Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a crucial component of the U.S. Department of Defense focused on developing advanced technologies to enhance national security. Established in 1958 in response to the technological competition with the Soviet Union, DARPA has played a pivotal role in a variety of military and civilian technologies, most notably the creation of the Internet through its ARPANET project. The agency manages numerous research initiatives, many of which are classified, and has a history marked by both significant technological successes and notable failures that have often provided valuable insights for future innovations.
Throughout its history, DARPA has adapted its mission in response to evolving global threats, initially focusing on space technologies before shifting to address strategic concerns like insurgency during the Vietnam War. In recent decades, its projects have included advanced weapon systems and data collection efforts, although the latter faced scrutiny regarding privacy concerns. Today, DARPA continues to drive innovation with a substantial budget, exploring cutting-edge technologies such as precision-guided munitions and alternative navigation systems. The agency's influence extends beyond military applications, contributing to technologies that shape daily life, like GPS, demonstrating its integral role in both national defense and technological progress.
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is part of the US Department of Defense. This agency produces and tests technology and equipment for the government and the military. DARPA's main mission is to create advanced technology for national security. The agency researches hundreds of projects, many of which are highly classified, at any given time. DARPA has helped create many important technologies, including the Internet. The agency has also seen many large, expensive failures; nevertheless, these failures have helped lead to important technological advances.
Background
After World War II ended in the 1940s, the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) became the leading superpowers in the world. These two countries eventually became embroiled in the Cold War (1947–1991), during which both tried to have the most advanced technology. In 1957, the USSR government changed history by successfully launching Sputnik I, the first artificial satellite successfully launched into space. The United States government realized that this technological advancement had far-reaching implications for communication, intelligence, and defense. The launch of Sputnik also began the space race between the United States and the USSR. US president Dwight Eisenhower realized that the United States had to work to gain the same and even more advanced technology as the USSR. In 1958, DARPA, which was first called the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), was launched. The original role of the agency was to be the military space program in the United States. That same year, the agency that would become the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was also formed, and it was to serve as the nation's civilian space exploration program. At first, all the satellite projects being undertaken by the US government were being run through DARPA. At the time the agency was established, it was also hoped that it would help develop advanced weapons systems.
Within a few years of its formation, DARPA had all its satellite and space programs taken away. The army, navy, and air force took over their own satellite programs, and NASA took over all the civilian space programs. This left DARPA without a mission. Yet, instead of fading away, DARPA reinvented itself. William Godel, a scientist at DARPA, realized that the agency needed a new mission, and he believed the agency should begin to focus on strategic threats. He and others inside the agency tried to determine which threats would be most important to the United States in the coming years. Godel believed that the biggest threat the United States would face in the future was insurgent forces, because he thought the United States would fight wars against small communist countries.
Godel and others inside DARPA were correct in their assumptions about the threats the United States would face. In the 1960s and 1970s, the United States fought a difficult war in Vietnam against an insurgent force. The United States infamously used one of DARPA's inventions, Agent Orange, during that conflict. Agent Orange was a defoliant, or a chemical that kills the leaves on trees and other plants. DARPA created chemical defoliants so the military could remove the leaves from plants to better identify insurgent forces in jungle areas, such as Vietnam. During the Vietnam War, the United States used Agent Orange to locate insurgent forces in thick jungles. Nevertheless, it also used the chemical on the enemy's crops. Years later, Vietnamese citizens and American soldiers experienced serious health disorders because of exposure to the chemical.
After the Vietnam War, DARPA came under scrutiny for its role in the war. The American public and politicians had begun to lose faith in the organization. During the latter part of the Cold War, DARPA focused its efforts on developing advanced weapons systems. DARPA's mission changed again only a few decades later after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. After these attacks, the agency began to focus on data collection and using data to try to predict terrorist activity. Eventually, people became concerned that DARPA's work with personal data could lead to invasions of privacy. Therefore, the data collection and analysis projects were shut down.
Topic Today
DARPA is best known to the public for its help in developing some of the most important technologies people use in the modern world. The most famous example of a vital modern technology that DAPRA helped create is the Internet. ARPANET, which was the technology created by DARPA, was a network created so that computers could communicate with one another. This technology eventually led to the Internet, which billions of people use every day. DARPA also played an important role in helping to develop global positioning systems (GPS), which help people find their destinations using digital maps and other digital GPS devices. While DARPA has helped develop many vital technologies, it has also experienced many failures. For example, the National Aero-Space Plane was a proposed technology that was supposed to send a plane from a runway into the atmosphere and eventually into space without the use of rockets. Although the technology seemed useful, DARPA was unable to produce a working model. However, even some of DARPA's technological failures have been important, as they have provided vital information for other researchers.
In the 2010s, DARPA had a budget of nearly $300 billion per year. The agency used the money for top secret projects and some projects that were public knowledge. DARPA works on hundreds of projects at a time. The agency works on so many projects at once because its leaders understand that only some of these projects will be successful.
In the early twenty-first century, the agency was working on a number of technologies that could go on to help shape national defense in the United States for years to come. For example, Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance (EXACTO) is a bullet that changes trajectory during flight. These bullets will change their trajectory to account for the movement of a target and for other factors (such as wind). DARPA was also working on a system similar to GPS that used Earth's magnetic field rather than satellites to give exact locations.
Bibliography
"About DARPA." DARPA, www.darpa.mil/about-us/about-darpa. Accessed 1 July 2017.
"ARPANET and the Origins of the Internet." DARPA, www.darpa.mil/about-us/timeline/arpanet. Accessed 1 July 2017.
Bender, Jeremy. "15 Astounding Technologies That DARPA Is Working on Right Now." Business Insider, 28 Nov. 2015, www.businessinsider.com/15-darpa-innovations-2014-7/#high-energy-lasers-2. Accessed 1 July 2017.
Garber, Steve. "Sputnik and the Dawn of the Space Age." NASA, 10 Oct. 2007, history.nasa.gov/sputnik/. Accessed 1 July 2017.
Howell, Elizabeth. "What Is DARPA?" Space.com, 30 Apr. 2015, www.space.com/29273-what-is-darpa.html. Accessed 1 July 2017.
"Inside DARPA, The Pentagon Agency Whose Technology Has 'Changed the World.'" NPR, 28 Mar. 2017, www.npr.org/2017/03/28/521779864/inside-darpa-the-pentagon-agency-whose-technology-has-changed-the-world. Accessed 1 July 2017.
"Paving the Way to the Modern Internet." DARPA, www.darpa.mil/about-us/timeline/modern-internet. Accessed 1 July 2017.
"Pulling Back the Curtain on DARPA, the Pentagon's 'Brain.'" NPR, 25 Sep. 2015, www.npr.org/2015/09/25/443334499/pulling-back-the-curtain-on-darpa-the-pentagons-brain. Accessed 1 July 2017.