Russia to Create Own “DARPASKI”

By Douglas Messier Parabolic Arc Managing Editor As I first reported back in February, Russia is moving forward with the development of its own DARPA. Ruler-for-Life Vladimir Putin has sent a bill to the Duma to establish the Russian Foundation for Advanced Research Projects in the Defense Industry, which Wired has dubbed DARPASKI. The establishment [...]

Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin. (Credit: A. Savin)
By Douglas Messier
Parabolic Arc Managing Editor
As I first reported back in February, Russia is moving forward with the development of its own DARPA. Ruler-for-Life Vladimir Putin has sent a bill to the Duma to establish the Russian Foundation for Advanced Research Projects in the Defense Industry, which Wired has dubbed DARPASKI.
The establishment of the foundation will be overseen by hardline Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, whom Putin appointed last December as defense czar with the goal of cleaning up the corruption-prone defense and error-prone space sectors.
(The latter effort, incidentally, seems to be working; the Russians haven’t blown up any rockets for six months. Either Rogozin has instituted some serious reforms, or he has scared the living crap out of everyone with the consequences of further failures. My guess is mostly the latter.)
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