The Defence Research Agency (DRA) was an executive agency of the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) from April 1991 until April 1995. At the time, the DRA was Britain's largest

science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

and

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, scie ...

organisation. In April 1995, the DRA was combined with five other MOD establishments to form the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency.

History

The DRA was formed on 1 April 1991 as an

amalgamation Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form. Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to: Mathematics and science * Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal ** Pan am ...

of the following Defence Research Establishments: *

Admiralty Research Establishment The Admiralty Research Establishment (commonly known as ARE) was formed on 1 April 1984 from various Admiralty establishments. It became part of the Defence Research Agency on 1 April 1991. Constituent parts on formation * Admiralty Surface W ...

(ARE) – major sites

Portsdown Portsdown is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on Portsdown Hill, on the northern outskirts of Portsmouth in Hampshire. This is a linear south-facing escarpment with a rich chalk grassland flora. The diverse insect fauna includes a ...

, Hampshire and Southwell,

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of ...

("Maritime Division") * Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) – major site Farnborough, Hampshire ("Aerospace Division") * Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) – major site Boscombe Down * Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment ( RARDE) – major site

Fort Halstead Fort Halstead was a research site of Dstl, an executive agency of the UK Ministry of Defence. It is situated on the crest of the Kentish North Downs, overlooking the town of Sevenoaks, southeast of London. Originally constructed in 1892 as p ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

("Military Division") *

Royal Signals and Radar Establishment The Royal Signals and Radar Establishment (RSRE) was a scientific research establishment within the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of the United Kingdom. It was located primarily at Malvern in Worcestershire, England. The RSRE motto was ''Ubique ...

(RSRE) – major site

Malvern, Worcestershire Malvern is a spa town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England. It lies at the foot of the Malvern Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The centre of Malvern, Great Malvern, is a historic conservation area, which grew dr ...

("Electronics Division") DRA's headquarters was created at the RAE site at Farnborough, but the other major sites maintained a great deal of independence. DRA's first Chief Executive was Nigel Hughes, followed by John Chisholm who took over in August 1991. In April 1995, the DRA was combined with five other MOD establishments to form the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (

DERA Dera, Dero, Daro, Dhoro, Dahar or Dehra is a word in several languages of South Asia, whose meaning is ' camp', 'mound' or 'settlement'. It appears in the names of a number of places. Geography India * Dera, Himachal Pradesh * Dera Bassi, Mo ...

), DRA's John Chisholm becoming Chief Executive of the enlarged

(split in July 2001 into DSTL and QinetiQ).

References

Bibliography

* Eds
Robert Bud
and Philip Gummett (1999), ''Cold War Hot Science: Applied Research in Britain's Defence Laboratories 1945-1990'', Harwood * Military research of the United Kingdom Defunct executive agencies of the United Kingdom government Defence agencies of the United Kingdom 1991 establishments in the United Kingdom 1995 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Government agencies established in 1991 Government agencies disestablished in 1995 {{UK-mil-stub