The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory recently announced the success of an initiative with industry to restore adequate amounts of domestically manufactured primary beryllium metal. The primary or high-purity beryllium is produced at a reduction plant in Elmore, Ohio, operated by Brush Wellman. Access to a reliable domestic supply of primary beryllium, which is processed into “pebbles” for use in high-tech applications, is vital to U.S. defense. Beryllium is one of the lightest metals on Earth and six times stiffer than steel.
Fire protection is an essential requirement in the design of military platforms. The need has increased in recent years with the growing use of combustible materials such as composites and high-power-density batteries.
Naval mine countermeasures (MCM) operations are an all-or-nothing bet: Either they are done well or ships are destroyed. “Mine warfare is either not important, or the most important thing in your life,” says U.S. Navy Rear Adm. (select) John Ailes, in charge of integrating the Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) with mission-module packages. The LCS will be the Navy's front-line MCM vessel, and right now mine warfare is one of the most important concerns in Ailes's life.
Correction: The U.S. Army is not canceling the XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement system (AW&ST Aug. 5/12, p. DT20). Funding for the weapon has been cut by Congress, but development is ongoing by the Army.
The Israeli defense industry is being buffeted—some might say battered—by winds of change. In this case, it is a perfect storm of budget cutbacks by many countries, including Israel, that are shrinking defense expenditures concurrently with the winding down of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Surrey NanoSystems of Newhaven, England, has developed what it calls the “world's blackest material.” Formulated primarily as a coating for optical instruments in space, the material, which derives its properties from a special carbon nanotube formulation and structure, is for applications that will benefit from its extreme light-absorption properties (more than 99%) across visible, ultraviolet and infrared (IR) spectra. This last is especially important because the structures of previous black materials were not large enough for optimal IR absorption.
The Future Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) looks far different than typical U.S. Navy ships. But its capabilities are game-changing. Leveraging float-on/float-off technology and a reconfigurable mission deck, the MLP provides a seagoing pier when access to on-shore bases and support are unavailable. Platform modules support a vehicle staging area, vehicle transfer ramp, mooring fenders and three LCAC (landing craft, air-cushioned) lanes.
The U.S. Navy is experimenting with a network of unmanned vehicles in the air, on the ocean and undersea to provide near-continuous data on atmospheric anomalies that affect radar, communications and weapons performance. The most recent experiment was during Trident Warrior 2013, a fleet exercise off the U.S. East Coast. ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) from the Office of Naval Research deployed with undersea and surface robots to detect and measure fluxes and turbulence created by the interaction of air and sea, along with atmospheric “ducts” that trap energy.
Unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) may soon achieve substantially longer battery life as a result of research by students in an engineering systems design course at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory. Capitalizing on the high-energy density of aluminum, the students found that dissolving the metal into gallium and then reacting it with seawater generates a level of hydrogen gas and heat that exceeds the energy storage density of lithium-ion batteries.
Battelle and two subcontractors have received a contract to develop a portable medical device that treats the blood of wounded soldiers. The goal is to prevent sepsis, a condition that results in life-threatening infections in 10% of combat wounds, and which can within 30 days kill 50% of those who go into shock from it. The contract was awarded by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency as part of its ongoing Dialysis-Like Therapeutics (DLT) program. Battelle, of Columbus, Ohio, is working with NxStage Medical and Aethlon Medical.
Once hailed as a breakthrough weapon with the potential to reshape the close-quarters battlefield, the XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement system has fallen victim to U.S. budgetary woes.
Northrop Grumman demonstrated that a new active, electronically scanned array antenna it developed for the B-2 bomber can establish and maintain communications with an orbiting advanced, extremely high frequency communications satellite operated by the U.S. Air Force.
The latest sensor to record the effects of roadside blasts on soldiers is the Integrated Blast Effect Sensor Suite (Ibess) from the Georgia Tech Research Institute. The system, worn by soldiers and installed in vehicles, acquires integrated, time-tagged blast data for analysis. Blasts cause injuries, but their exact effects can be unclear. The soldier system is in a pouch (see photo) that attaches to body armor between the shoulders. It has two sensors for the back and two for the front of the body that record directional data and other information.
Israel fully expects Iran to deploy a long-range cruise missile, according to a leading Israeli expert on missile defense. Speaking in Washington on July 19, Israel Air Force Brig. Gen. (ret.) Uzi Rubin said that the weapon will be based on the technology of Russia's Kh-55 (see photo), several of which were illegally transferred to Iran from Ukraine in 2001. “The trick is developing a small jet engine with low fuel-consumption,” Rubin said, adding that Iran has options for a guidance system.
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems of Israel has unveiled an addition to its Spice series of aerial bomb-guidance systems. This time, however, the Spice 250 (Spice means smart, precise impact, cost-effective) is a unitary weapon that offers significantly enhanced standoff precision-strike capabilities. Weighing just 127 kg (248 lb.), the bomb is capable of penetrating hardened bunkers. Importantly, it allows attackers to engage targets while out of range of enemy missile defenses.
The U.S. Army has lead status in development of a Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation (DMDI) Institute that is expected to change how the military develops parts and equipment. The Army's Manufacturing Technology Program, managed by its Research, Development and Engineering Command of Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., is overseeing the DMDI initiative, with input from the Air Force, Navy, nine federal agencies and industry.
Defense Vehicle Dynamics, the U.K. Defense Ministry's annual land warfare event here for the military and contractors, was more about cost-savings and consolidation than new equipment, given the drawdown from Afghanistan and the ongoing recession.
The Royal Navy laid the keel for the sixth Astute-class submarine at a ceremony July 18, at Barrow-in-Furness, Scotland, where the boats are built by prime contractor BAE Systems Maritime Submarines. The new submarine, HMS Agamemnon, is the sixth of seven boats in the class. Astute submarines will replace the Royal Navy's Trafalgar-class boats. Two are completing sea trials: HMS Astute, which was launched in 2007; and HMS Ambush, launched in 2011. Three others—Artful, Audacious and Ansom—are in various stages of construction.
