Autonomous Systems

Ground, air, or sea-launched kinetic munitions that utilize onboard sensors, algorithms, and control methods to improve estimates on the target state, understand the implications of the engagement situation/environment, or develop engagement geometries that are otherwise unavailable
to a conventional weapon.

Recent Inquiries

What information is available on development efforts for unmanned systems that can transition between air and water (surface and/or below surface)?

What information is available on development efforts for unmanned systems that can transition between air and water (surface and/or below surface)?

Do “autonomously follow-driver-defined path without a driver” and “follow-the-leader/movement mimicking” technologies exist for vehicles (at any readiness level)?

Do “autonomously follow-driver-defined path without a driver” and “follow-the-leader/movement mimicking” technologies exist for vehicles (at any readiness level)?

Who can be contacted to obtain a status update on the development of the Jammer Acquisition With Global Positioning System Exploration and Reconnaissance (JAGER) system and its current technology readiness level (TRL)?

Who can be contacted to obtain a status update on the development of the Jammer Acquisition With Global Positioning System Exploration and Reconnaissance (JAGER) system and its current technology readiness level (TRL)?

Articles

ASIMOV logo

DARPA Exploring Ways to Assess Ethics for Autonomous Weapons

The Autonomy Standards and Ideals with Military Operational Values (ASIMOV) program aims to develop benchmarks to objectively and quantitatively measure the ethical difficulty of future autonomy use cases and readiness of autonomous systems to perform…

In a test as part of DARPA’s NOMARS program, the USV Mariner (right) deploys a refueling probe towards the USV Ranger (left) in the first test of fueling at sea (FAS) without any human interaction required on the part of the receiving vessel. The personnel aboard the Ranger are observers only. Credit: DARPA

Automated Fueling-At-Sea Test Completed for Unmanned Surface Vehicle Program

The DARPA No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) program recently completed a successful first test of at-sea refueling designed for use with the program’s Defiant unmanned surface vessel (USV). The USV Defiant is intended to operate…

Enlisted technicians from the Navy Munitions Command (NMC) Bahrain Detachment deliver hardware and software upgrades aboard USS Indianapolis (LCS 17), September 2024, while the ship is forward deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet Area of Responsibility (AoR). The upgrades focus on the Surface-to-Surface Missile Module (SSMM), enhancing both its software and hardware systems. These improvements are designed to strengthen the ship’s defense posture, ensuring its capabilities remain advanced and effective during deployment.

U.S. Navy Enhances LCS Surface Warfare Mission Package with Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System Capability

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship Mission Modules Program Office has successfully delivered critical counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) capabilities to the forward-deployed, Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Indianapolis (LCS 17). In Fall 2024,…

Webinars

A U.S. Army AH-64D Apache helicopter

Adapted Risk Assessment for Safety Certification of AI-Enabled Mission Software Applications

As the safety functional authority for fielding materiel solutions, the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command’s Safety Office uses risk management to certify that materiel is safe when used as intended. While risk assessment processes…

Expeditionary Modular Autonomous Vehicle (EMAV) during a training event on Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Applying the Autonomous Ground Vehicle Reference Architecture to MBSE

Utilizing model-based systems engineering (MBSE) is a key enabler for high-quality system design and application of Modular Open Systems Approach principles. The Autonomous Ground Vehicle Reference Architecture (AGVRA) provides metamodels, architectural guidelines, best practices, and…

ARL's Transonic Experimental Facility

ARL Hypervelocity Ballistic Range Experiments

The U.S. Army Research Laboratory’s (ARL’s) Transonic Experimental Facility (TEF) is an all-purpose research firing range that has been used to investigate propulsion, materials, flight, guidance, and terminal effects across a spectrum of launch (mechanical)…

Events

An F-15E launching flares in an exercise.

2025 Special Air Warfare Symposium

Since its inception in 2022, the Special Air Warfare Symposium (colloquially known as SAWS) has evolved into a growing event for the global special operations aviation community. In the first few years of the event,…

One naval vessel and eleven aircraft traveling over a body of water.

2025 Pacific Operational Science & Technology (POST) Conference

Join NDIA and the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command for the 2025 Pacific Operational Science & Technology (POST) Conference. This event promises to deliver a platform for collaboration, innovation, and exploration of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)…

Image of several Department of Defense personnel inspecting an unmanned aircraft on a runway.

3rd Annual Unmanned Systems West Conference

Join the 3rd Annual Unmanned Systems West conference this fall as they explore the capabilities and advantages unmanned systems offer to modern defense and security operations, as well as discover how uncrewed systems are enhancing…