The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has selected the research teams to work on a program aimed at developing safe military obscurants that will suppress adversary forces’ vision and detection systems to provide U.S. warfighters with an asymmetric advantage on the battlefield.

A team led by Raytheon Technologies Research Center will work on the passive asymmetry technical area of the Coded Visibility program, which involves the development of new obscurants composed of multiple particulates and demonstration of asymmetric vision capabilities in laboratory, pilot and field tests, DARPA said Tuesday.

Northeastern University, Signature Research and Georgia Tech Research Institute were selected to participate in the program’s active symmetry technical area to assess new tunable particulates and associated active modulation mechanisms.

The selected teams in both technical areas will also model and simulate the obscurants to assess performance against sensors.

“The teams we selected aim to develop new types of non-hazardous obscurant particulates that can be tailored to provide asymmetry – that is to allow U.S. and allied forces to see the enemy through the plume in one direction, while the adversary is unable to see through the plume in the opposite direction,” said Rohith Chandrasekar, CV program manager in DARPA’s Defense Sciences Office.

A joint team of service personnel from the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy conducted on Tuesday a test launch of an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from an airborne control center at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The test is part of routine activities meant to demonstrate the capability of the U.S. nuclear deterrent program to deter threats, the Air Force said Tuesday.

Airmen from Air Force Global Strike Command teamed up with Navy personnel to test the ICBM equipped with a test reentry vehicle, which traveled about 4,200 miles to the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

“This scheduled test launch is demonstrative of how our nation’s ICBM fleet illustrates our readiness and reliability of the weapon system,” said Col. Chris Cruise, 576th Flight Test Squadron commander.

“It is also a great platform to show the skill sets and expertise of our strategic weapons maintenance personnel and of our missile crews who maintain an unwavering vigilance to defend the homeland,” added Cruise.

The Air Force plans to replace Minuteman III with the LG-35A Sentinel Ground Based Strategic Deterrent system, which is expected to reach initial capability status by 2029.

The Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service have issued guidance and frequently asked questions to provide initial information on changes to the electric vehicle tax credit as a result of the enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act.

The move seeks to provide information on the North America final assembly requirement to help consumers determine their eligibility for a tax credit of up to $7,500 following their purchase of electric vehicles, the Treasury said Tuesday.

According to the FAQs, the law will authorize tax credits for pre-owned cars and commercial clean vehicles starting Jan. 1, 2023.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday, Aug. 16, signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act and the Treasury said the final assembly requirement does not apply before the enactment of the measure.

Individuals who signed a written binding contract to buy a new electric vehicle prior to Aug. 16, but do not yet have the unit until on or after the said date can claim the tax credit based on regulations that were in effect prior to the legislation’s enactment.

The departments of Energy and Transportation also issued resources to guide consumers seeking to claim tax credits for vehicles procured after the enactment of the law.