Army Research Office

The Army Research Office (ARO) is a directorate within the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory (DEVCOM ARL) responsible for managing the Army’s extramural research program. Originally a standalone organization assigned under the Office of the Chief of Research and Development, ARO was consolidated into DEVCOM ARL in 1998.

Based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, ARO competitively selects and sponsors basic research proposals from educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, and private industry, principally in the form of single investor efforts, university-affiliated research centers, and specially tailored outreach programs. The directorate also manages the Army’s Small Business Technology Transfer Program and Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Serving Institutions Programs.

Mission

ARO's research mission concentrates on the pursuit of scientific discoveries that uncover new Army capabilities with the transition of system applications often envisioned 20 to 30 years in the future, representing the Army’s most long-range view.

History

Prior to its assignment under DEVCOM ARL, ARO existed as a separate U.S. Army agency for over 40 years. Its creation was largely influenced by a prevailing military policy following World War II to separate research and development from production. Since the beginning of the 19th century, the Army’s production facilities served as the primary source of technological innovation for the Army. With few exceptions, weapons research and development took place alongside arms production within the network of manufacturing arsenals owned by the Army. The close proximity of Army research and development to Army production suddenly came to an end when the United States entered World War II, and the pressure to accelerate the mass production of weapons forced the arsenals to relinquish most of their long-range basic research to the private sector.