Coffee Break: Armed Madhouse - How DARPA Lost Its Mojo

Coffee Break: Armed Madhouse - How DARPA Lost Its Mojo

DARPA once defined the frontier of U.S. technological power, developing the foundations of stealth, networking, and precision-guided warfare. Today its most capable prototypes routinely die in the “valley of death,” casualties of political caution, industrial consolidation, and perverse incentives that punish programs for succeeding. This article examines how DARPA went from the nation’s most creative engine of capability to an agency whose brea…