DARPA-50 Years of Innovation

▪ 2009

      In 2008 the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) celebrated the 50th anniversary of its founding (Feb. 7, 1958). During its existence the organization has consistently been a world leader at turning science fiction into practical technological solutions. DARPA was born in the aftershock of the Soviet Union's surprise launch of Sputnik—the first artificial satellite to orbit Earth—in October 1957. Engaged in Cold War rivalry with the Soviet Union, U.S. Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower sought a massive boost in research-and-development efforts to give the United States a decisive lead in military and other technologies. ARPA (the D was added in 1972, removed in 1993, then reinstated in 1996) was therefore created with a mandate to develop totally new military capabilities.

      Since its beginning the agency has sought to be both bold and innovative. By hiring program managers typically for only four to six years, DARPA acquires fresh insights and experience while minimizing the bureaucratic stagnation that often afflicts large organizations. Although subordinate to the U.S. Department of Defense, DARPA is free from the burdens of military hierarchy and complicated government rules for issuing contracts. As the only research agency not tied to a specific operational mission, DARPA has always enjoyed considerable independence in choosing its projects.

      With a 2008 budget of about $3 billion, the agency has fewer than 300 employees, including about 140 program managers. The program managers are authorized to award contracts to universities and industry and are encouraged to fund projects that may be risky but hold promise in becoming novel solutions to current and future military challenges.

      DARPA has been a key player in developing numerous military systems such as aircraft, armour, robots, satellites, surveillance aircraft, rifles, information systems, and medical devices. A few highlights include:

● Stealth technology. DARPA's work on developing aircraft that can evade detection by radar led to production of the F-117 stealth fighter and the B-2 stealth bomber.

● High-performance armour. U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan use advanced body armour, developed by DARPA, that consists of vest inserts made of boron carbide. The inserts are 35% lighter than previously used materials and strong enough to protect against rifle and light-machine-gun fire.

● Navigation systems. Between 1959 and 1968, DARPA helped establish the first satellite navigation system (Transit), which allowed ships and submarines to establish their positions to within 200 m (650 ft). Transit was superseded by the Navstar Global Positioning System (GPS), and DARPA helped develop compact GPS receivers for military use.

● Night-vision technology. Advanced night-vision systems developed by DARPA assist troops and aircrews to operate in darkness. They also have been integrated into unmanned surveillance systems.

● Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). DARPA pioneered the development of UAVs. Its work led to the introduction of UAVs such as the Predator, which can provide extended military surveillance and reconnaissance.

      DARPA's willingness to take risks has sometimes led to embarrassing failure. Among its fiascoes was a Vietnam War-era program code-named Agile, in which $264 million was spent on projects such as building large mechanical elephants for transporting troops through the jungle. In the 1970s DARPA invested in an unsuccessful psychic spy program, which attempted to make use of parapsychology to conduct remote espionage.

      Although DARPA is an arm of the Defense Department, its work frequently has led to nonmilitary applications. An early DARPA undertaking was to develop powerful liquid-fuel rocket engines for long-range ballistic missiles. One such engine was the 1.5 million-pound-thrust F-1, which was used in the first stage of the Saturn V rocket that launched NASA's Apollo spacecraft on missions to the Moon. DARPA was also a pioneer of the information revolution; communications technology that it developed helped make the Internet possible. When the early computers of the 1960s began to be used more widely for research, there was a growing need for scientists to share data and computer resources. At the time the only suitable communication link was the old-fashioned circuit-switched telephone system. To speed up data transfer and allow multiple computers to work together, DARPA funded research that resulted in a computer network called ARPANET. It used a new technology, called packet switching, that allowed large chunks of data to be broken up into small “packets,” which could then be routed independently to their destination on a computer network. ARPANET later evolved into the Internet, and packet switching proved to be an efficient means of transporting large amounts of data quickly between computers.

      Now in its sixth decade, DARPA remains at the forefront of efforts to maintain the U.S.'s lead in military technology. For example, the agency is developing economical and environmentally friendly means of converting coal to liquid fuels in order to reduce the military's dependence on foreign supplies of petroleum. The agency is also working to counter terrorist threats. A program called the Human-carried Explosive Detection Stand-off System, for example, seeks to develop a sensor system that can rapidly detect human-carried explosives at a distance of up to 150 m (490 ft) for the purpose of stopping suicide bombers before they reach their intended targets.

      No project epitomizes DARPA better than its Urban Challenge. This competition, begun in 2004 as the Grand Challenge, was designed to encourage industry to develop a new generation of vehicles that could travel along roads and negotiate traffic without a human driver. Urban Challenge culminated in November 2007 with the awarding of a $2 million grand prize to a robotic sport-utility vehicle developed by a consortium led by General Motors and Carnegie Mellon University. The vehicle outperformed several of its competitors on a course designed to simulate street driving and traffic. DARPA hopes that the expertise gained from Urban Challenge will be transformed into practical battlefield solutions. For example, if robotic trucks could be used in supply convoys, humans would be exposed to less risk from roadside attacks.

Peter Saracino

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