# Who comes up with the CIA's special tools? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 16, 2019, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-comes-up-with-the-cias-special-tools/841856 "2019-10-16T17:19:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-comes-up-with-the-cias-special-tools/841856/1 "2019-10-16T17:19:23Z")
Occasionally, the CIA and various groups within it, like the Special Operations Group, use equipment that isn’t just off-the-shelf. The biggest, flashiest example is the Fulton surface-to-air recovery system, or that skyhook thing you see in movies every so often where the hero attaches themself to a balloon and gets yoinked by a passing airplane. Who comes up with that stuff? Which organization? Where? How did people join that brain trust? The Fulton system was done by the Office of Naval Research, but who else is and was in on this? ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-comes-up-with-the-cias-special-tools/841856/2 "2019-10-16T18:25:57Z")
For big systems like that, it’s defense contractors. For example, Hughes designed and built the Glomar Explorer on behalf of CIA for Operation Azorian: > **[Project Azorian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Azorian)** > > Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}40°06′N 179°54′E / 40.1°N 179.9°E / 40.1; 179.9 > Project Azorian (also called "Jennifer" by the press after its Top Secret Security Compartment) was a U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) project to recover the sunken Soviet ... Lockheed designed and built both the U-2 and A-12 (later SR-71) spy planes for CIA. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-comes-up-with-the-cias-special-tools/841856/3 "2019-10-16T19:05:49Z")
Not the CIA, but the NSA designs chips. I can’t tell you how I know this. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-comes-up-with-the-cias-special-tools/841856/4 "2019-10-16T19:42:17Z")
[Directorate of Science and Technology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Intelligence_Agency_Directorate_of_Science_%26_Technology) comes up with quite a lot of it, per books like, _The Wizards of Langley_. There have been other books on their technological spycraft, including things such as embedding microphones within cats and releasing them to serve as eavesdropping devices. I can’t find the book I have on it, or I’d mention it as well. Along with **Voyager** ’s post, James Bamford, has written extensively on the National Security Agency’s reach, budget, and research in his books,\* The Puzzle Palace\* and _Body of Secrets_. I haven’t read, _The Shadow Factory: The Ultra-Secret NSA From 9/11 To The Eavesdropping On America_, but it’s supposed to be good as well. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-comes-up-with-the-cias-special-tools/841856/5 "2019-10-16T21:35:40Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Occasionally, the CIA and various groups within it, like the Special Operations Group, use equipment that isn’t just off-the-shelf. The biggest, flashiest example is the Fulton surface-to-air recovery system, or that skyhook thing you see in movies every so often where the hero attaches themself to a balloon and gets yoinked by a passing airplane. > > Who comes up with that stuff? Which organization? Where? How did people join that brain trust? The Fulton system was done by the Office of Naval Research, but who else is and was in on this? That balloon thing is the Fulton recovery. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-comes-up-with-the-cias-special-tools/841856/6 "2019-10-16T21:36:19Z")
[DARPA](https://www.darpa.mil/) ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-comes-up-with-the-cias-special-tools/841856/7 "2019-10-16T21:38:07Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > That balloon thing is the Fulton recovery. Yeah, it’s right there in Derleth’s post. > [@Derleth](#): > > the Fulton surface-to-air recovery system ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-comes-up-with-the-cias-special-tools/841856/8 "2019-10-16T21:43:20Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Yeah, it’s right there in Derleth’s post. > [@Derleth](#): > > The biggest, flashiest example is the Fulton surface-to-air recovery system, **or** that skyhook thing you see in movies every so often where the hero attaches themself to a balloon and gets yoinked by a passing airplane Bolded for distinction Seemed like he was thinking two separate operations, where it was just the one. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-comes-up-with-the-cias-special-tools/841856/9 "2019-10-16T21:45:40Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > Bolded for distinction > > Seemed like he was thinking two separate operations, where it was just the one. I can assure you I wasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-comes-up-with-the-cias-special-tools/841856/10 "2019-10-16T21:49:32Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > Bolded for distinction > > Seemed like he was thinking two separate operations, where it was just the one. I took Derleth’s “or” to mean that if you don’t know what the Fulton recovery system is, here is a description. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2019, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-comes-up-with-the-cias-special-tools/841856/11 "2019-10-17T10:26:20Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > Bolded for distinction > > Seemed like he was thinking two separate operations, where it was just the one. You can read that “or” as “otherwise known as” ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2019, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-comes-up-with-the-cias-special-tools/841856/12 "2019-10-17T13:02:39Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > [DARPA](https://www.darpa.mil/) DARPA is basically just a funding agency, they don’t design things. They’ll write a list of requirements and solicit bids from public firms. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2019, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-comes-up-with-the-cias-special-tools/841856/13 "2019-10-17T13:31:29Z")
Thank you for all the good answers so far. Very interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2019, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-comes-up-with-the-cias-special-tools/841856/14 "2019-10-17T19:36:31Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > DARPA is basically just a funding agency, they don’t design things. They’ll write a list of requirements and solicit bids from public firms. And universities. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-comes-up-with-the-cias-special-tools/841856/15 "2019-10-18T01:39:42Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Not the CIA, but the NSA designs chips. I can’t tell you how I know this. If you can’t tell how you know, you probably can’t tell the information you know.