HOLMDEL, N.J. – Retired Picatinny Arsenal employee Paul Manz and the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Armaments Center received an Edison Patent Award from the R&D Council of New Jersey at the 46th Annual Edison Patent Awards ceremony here on Nov. 21, 2025.

Manz, who retired as chief technology officer for the Joint Program Executive Office for Armaments and Ammunition at Picatinny Arsenal, received the award for his design of U.S. Patent 10,999,696 B1, “Distributed Geospatial Communications System for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Monitoring.”

The widespread and growing proliferation of UAVs introduces complex threats to safety and infrastructure in both civilian and military contexts. Manz’s patent details how data is delivered over nodes within mobile, ad-hoc communications networks to provide users within a defined geographic area timely identification, monitoring, tracking and warning of fast-moving UAVs.

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