Defense Threat Reduction Agency

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) was a combat support agency within the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), headquartered at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Its primary mission was to deter, detect, and defeat weapons of mass destruction (WMD) – chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) – and improve the global nuclear security enterprise. DTRA worked to reduce the threat of WMD proliferation and use by providing cutting-edge science and technology, implementing threat reduction cooperation programs, and offering operational support to combatant commands and other government agencies. Key functions included advancing research and development for WMD defense capabilities, supporting arms control treaty verification, enhancing global biosecurity, and providing expertise in nuclear surety and conventional arms control. The agency also played a crucial role in developing response capabilities for WMD incidents and mitigating their consequences. DTRA was disestablished in October 2022, with its core functions and personnel redistributed to other DoD entities, most notably the newly formed Defense WMD Response Agency (DWRA), which assumed many of DTRA's operational WMD mission sets.

Last researched: 3/29/2026

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