Defense electronics

DARPA developing next-gen vacuum tubes

The venerable vacuum tube is due to take retirement.

Though the technology is more than 60 years old, more than 200,000 Department of Defense devices use vacuum tubes, including crucial communications and radar systems, according to DARPA.

So, DARPA's Innovative Vacuum Electronic Science and Technology (INVEST) project aims to upgrade today's vacuum electronic devices (VEDs) with more advanced vacuum tubes.