Highlights
Additive Manufacturing at Sea →
Sailors aboard the USS Bataan turned the additive manufacturing at sea concept into reality after successfully fabricating and installing a stainless steel sprayer plate to repair the USS Bataan’s ballasting system. The machinists used a hybrid manufacturing system that was developed and installed on the ship with support from APL and Naval Sea Systems Command, allowing the ship to avoid costly repairs and resume operations.
BAS/CS™ →
Cyberattacks on industrial control systems—which power essential services like electricity, water, and transportation—are on the rise. In recent years, cyber threats targeting infrastructure have increased significantly. APL developed an advanced cybersecurity solution to detect real threats while reducing false alarms.
DART →
APL envisioned, built, and successfully demonstrated NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), the world’s first planetary defense technology demonstration, which proved the capability of a kinetic impactor to deflect an asteroid. This revolutionary low-cost spacecraft used APL-developed and modified air and missile defense algorithms to autonomously target and intercept an asteroid almost 7 million miles from Earth, changing its orbit period by 32 minutes, and providing humanity with a proven solution for planetary defense.
Tomahawk
The Navy came to APL to ensure that the then-new Tomahawk long-range cruise missile could navigate itself through heavily defended environments and strike specific targets, and APL engineers applied terrain contour matching (TERCOM) technology to enable this capability. When even greater accuracy was needed, APL developed the performance prediction algorithms needed to apply digital scene matching area correlator (DSMAC) technology. Tomahawk—enabled by TERCOM and DSMAC—became the world’s first long-range, autonomous, precision-guided weapon, and remains one of the most accurate and effective strike weapons in the U.S. arsenal. In an era of GPS-denied environments, the un-jammable TERCOM and DSMAC systems remain operational on Tomahawk for use when GPS is not available.
Cislunar Science and Technology →
APL is making critical contributions to the development of cislunar infrastructure to ensure our nation’s security interests are protected, support development of a sustainable cislunar presence, and advance pioneering science.
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.”
Boundary Layer Transition (BOLT)
Advancing hypersonic vehicle design through boundary layer transition research
Modeling Warfighter Decision-Making
Working with technical consultants and the Navy fighter aircraft community, we created a pilot-behavior model for air-to-air combat.
Visible Light Communications
For the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), APL is developing mission concepts and integrating operational prototypes of visible light communications capabilities in the Department of War—helping DISA enhance data security and alleviate demands on the limited radio frequency spectrum.
Detecting Malware
Using different types of powerful analytics, the APL-developed REnigma tool enables cyber analysts to quickly review malware.
Integrated Adaptive Cyber Defense (IACD)
APL conceptualized, prototyped, and published a framework enabling the integration and automation of diverse cybersecurity solutions to dramatically increase the speed and scale of cyber defense.
Biological Threat Analysis
APL is developing innovative ways to evaluate biological threats in a natural environment.
Space Security and Defense
APL provides expertise to the Space Security and Defense program, a joint Department of War/Office of the Director of National Intelligence organization focused on creating a more resilient and enduring national security space capability.
Integrated Undersea Surveillance Systems
We are solving critical challenges for the Navy’s undersea surveillance community, making contributions such as active and passive sonar processing algorithms for inclusion in the Advanced Surveillance Build tactical sonar modernization program.
Submarine Survivability Program
The SSN/SSGN survivability program ensures our submarines stay hidden regardless of new technology, changing mission requirements, and increasingly sophisticated adversaries.
Better Options for Data Analytics
The open-architecture tool we developed for U.S. Special Operations Command’s Science and Technology Directorate limits dependence on a single vendor and enables the command to evaluate data analysis and visualization tools against defined data and interfaces.
Mobile Communications
Special Operations Forces (SOF) continue to rely on APL expertise to understand the communications technology landscape, inform requirements development, and identify options for mobile communications capabilities across a variety of operational scenarios.