DSIAC collects and publishes articles related to our technical focus areas on the web to share with the DoD community.
One of the best examples of how rapidly advancing technologies can change security requirements is the rise of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Relatively unknown to all but a few in the military as recently as 1990, today they are central to militaries throughout the world; the general public can even buy them in grocery stores.
The Abrams has for decades been considered the world’s premier tank. However, experts say that the T-14 Armata, a next-generation platform that the Russians are developing, could challenge some aspects of the Abrams’ supremacy. The U.S. tank of today looks much like the same one that was developed in the 1970s, but it has undergone
A laser directed energy weapon will be the first project to be undertaken at Dragonworks, a new UK facility dedicated to the development and testing of advanced laser technology. Located at Qinetiq’s headquarters in Farnborough, the new facility will serve as a test bed for all technologies associated with high-energy lasers for military or commercial
Over the past two decades, the solid rocket motor (SRM) industrial base has undergone various changes including consolidation and recent expansion. Specifically, since 1995, the industry has consolidated from six U.S. manufacturers to two U.S. manufacturers. With regard to expansion, a foreign supplier entered the market in 2012, and in 2017, a U.S. firm, which
If you can’t trust your networks or satellite communications in a crisis, ‘use-or-lose’ scenarios get a lot closer. Stability was an overriding concern at last week’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on nuclear command authority, the first in four decades. Senators wondered aloud whether one individual — the American president — should have the sole
U.S. missile defense experts are surveying industry to find companies able to develop computer simulations of enemy missiles and missile-related observables to help government and industry improve better ballistic missile defense systems and enabling technologies. Officials of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) in Huntsville, Ala., issued a sources-sought notice (MDA18EITRFI01) on Monday for the MDA
Air-conditioned buildings bring welcome relief to people coming in from the heat. But creating that comfort comes with a cost to our wallets and the environment in the form of increased energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions. Now researchers report in ACS Nano the development of a new material for clothing that we could one
Remember those reports of exploding hoverboards a few years ago? The culprit behind those spontaneous electrical combustions were low-quality Li-ion batteries, which contain highly flammable, toxic, and moisture-sensitive electrolytes. A team of scientists at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory has partnered with researchers from the University of Maryland and the Army Research Laboratory to
For the first time ever, a team of researchers successfully developed and tested networked acoustic emission sensors that can detect airframe damage on conceptual composite UH-60 Black Hawk rotorcraft. Researchers with the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and the U.S Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center said their discovery opens up possibilities for
Our military relies on bullets and bombs to do their job – but how do we stop those munitions from being used against our own troops? The military needs the most powerful munitions possible, but that explosive power can put U.S. troops at risk. Accidental explosions can occur during transport or storage of munitions. Sometimes
Synthetic microspheres with nanoscale holes can absorb light from all directions across a wide range of frequencies, making them a candidate for antireflective coatings, according to a team of Penn State engineers. The synthetic spheres also explain how the leaf hopper insect uses similar particles to hide from predators in its environment. “We knew our
The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps have released a new strategy to integrate their capabilities to address the challenges posed by archipelagic and coastal geography, and the proliferation of advanced sensors and mobile, long-range missile systems that can threaten naval forces from ashore. Called Littoral Operations in Contested Environments (LOCE), the concept puts forward a