The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, known as DARPA, broke ground on a new headquarters Wednesday in Arlington County, just a few miles from the Pentagon.

Virginia politicians fought hard to keep the relatively tiny agency from leaving the state, approving a $10 million state grant to keep them from leaving.

DARPA has a reputation for doing high-risk, high-reward research that sometimes catch headlines despite the agency’s efforts to keep a low profile. It is generally credited with building the precursor to the Internet 40 years ago.