INSIDER

Manned Systems

Libera Space Instrument Continues Unbroken Record of Earth’s ‘Energy Budget’

Sometime next year, a new NASA instrument designed and built in Colorado will get an eagle-eye view of Earth. The instrument, known as Libera, will circle the...

Articles

RF & Microwave Electronics

How RF-over-Fiber is Providing the Backbone of Next Generation Mil/Aero Networks

RF and fiber have long co-existed within modern military and aerospace systems, with each medium dedicated to separate, mission-critical roles. Increasingly, however, system designers are turning to RF-over-fiber (RFoF) architectures to bridge the gap between over-the-air RF interfaces and the long, interference-resistant transport advantages of fiber. Read on to learn more.

Briefs

Aerospace

Could Metasurfaces Be The Next Quantum Information Processors?

Optics researchers in the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have created specially designed metasurfaces — flat devices etched with nanoscale light-manipulating patterns — to act as ultra-thin upgrades for quantum-optical chips and setups. Read on to learn more.

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Unmanned Systems

AFWERX Tests Alternative Navigation System on Osprey MK III

A bright orange dart drifted in the air at approximately 1,000 feet. The cloudless, bright blue skies practically swallowed up the 7-foot, 50-pound unmanned aerial system as it...

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Imaging

A New Depth Perception System for Explosive Ordinance Disposal Robots

What started as a school project has developed into a promising innovation for explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) operations across the Department of Defense (DoD).

News

Sensors/Data Acquisition

MOIA’s L4 ID. Buzz AVs Starting Service Next Year

Mobileye announced in June that its ongoing work with Volkswagen will deliver the automaker’s first production SAE Level 4 autonomous vehicles sometime in 2026. The first of these...

Application Briefs

Defense

A New Record for Optical Power Beaming

DARPA recognized the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory during their POWER Phase 2 Industry Day, for contributions to the Persistent Optical Wireless Energy Relay program, which shattered existing records for optical power beaming over distance. Read on to learn more.

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RF & Microwave Electronics

German Satellite's Multispectral Camera Improves Weather Forecasting Data

The German Space Agency is planning the launch of the Metop-SGA1 satellite of the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT)...

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Communications

Fiber Deep Upgrade Improves Cyber Resilience for JBPHH

An Air National Guard fiber cable installation team is implementing the 'Fiber Deep' project on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. This project aims to save up to $10 million by...

Articles

Photonics/Optics

Microcomb Chips Could Improve Accuracy of GPS Systems

The optical atomic clocks that exist today are bulky and require complex laboratories with specific laser settings and optical components, making it difficult to use them outside lab environments, such as in satellites, remote research stations, or drones. Now, a research team has developed a technology that makes optical atomic clocks significantly smaller and accessible for more widespread use in society. Read on to learn more.

Webinars

Imaging

Breakthrough in Infrared and Visible Imaging: One Dataset with Spatial and Temporal Alignment

Until now, researchers have had to choose between thermal and visible imaging: One reveals heat signatures while the other provides structural...

Articles

Manned Systems

The Evolution of Autonomous Systems in UAV Technology

So, let’s talk about it: What’s happening in 2025? Well, the sky is no longer the limit — it’s just the beginning of a new era in autonomous UAV technology. Read on to learn more.

Briefs

Photonics/Optics

Army Researchers Develop Chemical Threat Scanning on the Fly

U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center researchers are developing a way to scan for chemical biological agent on surfaces on the fly. It is called Hyperspectral Threat Anomaly Detection, or HyperThreAD for short. Read on to learn more about it.

Articles

Connectivity

Next Level Rugged Fiber Optic Interconnects: A New Era of High-Speed Data Transmission in Defense

In addition to the high level of complexity, the upcoming generation change from fifth- to sixth-generation fighter jets poses major challenges for component suppliers and accelerates the pace of technological competition. Read on to learn more.

INSIDER

Data Acquisition

Blue Ghost Arrives in Lunar Orbit, Prepares for Landing

Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 1 lunar lander has entered an elliptical orbit around the Moon and captured new images as it prepares for a scheduled landing.

INSIDER

Sensors/Data Acquisition

Using Squeezed Light to Develop Sensors That Defy Defense Limits

Raytheon’s BBN Technologies is developing next-generation, compact, low-power, deployable photonic sensors that will provide users with better awareness of environmental...

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Research Lab

Ultraviolet Camera System for Small Satellites Could Advance Space Weather Studies

Virginia Tech researchers are collaborating with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to gain new insights on space weather and Earth's upper atmosphere.

Articles

Photonics/Optics

Everyday Life, Improved by Light: GRYPHON’s Photonic Discoveries

GRYPHON will leverage recent developments in nonlinear photonics and photonic-electronic integration to develop microwave sources with noise performance that meets or exceeds that of the best discrete oscillator modules. Read on to learn more about the endeavor.

Articles

Electronics & Computers

Space Lasers: Aiming Towards Next Leap in Global Communications

Space lasers are transforming the world. Not the far-off future of science fiction, but the universe of how data and communications flow today — everywhere from deep space missions to countless applications here on earth, including consumer internet services, military operations, and banking transactions. Read on to learn more.

Articles

Photonics/Optics

MEMS-Based Accelerometer to Measure Microgravity for In-Orbit Manufacturing

Looking ahead, the continued development of MEMS technology will likely unlock new possibilities for space exploration and utilization, ensuring that projects like ForgeStar remain at the forefront of scientific and technological progress. Read on to learn more.

Briefs

Photonics/Optics

Streamlined Microcomb Design Provides Control With The Flip of a Switch

Researchers at the University of Rochester describe new microcomb lasers they have developed that overcome previous limitations and feature a simple design that could open the door to a broad range of uses. Read on to learn more.

Briefs

Photonics/Optics

Researchers Demonstrate the First Chip-Based 3D Printer

Imagine a portable 3D printer you could hold in the palm of your hand. Researchers took a major step toward making this idea a reality by demonstrating the first chip-based 3D printer. The prototype chip has no moving parts, instead relying on an array of tiny optical antennas to steer a beam of light. Read on to learn more.

INSIDER

Manned Systems

Space Lasers: Aiming Towards Next Leap in Global Communications

Space lasers are transforming the world. Not the far-off future of science fiction, but the universe of how data and communications flow today — everywhere from deep space...

Articles

Imaging

Image Sensors and Cameras Based on Colloidal Quantum Dots for Defense Applications

This article reports on the image sensor technology and the VS20 camera product developed at Emberion. The article describes the image sensor design comprising the sensor stack based on a p-i-n photodiode implementation with PbS QDs sandwiched between thin-film hole transport (HTL) and electron transport (ETL) layers as well as the CMOS ROIC architecture and pixel front-end interfacing the photodiode stack.

Briefs

AR/AI

NRL Research Physicists Explore Fiber Optic Computing Using Distributed Feedback

U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) researchers have outlined a novel contribution in fiber optics computing in a paper recently published in Communications Physics Journal that brings the Navy one step closer to faster, more efficient computing technologies.

INSIDER

Imaging

This Avionics Computer Enables Image Data Processing, Payload Control for NASA IM-1 Mission

Aitech provided a complete avionics computer system to Intuitive Machines for the IM-1 Mission, that successfully landed on the Moon on February 22,...

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RF & Microwave Electronics

New Video Card Enables Supersonic Vision System for NASA's X-59 Demonstrator

During a Jan. 12, 2024 rollout ceremony at Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, NASA debuted the new X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft. The...

Articles

Electronics & Computers

Certified Machine Learning-Based Avionics

Over the past few decades, aircraft automation has progressively increased. Advances in digital computing during the 1980s eliminated the need for onboard flight engineers. Avionics systems, exemplified by FADEC for engine control and Fly-By-Wire, handle lower-level functions, reducing human error.

Articles

RF & Microwave Electronics

Physicists Develop a New Type of Antenna

This research and demonstration presents a simple technique for a remote Rydberg-atom-based RF sensor, which was verified for distances of up to 30 m between the passive sensing unit and the base station — currently limited by the length of the hallway used in the demonstration.