Y.H. Gharpure

According to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), four out of top five arms exporting companies in the world are based in the United States, which has the world’s largest military industrial complex. Out of USD 2.2 trillion factory output in US, 10 per cent is defence production sold mainly to defence department.

The military industrial complex has been developing new weapons and protective gears of a variety of types and range through research efforts by dedicated scientists and engineers. This has enabled the US to become a super-power not only militarily but also economically.

While the above is the current status of the US defence preparedness, such was not the situation in the past. Until the US’ joining of World War II in September 1939, the US defence preparedness was minimal. However, through the efforts of General Crowell and others and emphasis from President Franklin Roosevelt that America must be arsenal of democracy, by the time the war ended, the US was producing thousands of tanks, fighter aircraft and ships, in addition to millions of tons of munitions. The Air Force Plant 31 in Michigan was, by the end of the war, producing a B-24 bomber every 55 minutes. Such dramatic defence production was possible as a result of the efforts of the American Ordinance Association led by General Crowell.

Apart from efforts of US Ordnance Department, NASA, National Defence Industrial Association (NDIA) etc., there is one organisation which played a major role in creating the US Military Industrial Complex. It was the Defence Advance Research Project Agency (DARPA). We shall review below the important role DARPA.

DARPA is under department of defence and is responsible for development of emerging technologies for the military. Its objective is to conceive, develop and demonstrate breakthrough technologies relevant to national security needs. It’s roles further involve transition of these technologies into working capabilities to enable new tactical and strategic possibilities. These include systems like synthetic aperture radar, ground moving target indication, advance communications, data networks development etc., routinely used by today’s fighters. Such technologies enable unprecedented understanding as to how adversarial forces are moving. Stealth revolution is another feather in the cap of DARPA. It has also developed electro-optical infra-red sensors, components for miniaturized Global Positioning Systems (GSP), micro electromechanical systems and advance command and control technologies etc. which had resulted in revolutionizing military targeting.

Mission of DARPA over the last 60 years was to make a strategic investment in breakthrough technologies for US’ security. The birth of DARPA however was due to a different provocation. It was the launch of Sputnik by USSR in 1957 which gave strategic technological surprises to the US and woke it up to initiate action to prevent the US from becoming victim of strategic technological surprises.

The objective was to achieve spectacular results by working with innovators inside and outside the government and accepting revolutionary concepts and transforming systems impossible to achieve into practical capabilities