Ballistic Research Laboratory

Ballistic Research Laboratory
Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland in United States
BRL emblem.
Ballistic Research Laboratory – Emblem
BRL logo.
Ballistic Research Laboratory – Logo
TypeMilitary research laboratory
Site information
OwnerDepartment of Defense
OperatorU.S. Army
Controlled byArmy Materiel Command
ConditionRedeveloped as part of the U.S. Army Research Laboratory
Site history
Built1938

The Ballistic Research Laboratory (BRL) was a research facility under the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps and later the U.S. Army Materiel Command that specialized in ballistics as well as vulnerability and lethality analysis. Situated at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, BRL served as a major Army center for research and development in technologies related to weapon phenomena, armor, accelerator physics, and high-speed computing.[1][2] In 1992, BRL was disestablished, and its mission, personnel, and facilities were incorporated into the newly created U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL).[3]

The laboratory is perhaps best known for commissioning the creation of the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC), the first electronic general-purpose digital computer.[4]

  1. ^ "Appendix K: Ballistic Research Laboratory". Achieving Leadership in Materials Technology for the Army of the Future: A Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. 1986. doi:10.17226/18915. ISBN 978-0-309-31115-1.
  2. ^ Moye, William (May 1997). The Genealogy of ARL (Report). U.S. Department of the Army. Report No. AD-A383226 – via Defense Technical Information Center.
  3. ^ U.S. Army Research Laboratory (September 2017). History of the U.S. Army Research Laboratory. Government Printing Office. ISBN 9780160942310.
  4. ^ Moye, William (January 1996). "ENIAC: The Army-Sponsored Revolution". History of Computing Information. Archived from the original on April 3, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

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