Project AGILE was created in the 1960's to support US in fighting against Communists, especially in Vietnam and Thailand. It was directed by the Department of Defense: ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Administration) and covered a variety of topics which were divided into 8 subprojects. Projects I, II, and VIII covered weaponry, equipment, and rations. The weapons included flamethrowers, grenades, guns, and many more. Project III was all about communication systems during war and how it could be used. Project V closely relates to III, since they both have to work together. Project V is like the watchman while III communicates what V sees to the rest of the team. Project VI was all about herbicides (Agent Green, Agent Pink, Agent Purple, Agent Blue, Agent White, and Agent Orange) and anything medical that could be used in warfare. Project VII was about technical planning and programming, which includes researching casualties and morbidity, environmental issues, and different tactical studies.
The document link below includes more information about Project AGILE.
This is really interesting to think about how there were different projects formed in the midst of fighting against communism. To add on a bit, this project was ran from mid 1961 and through 1974. It also provided plans for use by Thailand in counterinsurgency against communism. I think the weapons that you described were very interesting and fascinating too see how the different projects each slowly developed in history
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