The U.S. Air Force’s new Gorgon Stare Wide Area Airborne Surveillance System, described as a revolutionary intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) technology, will make its combat debut in December, flying over undisclosed locations in Afghanistan on board MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
The era of fully deployed unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) fleets appears to be getting closer. At press time, Oshkosh Defense announced plans to display a U.S. Army vehicle equipped with its TerraMax UGV technology at the Association of the U.S. Army annual meeting and exposition in Washington, Oct. 25-27. TerraMax is an autonomous navigation system that can be installed in new vehicles or retrofitted. The system operates with supervision from an escort vehicle at a safe standoff distance, or in a leader-follower mode where it follows the route of a lead vehicle.
If everything goes as planned, the transition of Britain’s northern Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) mission from the Tornado F3 to the Eurofighter Typhoon next March will be as simple as turning on a light. “There’s a [communication] switch in each HAS (hardened aircraft shelter) that says ‘Tornado/Typhoon’,” notes Sqdn. Leader Toria McPhaden, commanding officer of the Station Services Squadron (S3) at RAF Leuchars. “You switch it across and everything will be fine.”
Could a real-life version of Watto, the unpalatable space junk dealer from the Star Wars movies, one day be the space warrior’s best friend? The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) says the removal of spent vehicles and dead satellites, by de-orbiting or up-orbiting and possible salvaging, could be the only long-term solution to the growing threat of space debris. Until recently, such solutions were the realm of science fiction, but the urgency of the problem is changing that picture.
Medics at Keesler AFB, Miss., save time in locating equipment with the use of radio tags and tracking networks that detect electronic markers on medical equipment and keep an electronic bead on hardware ranging from intravenous pumps to ventilators and dialysis machines. The system is part of a medical modernization effort being tested by the U.S. Air Force surgeon general. It relies on sensors known as ZigBees, says retired USAF clinical laboratory officer and project contractor Larry George.
No one will ever confuse the Boxer, Germany’s 8 X 8 wheeled armored personnel carrier (APC), with a Lamborghini, the exotic Italian sports car, but the two now have one thing in common: Schroth airbag restraints manufactured by BAE Systems. Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), which builds the Boxer, awarded BAE a $3.6-million contract to produce and deliver four-point harness safety restraints with belt-integrated airbags for 125 new APCs. The airbags are located in the shoulder belts of each harness.
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has developed two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that represent a breakthrough in vertical takeoff and landing design. The drones, Panther and Mini-Panther, employ tiltrotor propulsion and are expected to be operational next year. Panther (see photo) combines the flight capabilities of fixed-wing aircraft with helicopter-like hovering, takeoff and landing, by employing two tiltrotor propellers and a vertical propeller that increases lift. This enables Panther to take off and land on unprepared ground. Weighing 65 kg.
One problem the U.S. military faces in Afghanistan is communicating effectively with civilians at roadblocks and other encounters. Translators are the first choice for this, but they are not always available and can be unreliable. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are testing a portable translation device that permits communication between soldiers and Afghans.
Improvised explosive devices—IEDs—the roadside bombs that have become commonplace in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and increasingly in places like Thailand and Mexico, have for years claimed the lives of U.S. and coalition personnel. But some variants of IEDs are less discriminate than others, and while intended to hit military targets in Iraq and Afghanistan, have instead killed civilians. Statistics on these civilian deaths have been scant in Iraq, but in Afghanistan, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Unama) has been keeping a grim tally.
A researcher at Tel Aviv University, working with the Israeli defense ministry, has developed a nano-sized optical gyroscope (also known as a rotation sensor) that can be used in cell phones and other portable devices to keep soldiers from getting lost when GPS signals are unavailable. Prof. Jacob Scheuer begins assembling the gyroscope with rotating semiconductor lasers that are tens of micrometers in diameter. These fit on a 1-mm.-square substrate (0.4-in.).
In October, we continued to learn more about the Stuxnet industrial computer virus, allegedly used to slow down Iran’s nuclear program, but which also attacked computer systems in India and Indonesia (see p. 13 for a report on what it is, and isn’t). In other developments, the Pentagon decertified Lockheed Martin’s facility in Fort Worth, prompting concern about the world’s largest acquisition program, the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). We posted video of Israel’s Panther VTOL-capable UAV (see p. 8), and the U.S.
The U.S. Air Force is inching closer to the development of insect-sized micro air vehicles (MAVs) that will have a range of applications, from battlefield surveillance to monitoring hazardous environments. The Air Force Office of Scientific Research is working with Prof. Robert Wood of Harvard University to develop his work in this area into viable robotic devices. Wood has said that fabricating MAVs the size of insects isn’t a matter of miniaturizing design and manufacturing techniques.
India is becoming a power in satellite development and a significant player in the use of space for military as well as civil needs. A number of Indian-built military satellites with surveillance, imaging and navigation capabilities are planned for launch in the next few years, to both keep “a watch on the neighborhood and help guide cruise missiles” should the need emerge, says V. K. Saraswat, scientific adviser to the defense minister. “[The satellites] will have tremendous applications.”
The International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Military Balance 2010 report places China third in the number of artillery systems it fields, after Russia and North Korea. But China doubtless exceeds both in resource commitment and breadth of artillery investments. Credited with an estimated 17,700-plus towed, self-propelled and rocket systems, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has at least 56 artillery systems in use, development or available for export. The U.S. Army and Marine Corps, by contrast, have 8,137-plus artillery pieces of roughly 10 types.
Changes in the way airborne imagery is disseminated and processed are having far-reaching and sometimes counter-intuitive effects on surveillance operations. Two examples: Unmanned aircraft now have larger crews than most manned systems, and U.S. Marines in Afghanistan are making tactical use of a sensor that was designed almost 50 years ago to find China’s nuclear weapons.
Tough economic realities looming in defense spending are casting a shadow over U.S. Marine Corps plans for its ground tactical fleet, which will likely soon see orders trimmed or possibly scrapped.
The German military has deployed two unmanned aerial vehicle systems to Afghanistan in the past year. The KZO (German acronym for small aircraft for target acquisition) drone operates with the military’s provincial reconstruction team in Kunduz, while the Heron 1 medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) platform flies from Mazar-e-Sharif air base. Both provide tactical support to German forces and NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in northern Afghanistan.
In an effort to make the most effective use of its massive firepower and advanced communication capabilities against asymmetric enemies skilled in hit-and-run tactics, Israel has been redefining its doctrine of combat operations. Its new strategy for land forces stresses the use of heavily armored vehicles to enable the relentless pursuit of an enemy with minimal casualties, advanced sensors to detect and neutralize threats, and real-time data feeds and communications down to the unit level to enhance situational awareness.
One focus of robotics research is swarming—creating a network of simple and inexpensive machines to accomplish a task collectively that would be too complex for one machine to do. MIT’s latest development in this area might have been useful for the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Researchers at the Senseable City Laboratory developed a prototype robot with a nanomesh fabric that absorbs large quantities of hydrophobic liquids such as oil.
A modern military draws on many disciplines to assure that personnel maintain peak levels of physical and mental readiness. One key area is the development and implementation of life science technologies that enhance operational efficiency. William Selvamurthy, chief controller of life sciences and human resources at India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), works tirelessly to promote innovations in high-tech areas ranging from medical treatments and crop genetics to nano technology.
Tank: Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments Location: Washington Profile: Moderately hawkish, well connected, future-focused Leading the Pentagon’s “family of systems” study of long-range strike options by a few weeks, the CSBA released its own report on the subject in September.
The Italian coast guard has launched a program to field two new flagships in the form of oceangoing offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) with multimission capabilities. With a length of 90 meters (295 ft.), the ships will be larger than any current commissioned vessels. The current capital ships of the service, which is part of the navy but has considerable independence, are five Diciotti-class Series 900 OPVs built by Fincantieri, which displace 430 tons and are 52.8 meters long.
Operation Iraqi Freedom is over, but the war that began with a heralded display of precision-guided munitions and the massive, rapid movement of troops is ending quietly, with U.S. forces hunkered down on large bases in the desert, teaching Iraqi counterparts how to be soldiers.
Catching terrorists before they commit violent acts has been the driving force behind many national security research initiatives since 9/11, but a recent Yale University-led study may be one of the more unusual government-sponsored science programs: the identification of people who are planning a criminal act based on their mental state. Advances in this area could in theory lead to a technology that detects would-be terrorists as they walk through an airport or other secure area.
Security experts regard Israel’s three ports, Haifa, Ashdod and Eilat, as high-profile targets for “mega-terror” attacks. Ashdod especially is one of the most vulnerable sites in Israel. It is within range of some rockets in the Hamas arsenal and contains bromine tanks and other hazardous-chemical-storage facilities that could release highly toxic clouds over nearby urban areas, if attacked.
