The failure of North Korea's much-publicized rocket launch on April 13 occurred as Japan readied its ballistic missile defense force to destroy the rocket if it fell toward its territory.
Tank: Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments Location: Washington Profile: Moderately hawkish, well-connected, future-focused Directed-energy weapons (DEW) don't have a good reputation, associated as they are with over-promised and under-delivered programs. It is therefore brave to make a pro-DEW case at a time of budget cuts, but that's what the CSBA's new report does.
The ScanEagle mini-UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle), in use by the U.S. Navy, has logged its first flight powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. The UAV, developed by Boeing subsidiary Insitu Inc. of Bingen, Wash., flew 2.5 hr. with the propulsion module. The flight test is significant since the U.S. Defense Department expects fuel cells to play an increasingly important role in improving the mission capability of UAVs and other platforms. One benefit of fuel cells for UAVs such as ScanEagle is reduced weight.
Not trying to say that all the 'molly-coddling' of N.K. that's been happening is getting us anywhere, but shooting down one of their test missiles just seems a little too dangerous—sort of like smoking in the powder magazine. —Pappy on a post about possibly shooting down North Korea's latest rocket
The U.S. Air Force is looking for one good aluminum alloy. The service wants a higher-strength alternative to alloy 2014, which is widely used in aerospace components and fittings, as well as military vehicles and weapons, due to its machining and forming properties. It also wants an alternative to alloy 2040, developed and produced by Alcoa. This material has enhanced properties compared with 2014 that reduce landing-gear weight, but it's a single-source metal, and costly.
The U.S. Navy's new robotics lab in Washington features realistic replicas of a Southeast Asian rain forest, sandstorm-swept desert and choppy coastal waters. Opened this spring, the Laboratory for Autonomous Systems Research (LASR) boasts 50,000 sq. ft. of space, and is designed to simulate real-world environs in which to test unmanned systems. The lab, which cost $18 million to build, isn't a substitute for operational testing of robots in the field, but can be used to avoid costly trips for environmental testing in places such as Hawaii.
Reviewed By Pat Toensmeier Berlin 1961: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and the Most Dangerous Place on Earth By Frederick Kempe Berkeley Books, 2011 579 pp.; $29.95 The Berlin Wall symbolized the Cold War. Frederick Kempe writes of the events that led to its construction in 1961, sealing the division of Germany.
Gen. Jean-Paul PalomerosFrench Air Force Chief of Staff Age: 58 Birthplace: Paris Education: Graduate of the Ecole de l'Air in Salon-de-Provence, the university-level school which trains air force officers; studied for one year as an exchange student at the Royal Air Force Staff College in Bracknell, England.
Israel Weapon Industries Ltd. (IWI) has added a new version of its legendary submachine gun, unveiling the 9-mm Uzi Pro recently at shows in Chile, Brazil and India. The Uzi Pro was developed with input from the Israel Defense Forces, to produce a lightweight, compact weapon. The design incorporates a closed-bolt operation with blowback to maximize accuracy and safety. The weapon is ergonomically designed for use by right- or left-handed shooters. The firing rate can be set at automatic or semi-automatic.
As roadside bombs proliferate, the danger to vehicles isn't just on the battlefield, but city streets. Companies are turning to commercial products to respond to the threat. Cassidian, a division of EADS, offers a Convoy Protection Jammer to counter roadside bombs. The device uses Cassidian's Smart Responsive Jamming Technology to detect and disrupt signals commonly used to detonate bombs— those in the 20-mhz-6-ghz frequency range. Once detected, the device transmits jamming signals in real time that match the hostile frequency.
The rapid growth of operational deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan saw a parallel growth in the training systems procured by U.K. armed forces. The nature of both theaters, including tight rules of engagement and novel challenges, required training avenues to be created and exploited. But as involvement in Iraq is over, and the end of deployment in Afghanistan is in sight, the U.K. is considering which systems and capabilities are to be retained.
On a local trip, Editor-in-Chief Bill Sweetman stumbled across this relic: one of 25 surviving 15-in. Rodman guns from the Civil War, still on its mounting at Fort Foote, Md., waiting for the goldern rebs to try something. The milk-bottle shape and a new casting method overcame a minor flaw with previous super-heavy guns, to wit, a tendency to explode when fired.
An innovation in a welding process could open the door for the U.S. Navy and shipbuilders to construct hulls of marine-grade titanium—a development that would substantially increase strength, decrease vessel weight and eliminate corrosion. The innovation is in friction stir welding, which joins metal with heat created by the high-speed rotation of a spinning pin tool. The pin tool plasticizes—but does not melt—metal, forming a weld as it moves along a joint. Efforts to use it with titanium had failed because the pin tool would erode and mix with the metal, degrading it.
Northrop Grumman's electro-optical distributed aperture system (EO-DAS) is a feature of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. But the company is looking for new applications of the system, which comprises six wide-angle thermal cameras that produce a constant, spherical video of the infrared (IR) picture around the aircraft.
The business of being a sniper could soon become a little easier—at least for U.S. Army shooters. The Army is continuing development of its next-generation technology for sniper scopes and marksman sights for extended range known as the Integrated Ballistic Reticle System (IBRS) program. Bids were first solicited in 2010. Since then, the Army has completed two phases of the program, and in April selected L-3 Integrated Optical Systems of Pittsburgh to continue development of the technology in a third phase, which is to last 12 months.
If you make the right decision based on inadequate information, you are lucky rather than intelligent. Although many planning decisions (including big ones, where the horizon is years off) must be made on partial information and rely on estimates, “due diligence” involves learning as much as you can. Two running fights over Joint Strike Fighter procurement, in the U.K. and Canada, show how the lack of due diligence can get you in trouble.
Is an offensive cyberweapon equivalent to a nuclear bomb, in that its use requires the approval of a U.S. president? For years, U.S. officials wouldn't acknowledge the existence of cyberweapons, but current and former officials are now debating who has the authority to order an attack, and when. Attacking a foreign computer network would likely require “the president and [defense] secretary to . . . start making decisions,” Gen. Keith Alexander, head of U.S. Cyber Command, said at a recent congressional hearing. It may not always be a direct presidential order.
PARIS — French aerospace engine supplier Safran has finalized the merger of two subsidiaries, energy materials specialist SME and solid-propulsion-motor manufacturer Snecma Propulsion Solid (SPS), Paris-based Safran announced April 30.
MBDA is upgrading its Viper Strike munition as a result of operational lessons learned during last year’s NATO-led air war in Libya. The enhancement allows the munition to more effectively engage fast-moving ground targets through updates to the guidance and control software, enabling the weapon to fly a different attack profile, says Jerry Agee, head of MBDA’s U.S. operations. The capability was demonstrated during a series of test shots at the Naval Air Warfare Center at China Lake, Calif.
Rockwell Collins is expanding its unmanned-aircraft flight-control technology to provide an optionally piloted capability for manned platforms. Applications include the U.S. Air Force’s Blue Devil 2 airship and AgustaWestland’s SW-4 unmanned helicopter. The company is a leading supplier of integrated navigation and flight-control systems for unmanned aircraft; its Athena systems fly on the U.S. Army’s AAI RQ-7B Shadow and the Navy’s Boeing Insitu RQ-21A small tactical unmanned aircraft systems.
Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) is continuing her search for ways to get back the second Virginia submarine buy in 2014 delayed in the U.S. Navy’s 2013 budget request. At an April 26 hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committe’s (SASC) seapower subcommittee, Ayotte asked Navy Assistant Secretary Sean Stackley about a funding possibility he’d described in testimony to SASC the previous week that could restore the delayed buy without much additional cost.
NEW DELHI — The Indian defense ministry (MOD) has ordered an investigation into Italian news reports that illegal commissions may have been paid to swing a $700 million deal signed two years ago for 12 VVIP helicopters. Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony made the announcement shortly after reports in the Italian press pointed to allegations of €51 million ($67.4 million) that were paid by AgustaWestland to a Switzerland-based agent to push through the Indian deal.
