A tactical HUD showing specialized darts, chemical toxin readouts, and guard dog incapacitation protocols.
THINK ABOUTIT SUMMARY:
Project MKNAOMI: The CIA’s Secret Biological Arsenal
Project/Group Name: Project MKNAOMI
Mission: To maintain a robust, covert arsenal of lethal and incapacitating biological/chemical agents and to develop specialized, “silent” delivery systems for top-secret operations.
Date Started: 1952. Ended: Dissolved in November 1969 (following President Nixon’s abolishment of biological warfare programs).
Who or Whom Started It: Joint CIA and U.S. Army initiative.
Part of what Government Agency: CIA (Technical Services Division) and U.S. Army Special Operations Command (SOC).
Location: Primary technical development at Fort Detrick, Maryland.
Special Features/Characteristics:
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The “Dart” System: Modification of firearms to fire specialized darts coated with biological agents designed to incapacitate (and later revive) guard dogs or human targets without detection.
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Anti-Agricultural Warfare: Extensive research into biological agents specifically designed to destroy enemy crops and livestock.
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The Shellfish Toxin Cache: Despite the 1970 outlawing of toxin stockpiles, the CIA successfully hid 11 grams of deadly saxitoxin (shellfish toxin) for over five years.
Summary/Description: MKNAOMI acted as the “covert support base” for the CIA’s operational requirements. While MKULTRA and MKDELTA focused on the effects of substances on the mind, MKNAOMI focused on the technology of delivery. This included poisonous pills, aerosol systems, and the evaluation of materials to ensure no “defects” occurred during high-stakes assassinations or infiltrations. It was essentially the CIA’s biological hardware store, ensuring they had the means to incapacitate or kill targets with surgical, untraceable precision.
Related to: Project MKDELTA, Project MKULTRA, Fort Detrick, and The Church Committee.
Source: 1967 CIA Memorandum; Church Committee Final Report; Presidential Orders (1969/1970).
Other Details: The discovery of the hidden shellfish toxin during the Church Committee hearings became a symbol of the CIA’s “rogue” nature—demonstrating that even presidential orders could not fully shut down the infrastructure of the secret state.
“The purpose was to establish a robust arsenal… so as to ensure that no defects and unwanted contingencies emerged during operational conditions.”
PROJECT MKNAOMI was the code name for a joint Department of Defense/CIA research program lasting from the 1950s through the 1970s. Unclassified information about the MKNAOMI program and the related Special Operations Division is scarce. It is generally reported to be a successor to the MKDELTA project and to have focused on biological projects including biological warfare agents—specifically, to store materials that could either incapacitate or kill a test subject and to develop devices for the diffusion of such materials.
During the first twenty years of its establishment, the CIA engaged in various projects designed to increase U.S. biological and chemical warfare capabilities. Project MKNAOMI was initiated to provide the CIA with a covert support base to meet its top-secret operational requirements. The purpose was to establish a robust arsenal within the CIA’s Technical Services Division (TSD) and of which was to consist of various lethal and incapacitating materials. This would enable the TSD to serve as a highly maintained center for the circulation of biological and chemical materials.
Surveillance, testing, upgrading, and the evaluation of special materials and items were also provided by MKNAOMI so as to ensure that no defects and unwanted contingencies emerged during operational conditions. For these purposes the U.S. Army’s Special Operations Command (SOC) was assigned to assist the CIA in the development, testing, and maintenance procedures for the biological agents and delivery systems (1952). Both the CIA and SOC also modified guns that fired special darts coated with biological agents and various poisonous pills. The darts would serve to incapacitate guard dogs, infiltrate the area that the dogs were guarding, and then awaken the dogs upon exiting the facility. In addition, the SOC was also designated to research the potentials for using biological agents against other animals and crops.
A 1967 CIA memo which was uncovered by the Church Committee was confirmed to give evidence of at least three covert techniques for attacking and poisoning crops that have been examined under field conditions. On November 25, 1969, President Richard Nixon abolished any military practice involving biological weapons and Project MKNAOMI was dissolved. On February 14, 1970, a presidential order was given to outlaw all stockpiles of bacteriological weapons and nonliving toxins. However, despite this presidential order, a CIA scientist was able to acquire an estimated 11 grams of deadly shellfish toxin from SOC personnel at Fort Detrick. The toxin was then stored in a CIA laboratory where it remained undetected for over five years.
