DSIAC collects and publishes articles related to our technical focus areas on the web to share with the DoD community.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) arguably develops some of the most technologically advanced systems known to man, and its latest endeavor certainly continues that tradition. While the agency’s Stand-off Ubiquitous Power/Energy Replenishment – Power Beaming Demo (SUPER PBD) program definitely has a lengthy title, it actually has the very essence of protraction at
In the middle of a desert or other remote military zone, advanced power generation can keep the U.S. Army’s ground vehicles and combat support equipment ready for the demands of duty. “Our power generation advancements are impressive in terms of the capabilities these technologies enable. The most exciting ground vehicle advancements, including driver-optional capabilities, are
From surface warships, jet fighter aircraft, military tactical vehicles, to even unmanned systems, laser weapons are demonstrating with increasing frequency that they are ready for the battlefield. The 21st Century already has seen more “science fiction” become everyday fact than at any other time in history, from smart phones that make Star Trek’s communicators appear
The Program Executive Office (PEO) for Ammunition, the Armament Research, Development, and Engineering Center ( ARDEC) and the Army Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO) have come together with near-term plans for improving long-range precision fires. Of the Army”s “big six” priorities driving its new modernization strategy, and long-range precision fires is at the top of the
The race is on to find manufacturing techniques capable of arranging molecular and nanoscale objects with precision. Engineers at the University of California, Riverside (UCR), have altered a virus to arrange gold atoms into spheroids measuring a few nanometers in diameter. The finding could make production of some electronic components cheaper, easier, and faster. “Nature
Engineers from the University of California at Los Angeles ( UCLA), four other universities produce nanoscale device that mimics the structure of tree branches. Mechanical engineers from the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science and four other institutions have designed a super-efficient and long-lasting electrode for supercapacitors. The device’s design was inspired
Work has begun on a $1.4 million project under the Maturation of Advanced Manufacturing for Low-Cost Sustainment (MAMLS) program funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) through America Makes. The project, which was announced at the 2018 RAPID + TCT event in Fort Worth, TX, commenced on June 13th. It will see a team
As the threat of hypersonic weapons continues to grow, one of the Pentagon’s top research and development arms is moving ahead with a new project to explore ways to guard against them. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Glide Breaker project will look into various “component technologies” needed for one or more defense systems,
A team of researchers from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and Washington State University have discovered a new type of energetic material that could have triple the energy content of well-known explosives for the Army of 2050 and beyond. So, how exactly does one begin the process of tripling the energy content of explosives? Simple
The new sniper bullet offers greater range than existing rounds, while the new machine gun round will be the foundation of a new, better weapon. U.S. Army and special forces units are set to introduce two new small arms rounds in the near future meant to improve the effectiveness of troops in the field. Special
Wait — flying faster actually saves fuel? That was my first reaction when my team presented the results of its fuel analysis for a transoceanic mission made up of six F-22 Raptors and two KC-10 Extenders. Our demonstration proved that fifth-generation fighters need to fly faster (about 10 percent faster than the legacy aerial refueling
It”s now possible to 3D print extremely viscous materials, with the consistency of clay or cookie dough with fine precision, thanks to work done at Purdue University. This development may soon allow the creation of customized ceramics, solid rockets, pharmaceuticals, biomedical implants, foodstuffs, and more. “It’s very exciting that we can print materials with consistencies