Sponsored By Oxley Developments
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04 Dec 25. Scientists to build mobile MEG brain scanner for military use. The scanner will enable researchers monitor brain function within minutes of blast exposure and observe personnel recovery. Researchers are set to build a fully mobile magnetoencephalography (MEG) brain scanner with the backing of the UK government to assess the impact of blast exposure on military personnel in real time during training. The scanner, said to be the first of its kind in the world will be based on quantum technology. It will enable researchers to observe changes in brain activity within minutes following a blast and monitor how personnel recover over time. To be deployed in military firing ranges, field hospitals and rehabilitation centres, the mobile laboratory will allow “evidence-based decision making” to support safety of service personnel, according to a statement from the UK’s Cyber & Specialist Operations Command on 2 December 2025. Cerca Magnetics, a spin-out company from the University of Nottingham, will build the system in collaboration with UK-based Magnetic Shields, US-based QuSpin, and the University of Nottingham School of Physics. The team expects to have the MEG brain scanner system operational by 31 March 2026. The system will be initially employed by the Defence Medical Services within Cyber & Specialist Operations Command, alongside scientists from the Universities of Nottingham and Birmingham. This MEG brain scanner project is funded by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) with an investment of more than £3m ($3.9m).
UK Veterans and People Minister Louise Sandher-Jones said: “The safety of our personnel is a top priority. Thanks to technologies like this, even subtle physical changes are now becoming detectable, and we will get crucial insights that simply weren’t possible before, improving decision-making and vital protections for our forces.”
The technology behind the scanner is based on quantum principles and has been in development for a decade, backed by the UK National Quantum Technologies Programme. The programme is funded by the Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and the MoD. The MEG brain scanner is designed to conduct rapid scans, offering objective assessments of changes in brain function, and supporting decisions regarding safe return to duty. By studying the effects of different weapon types and monitoring recovery patterns, the system aims to identify personnel at higher risk and determine evidence-based exposure limits. University of Nottingham physics professor and Cerca magnetics chairman Matthew Brookes said: “This new generation of MEG lifts limitations that have historically confined scanners to universities, paving the way for mobile systems that can be taken directly to those who will benefit most.” (Source: army-technology.com)
04 Dec 25. BAE Systems, Inc. (LON: BA) announces the launch of BAE Systems OneArc (OneArc™), a defense technology innovator, delivering commercial products and solutions in synthetic training, simulation, interoperability, geospatial, data analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI). OneArc unites the strategic acquisitions of Bohemia Interactive Simulations, TerraSim, and Pitch Technologies to advance complementary mission-ready capabilities that better prepare and protect the warfighter for a rapidly changing threat landscape.
“OneArc embodies integration, collaboration, and collective advancement, emphasizing the power of unity and shared purpose,” said Rahul C. Thakkar, OneArc president at BAE Systems. “Our unified approach enables the militaries of the U.S., NATO, and allied nations to work together seamlessly across multiple domains, driving mission success.”
OneArc is a trusted commercial partner, designed for speed, agility, and accessibility. Its impact extends beyond disrupting the pace of development to create new solutions that provide sustainable, long-term value. It delivers trusted, ready-now products and modular solutions at scale to empower U.S., NATO, allied militaries, integrators, and partners. The company builds on 30-plus years of experience that has redefined U.S. and NATO defense training benchmarks by helping to establish NATO interoperability standards and earning the trust of more than 60 nations. OneArc will continue to offer flagship products and solutions, including VBS, Mantle, BlueIG, Pitch, and TerraTools, as well as launch next-generation products and solutions. (Source: PR Newswire)
03 Dec 25. The National Strategic Research Institute (NSRI) at the University of Nebraska has launched a study for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Nuclear Deterrence, Chemical, and Biological Defense Policy and Programs (OASW ND-CBD) to understand emergent technologies that could offer warfighters increased protection from gamma radiation. m OASW ND-CBD serves as the U.S. Department of War (DOW) lead for Radiological and Nuclear Defense Capability Development (RNDCD), which aims to efficiently deliver modern, innovative capabilities to the Joint Force. Through a one-year, $288k project, NSRI will conduct a literature review and technology assessment to help the DOW leverage existing and next-generation capabilities for shielding from and delivering medical countermeasures against gamma radiation effects.
“As a DOW-designated University Affiliated Research Center (UARC), NSRI is in a unique position to provide an objective overview of the leading-edge tech that may be of critical use for our warfighters,” said Maj. Gen., USAF (Ret.) Rick Evans, NSRI executive director. “We are a trusted partner to the federal government and a strategic resource the DOW calls upon to gain this type of independent analysis.”
Dr. Terry Thiem, NSRI director for medical countermeasures, is leading the study. Given recent significant advances, including innovations in nanocomposites and medical countermeasures, the DOW can incorporate new technology into personal protective equipment (PPE) to survive, campaign and prevail in a radiological and nuclear environment, he said.
With colleagues, Dr. Thiem will deliver a comprehensive study that summarizes the current state of science that may be available and makes recommendations for an integrated, innovative solution to protect the joint warfighter from the effects of gamma radiation.
“Assessing the current state-of-the-art in protection is the first step to developing solutions, which may include an entirely new physical suit,” Dr. Thiem said. “The data we collect will be used to help define the specifications and composition of radiation PPE that is vital to keeping our warfighters safe.”
Learn more about NSRI medical countermeasures research at nsri.nebraska.edu/medical.
About the National Strategic Research Institute
The National Strategic Research Institute (NSRI) at the University of Nebraska helps ensure the United States’ safety and preparedness against strategic threats through research and development. Established in 2012, NSRI is one of 15 University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs) designated by the U.S. Department of War. The nonprofit institute is sponsored by United States Strategic Command and affiliated with the University of Nebraska System of four campuses. NSRI connects leading scientists and collegiate students with federal agencies to deliver novel research, technology, training and expertise for strategic deterrence and countering weapons of mass destruction. nsri.nebraska.edu (Source: PR Newswire)
04 Dec 25. Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) Skunk Works® successfully completed a live demonstration of artificial intelligence driven mission contingency management (AI/MCM) on a Stalker XE Block 25 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and an Alta X 2.0 drone modified by Drone Amplified. This test demonstrates how AI can automatically adjust an unmanned mission when an unexpected problem occurs, advancing the shift towards more autonomous unmanned operations. The test simulated multiple variations of fuel contingencies. Within seconds, the ground command-and-control (C2) system’s AI analyzed the situation, generated re-plan options and displayed them to the operator. Once the operator selected a preferred option, the AI automatically reassigned the Stalker’s mission tasks to the Alta X and commanded the Stalker to return to base. By letting the AI agent handle the unexpected contingency, the operator could resolve the problem quickly while staying focused on other critical mission duties. The Stalker UAV contributed its mission data to a unified C2 node that also managed an Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) in Kansas, with support from UAVs provided by Fulcrum, proving unmanned‑air‑and‑ground (UxV) control. Together they show how a single mobile command node can mutually support, and direct multiple geographically separated drone meshes in mounted, dismounted, and below-the-noise configurations.
“This demonstration proves AI can move from the lab to the battlefield, delivering a multitude of capabilities ranging from autonomous decision-making to rapid data flow between unmanned vehicles across air, ground and synthetic environments,” said OJ Sanchez, vice president and general manager, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. “By fusing AI‑enabled UAV replanning with UGV capabilities, we give warfighters the safety, speed and confidence they need to act first in contested environments.”
The team also leveraged Lockheed Martin’s STAR.SDK™ solution. As part of the STAR.OS™ constellation, STAR.SDK helps developers create and deploy AI services quickly and efficiently so they can focus on the mission at hand. STAR.SDK was used to connect the contingency application to a user interface, which enabled operators to interact with a chat assistant that provided re-tasking options. The STAR.OS solution enables different AI systems to work together seamlessly — including unmanned systems. This demonstration marks Lockheed Martin’s ongoing commitment to deliver autonomous capabilities and open architecture that expands multi‑domain integration and empowers America’s warfighters and allies. For additional information, visit our website: https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/capabilities/multi-domain-operations.html
02 Dec 25. AeroVironment, Inc. (“AV”) (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global defense technology leader delivering software-enabled disruptive autonomous systems, today announced the next phase of its AV_Halo™ unified mission software platform with the release of AV_Halo CORTEX, a next-generation intelligence fusion and analysis environment, and AV_Halo MENTOR, a warfighter readiness suite that spans immersive virtual and/or augmented reality (VR/AR) weapons training and mission rehearsal.
Looking ahead, AV will continue expanding AV_Halo with autonomous mission agents, advanced simulation environments, enhanced airspace deconfliction tools, and additional intelligence and C2 services, delivering synchronized autonomy, cross-domain coordinat
In September, AV launched AV_Halo, a hardware-agnostic platform that unifies multi-domain command and control (C2), AI-enhanced intelligence, synthetic training, and autonomous targeting into a single open-standards ecosystem. The addition of CORTEX and MENTOR advances that ecosystem, bringing deeper intelligence fusion, enhanced situational awareness, and more sophisticated operator preparedness into the same unified architecture.
“In today’s rapidly evolving operational environment, the advantage goes to those who can understand faster and prepare smarter,” said Wahid Nawabi, AV Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer. “CORTEX and MENTOR extend AV_Halo’s role as the connective tissue across missions—fusing global information, AI-powered analytics, and immersive training into a single ecosystem that helps warfighters outpace threats, reduce risk, and make better decisions at mission speed.”
The addition of CORTEX and MENTOR marks the next step in AV_Halo’s roadmap, introducing two mission-critical capability sets that advance the platform’s ability to deliver faster understanding, smarter preparation, and decisive advantage across every domain – air, land, sea, space, and cyber.
- AV_Halo MENTOR: Warfighter Readiness Suite with Immersive Training and Mission Preparation Simulation — AV_Halo MENTOR, with its flagship Virtual Systems Trainer (VST) technology, offers operators immersive VR/AR weapons training system to build proficiency across Stinger, Javelin, Igla, and other mission-critical weapons systems. It delivers a full 360-degree virtual environment generated from real-world electro-optical and Digital Terrain Elevation Data (DTED) within a simulation framework supporting multiple missions for both individual and team-based training. Integrated with AV’s simulation architecture, the system enables instructors to create custom scenarios, rehearse complex engagements, and conduct detailed after-action reviews that accelerate learning and reinforce readiness. Available as a fixed installation or a portable, rapidly deployable kit, MENTOR allows units to train at the same high standards anywhere, from home stations to forward environments.
- AV_Halo CORTEX: AI-Driven Intelligence Fusion, OSINT Integration & Autonomous Analysis — AV_Halo CORTEX leverages AV’s mission-ready Scraawl technology, an AI-driven intelligence environment that fuses open source intelligence (OSINT), multi-source data, autonomous analysis, and real-time information into one operational picture. It collects and searches ms of global data points, including publicly available information (PAI) via news content, social media posts, shared imagery and video, and an array of sensor feeds. Integrated analytics across text, imagery, video, geospatial layers, and network relationships accelerate insight, while GeoPoint, AV’s proprietary geolocation engine, delivers metadata-independent geolocation using only visual cues. CORTEX also provides PAI-driven drone-threat detection for persistent awareness. With GPT-powered Insight Agents, analysts can query datasets conversationally, producing rapidly sourced intelligence that strengthens mission decisions. These intelligence markers can be shared seamlessly across AV_Halo and other third-party platforms for advanced situational awareness and action queuing.
“CORTEX can detect and characterize emerging drone patterns around critical infrastructure in minutes, a task that once took analysts hours. MENTOR enables air-defense teams to immediately rehearse engagements against those same threats inside a fully immersive environment,” said Scott Bowman, AV Chief Technology Officer & Vice President of Global Engineering. “Together, these products point to the future of mission software—tightly linked, increasingly autonomous intelligence and training that anticipate threats before they emerge.”
Looking ahead, AV will continue expanding AV_Halo with autonomous mission agents, advanced simulation environments, enhanced airspace deconfliction tools, and additional intelligence and C2 services, delivering synchronized autonomy, cross-domain coordination, and mission adaptability across tomorrow’s multi-domain battlespace.
AV_Halo follows the principles of the Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA), a design strategy mandated by the U.S. Department of War (DoW) to improve interoperability, agility, and sustainability in defense systems. As missions evolve, AV_Halo scales effortlessly, offering reliable solutions that adapt to emerging threats and operational demands so that operators can deploy exactly what is needed for any mission while minimizing cost. It seamlessly integrates across allied military and commercial systems, setting a new standard for interoperability in complex, multi-domain environments. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
01 Dec 25. Digital Catapult has named five startups that will join its accelerator programme to improve industrial supply chain resilience in the defence industry and drive the practical application of deep tech innovation to equip the sector to be future ready. The Digital Supply Chain Hub Defence Testbed Accelerator will address secure data sharing challenges to support faster, more agile additive (3D printing) manufacturing across the UK’s defence supply chain and enable participating companies to scale. The accelerator programme is delivered by Digital Catapult as part of the Made Smarter | Digital Supply Chain Hub alongside the Ministry of Defence (MOD), other major defence manufacturers, and cutting-edge UK-based small businesses. The programme will convene capabilities, with support from the National Composites Centre (NCC) and the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), to unlock new opportunities for the MOD and its partners to securely manage and share manufacturing design data. As it stands, the UK defence sector faces increasingly long lead times to secure military and defence assets, and fragmented data systems which constrain equipment availability, disrupt supply chains and threaten the UK’s defence and security capabilities. To solve these challenges, the MOD is looking to identify innovative ways to create a federated digital inventory of manufacturing information which will give authorised partners a single and secure view of essential technical data, enabling distributed 3D printing of defence components. The five participating startups will work on two separate challenges to validate and trial new solutions that explore the applications of deep tech to achieve secure, connected, and responsive defence manufacturing. Dataline Labs, CamyPro and TECHNIA will work to address the Technical Data Packs (TDP)-Digital Inventory Connectors challenge, developing software solutions to securely extract and standardise metadata from Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems. Vistory Group and Quaisr will tackle the Federated Digital Inventory challenge to consider the best way to develop a unified, permissioned platform to view and share technical data across the entire supply chain. Both challenges will bolster industrial supply chain resilience, building on Digital Catapult’s success in this space to date, which has seen 37 Digital Supply Chain Hub projects delivered, and 135 engagements with manufacturing and technology SMEs, which represents a year-on-year increase of 44. Technology companies on the Digital Supply Chain Hub have also secured over £6m in funding since participating on the programme, reflecting the value of the intervention in enabling companies to commercialise their solutions and scale.
Annie Iakovaki, Head of Industrial Supply Chains at Digital Catapult, said: “One area of defence innovation that requires immediate attention is the supply chain, responsible for the delivery of assets, information and people that underpin the success of the UK defence sector. Interventions like this accelerator programme demonstrate the value of convening capabilities across the sector, and bridging the gap between industry, startups and government to better solve some of the most pressing challenges in the space, and to unlock new opportunities that maintain the UK’s position as a leading player in defence innovation and success.”
Richard Hamber, Advanced Manufacturing Lead in Defence Support, National Armaments Director Group said: “This is an exciting moment in the evolution of the ideas stated in the MOD’s recently issued Advanced Manufacturing Strategy. The testbed provides the basis to bring to life some of those ideas so we can see the art of the possible and understand the next steps to make them a reality. The Catapults have provided energy, pace and buckets of expertise to get us this far very quickly whilst adding another five Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) into the Defence sphere, consistent with wider Governmental objectives, and the Defence Industrial Strategy.”
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Oxley Group Ltd
Oxley offer a range of Military Marine NVG friendly LED lighting that includes navigation lights and controls, flight deck landing lights and interior compartment lighting. Our lighting products are used by Navies around the world including our own Royal Navy on UK Aircraft Carriers, Canadian Frigates, Swedish Submarines, Australian Surface vessels and Submarines, on board French Naval Carriers and in Naval Gun Turrets.
https://oxleydevelopments.cmail20.com/t/t-l-cdhkulk-yujhutkljd-r/
The technology is extremely energy efficient and built robustly, with proven long life. The lighting is NVG friendly, dimmable and programmable to allow for operations with aircraft pilots using military night vision goggles. They offer superior design giving high reliability for the most demanding environments with high sealing and the ability to meet the most stringent EMC standards.
https://oxleydevelopments.cmail20.com/t/t-l-cdhkulk-yujhutkljd-y/
Oxley are proud to say that we are working in partnership with SeaKing to enable a control panel to be offered with our LED Navigation Lighting. All of Oxley navigation lights have been specifically developed for vessels over 50 metres.
Contact Marcus Goad on 07850 917 263 for more information or to arrange samples.
Oxley specialises in the design and manufacture of advanced electronic and electro-optic components and systems for air, land and sea applications within the military sector. Established in 1942, Oxley has manufacturing facilities in the UK and USA and enjoys representation worldwide. The company’s products include night vision and LED lighting, data capture systems and electronic components. Oxley has pioneered the development of night vision compatible lighting. It offers a total package incorporating optical filters, equipment modification, cockpit and external lighting along with fleet wide upgrade services including engineering, installation, support, maintenance and training. The company’s long experience of manufacturing night vision lighting and LED indicators, coupled with advances in LED technology, has enabled it to develop LED solutions to replace incandescent and fluorescent lighting in existing applications as well as becoming the lighting option of choice in new applications such as portable military hospitals, UAV control stations and communication shelters.
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