DARPA

DARPA has awarded Phase 2 contracts in its Manta Ray program, which aims to build a series of underwater drones capable of taking on long-range, long-endurance, autonomous ocean missions without any human support for charging, maintenance or logistics.

Although drones certainly can replace crewed aircraft, DARPA's Gremlins program instead aims to equip military planes with drones that can be deployed and then retrieved for reuse. Now, for the first time ever, one of the drones has been recovered in mid-air.

A few years ago we first heard about DARPA's Subterranean Challenge, a competition in which teams were using robots to explore underground environments. A consortium known as Team CERBERUS has recently been awarded the US$2 million top prize.

Raytheon Missiles & Defense and Northrop Grumman successfully flew an air-breathing hypersonic missile. Part of a program for DARPA and the US Air Force, the HAWC prototype promises hypersonic missiles that can fly farther and at lower altitudes.

DARPA's new Fast Event-based Neuromorphic Camera and Electronics (FENCE) program will seek to make computer vision cameras more efficient by mimicking how the human brain processes information.

DARPA's Mobile Force Protection (MFP) program has developed a system designed to counter unauthorized drone intrusions over populated areas. The program sought a non-explosive approach and hit upon the idea of using drones that fire stringy streamers.

A new computer processor called Morpheus thwarts hackers by randomly changing its microarchitecture every few milliseconds. The puzzling processor has now aced major tests, repelling hundreds of professional hackers in a DARPA security challenge.

DARPA has awarded contracts to FLIR Systems, Leidos, and Charles River Analytics to develop new kit to protect soldiers and responders against chemical and biological (CB) threats using lighter, more comfortable and more versatile suits.

DARPA's nuclear space rocket project is progressing, with contracts awarded to General Atomics, Blue Origin, and Lockheed Martin for the first phase of a program to place a Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) demonstrator into low Earth orbit by 2025.

Looking to extend the combat range of its aircraft and keep human operators removed from danger, DARPA has kicked off the development of a new missile-equipped, air-launched drone under its LongShot program.

In anticipation of future space projects involving giant structures in orbit and on the Moon, DARPA has announced the start of its Novel Orbital and Moon Manufacturing, Materials and Mass-efficient Design (NOM4D) program.

DARPA is starting a program to develop a new multispectral Enhanced Night Vision (ENVision) system for the military that replaces today's heavy night-vision goggles with ones that are as light and compact as a pair of eyeglasses.