The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is responsible for some of the world's most significant scientific and technological breakthroughs.
DARPA has had a hand in major inventions like GPS, the internet, and stealth aircraft. And it's always developing new technologies — military or
intelligence-related systems that could end up having a huge impact outside the battlefield as well.
intelligence-related systems that could end up having a huge impact outside the battlefield as well.
We've looked at some of DARPA's active projects, and found some of the more astounding systems that are currently in the works.
Bullets that can change direction in flight
Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance (EXACTO) are the military's first self-guided bullets.
EXACTO bullets are able to change their path during flight to correct for the movement of a target or any other factors that might have driven the bullet off course.
The bullets feature optical tips that can detect lasers on a target. Tiny fins on the bullets then guide the bullet towards that laser.
The Pentagon successfully conducted a live-fire test utilizing these rounds.
High-energy lasers
The High Energy Liquid Laser Area Defense System (HELLADS) program is an ambitious DARPA project aimed at neutralizing surface-to-air missile threats that aircraft may encounter.
Generally, surface-to-air missiles are faster than the plane they're targeting, making it difficult for an aircraft to evade fire. The HELLADS program attempts to use lasers to disable incoming missiles.
DARPA is also planning on increasing the strength of the HELLADS laser in order to make it an offensive weapon capable of destroying enemy ground targets.
Flying trucks
The ARES program, a Skunk Works extension of DARPA's Transformer program, is an attempt to develop an actual flying car.
ARES will be a dual-mode vehicle capable of both driving on the ground and achieving high-speed vertical takeoff and landing. Twin tilting fans will allow the vehicle to hover and land. The vehicle can also configure itself for high-speed flight.
DARPA hopes that the ARES will be especially resistant to IEDs — while also being able to evade aerial threats, like air-to-air missiles.
Robotic pack animals
The Legged Squad Support System (LS3) introduced by DARPA and in development by Boston Dynamics is a mobile, semi-autonomous, four-legged robot that can function as a beast of burden on the battlefield.
Boston Dynamic's AlphaDog can currently go70% to 80% of the places that troops are capable of walking. The prototype can carry hundreds of pounds of gear, lightening the burden for soldiers. It is currently taking part in testing trials alongside Marines in Hawaii.
Self-calculating gun scopes
DARPA's One Shot XG program aims to improve the accuracy of military snipers through a small mountable calculation system that can be placed either on a weapon's barrel or on its spotting scope.
The One Shot system is designed to calculate a number of variables, such as crosswind conditions, the maximum effective range of the weapon, and weapon alignment, using an internal Linux-based computer. The system would then indicate an ideal aim point for the marksman.
The One Shot XG began testing in March 2013.
A system that provides almost immediate close air support
The tactic of close air-support — in which soldiers call in attack aircraft to gain advantage in the midst of a ground engagement — has remained relatively unchanged since its emergence in World War I. In conventional close air support, pilots and ground forces focus on one target at a time through voice directions and a shared map.
DARPA's Persistent Close Air Support (PCAS) program is aimed at radically redefining the concept.
PCAS would enable ground agents to share real-time situational awareness and weapons data with aircraft crews. This would allow an aircrew to focus on multiple targets simultaneously.
The PCAS is also designed to significantly reduce the time between calling in an airstrike and an aircraft's arrival on the battlefield.
