Sensors

Air-defense systems depend on detecting a threat early enough to identify it, track it and decide how to respond. Ground-based radars and other sensors...

Monitoring vast stretches of ocean creates a basic endurance problem. Crewed patrol aircraft can carry sophisticated sensors and respond quickly, but keeping them airborne...

Public-safety officers often have to enter environments that remain dangerous even after the immediate emergency has passed. An explosion can leave unstable debris and...

Robots can already fly reconnaissance missions, carry supplies and enter areas considered too dangerous for people. But many real-world environments are still designed around...

Long-range precision strikes are becoming increasingly difficult as electronic warfare disrupts GPS and communications links across the battlefield. Ground forces need weapons that can...

Mass attacks by one-way drones have created an increasingly difficult problem for air-defense forces. Systems such as the Shahed family can be launched in...

Monitoring remote stretches of water presents an awkward logistics problem. Boats can remain at sea for long periods but may take considerable time to...

Detecting radio signals across a wide range of frequencies normally creates a hardware problem. Conventional antennas are closely tied to the wavelength they need...

Precision weapons face a growing navigation problem. GPS can be jammed or unavailable, while weapons that depend on continuous external targeting may lose their...

Small and medium-sized drones are forcing ground forces to rethink air defense. Fixed systems can protect bases and other permanent sites, but troops on...

Fixed-wing drones can travel farther and faster than many multirotor aircraft, but operating them can require more space, specialized launch and recovery procedures and...

Modern combat aircraft can share crowded airspace with friendly fighters, allied forces and potential threats, sometimes while traveling at high speed and making decisions...

Drones are useful for surveillance and reconnaissance because they can remain overhead without putting a crew at risk. But they also create signatures that...

Autonomous vehicles, drones and military platforms increasingly depend on accurate positioning to understand where they are and navigate safely. But positioning becomes more difficult...

Drones have already removed soldiers from some of the most exposed battlefield tasks, but many dangerous jobs still require people on the ground. Moving...

Drone defense is relatively straightforward when protecting a permanent airbase or critical facility: sensors, command systems and other equipment can be installed around a...

INNOFENSE was created to identify promising technologies from the civilian market and help unlock their potential for defense applications. Following the progress achieved in...

Drone-on-drone interception becomes considerably harder as the target gets faster. An interceptor not only has to locate and approach another aircraft but also calculate...

Armored vehicles protect their crews by separating them from the battlefield with thick layers of steel and composite armor. That protection creates an unavoidable...

Every electrical system inside a drone needs power, and delivering it normally means running wires through wings, fuselage sections, and other structural components. Those...

Identifying an unknown chemical or biological substance usually requires sophisticated laboratory equipment, creating a problem when the material is discovered in the field. Samples...

Making drones smaller creates an awkward navigation problem. Cameras become unreliable in darkness, smoke and dust, while LiDAR sensors and the processors needed to...