Weapons

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

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...

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....

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....

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...

As wireless networks become faster and more demanding, the tiny radio-frequency chips inside smartphones and communication systems are approaching their physical limits. Acoustic wave...

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

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...

One-way attack drones have created an increasingly difficult equation for air-defense forces. Aircraft such as the Shahed-136 are relatively inexpensive, can be launched in...

Modern air-defense systems depend heavily on radar to determine which objects in the sky deserve attention. That creates an opportunity for deception: if a...

Modern navigation depends heavily on satellite signals, but GPS is not always available. Signals cannot reliably penetrate underground or deep underwater and can also...

Gallium nitride has become an important material for high-performance radar, communications and electronic warfare systems because it can handle far more radio-frequency power than...

Modern battlefields are increasingly crowded with radio-frequency signals. Drones, aircraft, ships, communications equipment and electronic warfare systems all transmit across the electromagnetic spectrum, creating...

Attack helicopters are facing a growing challenge on today's battlefield. The widespread use of inexpensive drones, loitering munitions and persistent aerial surveillance has made...

As militaries and security organizations deploy growing numbers of drones, robots, and autonomous systems, a new challenge is emerging: each platform comes with its...

Modern military operations depend heavily on the electromagnetic spectrum. Radar systems, communications networks, GPS signals and electronic warfare equipment all compete for access to...

Modern armored vehicles are increasingly equipped with camouflage, thermal-management technologies and other measures intended to make them harder to identify and engage. At the...