DSIAC collects and publishes articles related to our technical focus areas on the web to share with the DoD community.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh III said May 26 that reopening the F-22 manufacturing line was within the realm of possibility, and that it may cost less than developing a sixth-generation fighter. Congress recently asked the Air Force to look into resuming the canceled fighter program. Welsh, who will retire on July
On an otherwise unremarkable day in March 2013, an American MQ-1 Predator drone was flying in international airspace off Iran, conducting a routine surveillance flight over the Persian Gulf. But the U.S. Air Force knew trouble might be lurking ahead. Several months earlier, a pair of Iranian Sukhoi Su-25 attack planes had attempted unsuccessfully to
The military, as part of its push toward more autonomous systems, has put an emphasis on the idea of man-machine teaming, and the Air Force is now focusing on a key aspect of that idea—building trust between the two. The service has awarded a $7.5 million contract to SRA International for research that will specifically
As the United States faces threats around the globe — from the Islamic State to Russia to China — special operators must adapt, said the commander of Special Operations Command May 24. “The word complex fails to describe the current security environment,” said Gen. Raymond A. Thomas III. “The younger generation — specifically my two
Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter is pushing hard for increased collaboration between private industry and the military as part of the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Third Offset Strategy, which focuses heavily on technological superiority. In August 2015, Carter opened the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental in Silicon Valley, which is meant to serve as a conduit
We live in an age of unprecedented technology – technology that makes our lives easier and more connected at the push of a touch-screen and glace of a monitor. For the military, ruggedized equivalents provide tactical awareness, allowing soldiers and Marines to see beyond their personal sight using GPS, smartphones, tablets, and even helmet-mounted screens.
While drone-on-drone fights are still thought of in the future tense (which isn’t to say forces aren’t preparing for them) drone-to-drone cooperation is here now – in the form of swarming, for instance. With the Navy developing unmanned vehicles – in the air, on the surface and below the ocean – these systems, designed to
The U.S. Navy, which has already developed a 30-kilowatt laser that has been used operationally, will soon test a new directed energy weapon that is five times more powerful, said the vice chief of naval operations July 23. The Office of Naval Research “will perform a shipboard test of a 150-killowatt laser weapon system in
Lasers are here to stay -now, how do you detect them? The recent at-sea tests of the Navy’s Laser Weapon System have ushered in a new era—the age of “Laser Wars”—where there is an increasing role for directed-energy weapons in the battlespace. How will commanders detect, assess, and counter laser or laser-assisted threats in this
Special Operations Command is looking for a few good ideas to help it fight the Islamic State and other adversaries, a top acquisition official said on May 25.It has niche requirements for tools that will help it defend against drone and electronic warfare attacks, and to navigate the world of social media, said Tony Davis,
The Pentagon has been battered by criticism that it is falling behind in the technology arms race. Skeptics point to rising powers and terrorists finding new ways to exploit military weak spots. Hundreds of pages of legislation have been written to prod the Defense Department to innovate. Amid downbeat talk now comes new data that
Researchers at the Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC) at Picatinny Arsenal are co-inventors of a new nanocomposite and method to manufacture it. The other inventors are from the University of California-Davis. The new nanocomposite is comprised of non-faceted nanoparticles reinforcing a nanostructured metal matrix. This means that instead of having a large particle