Coverage

Sensors and Components

Sensors, communications, compute, power, positioning, payload interfaces, and the specifications that matter in operation.

Perception and positioning
Power and compute
Communications and interfaces

Technical composition of radar, camera, inertial, and communications components

Cross-domain reporting

Current analysis for this beat.

NASA's Ikhana remotely piloted aircraft flying toward the camera during a 2018 detect-and-avoid flight campaign over California

Photo: NASA / Ken Ulbrich

Air SystemsAugust 31, 202611 min read

Detect and Avoid for Civil Drones: A Practical Guide to DAA Architecture

How civil drone teams can compare cooperative surveillance, radar, optical, acoustic, ground-based, and hybrid detect-and-avoid architectures.

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Yellow Osprey MK-III uncrewed aircraft on a runway before an alternative-navigation flight test at Eglin Air Force Base in 2025

Photo: U.S. Air Force photo by Samuel King Jr.

Air SystemsAugust 31, 202612 min read

GNSS-Denied Navigation for Unmanned Aircraft: What Replaces GPS?

GNSS-denied aircraft do not replace GPS with one sensor. Learn how inertial, visual, terrain, radio, and integrity layers form a resilient navigation stack.

The appearance of U.S. Department of War (DoW) visual information does not imply or constitute DoW endorsement.

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NOAA remotely operated vehicle Deep Discoverer illuminating a rocky seafloor during a 2025 dive 4,755 meters below the surface

Photo: NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2025 Beyond the Blue

Maritime and UnderwaterAugust 31, 202613 min read

ROV vs. AUV vs. Underwater Glider: Choosing the Right Platform

Choose between an ROV, a powered AUV, and an underwater glider by matching control, endurance, payload, data, recovery, and support needs.

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