DARPA's Military Mission & University Connections--Part 3

(See Parts 1-2 below)

In a March 25, 2004 statement before the House Committee on Armed Services’ Subcommittee on “Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities,” the Director of DARPA, Dr. Anthony Tether, indicated some of the military applications of the DARPA-funded research work that is currently done on U.S. university campuses at places like Columbia:

“The eight strategic research thrusts that DARPA is emphasizing in response to emerging trends are:

“Detection, Precision ID, Tracking and Destruction of Elusive Surface Targets
“Force Multipliers in Urban Area Operations
“Location and Characterization of Underground Structures
“Network Manned and Unmanned Structures
“Robust, Secure Self-forming Tactical Networks
“Cognitive Computing
“Assured Use of Space
“Bio-Revolution.

“Force Multipliers for Urban Area Operations is a new area that we have begun this year, partly to response to what we have seen in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the increasing likelihood that conflict in the future will be fought in cities.

“…DARPA is assembling the necessary sensors, exploitation tools, command systems, and information technologies to rapidly find and destroy ground targets in any terrain, in any weather, moving or not, at any time…

“DARPA is supporting research in four general areas: sensors to find targets; sensor exploitation systems to identify and track targets; command and control systems to plan and manage the use of sensors, platforms and weapons throughout the battlespace; and information technology to tie it all together and ensure the effective dissemination of information.”

Next: DARPA’s Military Mission & University Connections—Part 4