Timeline
In character with President Clinton’s emphasis on economic growth, the Department of Defense restored DARPA’s original name, ARPA, to, in the words of a letter distributed by William Perry, then Deputy Secretary of Defense, “to expand the agency’s mission to pursue imaginative and innovative research and development projects having a significant potential for both military and commercial (dual-use) applications.”
In 1996, the Agency again would pick up that D, for Defense, and become known once again as DARPA.
Redefining Possible
Since 1958, DARPA has been an engine of innovation serving national defense and the U.S. warfighter.