DSIAC collects and publishes articles related to our technical focus areas on the web to share with the DoD community.
The military is beginning to organize around a principle of multi-domain battle — the notion that effects, planning and operations will converge seamlessly among the five domains of warfare: land, sea, air, space and cyber. Rather than thinking about war from a domain-centric perspective, future battles will be fought with a combination of effects. The
AFRL Materials and Manufacturing Directorate junior force researchers resolved an issue of critical importance to military pilots and aircrews—portable, reliable, and robust temporary landing zone lighting. Current portable landing zone lighting systems, used for temporary and semi-permanent airfields, are aging and quickly reaching the end of their functional lifetimes. The need for a quick solution
Spectrum Collaboration Challenge (SC2) The DARPA Spectrum Collaboration Challenge is the first-of-its-kind collaborative machine-learning competition to overcome scarcity in the radio frequency (RF) spectrum. Today, spectrum is managed by dividing it into rigid, exclusively licensed bands. This human-driven process is not adaptive to the dynamics of supply and demand, and thus cannot exploit the full
New Mexico-based ARCA Space Corporation has announced that it is developing the world”s first Single Stage to Orbit (SSTO) launch vehicle that can deliver both a small payload and itself into low Earth orbit, at a cost of about US$1 million per launch. Dubbed the Haas 2CA after the 16th century rocket pioneer Conrad Haas,
Rice University scientists have fabricated a durable catalyst for high-performance fuel cells by attaching single ruthenium atoms to graphene. Catalysts that drive the oxygen reduction reaction that lets fuel cells turn chemical energy into electricity are usually made of platinum, which stands up to the acidic nature of the cell’s charge-carrying electrolyte. But platinum is
UBC engineers have developed a more resilient type of concrete using recycled tires. The concrete has improved durability with better resistance to loads and cracking and could be used for concrete structures like buildings, roads, dams and bridges while reducing landfill waste. The researchers experimented with different proportions of recycled tire fibres and other materials
As additive manufacturing (AM) makes its way into mainstream manufacturing more and more, a growing number of large original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have looked for new ways to adopt the technology. Among the most recent is construction equipment maker Caterpillar, which has signed a deal with AM solutions provider FIT AG to 3D print aluminum
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) scientists are conducting trials that will enable Dstl to characterise the effectiveness of Laser Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW), in support of the LDEW Capability Demonstrator. The programme will culminate in a technology demonstrator in 2019. The goal of the programme is to demonstrate a standalone laser directed energy weapon
Virtual reality (VR) surrounds the lives of civilians and military members serving the Department of the Navy every day. Whether a person goes to the movie theater, sporting event, theme park or plays video games in the comfort of their home, VR becomes something tangible and real in their lives. Now, the intricacies of VR
Amid the widespread anxiety of future jobs being lost to automation and artificial intelligence, the military sector has been particularly concerned about the impact of technological transformation. Despite often engaging with some of the world’s most advanced technology, the idea of replacing man with machine for defence application is often eyed with skepticism by military
The U.S. Army and Raytheon have completed a flight test of a high-energy laser system on an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter that was deemed successful, according to a Raytheon statement Monday. The recent test at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, “marks the first time that a fully integrated laser system successfully engaged and fired
After carrying the M16 or one of its cousins across the globe for more than half a century, soldiers could get a peek at a new prototype assault rifle that fires a larger round by 2020. Army researchers are testing half a dozen ammunition variants in “intermediate calibers,” which falls between the current 7.62 mm