Electronics & EW

Gallium nitride (GaN) is hot. Even hotter is a race to integrate GaN with other materials to boost GaN’s performance further.   The power electronics industry has seen the theoretical performance limit reached by silicon MOSFETs and now needs to move to a new element. GaN is a wide bandgap, …

The signals of Conventional microwave radars propagate in a straight line and cannot detect objects beyond their line of sight.  The maximum range of these radars is limited by the radio horizon – slightly far away than the optical horizon. OTH radars use very long wave lengths with special properties …

Three decades ago, only a handful of major powers had effective submarine capabilities but, today, fleets in operation around the world are growing rapidly. Emerging superpowers, like China, can add naval capacity equivalent to a European country’s in the space of a few years. The threat from submarines is serious …

Government and local law enforcement agencies have employed canines for decades to sniff  explosives and such banned goods as fresh produce, exotic wildlife, undeclared currency and illicit drugs.   Now researchers are developing electronic noses imitating the sense of smell of humans and animals especially dogs. The smells are composed of molecules, …

Successful military operations depend upon freedom of action in the warfighting domains of air, space, ground, sea, and cyberspace. Today, effective command and control and situational awareness depend upon radio communications and sensors. Domination of the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) enables joint force commanders to gain tactical, operational, and strategic advantage …

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are periodic crystalline one-, two-, or three-dimensional structures composed of two major components: a metal ion or cluster of metal ions and an organic molecule called a linker. For this reason, the materials are often referred to as hybrid organic–inorganic materials. They are a subclass of coordination …

The vision for the future soldier is to be combat effective and also highly mobile, adaptive, networked, sustainable with total battle space situation awareness and information assurance. Therefore, he is equipped with night- vision goggles, radios, smartphones, GPS, infrared sights, a laptop as well as batteries to power them.   …

Unmanned Aerial Systems are gaining more importance every single day. Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) are used for both defensive and offensive purposes. Different sizes and capabilities of UAS support a variety of different applications. Improved networking capabilities have enlarged the boundaries of UAS operations. Nations are working on more complex and …

All modern forces depend on unimpeded access to, and use of, the EM spectrum in conducting military operations. Therefore, there is a requirement to gain and maintain an advantage in the electromagnetic spectrum by countering adversary’s systems and protecting one’s own systems. Thus the EM spectrum can no longer be …

Non-lethal weapons have been used by security forces to deter hostile crowds. They fill gaps between verbal warnings and lethal force.   They have been found useful in disaster management like in the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, where non-lethal weapons were used when riots occurred at food distribution sites. …