DSIAC JOURNAL

Step into the future with the latest advancements and trends in defense. 

We blend research with subject matter expertise to provide an outlet for publicly releasable articles on new and emerging science, engineering, and technology within the defense community.

Latest Articles

Designing Primary Structures With Fiber-Reinforced PEEK Thermoplastic Composite

Introduction Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a semicrystalline thermoplastic that was invented in November 1978 and brought to market in 1981 by Imperial Chemical Industries, which later became Victrex. As developed, this material possessed a maximum 48% degree of crystallinity. The composite material was introduced a year later as APC-1 with a 52% fiber volume, and it […]

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Uncertainty Quantification to Detect Resident Space Object Anomalies

Summary Anomaly detection, whereby signals are scanned for behavior changes, is a common problem in many applications. As data streams grow in complexity and volume, automated methods for anomaly detection, especially those based on machine learning (ML), are increasingly attractive. However, many real-world defense applications like space domain awareness (SDA) are challenging environments for these […]

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Detecting and Defending Against Malicious Attacks to Ship Sensors

Summary This article describes research to detect phenomena that may degrade or disrupt the performance of an otherwise fully functional sensor. Also examined are methods to potentially mitigate the effects of sensor degradation and develop effective countermeasures that enable naval vessels and unmanned vehicles to continue their missions with degraded capabilities. An emphasis is placed […]

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A Bioinspired System to Autonomously Detect Tiny, Fast-Moving Objects in Infrared Imagery

Summary Autonomously detecting tiny, fast-moving objects emitting thermal radiation in the infrared is a challenging technical problem. In addition to being fast, these targets are often dim, small, and in the presence of clutter and occlusions. Conventional detection approaches require large size, weight, and power (SWaP) systems which may introduce substantial latencies. As such, the […]

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Emerging Risks in Space From China and Russia

Summary Emerging technologies include not only novel technical inventions but also repurposing existing technologies into new tactics, techniques, and procedures. In recent years, Russia and China have upended the way the space domain has operated for decades. For example, China has repurposed the Cold War-era concept of a “fractional orbital bombardment system” to deploy a […]

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U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Analysis Center (DAC) RelTools Dashboard

Reliability is the probability that an item will perform its intended function for a specified period under stated conditions. It has a significant impact on operating and sustainment costs within the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), which typically represent 70% of the program’s total life-cycle costs [1].

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A Surrogate Model to Quantify Uncertainty in Thermal Protection Systems for Hypersonic Weapons

Modeling and simulation are key for the iterative development of thermal protection systems (TPS’s) for hypersonic weapons. In this work, the temperature-dependent flexural strength (FS) of α-SiC ceramic is predicted given Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio, and temperature. An artificial neural network (ANN) surrogate model is created to retain property-performance prediction while increasing computation speed.

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Revolutionizing Naval Logistics: The Challenges and Prospect of Metal Additive Manufacturing on U.S. Navy Ships

In 2022, the U.S. Navy installed the first-ever permanent metal AM machine aboard a U.S. naval vessel. This technology is projected to be groundbreaking by reducing resupply logistics and diminishing obsolescence: “For the Navy, the greatest immediate potential is in the less-exotic field of logistics” [1].

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What Makes a Simulation Credible? Cost-Effective VV&A in the Systems Engineering Process

The U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Verification, Validation, and Accreditation (VV&A) Branch has developed and is executing a cost-effective, risk-based VV&A process for models and simulations (M&S) used to support the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).

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Understanding the Bow Topside Flow Field of the USS Zumwalt for Hypersonic Missile Launching: A Potential Missing Link

What happens when a hypersonic missile is launched from a Navy destroyer? Aside from the forthcoming damage effects and political fallout, there are a million complex physical interactions that take place right at the moment and place of the launch.

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