US military genetics program to turn marine life into giant living sensor networks
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As we learn more about the genetic code and how to modify it organisations around the world are starting to look into new ways of turning nature to their advantage. A few months ago I wrote about how DARPA, the bleeding edge research arm...
US researchers get $1.7m grant to create wonder bio-material that lasts 500 million years
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Everything in the universe is made from material, whether it’s biological or synthetic, and as we unravel natures mysteries we could create products that, literally, last forever. It’s the most durable biological material you’ve never heard of, Sporopollenin, and it makes plastics and other materials...
US Navy puts AI brains into its 3D printers to make them “creative and intelligent”
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF By combining the power of AI with 3D printing the US military hopes to revolutionise how products are designed and made everywhere. One thing about aircraft, especially ones that fly from aircraft carriers, that are increasingly being turned into floating factories and flying fortresses,...
Lockheed Martin awarded contract to arm US Navy destroyers with lasers
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF We are entering a new era of warfare, full of AI fuelled semi-autonomous weapons, hypersonic missiles and lasers. The US military is increasingly ramping up its interest in, and spending on, new laser weapons, that will be positioned at forward operating bases, and on...
Lockheed will build America’s next generation of autonomous submarines
WHY THIS MATTERS It is inevitable that more of the world’s military platforms will become autonomous, and America’s submarines are about to get a huge upgrade. As part of its plan to turn undersea drones from remote controlled tools and toys into fully enrolled members of the fleet, last...
US Navy protects Chesapeake Bay with swarms of its latest robotic boats
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Military leaders are increasingly using autonomous drones, robots and platforms to assess, defend and engage targets around the world. The US Navy’s Office of Naval Research (ONR) recently showed off the progress it’s making in the area of robotic warfare with a demonstration of...
US Navy’s autonomous submarine hunter begins operational trials
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Many navies around the world are going all in on autonomous boats, ships and platforms, the Sea Hunter will be the first of many such systems that enter service after 2017. Main contractor Leidos has announced that it is starting operational trials of the...
US Navy successfully tests it’s latest Railgun at full power
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Railguns have taken decades to develop but the technology, that fires high impact projectiles at hypersonic speeds to vaporize its targets, is now here. The US Navy (USN) recently revealed a video of the first commissioning tests of a railgun, a futuristic weapon that...
Drones are fighting back against laser attacks
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Drones are seen by many military and terrorist organisations around the world as the new weapons platform of choice and working out new ways to destroy and disable them is a top priority but it’s a game of cat and mouse. Back in 2014,...
The US Navy announced it will build a global network of undersea drone highways
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF New technologies, combined with a renewed global focus on defence and security, have kicked off a new arms race and every corner, every theatre and every environment on Earth, and in space, seems to be fair game. As unmanned aerial drones have become a...
US Navy stands up the worlds first fully autonomous drone squadron
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF When you look across the spectrum of military developments it is clear that nation states are now committed to creating fully autonomous military platforms, the only question left to answer is when will they make their own “Kill” decisions. The time when the US...
US Navy’s future supersonic submarines will command swarms of autonomous drones
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Americas submarines of the future will command huge swarms of autonomous drones and travel at supersonic speeds, changing the nature of warfare, and balance of power. In the next two decades the US is going to be putting its next generation of subs into...
Capable of full autonomy, we go inside the stealth destroyer USN Zumwalt
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Invisible, smart, deadly and loaded with AI – the new autonomous-capable USS Zumwalt. The look of the new 600 foot, $4 Billion USN destroyer Zumwalt, official designation DDG-1000, is easy to explain. The ship is designed to be stealthy and all of its sharp...
US to turn its aircraft carriers into floating drone factories
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Aircraft carriers are the perfect forward operating platforms to create, deploy and support countless autonomous drone platforms, this move signals a new way to wage war and conduct operations. Earlier this month, the British Royal Navy ship HMS Protector made history. An ice patrol ship,...
The world’s first fully autonomous warship aces sea trials
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The US Navy’s trials of their first autonomous warship platform have been wildly successful. The US Navy’s new unarmed Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) Sea Hunter has completed its first round of sea trials and it aced all of its tests for speed, manoeuvrability,...
US Navy divers go Ironman with DAVD
The US Navy’s new augmented reality helmet pushes diving into the twenty first century A new high-tech diving helmet being developed by the U.S. Navy will incorporate augmented-reality technology to help keep naval divers safe on underwater missions and help them complete missions faster. Dubbed the Divers Augmented Vision Display...
America launches the worlds first fully autonomous submarine hunter
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF We are entering the age of fully autonomous warfare and inevitably, one day, humans will not be in the loop The US military have launched their first experimental, fully autonomous self-driving warship, dubbed Sea Hunter, and representing a major advance in robotic warfare, which...
