DARPA is the research and development office for the U.S. Department of Defense. DARPA’s mission is to maintain technological superiority of the U.S. military and prevent technological surprise from harming our national security. We also create technological surprise for our adversaries.
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| 2007 DARPA URBAN CHALLENGE |
DARPA funds unique and innovative research through the private sector, academic and other non-profit organizations as well as government labs.
DARPA research runs the gamut from conducting scientific investigations in a laboratory, to building full-scale prototypes of military systems. We fund research in biology, medicine, computer science, chemistry, physics, engineering, mathematics, material sciences, social sciences, neuroscience, and more.
DARPA's First 50 Years
DARPA was established as a DoD agency in 1958 as America’s response to the Soviet Union’s launching of Sputnik. In the years since, DARPA’s freedom to act quickly and decisively with high quality people has paid handsome dividends for DoD in terms of revolutionary military capabilities.
Today, America faces completely different threats and adversaries than it did when DARPA was established in 1958, and the Agency continually evolves to reflect this changing national security landscape. DARPA’s proud history of achievement and its culture of excellence are testimony to the vital role the Agency has played in the nation’s security and technological superiority.
