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Unmanned Capabilities Front and Center During Naval Exercise

During a visit to San Diego for the U.S. Pacific Fleet-led Unmanned Integrated Battle Problem 21, Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Lorin Selby said America’s growing focus on autonomous capabilities is showing impressive results.
April 22, 2021

Basic Research for Electro-Optic/Infrared (EO/IR) Sensors and Sensor Processing

BAA Call N00014-24-S-BC01 Special Programs Announcement for Office of Naval Research (ONR) Research Opportunity: Basic Research for Electro-Optic/Infrared (EO/IR) Sensors and Sensor Processing
October 02, 2023

Space Sensors & Effects

The Space Sensor & Effects objective is to develop and experiment with key technology enablers that provide effective and resilient Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance & Targeting (ISRT) capabilities as affordable and proliferated space-borne sensors for littoral & maritime environments.
March 18, 2022

Semper Floats! Marines Use Sensor Buoys to Better Understand Ocean Battlespace

During the 2020 Trident Warrior exercise, Office of Naval Research-funded scientists dropped sensor buoys to study underwater conditions.
December 22, 2020

Farewell, FLIP! Renowned Navy-Owned Research Platform Retired after 60 Years of Service

A dynamic era in naval oceanography recently ended as the iconic Floating Instrument Platform — popularly known as FLIP — was officially retired from service. Built in 1962 with funding from the Office of Naval Research (ONR), FLIP helped generations of scientists and oceanographers better understand the mysteries of the sea, including internal waves, air-sea interaction and long-range sound propagation. Sadly, age and exorbitant life-extension costs resulted in the platform being disestablished. On Aug. 3, a solemn gathering of well-wishers watched as FLIP was towed, at sunset, to a dismantling and recycling facility. Last month, a formal good-bye ceremony was hosted by the Marine Physical Laboratory at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Though retired, FLIP will live on at Scripps. One of its booms (crane-like arms for suspending instruments) will be installed on the Scripps research pier in La Jolla and used to deploy instruments. Also, artifacts from the platform will be displayed in a permanent exhibit at Scripps’ Birch Aquarium.
August 16, 2023

Laser Trailblazer: Navy Conducts Historic Test of New Laser Weapon System

Known as the Layered Laser Defense (LLD), the weapon was designed and built by Lockheed Martin to serve as a multi-domain, multi-platform demonstration system. It can counter unmanned aerial systems and fast-attack boats with a high-power laser—and also use its high-resolution telescope to track in-bound air threats, support combat identification and conduct battle damage assessment of engaged targets.
April 13, 2022

Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) and Prognostics: Advanced Sensors and Technologies

Non-Destructive Evaluation and Prognostics is a two-tiered research area within the Office of Naval Research's Sea Warfare and Weapons Department.
March 18, 2022

History-Making Oceanographer and Ret. Navy Captain Dies at 92

Retired U.S. Navy Capt. Don Walsh, best known for his daring dive to the deepest spot on Earth, nearly 36,000 feet below the ocean’s surface, has died at age 92. Walsh was a co-pilot of the Trieste bathyscaphe, a deep submergence vehicle acquired by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) in 1958. Two years later, on January 23, 1960, Walsh and Swiss engineer Jacques Piccard, son of the inventor of the bathyscaphe, became the first humans to descend into the Challenger Deep, located in the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench. “ONR sponsored the Trieste, but it was then-Lt. Don Walsh who made the very daring decision to make the first descent into the deepest spot of the earth’s ocean. Walsh was a Navy officer, a submariner, an adventurer, and an oceanographer. To his family, we extend our deepest condolences and gratitude for allowing him to explore, and share his extraordinary experiences and knowledge with us,” said Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Kurt Rothenhaus.
November 16, 2023