War by any means: The story of DARPA
DARPA exists because the military wants wizards working for it. The military often describes what units do as various parts of the spear, &quot;tip of the spear&quot; etc. Science is capable of not only producing a better spear, but changing the paradigm entirely.<p>In not even the most rabid fever dreams of generals would an army without science be capable of even a fraction of the capabilities of an army with.<p>- Armies fight on their stomachs - so science produced stay good food that lasts under any condition for <i>years</i> with special storage, comes in a variety of menus and even provides for hot menus without the use of fire [1]<p>- Soldiers need better tactical capabilities - so science let them see in the dark [2], become stronger [3], gave them perfect aim [4], gave them god-like ability to peel back the fog of war [5] and made them nearly indestructible [6][7]<p>- Generals needed more powerful options - so science created nuclear weapons [8], the ability to see from atop Mount Olympus[9][10], physics bending intelligence collection capabilities[11], ships that stay beneath the sea for months [12], combat aircraft that don&#x27;t put the pilots at risk[13], and tanks that can survive in any condition [14], and soon the ability to harness energy to knock enemy munitions from the sky[15] or to through matter at many times the speed of sound using invisible forces[16]<p>This combat magnification extends to logistics, information processing, chemical warfare (and defense), biological warfare (and defense), intelligence collection and so on.<p>An equivalent force from the 19th century would be turned into pulp by a force from today. And our forces probably wouldn&#x27;t even be in harms way during the major exchange.<p>Significantly advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, and scientists and engineers who develop it are the wizards of modern times. DARPA merely tries to give wizards a place to hone their craft. Sometimes their work leaks out in the public and we&#x27;re touched by this magic to make the internet, or use GPS, safer food, make medicine more life saving and so on. Sometimes we&#x27;re on the receiving end of dark magic and our cities get turned to dust.<p>1 - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Meal,_Ready-to-Eat" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Meal,_Ready-to-Eat</a><p>2 - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Night_vision_device" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Night_vision_device</a><p>3 - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=ViL4bAUGuGY" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=ViL4bAUGuGY</a><p>4 - <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.npr.org&#x2F;sections&#x2F;alltechconsidered&#x2F;2013&#x2F;05&#x2F;15&#x2F;184223110&#x2F;new-rifle-on-sale" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.npr.org&#x2F;sections&#x2F;alltechconsidered&#x2F;2013&#x2F;05&#x2F;15&#x2F;184...</a><p>5 - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;11th_Reconnaissance_Squadron" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;11th_Reconnaissance_Squadron</a><p>6 - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=bQi7iknSKy0" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=bQi7iknSKy0</a><p>7 - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=yC2pnjN4qT8" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=yC2pnjN4qT8</a><p>8 - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Nuclear_weapon" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Nuclear_weapon</a><p>9 - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Unmanned_aerial_vehicle" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Unmanned_aerial_vehicle</a><p>10 - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Reconnaissance_satellite" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Reconnaissance_satellite</a><p>11 - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;ECHELON" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;ECHELON</a><p>12 - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Nuclear_submarine" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Nuclear_submarine</a><p>13 - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Unmanned_combat_aerial_vehicle" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Unmanned_combat_aerial_vehicle</a><p>14 - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;M1_Abrams" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;M1_Abrams</a><p>15 - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Directed-energy_weapon" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Directed-energy_weapon</a><p>16 - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=o4ZqfEJTGzw" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=o4ZqfEJTGzw</a>