DSIAC collects and publishes articles related to our technical focus areas on the web to share with the DoD community.
The U.S. Army Research Laboratory and the South Dakota School of Mines through a joint ownership agreement commercialized a system to reclaim unserviceable parts and reduce the amount of maintenance required by military and commercial sectors. VRC Metal Systems, a start-up company from SDSM, manufactures the cold spray system. ARL”s Victor Champagne and Dr. Dennis
The Army is speeding up development work on its future Modular Active Protection System for combat vehicles. As the service works on expediting interim solutions for combat vehicle Active Protection Systems, officials are simultaneously ramping up some of the first MAPS tests using soft-kill countermeasures. There is also a plan to begin using the first
SpaceX’s upgraded Dragon capsules will not return astronauts to Earth for powered landings as originally envisioned, company boss Elon Musk said Wednesday, a design change that raises questions about the space transport firm’s plans to send commercial landers to the surface of Mars. Musk cited safety concerns for eliminating plans for propulsive Dragon landings in
Chinese scientists have made good use of waste while finding an innovative solution to a technical problem by transforming rusty stainless steel mesh into electrodes with outstanding electrochemical properties that make them ideal for potassium-ion batteries. As reported in the journal Angewandte Chemie , the rust is converted directly into a compact layer with a
AFRL Materials and Manufacturing Directorate junior force researchers resolved an issue of critical importance to military pilots and aircrews—portable, reliable, and robust temporary landing zone lighting. Current portable landing zone lighting systems, used for temporary and semi-permanent airfields, are aging and quickly reaching the end of their functional lifetimes. The need for a quick solution
Spectrum Collaboration Challenge (SC2) The DARPA Spectrum Collaboration Challenge is the first-of-its-kind collaborative machine-learning competition to overcome scarcity in the radio frequency (RF) spectrum. Today, spectrum is managed by dividing it into rigid, exclusively licensed bands. This human-driven process is not adaptive to the dynamics of supply and demand, and thus cannot exploit the full
Advanced Vertical Takeoff and Landing was a topic of discussion at the recent American Helicopter Society International”s Annual Forum & Technology Display in Houston, Texas. VTOL refers to an aircraft”s ability to takeoff, hover and land vertically. There are numerous advantages to advancing VTOL capabilities, particularly maneuverability in a combat situation. The special session highlighted
As China and Russia continue to demonstrate rapid progress in development of hypersonic strike weapons, the U.S.’s largest guided-missile company says technology to counter the threat is already achievable but that fielding a system requires sustained funding and a national sense of urgency. “We are at a tipping point in hypersonics. It is the number
The Army Recognition Defense and Security Web TV news channel presents a highlight video of Day 2 at the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference (SOFIC) 2017, which was held in Tampa, Florida from 15 to 18 May 2017. Highlighted in the video are: RPAMS RP Advanced Strike-X ATV – militarized CAN-AM X3 to provide an
The side prepared to fight is the side that wins the battle—and basic science research provides the first step in being prepared. Like all aspects of the military, the research and development sector thrives on a foundation of cause and effect. Applied research questions more easily match this formula because you can make concrete claims
For the past two years a conglomerate of trade associations, industry, government and academia have been collaborating on the world’s first operational 3D printed excavator. That project made a giant leap forward with the recent printing of a prototype that leveraged large-scale additive manufacturing technologies and further explores the feasibility of printing with metal alloys.
On a cloudy night in the future, special operators are conducting a nighttime raid on an enemy compound. A mission commander aboard an AC-130J Ghostrider gunship sets his sights on a target. Using a high-energy laser, he aims and shoots at an electrical transformer, the engine of a pick-up truck, communication equipment stacked near the