Fulfilling the Roosevelts' Vision for American Naval Power (1923-2005)

Since its establishment on July 2, 1923, the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has excelled in its mission of conducting a broadly based multidisciplinary program of scientific research and advanced technological development directed toward maritime applications of new and improved materials; techniques; equipment; systems; and ocean, atmospheric, and space sciences and related technologies. Products of the Laboratory include a number of innovations that have revolutionized the capabilities of the United States Navy and of the Nation as a whole. Among these innovations are radar, which ushered in the era of modern warfare; the first U.S. intelligence satellite; and several key ideas for satellite time-based navigational systems, which eventually led to the Global Positioning System (GPS). More recently, NRL has developed powerful new warfighting capabilities for a post-Cold War environment marked by regional conflict and terrorism. One example is Specific Emitter Identification technology that identifies any radar by its unique characteristics with such accuracy as to "fingerprint" it. It was selected by the National Security Agency as the national standard. Another is "Dragon Eye" (trademark) an affordable, expendable, hand-launched 5.5-pound miniature surveillance plane with the radar signature of a bird. Carried by backpack, this airborne sensor platform provides U.S. Marine units deployed to Iraq with reconnaissance, battle damage assessment, and threat detection capabilities. A final example is Project Silent Guardian, which was implemented when there were concerns for military and civilian health during special events held in the Washington, DC, area during the 2005 Presidential Inauguration. This project marked the first demonstration of a capability for rapidly obtaining data for a broad range of pathogens in clinical specimens collected from the general population.