DEFENSE

Systems Digest

2 AUGUST 2022

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

FEATURED ARTICLE

More HIMARS, “Phoenix Ghost” Drones Bound for Ukraine

The Defense Department has announced another package of security assistance for Ukraine, which will include additional High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), ammunition, and a substantial number of Phoenix Ghost unmanned aerial systems. This latest package includes about $175 million in equipment pulled from existing U.S. military stocks through presidential drawdown authority and $95 million…

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Notable Technical Inquiry

European Energetic Additive Manufacturing (AM) Research

  The Defense Systems Information Analysis Center (DSIAC) was tasked with determining the extent of energetics additive manufacturing (AM) research and development capabilities in Europe. DSIAC searched available resources for any projects or research being performed by universities or defense organizations in Europe that involve the three-dimensional printing of energetic munitions, explosives, propellants, or rocket engines. There were a few organizations and universities that had…

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FEATURED WEBINAR

Image of warfighters traversing urban terrain with an unmanned vehicle.

Future Force Capabilities Conference & Exhibition

The NDIA 2025 Future Forces Capabilities Conference & Exhibition will discuss how new technologies and capabilities will influence future military operations. The conference will provide a platform for collaboration between the defense industry and military organizations to ensure that emerging threats can be addressed. This conference aims to create an innovative environment by bringing together…

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How is the distribution or classification of natural language processing models determined?

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What information is available on continuous-rod warheads related to design, manufacturing, or performance?

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Can a list of available publications and subject matter experts on gun system aiming logic be provided?

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MIT researchers developed a hopping robot that can leap over tall obstacles and jump across slanted or uneven surfaces, while using far less energy than an aerial robot. (Image credit: Melanie Gonick, MIT)

Hopping Gives This Tiny Robot a Leg Up

Insect-scale robots can squeeze into places their larger counterparts can’t, like deep into a collapsed building to search for survivors after an earthquake. However, as they move through the rubble, tiny crawling robots might encounter tall obstacles they can’t climb over or slanted surfaces they will slide down. While aerial robots could avoid these hazards,…

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A Northwestern University-led research team has developed the first two-dimensional (2D) mechanically interlocked material. With 100 trillion mechanical bonds per 1 square centimeter, the new material contains highest density of mechanical bonds ever achieved. Credit: Mark Seniw, Center for Regenerative Nanomedicine, Northwestern University

Chainmail-Like Polymer Could Be the Future of Body Armor

Researchers supported by grants and instrumentation provided by the U.S. National Science Foundation have created the first 2D polymer material that mechanically interlocks, much like chainmail, and used an advanced imaging technique to show its microscopic details. The material combines exceptional strength and flexibility and could be developed into high-performance and lightweight body armor that…

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five U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and one NASA experimental science payloads

U.S. Space Force Launches Six Experiments to International Space Station to Expand Scientific Knowledge in Support of Warfighters

KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. – The U.S. Space Force (USSF) Space Systems Command (SSC), in partnership with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), successfully launched the Space Test Program-Houston 10 (STP-H10) mission, which delivered five U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and one NASA experimental science payloads, as a part of a resupply mission…

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A team from the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division monitors data collected during an oxygen system contamination test to check for potential aircrew air impurities using the Navy’s new test rig called the Gaseous Injection Analyzer, or GaIA. The warfare center built the service’s singular test capability to verify modern oxygen systems effectively filter contaminants in compliance with today’s military standards in partnership with Johns Hopkins University. (U.S. Navy photo by Todd Frantom)

Aircrew Safety Improved With New Oxygen Purity Test at NAWCAD

NAVAL AIR WARFARE CENTER AIRCRAFT DIVISION, Patuxent River, Md. – For the first time, the Navy can precisely test how well modern oxygen systems remove impurities to ensure safe air for aircrew following a successful demonstration by teams at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD). There was previously no way to test whether…

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Caption: Artist’s concept of Dragonfly soaring over the dunes of Saturn’s moon Titan. NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben

Dragonfly Mission Passes Critical Design Review

NASA’s Dragonfly, the first rotorcraft designed for scientific exploration on another ocean world, has passed its Critical Design Review. Led by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, the mission to Saturn’s icy moon Titan will investigate prebiotic chemical processes and complex organic compounds that, on Earth, are the building blocks of…

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photo of bonded magnet

Scientists Develop Rare Earth Free Magnet for Use in Industrial Motors

Many of the industrial motors used today are induction motors. However, permanent magnet motors are generally more efficient than induction motors and can be more cost-effective in the long run, especially for factories and plants that run constantly. Currently, most permanent magnet motors rely on critical materials, specifically rare-earth-based high-performance magnets, which are costly and…

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Future Force Capabilities Conference & Exhibition

The NDIA 2025 Future Forces Capabilities Conference & Exhibition will discuss how new technologies and capabilities will influence future military operations. The conference will provide a platform for collaboration between the defense industry and military…

How is the distribution or classification of natural language processing models determined?

What information is available on continuous-rod warheads related to design, manufacturing, or performance?

Can a list of available publications and subject matter experts on gun system aiming logic be provided?

Hopping Gives This Tiny Robot a Leg Up

Insect-scale robots can squeeze into places their larger counterparts can’t, like deep into a collapsed building to search for survivors after an earthquake. However, as they move through the rubble, tiny crawling robots might encounter…

Chainmail-Like Polymer Could Be the Future of Body Armor

Researchers supported by grants and instrumentation provided by the U.S. National Science Foundation have created the first 2D polymer material that mechanically interlocks, much like chainmail, and used an advanced imaging technique to show its…

U.S. Space Force Launches Six Experiments to International Space Station to Expand Scientific Knowledge in Support of Warfighters

KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. – The U.S. Space Force (USSF) Space Systems Command (SSC), in partnership with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), successfully launched the Space Test Program-Houston 10 (STP-H10) mission, which…

Aircrew Safety Improved With New Oxygen Purity Test at NAWCAD

NAVAL AIR WARFARE CENTER AIRCRAFT DIVISION, Patuxent River, Md. – For the first time, the Navy can precisely test how well modern oxygen systems remove impurities to ensure safe air for aircrew following a successful…

Dragonfly Mission Passes Critical Design Review

NASA’s Dragonfly, the first rotorcraft designed for scientific exploration on another ocean world, has passed its Critical Design Review. Led by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, the mission to Saturn’s…

Scientists Develop Rare Earth Free Magnet for Use in Industrial Motors

Many of the industrial motors used today are induction motors. However, permanent magnet motors are generally more efficient than induction motors and can be more cost-effective in the long run, especially for factories and plants…

Voice From the Community

Mr. Andrew J. Tweedell
Andrew Tweedell

Project Lead, Human Research and Engineering Directorate, U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL)

Mr. Tweedell is the current Project Lead for the Human Agent Interaction for Intelligent Squad Weapons program at ARL. His military research experience involves the intersection of human performance and data analytics in the physical and cognitive domains. He previously acted as Project Lead for the Techniques for Soldier Exoskeleton Analysis program at ARL, which informed design requirements for future dismounted exoskeletons. He is also a Contract Data Analyst for Optimum Performance Analytics Associates, where he performs statistical analyses related to professional and collegiate sports performance. His scientific publications span neuromechanics, exoskeleton evaluation, cognitive and physical interactions in marksmanship,  and human variability in Big Data.

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