U.S. Invests Billions in Long-Range X-Ray Imaging to Detect Hidden Threats Up to 1 km Away with Algorithms That Transform Grainy Images into Actionable Intelligence on the Battlefield

Written by Romário Pereira de Carvalho

Published on 27/02/2026 at 17:10

Updated on 27/02/2026 at 17:18

Imagem: Ilustração

2 people reacted to this.

DARPA Hires RTX BBN to Develop X-Ray Algorithms Capable of Inferring Internal Composition Up to 1 Kilometer with Low-Quality Data in the XENA Program

The long-range X-ray image is the focus of a new contract between DARPA and RTX BBN Technologies to create algorithms capable of inferring the internal composition of objects up to 1 kilometer away, even with incomplete or inaccurate data.

The United States government already invests billions of dollars in X-ray imaging technology aimed at security, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST.

The new project expands this effort by proposing tools capable of “seeing” a little over half a mile.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

The XENA Program and the Focus on Long-Range X-Ray Imaging

The initiative is part of the XENA program, which stands for Extreme Range X-Ray Analysis Without Images, from DARPA.

The goal is to develop algorithmic toolsets capable of inferring the internal composition of objects located at great distances.

The program aims to tackle a recurring problem in military contexts: motion blur, which reduces the quality of intelligence data.

As the device moves away from the target, noise and image instability compromise the transmission of information.

With long-range X-ray imaging, the expectation is to overcome this historical limitation. Traditionally, X-ray technologies applied to surveillance have restricted ranges precisely because of the progressive degradation of data.

Historical Limitations and Data Collection

According to NIST, law enforcement and military authorities have used X-rays for decades to locate hidden objects, including threats and smuggling. However, these systems often operate at short distances.

The main challenge in advancing these technologies has been the need for large volumes of high-quality data to train systems applicable to the real world. Collecting this material in the field is complex and costly.

BBN’s proposal changes this logic by prioritizing low-quality data, which is simpler to obtain in large quantities.

From this volume, the algorithm is trained to solve practical problems even with unstable or fragmented images.

Remote Recognition Up to 1 Kilometer

According to the company, the approach will remain valid at distances of up to about 1 kilometer, equivalent to 0.6 miles.

The focus is to transform a reduced number of granular snapshots into usable information for decision-making.

Joshua Fasching, the project’s principal investigator at BBN, stated in a statement that the algorithms are being developed to convert imperfect images into sufficient details for assessing threats or supporting emergency response operations.

The long-range X-ray image, if implemented as planned, could provide the military with access to practical information about hidden threats, potential weapons, or structural vulnerabilities from previously inaccessible ranges.

BBN’s History and Link with DARPA

BBN Technologies, based in Massachusetts, is a subsidiary of RTX, a Virginia-based aerospace and defense manufacturer. Since 1948, the company has participated in advancements in networking technologies, many of which have been supported by DARPA itself.

Now, with the XENA program, the company focuses its efforts on algorithms capable of operating in scenarios that closely resemble those found on the battlefield.

The goal is to enable commanders to detect dangers proactively at extended distances.

If development proceeds as planned, the new class of long-range X-ray imaging tools could redefine how fragmented data is processed in security and defense contexts, maintaining an emphasis on decisions based on practical information.

With information from Gizmodo.

U.S. Invests Billions in Long-Range X-Ray Imaging to Detect Hidden Threats Up to 1 km Away with Algorithms That Transform Grainy Images into Actionable Intelligence on the Battlefield

DARPA Hires RTX BBN to Develop X-Ray Algorithms Capable of Inferring Internal Composition Up to 1 Kilometer with Low-Quality Data in the XENA Program

The XENA Program and the Focus on Long-Range X-Ray Imaging

Historical Limitations and Data Collection

Remote Recognition Up to 1 Kilometer

BBN’s History and Link with DARPA

With billions in loans, China is rebuilding Nigeria’s railway network from scratch, abandoning the British colonial tracks that have turned to scrap and creating a corridor of over 1,300 km to take the load off the roads of Africa’s largest economy.

Forget petroleum-based asphalt: a Scottish company transforms 684,000 plastic bottles into one kilometer of road that is 60% more resistant and up to 10 times more durable, and the technology has already started replacing traditional asphalt in more than 30 countries.

Austrian engineers have developed an inflatable concrete technology that transforms flat slabs into domes using only air pressure, eliminating scaffolding and temporary forms, and potentially changing the way bridges, tunnels, and curved roofs are constructed worldwide.

Australia prepares to dredge 96.5 million m³ in Moreton Bay to deepen, widen, and realign channels of the Port of Brisbane, in a project of up to 25 years designed to accommodate larger ships and enhance maritime safety and regional port efficiency.

A robot named Walter does the work of five bricklayers per hour and can save the construction industry, where the average age of professionals is 46 years and almost no one wants to learn the trade anymore, in the United Kingdom.

Spain installs two giant pipelines 2.2 km off the coast to draw water from the Mediterranean and supply a megafacility capable of producing 200 million liters of drinking water per day.

Without wheels, iron, or machines, teams of up to 32 men would have dragged 2.3-ton blocks over wet sand up a ramp embedded in the pyramid itself, raising the structure in 20 to 27 years, according to a new computer model that reignites a millennia-old debate.

End of bricklayers laying brick by brick: robot places more than 2,000 bricks per day, automatically applies cement, works with only one human operator next to the machine, and transforms traditional masonry into a high-speed semi-automated operation.

In Japan, a 40 by 60-meter concrete museum without pillars rises like a floating drop, allowing wind, light, and rain inside the space and surprising architects and engineers with the delicacy of the structure.

The sea has stopped just warming and has started pushing storms towards the continent: marine heatwaves are already entering the path of up to 25% of extreme coastal rains and can increase storms by 30%, worsening floods on the coast.

While traditional constructions rely on tons of concrete to support weight, in England an abandoned site was converted into transparent hexagonal domes, combining lightweight engineering and mine repurposing, transforming the landscape and local tourism.

The bridge that collapsed in seconds after being hit by a ship in Baltimore will be reborn as a cable-stayed bridge: Maryland signed $4.8 billion in four contracts for a 508-meter span specifically designed to withstand the impact of a giant cargo ship.

U.S. Invests Billions in Long-Range X-Ray Imaging to Detect Hidden Threats Up to 1 km Away with Algorithms That Transform Grainy Images into Actionable Intelligence on the Battlefield

DARPA Hires RTX BBN to Develop X-Ray Algorithms Capable of Inferring Internal Composition Up to 1 Kilometer with Low-Quality Data in the XENA Program

The XENA Program and the Focus on Long-Range X-Ray Imaging

Historical Limitations and Data Collection

Remote Recognition Up to 1 Kilometer

BBN’s History and Link with DARPA

With billions in loans, China is rebuilding Nigeria’s railway network from scratch, abandoning the British colonial tracks that have turned to scrap and creating a corridor of over 1,300 km to take the load off the roads of Africa’s largest economy.

Forget petroleum-based asphalt: a Scottish company transforms 684,000 plastic bottles into one kilometer of road that is 60% more resistant and up to 10 times more durable, and the technology has already started replacing traditional asphalt in more than 30 countries.

Austrian engineers have developed an inflatable concrete technology that transforms flat slabs into domes using only air pressure, eliminating scaffolding and temporary forms, and potentially changing the way bridges, tunnels, and curved roofs are constructed worldwide.

Australia prepares to dredge 96.5 million m³ in Moreton Bay to deepen, widen, and realign channels of the Port of Brisbane, in a project of up to 25 years designed to accommodate larger ships and enhance maritime safety and regional port efficiency.

A robot named Walter does the work of five bricklayers per hour and can save the construction industry, where the average age of professionals is 46 years and almost no one wants to learn the trade anymore, in the United Kingdom.

Spain installs two giant pipelines 2.2 km off the coast to draw water from the Mediterranean and supply a megafacility capable of producing 200 million liters of drinking water per day.

Without wheels, iron, or machines, teams of up to 32 men would have dragged 2.3-ton blocks over wet sand up a ramp embedded in the pyramid itself, raising the structure in 20 to 27 years, according to a new computer model that reignites a millennia-old debate.

The sea has stopped just warming and has started pushing storms towards the continent: marine heatwaves are already entering the path of up to 25% of extreme coastal rains and can increase storms by 30%, worsening floods on the coast.

Drone flies over indigenous area in Xingu and creates a point cloud capable of penetrating the tree canopy, revealing the forest floor, and mapping archaeological sites, ancient villages, roads, and ditches used to understand the historical occupation of the Kuikuro territory.

New technology may retire the common electric shower: Xiaomi introduces an intelligent model with tempered glass, a giant 305 mm spreader, antibacterial function, four water modes, and controls inspired by piano keys for around R$ 640 in China.

Japan surprises the world by launching a wooden satellite only 10 cm in size into space: the LignoSat project spent 240 days exposed on the ISS, withstood radiation, and could reduce space debris generated by metal structures.

Prohibited by the United States from purchasing EUV lithography machines that make modern chips, Huawei revealed the Tau Law and promises a Kirin 53% denser this fall using a technique that completely dispenses with the technology that China cannot import.

End of bricklayers laying brick by brick: robot places more than 2,000 bricks per day, automatically applies cement, works with only one human operator next to the machine, and transforms traditional masonry into a high-speed semi-automated operation.

In Japan, a 40 by 60-meter concrete museum without pillars rises like a floating drop, allowing wind, light, and rain inside the space and surprising architects and engineers with the delicacy of the structure.

The sea has stopped just warming and has started pushing storms towards the continent: marine heatwaves are already entering the path of up to 25% of extreme coastal rains and can increase storms by 30%, worsening floods on the coast.

While traditional constructions rely on tons of concrete to support weight, in England an abandoned site was converted into transparent hexagonal domes, combining lightweight engineering and mine repurposing, transforming the landscape and local tourism.

The bridge that collapsed in seconds after being hit by a ship in Baltimore will be reborn as a cable-stayed bridge: Maryland signed $4.8 billion in four contracts for a 508-meter span specifically designed to withstand the impact of a giant cargo ship.