DSIAC collects and publishes articles related to our technical focus areas on the web to share with the DoD community.
United Launch Alliance placed a new satellite in orbit with a fiery Friday night blastoff from Cape Canaveral, using a version of the Delta 4 rocket that is nearing retirement to supplement a U.S. military network relaying signals from drones and battlefield commanders. After ground teams cleared several technical hurdles with the rocket and a
Russia built an underwater nuclear torpedo with a massive warhead designed to cause tsunamis and devastate entire continents. Russia will deploy what”s been described as the deadliest nuclear weapon ever aboard mysterious submarines by 2020, Russian state media has announced, citing a Russian defense-industry source. The “Poseidon” nuclear-powered torpedo — reputed to carry a 100
Federal agencies that have begun harnessing softwarebots to automate repetitive processes in their internal operations are eliminating low-value work and setting the stage for wider use. The General Services Administration has over a dozen robotic process automation (RPA) robots now in its systems, said Edward Burrows, the agency”s RPA program manager. GSA is nearing the
While the Navy may ultimately engineer a replacement for its 1980s era Trident II D5, the missile is being modernized with improved electronics, firing circuitry, and targeting technology to arm the emerging Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines. A new, life-extended variant of the weapon, called the Trident II D5LE, was first installed in 2017, arming the
What is the real need behind the U.S. Army”s proposed long-range cannon that can shoot out to 1,000 miles or more? It could be used to conduct a strategic or tactical strike in support of the other military services, or to take out targets before service members get to the battlespace, according to the top
Researchers at MIT have developed a plane capable of flying without any moving parts, reports MIT Technology Review . The feat was achieved using electroaerodynamic propulsion, which uses a pair of electrodes to push around ions and create ionic wind. The phenomenon has been known about since the 1960s (in fact, Apple even considered using
A startup that plans to use high-altitude balloons to deploy rockets has successfully fired a test launch, moving closer to its goal of helping end the backlog of microsatellites that wait months or longer to “hitch” a ride on larger rockets. Leo Aerospace LLC, a Purdue University-affiliated startup based in Los Angeles, launched its first
At 2:49 a.m. EST on March 2, SpaceX launched Crew Dragon’s first demonstration mission from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This test flight without crew on board the spacecraft is intended to demonstrate SpaceX’s capabilities to safely and reliably fly astronauts to and from the International Space Station as
U.S. Air Force researchers are asking industry for new enabling technologies in fast attack planning on valuable and enemy moving targets that offer only a fleeting time window to carry out successful missions. Officials of the Air Force Research Laboratory”s Information Directorate in Rome, N.Y., issued a broad agency announcement (FA875019S7009) last week for the
Rolls-Royce is unveiling its manufacturing plans as it pursues the Air Force”s much anticipated B-52H re-engining program. The service is planning to embark on a major recapitalization effort that will outfit its aging fleet of B-52 Stratofortress heavy bombers with new engines that will keep them flying through the 2050s. Each bomber is currently equipped
ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. – U.S. Army researchers are surveying industry for radar technologies to protect armored combat vehicles from enemy weapons, as well as to detect and locate enemy fire. Officials of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC) at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., issued a request for information (W56KGU-19-X-0001) on Friday for
ABU DHABI–An industry team consisting of Lockheed Martin, Saab, and Diehl Defence, have unveiled a new air defense system, known as the Falcon at IDEX 2019 in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. The three companies are aiming for the Falcon to replace the UAE’s aging Hawk air defense systems–and potentially those of other