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

Can a catalogue of modular payload standard-compliant systems be created?

Can a catalogue of modular payload standard-compliant systems be created?

What counter-unmanned aerial system technologies exist against single drones and/or swarms?

What counter-unmanned aerial system technologies exist against single drones and/or swarms?

What are the U.S. Department of Defense efforts on vision-based aerial navigation?

What are the U.S. Department of Defense efforts on vision-based aerial navigation?

Articles

Soldiers of the Maneuver Center of Excellence Experimental Company, 1st Battalion, 29 Infantry Regiment, 316th Cavalry Brigade, employ integrated robotics during a simulated operation as attendees of the Human Machine Integration Summit II view the action, Oct. 17, 2023, at Fort Moore, Ga. The Army has been working with prototypes and performing exercises with new technology including robotic combat vehicles, or RCVs, to help achieve the Secretary of the Army’s goal of “no blood for first contact,” where human machine integrated formations shoulder risk normally assumed by Soldiers. (U.S. Army photo by Denise Mosley)

Army Advances Human-Machine Integration Tests to Enhance, Fight With Combat Units

WASHINGTON — Robots integrated into Army formations can help protect soldiers and revolutionize warfare in multiple domains. “Human-machine integration forces can take on dangerous battlefield operations, including overwatch, or movement of troops to a point…

After completing testing, the Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) payload resides in the cryogenic thermal vacuum chamber at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s Naval Center for Space Technology in Washington, D.C. Oct. 8, 2024. Once on-orbit, the RSGS payload will inspect and service satellites in geosynchronous orbit. (U.S. Navy photo by Sarah Peterson)

NRL Completes Development of Robotics Capable of Servicing Satellites, Enabling Resilience for the U.S. Space Infrastructure

WASHINGTON – U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Naval Center for Space Technology (NCST), in partnership with Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), successfully completed development of a spaceflight-qualified robotics suite capable of servicing satellites in…

AFRL's XQ-67A UAV

AFRL Releases Video Footage of XQ-67A First Flight

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFRL) – The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory successfully flew the first of a second generation of autonomous collaborative platforms known as the XQ-67A demonstrator, built and flown in the…

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 Department of Defense (DoD) opportunities…

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…