{PDF} DARPA technical accomplishments: an overall perspective and assessment of the technical accomplishments of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency: 1958-1990 Richard H. Van Atta, Seymour J. Deitchman, Sidney G. Reed

IDA has been documenting and assessing the major technical accomplishments and contributions to technological advance made by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Phase I (published as Volume I, P-2192, and Volume II, P-2429) reviewed the origins, evolution, and impact of 49 projects or program areas. This paper (Phase II) focuses on the broader context of DARPA’s contributions, including influences external to the agency. Its purpose is to describe the motivation for programs undertaken by DARPA, the intrinsic nature of the research, and the technological advances that emerged. Some programs, such as ballistic missile defense and large acoustic arrays for antisubmarine warfare, were highly successful in their own context, while others, such as computing and computer networks, had wider ramifications for national technological developments. The paper also derives lessons for future DARPA strategic planning and project management.