DSIAC collects and publishes articles related to our technical focus areas on the web to share with the DoD community.
Research chemists at U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have developed and patented a transparent thermoplastic elastomer armor to reduce weight, inherent in most bullet-resistant glass, while maintaining superior ballistic properties. Thermoplastic elastomers are soft, rubbery polymers converted by physical means, rather than a chemical process, to a solid. Consequently, the solidification is reversible and enables
Researchers at the University of Illinois, Xerion Advanced Battery Corporation and Nanjing University in China developed a method for electroplating lithium-ion battery cathodes, yielding high-quality, high-performance battery materials that could also open the door to flexible and solid-state batteries. “This is an entirely new approach to manufacturing battery cathodes, which resulted in batteries with previously
Michael Shellenberger, global thinker on energy, technology and the environment, presents a Ted Talk about the fear of nuclear impeding the world”s ability to produce clean energy. “We”re not in a clean energy revolution; we”re in a clean energy crisis,” says climate policy expert Michael Shellenberger. His surprising solution: nuclear. In this passionate talk, he
Recent announcements by Secretary of Defense, Ash Carter, regarding the development of Defense Innovation Units Experimental – in Silicon Valley, Boston, and now Austin, have inspired many in the Department of Defense, including myself, to consider how we too can deliver innovation. Given the need to modernize American military forces after nearly two decades of
Following the draft circulation last October, the Army has finalized and released a report on robotics and their applicability within Army strategy and doctrine. The Army’s “ Robotic and Autonomous Systems Strategy,” or RAS, released by the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command this week, details how the Army will incorporate emerging technologies into its force
The U.S. Air Force is preparing to phase out its MQ-1 Predator drones in favor of an all-MQ-9 Reaper fleet in 2018. The Predator”s retirement will effectively conclude the unmanned aerial vehicle”s 21 years of service with the Air Force. The platform supported intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions for the branch in addition to targeted
Eight U.S. defense companies will share $3 billion over the next nine years to help the U.S. Army rapidly develop and test prototype technologies for space, high altitude, and missile-defense capabilities. Officials of the Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., announced eight contracts collectively worth $3.04 billion Thursday as part of the Design, Development,
While the Chinese A2/AD “bubble” in the South China Sea gives headaches to the United States and its allies in the Asia-Pacific region, further to the north, the newest Russian “bubble” is about to go online against Japan in the disputed Kuril Islands. Meanwhile, on the other end of Eurasia, in Russia’s Kaliningrad enclave, another
Directed energy has been a fetching technological idea for decades, but as Sandra Irwin wrote in National Defense in July 2015, the technology seemingly “has perennially been on the cusp of a major breakthrough.” Last summer, though, Jason Ellis of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory wrote a report for the Center for a New American
With terrorists, militant groups, and other potential opponents increasingly employing weaponized drones, the U.S. Army is becoming more and more concerned about the dangers unmanned aircraft pose to its soldiers. In one recent exercise, the service showed off one potential solution, a specially modified Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicle (ICV) with a laser. The Army rolled
A Soldier heads back to camp, grabs a power bar and unloads his gear. The power bar, which was “printed” minutes earlier, contains all the nutrients his body currently needs, according to sensors that are embedded in his uniform. While this may sound like a scene from a sci-fi movie, engineers and scientists at the
The Army this week took another step in articulating what types of investments it deems necessary to support operational ideas about future ground warfare. The service earlier this year presented its “Big 8” initiatives, a list of modernization priorities designed to stay ahead of global threats and maintain overmatch against present and future adversaries. However,