Project AGILE

Project AGILE was an ARPA project in the 1960s that investigated means for engaging in remote, limited warfare of an asymmetric type. The research was intended for use in providing US support to countries enganged in fighting Communist insurgents, particularly in Vietnam and Thailand. [Project AGILE Semiannual Report, p. 1]

History

Project AGILE was directed by the United States Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration, or ARPA, and ran from mid 1961 through 1974, when it was canceled. The project was charged with developing methods to use in the looming conflict in Vietnam, and also provided information for use by Thailand in counterinsurgency action against Communist rebels.cite book |title=Riot Control Agents and Herbicides in War |author=Wil D. Verwey |page=99 |year=1977 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9028603360] cite book |title=America and the Third World: Revolution and Intervention |author=J. L. S. Girling |pages=178-179 |year=1980 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0710003188]

Coverage

Project AGILE covered a wide range of topics related to warfare under various conditions present in the Far East, from electronic surveillance, used to interdict Communist convoys in the Ho Chi Minh trail, to sociological research on troops likely to be subverted by Communist rebels. It was broken down into a number of subprojects. [Project AGILE Semiannual Report, p. iii]

ubproject I, II, and VIII

Subprojects II and VIII were merged into Subproject I, and the resulting subproject covered weapons, individual equipment, and rations. Individual weapons included the assault rifle, special purpose shotguns for use as insurgency weapons, flamethrowers, and rifle grenades. Crew served weapons included cupolas for armored personnel carriers, quad-mount machine guns, squeeze bore .50 to .30 caliber guns, multiple shot grenade launchers, lightweight mortars, and the Stoner 63 weapons system. [Project AGILE Semiannual Report, p. 5]

ubproject III

Subproject III covered remote area mobility and logistics. Included were studies of air and land transport, amphibious and water transport, STOL aircraft, and remote airstrips. [Project AGILE Semiannual Report, p. 51]

ubproject IV

Subproject IV covered communications systems. Both technical and procedural aspects of radio communications were studied, as well as power supplies and antennas. [Project AGILE Semiannual Report, p. 105]

ubproject V

Subproject V covered combat surveillance and target acquisition. Included were studies of airborne systems, such as infrared, radar, light amplification and spectral zone photography; surface use systems such as night vision, personal Doppler radar, target illumination, metal and cavity detectors; security and navigation systems [Project AGILE Semiannual Report, p. 123]

ubproject VI

Subproject VI covered "individual and special projects", which included use of herbicides (such as Agent Orange), psychological warfare, and medical research and equipment. [Project AGILE Semiannual Report, p. 149]

ubproject VII

Subproject VII covered technical planning and programming, including reasearch into morbidity and casualties, environmental issues, and various tactical studies, both of Viet Cong operations, and other instances of asymmetric warfare, such as conflicts in Algeria and Latin America. [Project AGILE Semiannual Report, p. 169]

References

*cite web |url=http://www.nal.usda.gov/speccoll/findaids/agentorange/text/00340.pdf |author=Advanced Research Projects Agency, Project AGILE R |title=Semiannual Report, 1 July - 31 December 1963 |date=Feb. 1, 1964
*cite web |title=PROJECT AGILE, Quarterly rept., 1 Apr-30 June |author=BATTELLE MEMORIAL INST COLUMBUS OH |date=15 JUL 1963 |url=http://stinet.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0338491