MIT Lincoln Laboratory

The MIT Lincoln Laboratory, located in Lexington, Massachusetts, is a United States Department of Defense federally funded research and development center chartered to apply advanced technology to problems of national security. The Laboratory provides a technical base for military electronics ranging from radars to reentry physics. Research and development activities focus on long-term technology development as well as rapid system prototyping and demonstration. These efforts are aligned within key mission areas. The laboratory works with industry to transition new concepts and technology for system development and deployment. The laboratory also maintains several field sites around the world.

Created in 1951 as a federally funded research and development center of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Lincoln Laboratory was focused on improving the nation's air defense system through advanced electronics. The laboratory's inception was prompted by the Air Defense Systems Engineering Committee's 1950 report that concluded the United States was unprepared for the threat of an air attack. Because of MIT's management of the Radiation Laboratory during World War II, the experience of some of its staff on the Air Defense Systems Engineering Committee, and its proven competence in electronics, the U.S. Air Force suggested that MIT could provide the research needed to develop an air defense that could detect, identify, and ultimately intercept air threats.

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