Survivability & Protection

Detecting extremely weak magnetic fields is useful in everything from medical imaging to industrial monitoring, but sensitivity comes with a fundamental problem: noise. As...

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...

Building robots at microscopic scales creates an unusual engineering problem: even the simplest movements become difficult to produce. Conventional motors, gears and hydraulic systems...

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...

Protecting critical systems becomes especially difficult once an attacker gets inside the device itself. Conventional cybersecurity tools can monitor network traffic, identify known vulnerabilities...

Air defense systems today must contend with a wide range of fundamentally different threats: ballistic missiles traveling at high speeds and altitudes, fighter aircraft,...

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...

Maritime surveillance requires military forces to monitor enormous areas while identifying ships, submarines and other potential threats as quickly as possible. Crewed patrol aircraft...

Flying autonomously through complex environments requires more than knowing where a drone is. The aircraft must continuously understand what surrounds it, distinguish open routes...

Designing an efficient drone propeller involves far more than choosing the right diameter or number of blades. Small changes in blade geometry can affect...

Persistent surveillance is one of the biggest challenges in modern military operations. Conventional drones are limited by battery capacity or fuel, requiring frequent landings...

Small military drones are taking on increasingly complex missions, from reconnaissance and target tracking to autonomous navigation and coordinated swarm operations. Yet many of...

The rapid spread of military drones has created a growing problem for air-defense forces. Many attack drones are inexpensive to produce, yet they are...

Protecting large industrial sites, airports, campuses and critical infrastructure often requires continuous patrols over wide areas. Autonomous security robots are increasingly being used to...

Modern military operations are influenced by more than events on the physical battlefield. Social media posts, messaging platforms, videos, news reports and foreign-language sources...

Unexploded bombs, naval mines, and artillery shells left behind by past conflicts remain a hazard in coastal waters around the world. Buried beneath sand...

Countering small drones has become increasingly difficult as unmanned aircraft grow smaller, cheaper, and more numerous. Traditional radar systems can detect many aerial threats,...

Modern militaries are fielding an increasingly diverse range of unmanned systems, from interceptor missiles and one-way attack drones to robotic ground vehicles. While these...

Resupplying personnel in remote or contested areas is one of the most difficult challenges in military and emergency operations. Landing a drone to deliver...