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.
The Spanish navy has been identified as the first customer for Saab's Skeldar rotary-wing unmanned aerial system (UAS). Saab was awarded a €2.5 million ($3.07 million) contract on June 26, but did not announce the deal until July 11 and did not initially disclose the customer. The agreement, understood to be a service contract, was concluded by the Spanish navy's supply and transport directorate.
Rear Adm. Thomas Rowden Director of Surface Warfare, U.S. Navy Age: 56 Birthplace: Washington Education: U.S. Naval Academy, 1982; M.A. in National Security and Strategic Studies, U.S. Naval War College
Researchers at the U.S. Army's Research, Development and Engineering Command are evaluating the benefits of adding carbon nanotubes to specific locations within helicopter rotor blades as well as to the composite matrix that is used in their manufacture. A key goal would be to increase energy dissipation at the interface of the nanotubes and the composite matrix, and thus improve vibration-damping characteristics with few—or no—compromises in flight performance. The effort seeks to resolve trade-offs between dynamic stability and vibration.
Adm. Jonathan Greenert, chief of U.S. naval operations, exuded confidence as he assured U.S. and Asian media representatives that he is not concerned with development of the Chinese DF-21 anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM). “It hasn't affected the way we operate in the region,” Greenert said during a briefing at the recent International Maritime and Defense Exhibition (Imdex) here.
Water-jet disruptors fire explosively propelled jets of water to destroy the circuitry of improvised explosive devices, substantially reducing their potential for detonation. They have been deployed for 40 years, initially by British forces in Northern Ireland. Recently, manufacturer Chemring OED of Poole, U.K., revised the design of its established Pigstick disruptor to reduce weight. The new 28-mm model, called Wasp, weighs just 1 kg (2.2 lb.), compared with 3 kg for Pigstick.
The U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) has developed modular software with modeling and simulation capabilities allowing Army scientists to select or design “smart” weapons. Called Smart Weapon End-to-End Performance Model, or Sweepm, the software analyzes all outcomes associated with firing a round (e.g., artillery, mortar, grenade), as well as factors that affect delivery. Sweepm reflects a renewed force-on-force emphasis after a decade of counterinsurgency warfare.
The best way to access the depths of the oceans may be from the skies. That is the thinking behind the station-keeping low-visibility glider, in development by LBI Co. of Groton, Conn., which can be deployed from standard launch tubes on U.S. Navy P-3 and P-8 aircraft and transit long distances to provide persistent surveillance in denied or hostile areas. It enables standoff aerial delivery of a stealthy, unmanned, multiple-sensor platform with low visibility on the sea surface, and is capable of long duration on station and endurance in high seas.
Most cargo containers destined for U.S. ports are not screened for hazardous substances such as explosives or even nuclear materials. A law passed in 2007 called for that to be done by 2012, with 100% scanning of freight containers at the port of loading, but that goal was not met because the available technology would have impeded trade. The equipment was expensive to acquire and use; it was based on X-ray technology, with consequent health and safety restrictions; and took too long to handle the 17 million containers imported to the U.S. each year.
The U.S. Army wants to equip soldiers with smartphones, in recognition of their computing power and ability to run apps and download vital data on battlefields or behind enemy lines. With this in mind, Vanderbilt University researchers led by Akos Ledeczi, associate professor of computer engineering, have developed two modules of microphone sensors and corresponding software that let Android smartphones detect snipers. One module, the size of a deck of playing cards, analyzes muzzle blast and the ensuing shockwave to triangulate the direction of a shot and estimate range.
Scraping coatings off aircraft by hand will soon be a thing of the past at Hill AFB, Utah, which is deploying robots for this task in 2014. Concurrent Technologies Corp. of Johnstown, Pa., and Carnegie Mellon University's National Robotics and Engineering Center in Pittsburgh developed six coating-removal robots under contract from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory and Ogden Air Logistics Center. The robots use 6-kw fiber lasers for coating removal.
Shooting down unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) is of less concern than countering their intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. This is the idea behind a program at Georgia Tech Research Institute, which develops integrated hardware devices that simulate sensors on enemy UAVs. The Threat Unmanned Devices Program, funded by the U.S. Army Threat Systems Management Office, assesses UAV countermeasures. The hardware simulates electro-optical infrared sensors, and systems for signals-intelligence intercepts and weapons jamming.
Unmanned platforms have many advantages and one major impediment: interoperability. It's difficult for personnel in one service to control robot systems fielded by another, owing to the use of proprietary operational software. This may change. The U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) has developed the Common Control System (CCS), which uses software that reportedly allows any unmanned system to communicate and work with any other system in the military.
Spy movies and drone imagery may give people the idea that the problem of night vision has been definitively solved, but in fact the past few years have seen a vigorous three-way technology conflict at the lower end of the market, where users need portable and wearable sensors and want to fit very small unmanned vehicles—and large fleets of trucks—with night-vision devices.
Israel Shipyards is expanding the Saar class of missile boats used by the country's navy and also sold to foreign customers. The company is making the ship a “mini-corvette,” with longer range—beyond 3,000 nm—and sophisticated defensive capabilities. The move addresses the need for Israel and other nations to project power well beyond their territorial waters.
