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About DARPA

 

Transforming military and civilian realities

Since 1958, DARPA has held to an enduring mission: To create technological surprise for U.S. national security.

Working with innovators inside and outside government, we have delivered on that mission many times over – transforming the seemingly impossible into world-changing defense and national security capabilities. Often, DARPA innovations also become fixtures of modern civilian life.

Created in response to the launch of Sputnik in 1957, DARPA stands as our nation’s commitment to never again face a strategic technical surprise.

Unlike other agencies, DARPA is not satisfied with incremental advances. We push transformational breakthroughs – innovations that not only solve current challenges but also establish the U.S. as the leading driver of strategic technological invention.

DARPA programs focus on the fundamental research required to establish proof of concept. Performer teams define the path for putting new technologies into use in service of our nation’s warfighters, and transition partners lead the work of implementation, technology transfer, and commercialization.

Our results speak for themselves.

We’ve created game-changing military capabilities – precision weapons, stealth technology, nerve implants that return sensation to warriors who have lost limbs, and more – that stand as a marvel to militaries around the globe.

Our innovations have also transformed civilian society, leading to the Internet as we know it today, automated voice recognition and language translation, GPS receivers small enough to fit in consumer devices, and early investments in mRNA vaccine technology.

We do this by fueling an innovation ecosystem that engages academic, industry, and government partners. By fostering a nurturing environment, we empower diverse collaborators to succeed faster.

The DARPA difference

The secret to our success lies in the skill and tenacity of our program managers and our unique funding approaches.

These are extraordinary individuals who lead their fields and are hungry to push the limits of their disciplines. They define their programs, setting the course for research performers to deliver revolutionary concepts, foundational discoveries, and tactical innovations.

Constantly probing for the next big thing, program managers reach across scientific and engineering disciplines to uncover new challenges and potential solutions at the seams.

Alternative contracting vehicles allow DARPA to seize every opportunity to advance our mission. In addition to multi-year programs focused on developing technology from possibility to field-ready capability, our approach to funding includes:

  • Challenges that invite ideas from nontraditional inventors, with prizes up to $10M
  • Seedlings that move concepts from “disbelief” to “mere doubt”
  • Explorations that accelerate the timeline from concept to award
  • SBIR/STTR initiatives that can lead to new programs 

Together, the exceptional leadership of our program managers and our unique funding opportunities make it possible for DARPA to do the seemingly impossible.

What comes next is limited only by the imagination.

Leadership

Rob McHenry

Acting Director, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

Mr. Rob McHenry is the acting director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

He rejoined DARPA in September 2022 after serving as founder and chief executive officer of Bright Silicon Technologies, an optical microdevice manufacturing company.

McHenry has been an executive leader of organizations at the forefront of advanced technology development. He began his career as a nuclear submarine officer in the U.S. Navy, serving aboard the USS Portsmouth (SSN 707) and as a special assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations. 

Upon leaving military service, he supported DARPA including technical development for the DARPA Grand Challenge for Unmanned Ground Vehicles, and managed a consulting firm where he served as director of future development for the Littoral Combat Ship program. 

From 2007 to 2012, McHenry was a program manager in DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office, where he focused on complex autonomous systems in the maritime domain. His research in self-deploying unmanned ships (Sea Hunter) developed the first class of maritime vessels traveling long distances autonomously for months at a time. He also started the Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile program, which is a foundational breakthrough in autonomous weapons and successfully transitioned to the U.S. Navy as a program of record. 

In acknowledgment of his programs’ impact on national security, he received the DARPA Gamechanger Award in 2019.

McHenry worked from 2012 until 2020 at the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), where he held the roles of energy technology program manager, vice president of public sector operations, chief operating officer, and executive-in-residence for the founding of a new business unit for advanced materials manufacturing.

McHenry received a Bachelor of Science in marine engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy, and Master of Science in nuclear engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He serves on the board of trustees of the USS Hornet Sea, Air, and Space Museum in Alameda, California, and is the coinventor of six patents for energy and optical systems.

 

 

Whitney Mason

Acting Deputy Director, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

Dr. Whitney Mason is the acting deputy director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and director of the Microsystems Technology Office (MTO). 

Previously, she held the deputy director role in the agency’s Strategic Technology Office (STO) from June 2022 to October 2023. Prior to joining STO, Mason served as a program manager in MTO from November 2017 to May 2022. 

Her research interests include imaging sensors that provide multifunction capability. In particular, she is interested in novel device structures, optics, and electronics that enable new capabilities compared to current state-of-the-art imaging systems.

Mason joined DARPA from the Army C5ISR Center, formerly the Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center, where she was the director of the Science and Technology Division within the Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. In that role, she led a team of scientists and engineers in the pursuit of new and improved focal plane array materials and devices; advanced read-out circuits; and enhanced optical materials and designs, lasers, and image processing. 

Mason holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in physics from the University of Oklahoma and a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from Georgetown University.

 

Technical Offices

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Our six technical offices put DARPA’s mission into action. Their leaders and program managers plan and execute a constantly evolving portfolio of research programs, challenges, and transition activities. 

Biological Technologies Office
Defense Sciences Office
Information Innovation Office
Microsystems Technology Office
Strategic Technology Office
Tactical Technology Office

 

Support Offices

These offices receive vital support from a dedicated team of management, science and technology, and administrative professionals.

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Budgets

The President’s FY2025 budget request for DARPA is $4.369 billion. The FY2024 enacted budget was $4.122 billion. Read the budget-related Congressional testimony by DARPA leadership.

The Defense Department also maintains a searchable database for budget information.

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Testimony

DARPA could not fulfill its mission of developing breakthrough technologies for national security without consistent broad support from Congress. DARPA’s congressional authorizers and appropriators sit on the Senate and House Armed Services Committees and the Appropriations Committees. Transcripts of testimony provided to these and other committees and subcommittees appear below.

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