NPS uses JIFX to fast-track defense tech from drones to energy systems

The Naval Postgraduate School’s JIFX experimentation program is accelerating development of drones, AI tools, energy systems and counter-drone defenses at Camp Roberts in Monterey County. In August 2026, nearly 200 UAV sorties and more than 30 experiments pushed early-stage technologies closer to operational use across the joint force.

Why it matters: - JIFX is giving defense researchers and companies a place to test unfinished technologies in realistic conditions before they reach the field. - The program is shaping systems that affect drone warfare, battlefield energy, contested communications and expeditionary sustainment. - The experimentation pipeline matters because the joint force is trying to speed up readiness without adding logistics burden.

What happened: - In August 2026, nearly 200 uncrewed aerial vehicle sorties ran experimental flight tests across the JIFX airspace at Camp Roberts in southern Monterey County. - That brought the annual total to 635 sorties flown during the past year at Naval Postgraduate School quarterly JIFX events. - More than 30 experiments were completed during the August event by organizations from industry, defense and academia. - JIFX hosted 269 participants, including 60 students from NPS and other service and international commands.

The details: - JIFX experiments covered autonomous swarming, AI and machine learning, uncrewed systems across land, sea and air, counter-drone detection, high-energy laser systems, GPS-denied navigation, C5ISR, advanced energy and expeditionary additive manufacturing. - ModalAI, Firestorm and Greensight took part in the U.S. Department of War’s Drone Dominance Program competition, which is set to wrap up in 2027. - ModalAI shipped more than 2,000 drones to the program and remains in contention after making the final selection. - Gambit Defense flew a small fleet of ModalAI quadcopters and tested an AI/ML mesh network under contested electronic warfare conditions. - Gambit ran dozens of sorties for autonomous target detection, follow, patrol and swarm missions, and the drones maintained communications when jammed. - Rhoman Aerospace tested GPS-denied navigation over open water for NPS researchers and Naval Special Warfare operators. - Michael Richardson, JIFX director and an NPS faculty member, said Gambit’s autonomous swarming work was “very powerful” and relevant to Pacific Command drone warfare doctrine. - JIFX experiments took place across Camp Roberts, including McMillan Airfield, the Technical Operations Center, the Combined Arms Collective Training Facility and surrounding terrain. - Counter-UAV sensor systems used radiofrequency, passive radar, acoustic and other detection methods while requiring dependable power sources of their own. - Michael Davis, associate chair of NPS’ Energy Academic Group, said energy is central to every technology because systems either require, produce or absorb it. - The Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment’s Operational Energy-Innovation Directorate recently began supporting JIFX. - Davis was tracking technologies from Chargebotic and Haylon Technologies for their energy implications. - Chargebotic tested an energy-harvesting UAV that used additive-manufactured parts to clamp a tether onto a powerline and draw electricity from it. - The drone successfully attached to a live powerline on a test rig after flight testing refined its performance. - Haylon tested a battery chemistry switching system that lets a UAV shift from a high-power battery for takeoff to a longer-duration battery for flight. - Davis also pointed to Reach Power’s February 2026 JIFX demonstration, where radio frequency waves recharged a hovering UAV and increased station time by nearly tenfold. - U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Max Leutermann and Swedish Armed Forces Maj. Patrik Liljegard developed a compact passive counter-drone system for small boats while they were NPS students in 2025. - Their prototype moved from a pickup truck bed at JIFX to a boat demonstration at NATO’s Bold Machina 2025 exercise in the Netherlands. - SOCOM, NATO SOFCOM and the Swedish Armed Forces later supported continued development of the system. - At the latest JIFX, Leutermann and three Swedish programmers tested a refined version in preparation for NATO’s September 2026 BOMA exercise in Portugal. - The system’s ODIN sensor-fusion engine collected and centralized data from multiple connected sensors, including passive RF cueing, autonomous visual search and tracking, and radar inputs. - At BOMA, Leutermann said the core ODIN architecture worked in the field and handled RF-dark drone tracking without operator interaction. - DINA TAK, a Defense Innovation Network Assistant Tactical Assault Kit tool, fused data from Gambit, MicroVision, Insignito Solutions, Bellum Systems and others into a shared operational data environment. - The tool was developed with NSWC Corona, California Baptist University, NPS, Standard TLM and other partners. - Troy Clarke of NSWC Corona said the effort is aimed at bringing new technology into ranges and eventually into tactical training ranges. - Jason Hay, director of technology at BryceTech, said JIFX is a unique environment for bringing early-stage technology together with other innovators and accelerating it toward the joint force.

Between the lines: - JIFX is not a trade show. Participants are testing unfinished systems under real operational stress. - The repeated presence of companies like Gambit, Firestorm, Greensight, Chariot Defense and Rhoman suggests JIFX is functioning as a development loop, not a one-time demo site. - The energy work is as important as the platforms themselves because battery life, power harvesting and low-signature logistics can decide whether a system is practical in combat. - The student participation matters because NPS is pairing operator experience with industry development earlier than traditional acquisition timelines. - DINA TAK points to a broader shift toward shared data environments and live-virtual-constructive experimentation ranges.

What’s next: - The Drone Dominance Program is scheduled to wrap up in 2027, keeping pressure on participating companies to mature their systems. - Leutermann and partners are continuing work on the boat-based counter-drone system after the September 2026 BOMA exercise. - JIFX is likely to keep expanding its role as a proving ground for AI-enabled decision tools, autonomous systems and expeditionary energy technologies. - DINA TAK could evolve into a foundation for a future live-virtual-constructive experimentation range.

The bottom line: - JIFX is becoming a central bridge between early-stage defense innovation and operational deployment, especially where drones, power and contested environments intersect.