Vanguard Technology: Next Generation Ideas for U.S. National Security

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the U.S. Department of Defense working to develop breakthrough technologies for U.S. national security. For more than six decades, DARPA has formulated and executed projects that have expanded the frontiers of technology and science, with a track record of exceptional innovation in such areas as materials science, information processing, directed energy, and satellite systems, among many others. DARPA asked the Capstone team to consider both how DARPA has developed an exceptional risk/reward track record in frontier technologies, and what may be needed in contemporary environments to continue to be at the vanguard of advanced capabilities.