Defense

Anti-submarine aircraft traditionally need to get relatively close to the area where a submarine is believed to be operating before deploying a torpedo. That...

Keeping frontline forces supplied is one of the most dangerous tasks on the battlefield. Delivering ammunition, food, fuel and medical equipment often requires convoys...

Drones increasingly need to operate at night, through smoke and in other conditions where conventional cameras struggle. Thermal imaging can solve that problem by...

Modern military units are becoming increasingly dependent on electricity. Drones need regular charging, electronic warfare equipment can draw substantial power, and edge-computing systems must...

Collaborative combat aircraft are being developed to fly alongside crewed fighters, carrying sensors, electronic warfare equipment or weapons while taking on missions that may...

Cybersecurity tools are typically tested against known malicious files and behaviors, but real attackers rarely leave their code unchanged. Malware can be rewritten or...

Counter-drone systems are becoming an essential part of military base protection, but knowing whether they will perform as expected during a real attack remains...

Small robots could be valuable for exploring collapsed buildings, damaged infrastructure and other spaces that are too confined or dangerous for people. But building...

Long-endurance drones such as the MQ-9 Reaper have spent decades performing surveillance and strike missions, but the environment they were designed for is changing....

Large-scale air combat exercises face a practical limitation: creating a realistic battlefield can require dozens of aircraft, support platforms and air-defense systems operating simultaneously....

Space-based sensors can generate enormous amounts of data while monitoring missile launches, spacecraft and other fast-moving threats. The challenge is getting useful information to...

Monitoring large areas beneath the sea is difficult, expensive and potentially dangerous. Crewed submarines and surface vessels can perform surveillance and mine-clearing missions, but...

Stopping one drone is very different from defending against dozens or hundreds arriving together. A coordinated swarm can approach from several directions, divide into...

Towed artillery remains an important source of battlefield firepower, but modern counter-battery sensors and drones have made staying in one firing position increasingly dangerous....

Artificial intelligence is rapidly moving from assisting pilots to flying aircraft autonomously. While autonomous flight software has become increasingly capable of navigating, avoiding obstacles...

Missile-defense systems cannot be validated using simulations alone. Radars and combat-management systems ultimately need to encounter physical targets moving through real airspace, allowing crews...

Small commercial drones are increasingly becoming a security problem for military forces and critical facilities. Detecting an unauthorized UAV is only part of the...

Future air operations are expected to rely increasingly on uncrewed aircraft working alongside fighter jets, but making that concept practical requires more than simply...

Wearable sensors need to remain soft and conductive as the body moves, but cold weather presents a basic materials problem. Many flexible sensors use...

As more military and civilian infrastructure depends on satellites, space is becoming an increasingly important operational domain. Communications, navigation, intelligence gathering, missile warning, and...

Protecting a major port from drones presents an increasingly difficult security problem. Maritime facilities cover large areas and contain ships, fuel infrastructure and other...

Inspecting the underside of a ship is a difficult but important security task. Hulls can conceal structural damage, foreign objects or potentially dangerous devices...