomy challenges and problems that are critical to our national security through systematic research and development.