Projects and Missions

Highlights

Explore Our Work

Below is a sampling of APL’s critical contributions to critical challenges. Projects and missions are displayed in alphabetical order. 

Filter projects and missions by area of impact, mission area, or both.

Robotics researchers Craig Knuth and Adam Polevoy test machine learning algorithms for estimating traversable regions in complex environments. Such algorithms are necessary to enable robotic systems to autonomously traverse complex terrain.

Agile and Intelligent Robots

Developing novel controls for robotic systems operating safely in complex environments
Learn more about Agile and Intelligent Robots
Water treatment facility

MOSAICS: Cyber Defense for Industrial Control Systems

APL is leading the development of the first-ever comprehensive, integrated, and automated solution for industrial control system cybersecurity.
Learn more about MOSAICS: Cyber Defense for Industrial Control Systems
AlphaDogfight

AlphaDogfight Trials

APL served as a core member of the Air Combat Evolution program team created by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the 2020 AlphaDogfight Trials, a showdown between eight AI research teams from across the United States.
Learn more about AlphaDogfight Trials
Golden Horde

Golden Horde

Achieving networked, collaborative offensive weapons systems that will learn from their environment and autonomously work together to defeat integrated air and missile defenses.
Learn more about Golden Horde
Johns Hopkins APL's 60-foot dish antenna illuminated at night

Preventing Traffic Jams in Space

Providing greater situational awareness to enhance safety and security for those who plan to operate in cislunar space and on the Moon.
Learn more about Preventing Traffic Jams in Space
James Johnson and Danielle Nachman in APL’s PFAS research laboratory.

Eliminating Forever Chemicals

Multiple studies have linked PFAS exposure to harmful health effects in humans and animals, and without a natural way to break them down, the chemicals persist in soil and contaminate the environment — including water. APL scientists are developing several technologies to capture and destroy these “forever chemicals.”
Learn more about Eliminating Forever Chemicals
Image of Boundary Layer Transition (BOLT) flight hardware

Boundary Layer Transition (BOLT)

Advancing hypersonic vehicle design through boundary layer transition research
Learn more about Boundary Layer Transition (BOLT)
View from space of the Moon near Earth during a sunrise. (Credit: Shutterstock with NASA elements)

Space Security and Defense

APL provides expertise to the Space Security and Defense program, a joint Department of Defense/Office of the Director of National Intelligence organization focused on creating a more resilient and enduring national security space capability.
Learn more about Space Security and Defense
Aircraft in flight (Credit: U.S. Navy)

Next Generation Jammer

We have been part of the NGJ team since initial concept development in 2001—playing a key role in the evolution of this initiative to equip warfighters of all services with state-of-the-art technology to address emerging electronic warfare gaps.
Learn more about Next Generation Jammer
Illustration of a globe (Credit: Bigstock)

Ensuring Resilient Enabling Capabilities in Denied Environments

On behalf of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, APL is merging technical capabilities with acquisition strategy to mitigate adversary threats to command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) in the maritime, terrestrial, air, space, and cyber domains.
Learn more about Ensuring Resilient Enabling Capabilities in Denied Environments
Aircraft assigned to Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8 and the French Carrier Air Wing fly over the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) (Credit: U.S. Navy/MC3 Brooke Macchietto)

Shaping the Joint Future Operating Environment

On behalf of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, APL led development of the Joint Future Operating Environment, which lays the foundation for force development across the services.
Learn more about Shaping the Joint Future Operating Environment
APL analyses have identified, quantified, and prioritized opportunities to address time-critical targets across multiple domains.

Countering Anti-Access, Area-Denial Threats

APL is an established, critical partner of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Strategic Capabilities Office, which provides lower-cost, strategic alternatives for shaping and countering emerging threats.
Learn more about Countering Anti-Access, Area-Denial Threats