An early radar antenna on the roof of the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., in the 1930s.

How to Innovate

Naval innovators need a new plan, and the history of radar offers lessons for developing one.

Lieutenant Artem M. Sherbinin, U.S. Navy 
February 2024
An ADARO unmanned system operating near the USS Oakland (LCS-24) during the Pacific Fleet’s Unmanned Integrated Battle Problem 21, which tested integration of manned and unmanned capabilities.

Explosive USVs for Littoral Warfare

Innovative strides in propulsion, navigation, and communication technology have led to a new breed of surface striking systems: explosive uncrewed surface vessels.

Major Michael McHugh, U.S. Marine Corps
December 2023
An LG-1K Tactical Aerial Delivery Glider during a Marine Corps Warfighting Lab test.

Gliding through A2/AD

One-way, unmanned glider resupply vehicles could dramatically decrease the risks to distributed forces throughout the battlespace and free conventional manned delivery platforms for other missions.

Captain Trevor Shimulunas, U.S. Marine Corps
November 2023
An M1132 Engineer Squad Vehicle belonging to Alpha Company, 898th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 81st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, sits under the night sky on a demolitions range at Yakima Training Center, Yakima, Wash., July 12, 2018. The M1132 is the combat engineering variant of the Stryker armored fighting vehicle.

An Engineering ACV for EABO and Beyond

Developing an engineering vehicle based on the ACV would create a versatile tool for all types of operations across the spectrum of conflict.

Captain Karl Flynn, U.S. Marine Corps
September 2023
NASA high-altitude balloon

Launch Mines from the Stratosphere

Mine Warfare Essay Contest—Second Prize, Sponsored by the Mine Warfare Association. The Navy and Marine Corps must consider balloons for mine warfare.

Lieutenant Kyle Cregge, U.S. Navy
August 2023
Clint Eastwood as Air Force Major Mitchell Gant in the 1982 thriller Firefox. Gant’s character was asked to steal an advanced Soviet fighter that employed a brain-machine interface.

Brain-Machine Interface—the New ‘BMI’

The brain-machine interface (BMI), which may have seemed outlandish in 1982, is a good example of how science fiction can be prophetic.

Lieutenant Commander Mark Wess, U.S. Navy
May 2023
Sailors participate in an Apex Legends competition

Gamified Learning Can Be Effective

It should not be surprising that the Department of Defense (DoD) is exploring the potential of “gamified learning” to enhance education in fields such as foreign language study.

March 2023
artist’s concept of the Airbus Zephyr high- altitude pseudo-satellite unmanned aerial vehicle

High-Altitude Pseudo-Satellites Are Ready for Launch

High-altitude pseudo-satellite unmanned aerial vehicles are moving rapidly toward maturity, thanks to trends in solar power, battery storage, and artificial intelligence.

Captain W. Stone Holden, U.S. Marine Corps
February 2023