# "Whatever DARPA's working on"

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: ""Whatever DARPA's working on"," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/whatever-darpa-is-working-on/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*John Kiriakou's standing rejoinder to the defence of American research spending — that the secrecy of DARPA's projects is the indictment rather than the excuse, because whatever it is working on should have been developed twenty years ago and be in the field today, and should be, in his phrase, Star Trek kind of stuff.*

- **The defence he rejects:** "You don't know what DARPA's working on"
- **His reply:** "But that's the point"
- **The standard he sets:** Developed 20 years ago, in the field today
- **Example he cites:** The soldier-replacing robot that still needs a battery

**"Whatever DARPA's working on"** is the standing reply [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) gives to the argument that American defence research is more advanced than the public can see.

## The exchange

His interviewer had contrasted Russia's Kinzhal hypersonic missiles and Oreshnik system, developed on a fraction of the American budget, with what $1.5 trillion had produced — *"we should have like Star Trek technology, photon torpedoes or something."*[1]

Kiriakou agreed and gave his stock answer to the standard defence. *"Exactly right. Instead we have garbage. You know, people say all the time, well, you don't know what DARPA's working on. And I always say, but that's the point. Whatever DARPA's working on, they should have developed it 20 years ago, it should be out today. And it should be Star Trek kind of stuff. And it's not. It's not."*[2]

## The example

His illustration was a promise he says has been outstanding for decades: *"We've been told for decades they're working on this robot. It's gonna make soldiers obsolete. They just need to figure out the battery."*[2]

The battery, in his account, has been figured out — elsewhere. See [the Hyundai robots](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-hyundai-robots).

## The ledger it belongs to

The remark closes a passage in which Kiriakou set the American defence budget — bigger, he says, than the next eight largest countries combined — against the airports, roads, bridges and hospitals it has not produced, and attributed the gap to *"waste and fraud and grift."*[3][4] The budget reversal that prompted the passage is at [the Pentagon budget reversal](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-pentagon-budget-reversal).

## See also

- [The Hyundai Robots](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-hyundai-robots)
- [The Pentagon budget reversal](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-pentagon-budget-reversal)
- [DARPA LifeLog](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/darpa-lifelog)

## Sources

1. War with Iran - Interview with John Kiriakou (2026-02-11), at 1:44:18. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v73fo1y&t=6258s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-02-11-health-ranger-report-war-with-iran-interview-with-john-kiriakou/
2. War with Iran - Interview with John Kiriakou (2026-02-11), at 1:44:49. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v73fo1y&t=6289s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-02-11-health-ranger-report-war-with-iran-interview-with-john-kiriakou/
3. War with Iran - Interview with John Kiriakou (2026-02-11), at 1:43:13. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v73fo1y&t=6193s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-02-11-health-ranger-report-war-with-iran-interview-with-john-kiriakou/
4. War with Iran - Interview with John Kiriakou (2026-02-11), at 1:43:47. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v73fo1y&t=6227s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-02-11-health-ranger-report-war-with-iran-interview-with-john-kiriakou/

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From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/whatever-darpa-is-working-on/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt