DSIAC collects and publishes articles related to our technical focus areas on the web to share with the DoD community.
ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — Armor offers reliable protection against external forces, but what if the enemy is so small that it can take aircraft down from the inside? Sand and dust can significantly damage helicopter engines, which is why scientists and engineers at the Army Research Laboratory are experimenting with coatings in high-temperature environments
The Army wants to gradually bring more autonomy, artificial intelligence and common control of unmanned systems into soldier formations over the course of 25 years, moving from having to keep constant vigilance over robotic systems to relationships where the unmanned move alongside a warfighter on a mission, much like a hunter and his bird dog.
Blazing a trail for safely integrating drones into the national airspace, a team from NASA’s Ames Research Center on Oct. 19 flew four uncrewed aircraft–commonly called drones—at Reno-Stead Airport in Reno, Nevada. The “out of sight” tests, led by NASA in coordination with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and several partners, were the latest waypoint
The U.S. Navy has approved the use of buoyancy gliders by all of its destroyers. These unmanned underwater vehicles use wave energy to propel themselves at sea. The Navy probably will use them to locate enemy submarines. Buoyancy gliders were originally developed by the scientific community to provide low-cost, autonomous drones capable of spending long
Researchers have built and demonstrated a novel configurable computing device that uses a thousand times less electrical power – and can be built up to a hundred times smaller – than comparable digital floating-gate configurable devices currently in use. The new device, called the Field-Programmable Analog Array (FPAA) System-On-Chip (SoC), uses analog technology supported by
The Army is fast-tracking an emerging technology for Abrams tanks designed to give combat vehicles an opportunity identify, track and destroy approaching enemy rocket-propelled grenades in a matter of milliseconds, service officials said. Called Active Protection Systems, or APS, the technology uses sensors and radar, computer processing, fire control technology and interceptors to find, target
U.S. Marine special operations forces recently chose the Glock 19 as their official sidearm, but this isn”t the first time elite units have invested in the Austrian pistol maker. The U.S. Army”s 75th Ranger Regiment decided to pure-fleet its battalions with the Glock 19 in September 2015, according to an Army source familiar with the
SAAB Company announced yesterday at the AUSA convention it is studying adding enhanced, precision-engagement capability for its shoulder-fired weapons. The Massive Overmatch Assault Round (MOAR) study is part the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA’s) Broad Agency initiative seeking ‘Innovative Systems for Military Missions.’ DARPA’s MOAR project explores new ways to increase the combat
The US Army is spending from $17 million to $30 million per year from 2017 to 2021 on High Energy Laser (HEL) weapons technology. The major effort under this project is the phased approach for mobile high power solid state laser (SSL) technology demonstrations that are traceable to the form, fit, and function requirements for
The Navy plans to arm its destroyers and other ships with high-tech, low-cost ship-board laser weapons engineered to quickly incinerate enemy drones, small boats, aircraft, ships and missiles, service officials told Scout Warrior. The Office of Naval Research is working on 12-month, $53-million deal with Northrop Grumman to develop a Laser Weapon System Demonstrator through
UC ALPHA AI recently won out during simulated aerial combat against U.S. expert tacticians. It did so using no more than the processing power available in a tiny, affordable computer (Raspberry Pi) that retails for as little as $35. Artificial intelligence (AI) developed by a University of Cincinnati doctoral graduate was recently assessed by subject-matter
The Air Force must help develop new battle management networks and operating concepts as the Pentagon seeks to stay ahead of advanced adversaries, Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work said Sept. 21. The ability to coordinate the operations of autonomous systems and other cutting-edge platforms and capabilities will be critical for warfighting and executing the