Air and Missile Defense
World-class expertise in protecting the nation and our allies from air and missile threats
Johns Hopkins APL has been instrumental in developing advanced capabilities to defend our forces and allies against aircraft and missile threats. Our world-class expertise in air and missile defense began to take shape with the development of the radio proximity fuze in World War II. Since then, we have continued to respond to emerging and evolving threats through innovative, effective, and affordable air and missile defense solutions. We apply our expertise to make current systems more effective, and we have adapted several technologies for new missions and developed novel technologies for future implementation.
Related Projects
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![Golden Horde]()
Learn more about Golden HordeGolden Horde
Achieving networked, collaborative offensive weapons systems that will learn from their environment and autonomously work together to defeat integrated air and missile defenses. -
![Deep Space Advanced Radar Concept (DARC)]()
Learn more about Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) Technology DemonstrationDeep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) Technology Demonstration
APL is leading solutions for the Space Force with the DARC technology demonstrator program. -
![Artist's rendering of the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (Credit: (U.S. Air Force)]()
Learn more about Ground-Based Strategic DeterrentGround-Based Strategic Deterrent
APL has a significant evaluation role in the Air Force program to replace the aging Minuteman III system. -
![Radar screen (Credit: Bigstock)]()
Learn more about Testing Air and Missile Defense RadarTesting Air and Missile Defense Radar
APL teamed with industry and the Above Water Sensors Directorate of Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare Systems on two successful tests of the AN/SPY-6(V), a wideband digital beam-forming sensor known as the Air and Missile Defense Radar. -
![September 18, 2013: An SM-3 Block 1B interceptor is launched from the USS Lake Erie during an MDA test and successfully intercepted a complex short-range ballistic missile target off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii. (Credit: MDA)]()
Learn more about Test Target PrototypingTest Target Prototyping
A cross-APL team of engineers, working with the Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) Target and Countermeasures Directorate and other government and industry partners, develops cost-effective solutions for MDA to support live-fire testing of interceptors, sensors, and fire control systems. -
![APL FSO operators check the monitors on Sea Hunter as a third operator monitors operations.]()
Learn more about Optical Communications at SeaOptical Communications at Sea
We successfully demonstrated a high-bandwidth free-space optical (FSO) communications system between two moving ships, proving operational utility of FSO technology in the maritime environment. -
![A team of APL engineers, working with the Missile Defense Agency and sailors aboard USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53), an Aegis baseline 9.C1 equipped destroyer, successfully fired a salvo of two SM-6 Dual I missiles against a complex medium-range ballistic missile target, demonstrating the Sea Based Terminal endo-atmospheric defensive capability and meeting the test’s primary objective. (Credit: MDA)]()
Learn more about Standard Missile-3: The Next GenerationStandard Missile-3: The Next Generation
APL led key “end-to-end” system-level performance analysis in collaboration with the government–industry team for the SM-3 Block IIA missile, cooperatively developed by the United States and Japan.
Related News
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![A medium range ballistic missile target is launched from Makaha Ridge, part of the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) in Kauai, Hawaii, during FTM-31 E1a]()
Learn more about Johns Hopkins APL Provides Critical Contributions to Successful Ballistic Missile Intercept TestNews
Sep 14, 2023Johns Hopkins APL Provides Critical Contributions to Successful Ballistic Missile Intercept Test
APL — in cooperation with the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and the U.S. Navy — demonstrated the capability to detect, track, engage and intercept a medium-range ballistic missile target in the terminal phase of flight. -
![Simulated virtual reality exercise]()
Learn more about Johns Hopkins APL Pilots U.S. Joint Forces Orientation Tour for Staff MembersNews
Sep 7, 2023Johns Hopkins APL Pilots U.S. Joint Forces Orientation Tour for Staff Members
In June, APL piloted a program that featured an orientation tour of U.S. joint force operations for APL staff members. -
![Logos for Johns Hopkins APL, CU Boulder, and the University Consortium for Applied Hypersonics overlaid on an image of a person signing a paper.]()
Learn more about Johns Hopkins APL, University of Colorado Boulder Ink Research Collaboration PartnershipNews
Jun 23, 2023Johns Hopkins APL, University of Colorado Boulder Ink Research Collaboration Partnership
Researchers from APL and the University of Colorado Boulder are teaming up on a project to better understand and eventually predict wear and damage affecting thermal protection systems. -
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Learn more about Johns Hopkins APL’s Plummer Providing Engineering Expertise to Air Force Advisory BoardNews
Jun 14, 2023Johns Hopkins APL’s Plummer Providing Engineering Expertise to Air Force Advisory Board
Anthony Plummer Jr., a communications and networking engineer in APL’s Asymmetric Operations Sector, is helping the U.S. Air Force tackle missile defense and other national security challenges as a member of the Department of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). -
![SURPASS]()
Learn more about First SURPASS Teams Set to Tackle Tough Societal ChallengesPress Release
Apr 27, 2023First SURPASS Teams Set to Tackle Tough Societal Challenges
The SURPASS program forged between Johns Hopkins APL and the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering seeks cutting-edge ideas that “go beyond the possible” — and the problem-solving proposals funded in the initiative’s first year indicate that researchers are up to the challenge.
