This paper examines the continuity between the weapons development management system in the 1970s and the national research and development (R&D) programs in the 1980s in South Korea. In the 1970s, the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) carried out a series of weapons development programs, adopting standardized procedures for planning, managing, and evaluating projects from the United States Department of Defense. After the establishment of the Fifth Republic of Korea, former weapons developers launched the “Special R&D Program (Teukjeong yeongugaebal saeop),” modeled on the weapons development system of the ADD, and the program was followed by the national R&D programs of other ministries. By examining the process by which the Special R&D Program was established, this paper will argue that the current planning, management, and evaluation system of national R&D programs inherits the weapons development management system of the ADD.