Unmanned Systems

Collapsed buildings, flooded tunnels, and debris-filled drainage systems are among the most difficult environments for search-and-rescue teams to access after natural disasters. Small ground...

The rapid growth of military drone operations is exposing a major weakness in traditional air defense. While medium-sized unmanned aircraft used for reconnaissance and...

Modern fighter pilots are expected to process enormous amounts of information while flying at high speed, tracking multiple airborne threats and coordinating with other...

Commercial drones have become a standard operational tool for military and law enforcement forces in recent years, but their widespread use raises a strategic...

Defending against drone swarms has become one of the biggest challenges facing modern militaries. Traditional counter-drone weapons often destroy one target at a time,...

Small drones are becoming faster, more autonomous, and increasingly resistant to traditional countermeasures. Many counter-drone systems rely on electronic jamming or cyber techniques, but...

The growing use of drones, cruise missiles and low-flying aircraft is putting renewed pressure on short-range air defense systems. Soldiers operating near the front...

Modern air-defense systems are forcing combat aircraft to engage targets from ever greater distances. Flying too close to heavily defended areas increases the risk...

Modern fighter pilots are expected to do far more than fly and engage targets. They must process sensor data, manage electronic warfare systems, coordinate...

Modern combat aircraft face an increasingly difficult challenge: operating in airspace saturated with advanced radar systems, long-range missiles, and integrated air defenses. For unmanned...

Robots are increasingly being used for inspections, emergency response, and field operations in locations that are difficult or dangerous for people to reach. However,...

The rapid spread of drones has created a new challenge for militaries: intercepting fast-moving aerial threats before they reach their targets. While many counter-drone...

Building temporary infrastructure on water is often slow, expensive and labor-intensive. Whether the goal is creating a floating bridge after a natural disaster, deploying...

Modern air defense systems are becoming increasingly difficult to penetrate. Long before an aircraft reaches its target, ground-based radars can detect, track and coordinate...

Collecting data at sea often requires researchers to choose between two very different types of vehicles. Aerial drones can quickly survey large areas but...

The widespread use of first-person view (FPV) attack drones has changed the way armies think about protecting armored vehicles. These inexpensive drones are capable...

As autonomous technologies continue to mature, air forces are increasingly exploring how much of a combat aircraft's workload can be transferred from the pilot...

Most robots rely heavily on cameras and external tracking systems to understand their surroundings and control movement. But in cluttered, dark, or visually degraded...

Countering small drones does not always require shooting them down. In many situations, denying a drone the ability to see its target is enough...

One of the biggest challenges facing modern military reconnaissance is persistence. Small drones provide valuable situational awareness, but they are limited by battery life,...

Unmanned surface vessels are rapidly evolving from reconnaissance platforms into armed combat systems capable of operating alongside conventional naval forces. As maritime threats become...

The rapid spread of inexpensive drones has created a growing challenge for air-defense systems. Traditional surface-to-air missiles can be effective against unmanned aircraft, but...