DSIAC collects and publishes articles related to our technical focus areas on the web to share with the DoD community.
The U.S. Army is researching a new way to resupply troops: by bombing them with mortars. The service was recently granted a patent for a method that uses hollow artillery shells, GPS, and parasails to deliver goods to soldiers pinned down on the battlefield. In this era of automatic weapons, it”s relatively easy to run
Despite the high-tech threats facing U.S. forces, the Army continues to operate platforms and vehicles that are decades old. The threat from electronic jamming or electronic warfare is significantly more advanced than decades past, with adversaries such as Russia demonstrating capabilities that have worried commanders. The Army Reprogramming Analysis Team (ARAT) works to keep legacy
The Army has closed its initial solicitation phase for designs to create a next generation precision mortar that will allow Soldiers to put their rounds on target with extreme accuracy. The 120 mm high explosive guided mortar, or HEGM program, is intended to replace the current precision-guided HE mortar, the accelerated precision mortar initiative or
The Navy is continuing to move forward with development of the Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS) countermine technologies as part of its overall effort to create a fleet of unmanned vehicles capable of enhanced coordination while performing a wider range of technical operations. The Navy most recently affirmed its commitment to the UISS and the
A new method of patching metal components with a cold spray process called Kinetic Metallization is saving the Naval Aviation Enterprise time and money in repairing aircraft components and returning them to the fleet. Kinetic Metallization, generically referred to as cold spray, is an additive, solid-state thermal spray process that restores components’ critical dimensional features
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,