The Defense Advanced Projects Agency (DARPA) was formed in 1958 to address our nation’s move into space. Since then the Agency has received many assignments, although its overall mission and character have remained fairly consistent. During this time, immensely diverse products have emerged to find their way into our nation’s space, defense, academic, and private sectors. In this project, the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies (the Institute) was asked to develop and document an understanding of how well DARPA has transitioned these products into military systems over the past forty years. The above quote is a reminder that, as important as transition is, it is not the only responsibility delegated to the Agency. This and other factors affecting DARPA’s transition rate were considered.

Earlier studies have substantiated the impressive array of products DARPA has developed and transitioned into various military systems. The Agency has provided basic work in science and technology that has enriched the programs of military laboratories and the defense industry alike. Significant “spin-offs” (from the defense sector to commercial industry) and “spin-ons” (from commercial industry to the defense sector) have also resulted from DARPA programs. Perhaps as noteworthy are the commercial and government organizations created to improve, manage, and apply DARPA-supported technologies, some of which have continued to set industry-wide protocols, perform precompetitive research, and insert technology and products into military systems.

DARPA has conducted programs at nearly all stages of acquisition, certainly spanning research (6.1) to application (6.3), to address customers across the spectrum of the Military Services, from researcher to user. Historically, a unique feature of DARPA is the breadth of its programs and its military customer base. Unlike most Service acquisition organizations, which most often address one or two groups of users, DARPA’s approach has been to seek a broad range of customers. This flexibility also brings some complexities into the lives of Agency program managers. They must be familiar with a wide span of work in their field, application of their technology, and environment under which the technology is to be used.

This report is a study of how and how well DARPA has transitioned products to the Military Services. The report also addresses how that mission has been affected by the nature of the Agency and its output, and by the environment in which it operates. The study had four goals: (1) examine DARPA’s history of transition to its military customer; (2) empirically identify transition paths and strategies employed by DARPA; (3) identify factors that affect DARPA’s transition rates and to cite recent changes in those factors; and (4) suggest how DARPA might improve transition.