MIT’s Security Systems Course Builds Real Tools—and Real Partnerships—for the Modern Battlefield
The military and academia are coming together in unexpected ways.
A classroom in MIT’s Building 1 isn’t where you’d expect to find a Navy SEAL, a Marine Corps general, a Ukrainian drone executive, and an MIT undergrad debating how to counter Chinese military advances. But that’s exactly what happens in Course 15.362/6.9160—Engineering Innovation: Global Security Systems.
This isn’t theory. This is defence prototyping in real time.
The course, now in its second year, pairs MIT students with active-duty military mentors to design mission-relevant technology. The objective: build functioning prototypes for real-world problems facing U.S. and allied forces. It’s hands-on, interdisciplinary, and built around urgency—traits that resonate with both engineers and operators.
“MIT has these incredibly fruitful relationships with the Department of Defense going back to World War II,” says Keselman. “We developed advanced radar systems that helped win the war and launched the military-industrial complex, including organisations like MIT Lincoln Laboratory and MITRE. It’s in our ethos, it’s in our culture, and this is another extension of that. This is another way for MIT to lead in tough tech and work on the world’s hardest problems. We couldn’t do this class in another university in this country.”
MIT featured Keselman and his class in the official MIT News.
Students are grouped across disciplines and campuses—MIT engineering undergrads, Harvard Kennedy School grads, Sloan MBAs. Each team is matched with mentors from the military or law enforcement, including units like Delta Force, Massachusetts State Police, and U.S. Air Force Special Operations. Their goal this year: develop counter-drone systems using AI, edge sensors, and realistic manufacturing pathways.
The motivation is high. One team demoed a system that listens for the audio signature of drone motors—designed to only flag a threat when it hears the specific pitch of an electric UAV. Another team explored a countermeasure designed for autonomous watercraft. The common thread: mission-ready concepts, not speculative science.
This year’s project brief came with serious stakes. It asked students to address early detection and mitigation of autonomous threats—both aerial and maritime—without access to sensitive defence information or existing black-box platforms. The result? A wave of new ideas ready to scale.
“Nothing motivates MIT students like a real-world problem that matters,” said A.J. Perez, a lecturer in the School of Engineering and co-founder of the course. “At the core of this challenge is how to protect a person from an autonomous attack. That’s as real as it gets.”
Last year’s class proved this model works. One student project aimed at solving a Navy lithium-ion battery problem on submarines attracted $2 million in DoD funding and is now under development for U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). The program's success has prompted discussion about extending it to a year-long format to support deeper tech transition.
What makes the course stand out isn’t just the tech. It’s the access. Congressman and Marine Corps General Jake Auchincloss visited the class to speak on strategic realignments in defence spending. Students pushed back, including one from Army Special Forces and another on the board of a Ukrainian drone company. It was, in every sense, a live-fire debate—on policy, hardware, and priorities.
The class is built on MIT’s long-standing defence ties. From radar in World War II to the establishment of MIT Lincoln Laboratory, the school has a legacy of integrating advanced research with national defence. This course builds on that tradition—directly, practically, and with a bias toward deployment.
More than 70 students enrolled this spring. The course doubled in size from its first year, with participants from 15 departments and three institutions. Many are veterans or current reservists. The rest are drawn by the complexity and relevance of the work.
“We realised there was a lot of interest in national security at MIT beyond the ROTC cadets,” Keselman said. “National security is obviously important to a lot of people, but it also offers super interesting problems you can’t find anywhere else. I think that attracted students from all over MIT.”
