DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) The central research and development organization of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). DARPA manages and directs selected basis and applied science projects and pursues research and technology considered high in risk and payoff and that hold the potential for dramatic advances for traditional military roles and missions. DARPA was formed in 1958 in response to the Soviet launching of the Sputnik satellite. See also DARPANET. |