DEFENSE

Systems Digest

15 OCTOBER 2024

DSIAC collects and publishes articles related to our technical focus areas on the web to share with the DoD community.

OCTOBER IS CYBERSECURITY AWARENESS MONTH
Cybersecurity is crucial to protecting our nation’s information infrastructure. October is dedicated to increasing public awareness of the importance of cybersecurity and its role in preventing and eliminating threats to our communities and U.S. national security systems.


Our sister IAC, the Cybersecurity & Information Systems Information Analysis Center (CSIAC), brings you the most current resources to help maximize knowledge and stay cyber safe.


Visit CSIAC here: https://csiac.org/.

FEATURED ARTICLE

What U.S. universities have active foundry capabilities?

Read More...

How is the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) conceptualizing the ultralow-cost unmanned aircraft system (UAS) phenomenon in the wake of its widespread success in Ukraine?

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) conceptualizes ultra low-cost unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) – often called “small UAS” (sUAS) – as both a threat to its operations and an opportunity for force multiplication. Counter-sUAS (C-sUAS) operations have become an organizational and financial priority for the Pentagon. While both DoD and individual military personnel have also…

Read More...
Hands spraying a suspension lug

Who is using the MS3314 suspension lug?

The Defense Systems Information Analysis Center (DSIAC) is seeking information on who is using the MS3314 suspension lug in the U.S government and industry. The MS3314 suspension lug is designed for all-service use by the U.S. Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, and Navy for aircraft and ordnance. Known to be utilized with munitions/armament/bombs, the MS3314…

Read More...
Technologist Jamie Meza guides a torpedo anchor prototype as it is lifted over a test bed at the Drop Tower facility. The anchor is being tested for use with offshore wind turbines. (Photo by Craig Fritz)

The Big Drop

Beside a 50-foot-deep pool, a 300-foot metal tower rises into the air at Sandia New Mexico. Cables and a vertical guided trolley attached to the tower allow personnel to hoist objects to varying heights so they can watch them fall at Sandia’s Drop Tower and Water Impact test facility. Built in late ’50s and early…

Read More...
graphic of blue and purple satellite in space

Shape-Shifting Antenna Poised to Transform Communications

By leveraging cutting-edge additive manufacturing techniques and shape memory alloys, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, have created an antenna that can change its shape based on its temperature. This technology — described in a recent online publication in ACS Applied Engineering Materials and which will be featured on…

Read More...
The Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, launched the Space Power InfraRed Regulation and Analysis of Lifetime, or SPIRRAL, experiment, Nov. 4, 2024. SPIRRAL, flown by AFRL through the DOD Space Test Program, will characterize the performance of Variable Emissivity Materials, or VEMs, an approach toward solving thermal challenges for space vehicles while on-orbit. (U.S. Air Force graphic/Greg Gerken)

Revolutionizing Space-Based Thermal Systems: AFRL’s SPIRRAL Launch on SPX-31

KIRTLAND AFB, N.M. (AFRL) – The Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, launched the Space Power InfraRed Regulation and Analysis of Lifetime, or SPIRRAL, experiment, Nov. 4, 2024. SPIRRAL, flown by AFRL through the DoD Space Test Program, will characterize the performance of Variable Emissivity Materials, or VEMs, an approach toward solving thermal challenges for…

Read More...
Project team members from NSRI, UNL and JEC during kick off meeting at the Cyber-Physical Networking Lab at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, October 2024.

NSRI, UNL Developing AI for USSTRATCOM to Maximize Electromagnetic Spectrum

As digital communication grows, the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) is becoming increasingly crowded. Novel solutions for how the United States can effectively share the spectrum are critical to national objectives, several of which were outlined in the November 2023 Presidential Memorandum on Modernizing United States Spectrum Policy and Establishing a National Spectrum Strategy. Researchers from the…

Read More...
geometric box shapes

Tunable Ultrasound Propagation in Microscale Metamaterials

Acoustic metamaterials—architected materials that have tailored geometries designed to control the propagation of acoustic or elastic waves through a medium—have been studied extensively through computational and theoretical methods, but physical realizations of these materials to date have been restricted to large sizes and low frequencies. A new study, which is coauthored by Portela, MIT Mechanical…

Read More...
An HH-60W Jolly Green II search and rescue helicopter assigned to the 106th Rescue Wing conducts a flyover during an HH-60W conversion ceremony at the 106th Rescue Wing at Francis S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base, Westhampton Beach, N.Y., Oct. 25, 2024. The ceremony celebrated the official conversion of the 106th from the HH-60G Pave Hawk search and rescue helicopter to the HH-60W Jolly Green II. (U.S. Air Force photo)

New York Air Guard Wing Welcomes New, High-Tech Helicopters

WESTHAMPTON BEACH, N.Y. (AFNS) — The New York National Guard’s 106th Rescue Wing officially marked the arrival of its new HH-60W Jolly Green II search and rescue fleet during a ceremony October 25 at Francis S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base. The aircraft will replace the HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters formerly flown by the wing….

Read More...
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 of tactical advantage, and the suppression of the enemy,” said Brig. Gen. Chad Chalfont, Commandant of the Army Armor School…

Read More...

Notable Technical Inquiry

Gaps Between Civilian and U.S. Department of Defense for Determining Airworthiness of Additively Manufactured Parts

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has made some progress certifying additive manufacturing (AM) parts for airworthiness, but certification has been limited to the lab, with significant engineering and inspections required for each part. Over the last two decades, each branch of the DoD developed their own processes for AM certification, thus fragmenting certification and slowing the widespread acceptance of AM. The Federal Aviation Administration…

Learn More

FEATURED WEBINAR

What U.S. universities have active foundry capabilities?

Read More...

How is the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) conceptualizing the ultralow-cost unmanned aircraft system (UAS) phenomenon in the wake of its widespread success in Ukraine?

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) conceptualizes ultra low-cost unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) – often called “small UAS” (sUAS) – as both a threat to its operations and an opportunity for force multiplication. Counter-sUAS (C-sUAS) operations have become an organizational and financial priority for the Pentagon. While both DoD and individual military personnel have also…

Read More...
Hands spraying a suspension lug

Who is using the MS3314 suspension lug?

The Defense Systems Information Analysis Center (DSIAC) is seeking information on who is using the MS3314 suspension lug in the U.S government and industry. The MS3314 suspension lug is designed for all-service use by the U.S. Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, and Navy for aircraft and ordnance. Known to be utilized with munitions/armament/bombs, the MS3314…

Read More...
Technologist Jamie Meza guides a torpedo anchor prototype as it is lifted over a test bed at the Drop Tower facility. The anchor is being tested for use with offshore wind turbines. (Photo by Craig Fritz)

The Big Drop

Beside a 50-foot-deep pool, a 300-foot metal tower rises into the air at Sandia New Mexico. Cables and a vertical guided trolley attached to the tower allow personnel to hoist objects to varying heights so they can watch them fall at Sandia’s Drop Tower and Water Impact test facility. Built in late ’50s and early…

Read More...
graphic of blue and purple satellite in space

Shape-Shifting Antenna Poised to Transform Communications

By leveraging cutting-edge additive manufacturing techniques and shape memory alloys, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, have created an antenna that can change its shape based on its temperature. This technology — described in a recent online publication in ACS Applied Engineering Materials and which will be featured on…

Read More...
The Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, launched the Space Power InfraRed Regulation and Analysis of Lifetime, or SPIRRAL, experiment, Nov. 4, 2024. SPIRRAL, flown by AFRL through the DOD Space Test Program, will characterize the performance of Variable Emissivity Materials, or VEMs, an approach toward solving thermal challenges for space vehicles while on-orbit. (U.S. Air Force graphic/Greg Gerken)

Revolutionizing Space-Based Thermal Systems: AFRL’s SPIRRAL Launch on SPX-31

KIRTLAND AFB, N.M. (AFRL) – The Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, launched the Space Power InfraRed Regulation and Analysis of Lifetime, or SPIRRAL, experiment, Nov. 4, 2024. SPIRRAL, flown by AFRL through the DoD Space Test Program, will characterize the performance of Variable Emissivity Materials, or VEMs, an approach toward solving thermal challenges for…

Read More...
Project team members from NSRI, UNL and JEC during kick off meeting at the Cyber-Physical Networking Lab at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, October 2024.

NSRI, UNL Developing AI for USSTRATCOM to Maximize Electromagnetic Spectrum

As digital communication grows, the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) is becoming increasingly crowded. Novel solutions for how the United States can effectively share the spectrum are critical to national objectives, several of which were outlined in the November 2023 Presidential Memorandum on Modernizing United States Spectrum Policy and Establishing a National Spectrum Strategy. Researchers from the…

Read More...
geometric box shapes

Tunable Ultrasound Propagation in Microscale Metamaterials

Acoustic metamaterials—architected materials that have tailored geometries designed to control the propagation of acoustic or elastic waves through a medium—have been studied extensively through computational and theoretical methods, but physical realizations of these materials to date have been restricted to large sizes and low frequencies. A new study, which is coauthored by Portela, MIT Mechanical…

Read More...
An HH-60W Jolly Green II search and rescue helicopter assigned to the 106th Rescue Wing conducts a flyover during an HH-60W conversion ceremony at the 106th Rescue Wing at Francis S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base, Westhampton Beach, N.Y., Oct. 25, 2024. The ceremony celebrated the official conversion of the 106th from the HH-60G Pave Hawk search and rescue helicopter to the HH-60W Jolly Green II. (U.S. Air Force photo)

New York Air Guard Wing Welcomes New, High-Tech Helicopters

WESTHAMPTON BEACH, N.Y. (AFNS) — The New York National Guard’s 106th Rescue Wing officially marked the arrival of its new HH-60W Jolly Green II search and rescue fleet during a ceremony October 25 at Francis S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base. The aircraft will replace the HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters formerly flown by the wing….

Read More...
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 of tactical advantage, and the suppression of the enemy,” said Brig. Gen. Chad Chalfont, Commandant of the Army Armor School…

Read More...

2024 Aircraft Survivability Symposium

The 2024 Aircraft Survivability Symposium is a SECRET//NOFORN event; attendees must hold at least a Secret clearance and be U.S. citizens. Please review the security clearance and gate access information page when available and submit…

2024 U.S. Department of Defense Steels Summit

The U.S. Department of Defense Steels Summit brings together the defense, government, industry, and academic communities engaged in the production, use, and research of steel alloys relevant to military applications. The summit is a 2-day…

Voice From the Community

Greg Meholic Headshot 0822
Greg Meholic

Senior Project Leader, The Aerospace Corporation

As The Aerospace Corporation’s senior project leader, Greg Meholic explores advanced space launch and propulsion technology for national security and commercial applications. His current projects include coordinating technical support for various interests and activities in space nuclear propulsion and power, cryogenic fluid management, commercial launch licensing, and rocket engine development. These efforts directly support the mission assurance provided to defense and commercial customers as they navigate the ever-changing space industry.

Want to be featured in our Digest?

Submit your "Voice From the Community"