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.
“In summary, my patent is all about having data stay local to an area,” said Manz. “And then as you come in and out of an area, you get notified what that data or that information is about: In this case, it’s about drones or unmanned aerial systems that are in your area.”
Timely notification of drone threats is valuable because Soldiers are afforded an opportunity to seek protection or improve their readiness to counter drone threats, Manz explained.
“Paul’s innovation has led to prototypes that were tested in live-fire events, so we know its potential to alert Soldiers about threats in austere military environments is real,” said Armaments Center Military Deputy to the Director, Col. Kevin P. Shilley.
“Additionally, we have seen enormous commercial interest in the technology,” said Shilley.
Commercial interest developed for the invention while Armaments Center Patent Attorney, John DiScala, prosecuted the patent.
Once awarded, Manz’s patent was packaged with other Army intellectual property and licensed to industry, resulting in the Army receiving $100,000 in licensing fees to date.
“When one patent can benefit Soldiers and benefit industry while growing our national technology base and our reputation as a partner, it is worthy of recognition,” said Shilley.
Manz, who has over 30 U.S. and International patents credited to his name, follows in his father’s footsteps. Manz, now 96 years old with over 60 U.S. and international patents, was named Inventor of the Year by the N.J. Inventors Hall of Fame, the predecessor organization to the R&D Council of New Jersey. August Manz’s “hot wire” welding process invention is behind a multi-billion-dollar worldwide industry, according to Paul Manz.
Last November, four inventors from the U.S. Army Armaments Center shared Thomas Edison Patent Awards from the Research and Development Council of New Jersey for Patent No. 11,780,141 B1, “Continuous Process for Producing Foamable Celluloid,” an invention to produce combustible cartridge casing material.
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