U.S. Marines began deploying BAE System's Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) in Afghanistan last month. APKWS is a mid-body attachment that converts Hydra-70 2.75-in. unguided aerial rockets to laser-guided missiles. Reported accuracy is less than 1 meter (3.3 ft.) at 3 mi. APKWS was in development for years by the Army, then, following cutbacks, the Navy, which designates it WGU-59/B. The weapon fills a niche in asymmetric warfare: destroying soft and lightly armored targets cheaply and with low collateral damage.
The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) has achieved a land-speed record for Cheetah, a four-legged robot developed by Boston Dynamics of Waltham, Mass., for the Maximum Mobility and Manipulation program. Cheetah was clocked at 18 mph while galloping on a lab treadmill. While this is a fraction of the speed that its flesh-and-blood namesake achieves—0-60 mph in 3 sec.
A Lockheed Martin-developed advanced foliage-penetration radar has been deployed operationally to South America, as the company expands the sensor's ability to track moving vehicles and dismounted individuals. The deployment comes as the U.S. Army works toward a program of record for penetrating synthetic-aperture radar/moving-target indicators to be carried by a range of manned and unmanned fixed- and rotary-wing platforms. Delayed by budget cuts, the program may now begin in fiscal 2014.
Facing the downturn in traditional European and western defense markets, Thales Group held its first Technodays exhibition here Feb. 15-17, showcasing technology for defense, security, aerospace and ground transportation. Nearly 100 demonstrations from 15 countries included technological displays with military, security and civilian applications.
The U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency is looking for a robot that can go into radiological-contaminated areas to collect soil, water and air samples. The agency recently sought industry proposals for a new generation of robotics with “even more function” to more accurately project human reach into austere or contested environments. The agency says it's looking for robots that can be controlled remotely—or even autonomously—and are able to move across diverse landscapes, everything from ice to rocks.
The U.S. State Department's plans to broaden the definition of arms brokering is drawing criticism from companies and organizations concerned about having to navigate yet another maze of export regulations. At issue is a federal proposal that seeks to eliminate loopholes in regulations and a “gray area” around arms deals. The proposed change would expand the current definition of a broker, which currently covers only people who are paid to help arrange or facilitate an arms sale on someone's behalf.
After the grinding experiences of two long ground wars, and an unrelated but simultaneous revolution in technology, Britain is re-approaching the role of the forward air controller (FAC).
The Israel Aerospace Industries RAM MkIII traces directly back to the original mine-protected RBY platform developed by IAI's Ramta unit during the early 1970s. The latest version adds antiballistic armor, counter-mine blast protection and a firewall bulkhead that separates the engine compartment and fuel tank from the crew, weapon system and power pack.
The XM25 Individual Semi-Automatic Airburst System (Isaas) offers a new solution to one of the perennial challenges in combat: how do you hit what you cannot see?
Graduate students in laboratories the world over have experiments at their fingertips. Kevin Warwick's lab may be the only one where they can say the experiments are inside their fingertips. “I have three students at the moment who have magnets implanted,” Warwick says from the University of Reading, England, where he is a professor and cybernetics researcher. “We are looking at sensory substitution. It's converting things like ultrasonic senses and infrared senses and even audio into vibrations they can feel in their fingertips via these magnets.”
At the end of February an image of a new People's Liberation Army (PLA) missile appeared on Chinese websites with the distinguishing feature of the PLA's first use for a 12 X 12 wheeled transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) from the Wosang company, part of the Sanjiang Space Group. This group also produces the DF-11 short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) and the DF-21 family of medium-range ballistic missiles. However, this new TEL is perhaps 30% larger than the 10 X 10 wheeled TEL that carries the 2,500-km-range (1,550-mi.) DF-21C, first seen in 2005.
The Lockheed Martin F-35 program made unwanted headlines in the U.K. last month after The Sunday Times revealed that BAE Systems' portion of the project had been subject to significant data theft. Sources told the newspaper that the network intrusion began in 2009 and had gone undetected for around 18 months.
Questions over cost and risk are already threatening the U.S. Navy's Flight III version of the DDG-51 Arleigh Burke destroyer fleet while the program is still in the service's developmental womb. Military analysts for a host of government watchdog agencies such as the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), Congressional Research Service (CRS) and Congressional Budget Office (CBO) have questioned the Navy's Flight III plans for some time, but it is the GAO review released earlier this year that highlights newly emerging cost and schedule risks.
With the U.S. Congress looking at ways to fix the management of the three U.S. nuclear weapons laboratories, one prominent former official says the solution is to move the labs from the Energy Department to the Defense Department, a move that would reverse a decades'-old management decision that some say is now detrimental to national security.
NEW DELHI — Indian engineering company Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Ltd. and South Korean defense firm Samsung Techwin Co. are joining forces in a bid to build self-propelled artillery guns for the Indian army. According to an announcement made at the DefExpo 2012 here, the two companies have formed a joint venture to compete for the Tracked Self-Propelled Artillery Program.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) analysis of 96 programs in the 2011 Pentagon portfolio puts their total cost to complete at $1.58 trillion, a 5% increase over the previous year. The 10 largest programs account for more than half the portfolio cost; the Joint Strike Fighter’s $327 billion total accounts for one-fifth. In assessing the overall impact of program cost growth, GAO observes that more than 60% of programs “lost buying power” because of increases in unit costs.
SANTIAGO, Chile — Growing concern over cyberattacks against its radar and air command and control systems has prompted ThalesRaytheonSystems to launch a program to protect its systems from being spoofed.
The cost of the Pentagon’s largest weapon system continues to grow, as a Pentagon official contends that the increases are being brought under control.
SANTIAGO, Chile — Elbit is targeting Brazil for its latest laser-guided rocket project, hoping to convince the government to change its preferred rocket and add a precision-guidance system. The goal of the self-funded effort is to begin the first demonstration firings of the new laser-guided rocket by year’s end, to help generate interest within the Brazilian military, an industry official says. The weapon is slated for use on Panther and other helicopters, as well as the A-29 Super Tucano.
NEW DELHI — India’s defense minister says the country’s defense expenditures will continue to increase as the modernization of its armed forces remains a top priority. “Our armed forces need to have access to [the] latest defense technologies, equipped with the state-of-the-art platforms, equipment and systems. With the projected growth of the Indian economy expected at a trajectory of 8-10% for the next two decades, expenditures on defense in absolute terms is bound to increase,” Defense Minister A.K. Antony said in inaugurating DefExpo 2012 here.
The defense industry has been on edge since last summer about a potential $1 trillion reduction in military spending over the next decade, but it’s not an issue that registers with the voting public. To make the military’s angst known, Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) is planning a “Defend Our Defenders” road show. The multistop tour aims to bring in retired military brass, members of Congress and industry to build the public’s interest in defense spending so it can be an issue on the campaign stump before November.
