Projects and Missions

Below is a sampling of APL’s critical contributions to critical challenges. Projects and missions are displayed in alphabetical order. 

Filter projects and missions by area of impact, mission area, or both.

Submarine

Submarine Survivability Program

The SSN/SSGN survivability program ensures our submarines stay hidden regardless of new technology, changing mission requirements, and increasingly sophisticated adversaries.
Learn more about Submarine Survivability Program
Swarming unmanned surface vehicles

Swarming Uncrewed Surface Vehicles

APL, in collaboration with the Naval Air Warfare Center Port Hueneme Weapons Division, led a swarming uncrewed surface vehicle demonstration of advanced multivehicle autonomy at tactically relevant speeds.
Learn more about Swarming Uncrewed Surface Vehicles
September 18, 2013: An SM-3 Block 1B interceptor is launched from the USS Lake Erie during an MDA test and successfully intercepted a complex short-range ballistic missile target off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii. (Credit: MDA)

Test Target Prototyping

A cross-APL team of engineers, working with the Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) Target and Countermeasures Directorate and other government and industry partners, develops cost-effective solutions for MDA to support live-fire testing of interceptors, sensors, and fire control systems.
Learn more about Test Target Prototyping
Radar screen (Credit: Bigstock)

Testing Air and Missile Defense Radar

APL teamed with industry and the Above Water Sensors Directorate of Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare Systems on two successful tests of the AN/SPY-6(V), a wideband digital beam-forming sensor known as the Air and Missile Defense Radar.
Learn more about Testing Air and Missile Defense Radar
CubeSat

The CAT Experiment

APL has successfully delivered, flown, and operated two miniaturized satellites, or CubeSats, as part of a Lab-led flight demonstration known as the CubeSat Signal Preprocessor Assessment and Test (CAT).
Learn more about The CAT Experiment
SKA experiment sensor

The SKA Experiment

APL developed and tested the sensors for the Missile Defense Agency’s Spacebased Kill Assessment (SKA) system, currently on orbit and executing planned test events.
Learn more about The SKA Experiment
Health systems

The Systems Approach to Saving Lives

APL’s thought leaders are stirring discussions on the importance of taking a systems approach to health care.
Learn more about The Systems Approach to Saving Lives
TIMED Satellite

TIMED

For nearly two decades, the Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) mission has explored the gateway between Earth and space.
Learn more about TIMED
Autonomous swarming unmanned surface vessels (SUSVs) — equipped with Johns Hopkins APL-developed hardware and autonomy software

Uncrewed Surface Vessel Perception

International regulations for preventing collisions at sea require vessels to operate within certain distances based on the visual identification of other vessels.
Learn more about Uncrewed Surface Vessel Perception
Van Allen Probes floating over earth

Van Allen Probes

A mission to explore Earth’s harsh radiation belt environment and the dynamics of geomagnetic storms.
Learn more about Van Allen Probes
Li-Fi (Credit: Bigstock)

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 Defense—helping DISA enhance data security and alleviate demands on the limited radio frequency spectrum.
Learn more about Visible Light Communications
APL is using the commercially developed Wave Glider to demonstrate how quickly the Navy can field new sensor systems

Wave Glider Demonstration

For the first time, we used the commercially developed Wave Glider to demonstrate how quickly the Navy can field new sensor systems.
Learn more about Wave Glider Demonstration