Military
Green light for Northrop Grumman Airborne Laser Mine Detection System
March 12, 2008 A Northrop Grumman system designed to protect ships by using lasers to detect mines in the ocean has been given the go-ahead by the U.S. Navy for low-rate initial production. The US$25 million will see three Airborne Laser Mine Detection System (ALMDS) produced with expectations that 25 units will be manufactured over the next five years. Read More
Boeing demonstrates biological detection UAV
March 11, 2008 Increasingly sophisticated Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are already playing a key role in reconnaissance and combat missions around the globe by offering a versatile platform which removes the human operator from the line-of-fire. Now the effectiveness of these systems has been demonstrated in one of the most sinister scenarios of modern warfare - biological threat. Boeing, in conjunction with the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) has successfully shown that a modified version of its ScanEagle UAV can intercept, detect and fly through simulated biological plumes or clouds to collect airborne agents in a series of land and sea tests conducted between November 2007 to the end of January 2008. Read More
Laser modules installed on Airborne Laser prototype aircraft
February 29, 2008 In another milestone for the US Missile Defense Agency’s Airborne Laser project, the six laser modules that comprise the core of the system have been successfully installed by Northrop Grumman. Read More
Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod gets two-way video data link
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Lockheed Martin has integrated a prototype two-way video data link into the Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod, providing it with roughly twice the data range of any other fielded targeting pod. The VDL, which provides forward deployed troops with the Sniper ATP’s real-time full resolution streaming video, was successfully demonstrated at the US Air Force Sniper user’s conference.
Lockheed Martin awarded $194 million for production of Army Tactical Missile System
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February 12, 2008 The US Army has given Lockheed Martin $194 million for the production of the Army Tactical Missile System, which it expects to complete by the second quarter of 2010. The contract includes the ATACMS Quick Reaction Unitary and the Block IA Missiles. Read More
QinetiQ tests new MAN military trucks through tropical, desert and Arctic conditions
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January 24, 2008 QinetiQ has put 12 types of MAN military logistic trucks through simulated hell and back as part of an 18-month evaluation contract. Over three separate six week phases, the 12 models of the new supply vehicles destined for the U.K. Ministry of Defense have been subjected to temperatures ranging from 49°C to -46°C, through dry, hot, wet and humid conditions that simulated desert, tropical and Arctic environments. Read More
USB to synchronous cable gives tactical radios IP data capabilities
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January 17, 2008 Enhancing critical battlefield communications by building on equipment already in operation, the Sealevel Systems ACC-188 USB Synchronous Interface Adapter enables tactical radios currently used by the US Armed Forces to interface to PCs and transmit IP based data. Read More
Aegis Open Architecture green lighted by U.S. Navy
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January 14, 2008 Lockheed Martin recently received final approval from the U.S. Navy to proceed with the integration and shipboard installation of the world’s first, fully-open architecture Aegis weapon system for a major surface warship. Aegis Open Architecture is a weapon system that can absorb frequent technology refreshes and upgrades in capabilities, both from new development and separate third party products. Read More
First succesful Japanese test for the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System
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December 19, 2007 The Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System has been successfully tested for the 12th time in an exercise that marks the first occasion the system has been used by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. A Japanese Kongo destroyer launched a Standard Missile-3 Block IA missile, which engaged and destroyed a medium-range ballistic missile target fired from the U.S Navy’s Pacific Missile Range facility in Hawaii at a height of 60 miles above the Pacific ocean. Read More
QinetiQ awarded contract for Watchkeeper UAV evaluation
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December 12, 2007 QinetiQ has been awarded a five million pound contract by the UK Ministry of Defense to conduct a series of airborne tests and evaluations for the 800 million pound Watchkeeper UAV programme. The tests will be held over the next 18 months at ParcAberporth and the adjoining MOD Aberporth air range, and pre-flight activity environmental and electromagnetic compatibility testing will be held at QinetiQ operated facilities at MOD Boscombe Down. Read More
Lockheed Martin successfully tests Warrior Fightability & Training Programme
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December 7, 2007 Lockheed Martin has successfully tested its design for the Warrior Fightability & Lethality Improvement Programme (WFLIP), a new weapons system that uses advanced firing control to allow crews to engage moving targets while traveling. Read More
Active flow control technology allows Boeing to deploy munitions at Mach 2
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November 28, 2007 In a landmark demonstration, Boeing and the U.S. Air Force have used "active flow control" technology to deploy munitions from a weapons bay at twice the speed of sound. The MK-82 Joint Direct Attack Munition Standard Test Vehicle was released from a rocket sled at the High-Speed Test Track at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, representing the first safe release of munitions from a weapons bay at high supersonic speeds. Read More
Boeing achieves milestone in unmanned underwater vehicle recovery
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November 27, 2007 In a first of its kind operation,
Boeing has successfully demonstrated autonomous launch and recovery of a 21" Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) from a submarine. Read More
First-of-its-kind dual missile test intercepts targets in space
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November 18, 2007 Raytheon's Standard Missile-3s have successfully intercepted and destroyed ballistic missiles outside the Earth’s atmosphere, the first time a Navy has ship demonstrated simultaneous engagements against such targets in space. Read More
Lockheed Martin tests guided missile impervious to GPS jamming
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November 6, 2007 Lockheed Martin’s Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) has achieved all its test objectives in Unitary rocket Phase II product qualification test flights at White Sands Missile Range. The tests verified the missile’s ability to perform in a GPS jamming environment at long range – an essential feature for air strikes in close proximity to friendly troops, or with a low collateral damage threshold. Read More
Laser Shot announces Personal Weapon Simulator partnership
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October 29, 2007 Firearms and training systems specialist Laser Shot Incorporated has collaborated with Bohemia Interactive to deliver a Personal Weapon Simulation version of Virtual Battlespace Two (VBS2) software, which includes precise laser and live-fire hit detection, multiple shooter hit detection, camera field-of-view vehicle attachments and After Action Review integration. Read More
BAE Systems wins contract for Mortar Stowage System
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October 18, 2007 BAE Systems has won a US$13.9 million contract to supply its M326 120-mm Mortar Stowage System to the U.S. Army. The hydraulic lift system is designed for loading 300-pound mortar tubes out of humvee trailers - freeing up the 3-4 soldiers normally required for the task and facilitating faster firing and movement of the weapon. Read More
New battlefield robot features “transformer” design
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October 17, 2007 The manufacturer of the TALON® and SWORDS robot units for military and first response scenarios has introduced a new Modular Advanced Armed Robotic System. Known as MAARS™, the robot trumps its predecessors with a 50%, or 2.5mph, increase in speed, a more powerful M240B Medium Machine Gun, a bigger payload bay, higher torque, enhanced safety features and a modular design that enables the gun turret to be switched with a manipulator arm used in the neutralization of roadside bombs. Read More
Boeing-led test successfully intercepts target missile
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October 4, 2007 The Boeing Company, working with industry teammates and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, has successfully completed a missile defense flight test resulting in the intercept of a target warhead to demonstrate the capability and reliability of the nation's only defense against long-range ballistic missiles. Read More
BAE to develop next-generation night-vision goggles
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September 25, 2007 U.S. army soldiers will be the recipients of enhanced night vision goggles that use digital imagery to improve mobility and situational awareness under all lighting conditions, overcoming battlefield obscurants that would generally hinder vision. Under development by BAE systems as part of the Enhanced Night Vision Goggle program for the U.S. defense forces the helmet-mounted system will digitally combine video imagery from a low-light-level visible sensor and an uncooled long-wave infrared sensor onto a single color display located in front of the soldier's eye. Read More
Russia tests “Father of All Bombs”
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September 18, 2007 Russia has just announced the completion of successful testing of what it dubs the “Father of All Bombs” – four times more powerful than the USA’s comparatively placid “Mother of All Bombs". Both devices are viewed - somewhat dubiously - as “environmentally friendly” alternatives to nuclear devices, as they leave no radioactive fallout. Read More
Integrated tourniquet clothing system aims to save lives on the battlefield
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September 7, 2007 One of the most common causes of preventable deaths in tactical environment is bleeding to death, so any advance in providing assistance as quickly as possible in such situations clearly has the potential to save lives. This is the thinking behind a new range of clothing from Blackhawk that integrates tourniquets into the design which can be immediately accessed by the wearer, their buddy, or a medic to minimize the loss of blood. Read More
Airborne Laser project achieves development milestones
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September 5, 2007 Successful testing of an aircraft mounted laser weapon system has been carried out by the US missile defense agency and industry partnership team at Edwards Air Force base in California. The Airborne Laser (ABL) team has demonstrated the ability to point and focus the Lockheed Martin developed Beam control/Fire control system on an airborne target. Read More
Unmanned Vehicle “Swarming”
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September 1, 2007 The dynamics of the battlefield have changed many times over the centuries as new "killer" technologies have emerged, and another change is about to occur thanks to the evolving role of unmanned systems. As on-board sensor data processing technologies have improved dramatically, the vehicles can function as fully robotic systems, capable of making their own decisions. With these technologies, unmanned systems can act as part of a distributed, intelligent network on the battlefield, processing, sharing and communicating critical data. As a key component of joint, network-centric operations, intelligent vehicles can perform the data processing and communications normally handled by personnel in the field or at a centralized location. Read More
Researchers explore the use of radar anti-landmine technology
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August 31, 2007 There is perhaps no graver reminder of the indiscriminate cruelty of modern warfare than the landmine. It's estimated that over 100 million landmines remain concealed around the world and with the aim of improving detection techniques, researchers from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands are developing a ultra-wideband radar system that they hope will make the process safer and cheaper. Read More
Reaper UAV to be deployed for combat
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August 31, 2007 The US Airforce has announced the deployment of a new squadron of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into combat zones in Afghanistan and Iraq. Capable of carrying a payload of 3,750 pounds, the jet-fighter sized MQ-9 Reaper can fly at 300mph, reach 50,000 feet and stay airborne for 14 hours at a time. The "hunter-killer" UAV also incorporates Infrared, laser and radar targeting and is capable of deploying precision guided weapons.
Lockheed Martin tests “Multiple Kill Vehicle” missile fleet defense technology
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August 28, 2007 The Cold War might be over, but the underlying strategy that arose with Reagan’s Star Wars missile defense program in the 1980s lives on as the threat of long-range missile attack remains a global concern. Lockheed Martin have just announced successful testing of part of the Missile Defense Agency's “Multiple Kill Vehicle” program designed to be a single-launch platform to neutralize an entire fleet of incoming enemy missiles. Read More
New Chinook unveiled at Fort Campbell
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August 21, 2007 Aviation history was made at Fort Campbell recently as a newly designed CH-47 Chinook helicopter was officially ushered into operation. Allowing greater capability and Soldier safety, the new $30 million bird was turned over to Company B, 7th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 159th Combat Aviation Brigade. Read More
MEADS reveal first glimpse of advanced battle management system
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August 20, 2007 MEADS International has released the first photographs of the highly versatile battle management tactical operations center (TOC) planned for the Medium Extended Air Defense System – a mobile air defense system designed to replace existing systems in the United States, Germany and Italy. Read More
Boeing's CH-47F Chinook helicopter fielded to first U.S. Army Unit
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Aug 16, 2007 Boeing has announced that its new CH-47F Chinook helicopter has been certified combat-ready by the U.S. Army and fielded to the first operational unit. Since being first unveiled in mid 2006, the new Chinook has successfully completed 60 rigorous flight test hours including simulated mission scenarios. Read More
LED Incapacitator is enough to make you sick
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August 10, 2007 A real life “light saber” that can subdue anyone in its path? This new type of non-lethal weapon comes in the form of a flashlight that totally incapacitates whoever looks into it. The LED (Light Emitting Diode) Incapacitator emits bright pulses of light at rapidly changing wavelengths that cause disorientation, temporary blindness, nausea, and even vomiting. Read More
BAE Systems demonstrate Common Modular Power System for tactical wheeled vehicles
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August 9, 2007 BAE Systems are demonstrating a prototype Common Modular Power System (CMPS) at the Power and Energy Symposium currently being held at Troy, Michigan. This is in response to a need expressed by the United States Department of Defense for a power system that is able to provide 400amps of 28-volt DC power across the full rev range of a High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV or Humvee ) - a perceived requirement for 21st century warfighting. Read More
B-2 Bomber with Massive Penetrator weapon
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July 23, 2007 Just how important does someone have to be to have their own 30,000 pound bomb delivered by a billion dollar aircraft? We'll soon know. We have written about the Massive Penetrator weapon before here and detailed the awesome firepower and effectively infinite range of the US$1.157 billion B-2 here. The B-2 is a multi-role bomber capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear munitions through previously impenetrable defenses. The B-2’s low-observable technologies with high aerodynamic efficiency, large payload and an unrefueled range of approximately 6,000 nautical miles (9,600 kilometers) give it the unique ability to penetrate an enemy's most sophisticated defenses and threaten its most valued, and heavily defended, targets. Read More
Happy 60th birthday to the deadliest gun in history
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July 8, 2007 No-one knows how many AK-47s have been made - a patent was never applied for, so it has been copied by numerous small arms manufacturers across the world since it came into being this weekend, sixty years ago. One estimate puts the number of Kalashnikov AK-47s manufactured at 100 million, making it by far the most populous rifle in history. For six decades, it has been the common man’s rifle - the lowest common denominator of conflict across the planet and the standard issue of many armies still. A triumph of self-taught design, Mikhail Kalashnikov’s AK-47 delivered more bang-per-buck than any other firearm of its day and it never stopped working. Born in 1947, the AK-47 has been best friend to hundreds of millions of men, driving the popularity of the boy’s name Kalash in war-torn countries. Cumulatively, AK-47s have been the first spoil of war, so each weapon would have changed sides many times, with every damaged weapon yielding its undamaged parts to another composite weapon – astoundingly, of the 100 million made, 30 million are still in service in the harshest environment of all. That equally qualifies the gun as delivering the highest levels of misery and wasted humanity of any invention in history. Like the spear, bow and arrow, sword and earlier incarnations of the rifle, the AK-47 has been the dominant military weapon responsible for nearly all changes of sovereignty, and is now taking its place in history in the national emblems of many new nations. Sadly, Kalashnikov’s body of work suggests he would have been a genius in any other field. Read More
Lightweight, hybrid multifunction fuel cell to lighten soldiers' backpacks
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July 5, 2007 Infantry soldiers have a tough lot in life. Apart from being constantly shot at and placed in risk of bodily harm, they're frequently forced to carry around large amounts of heavy equipment, sometimes weighing over a third of their bodyweight. On a typical 5-day-operation, disposable and rechargeable batteries alone account for about ten kilograms of backpack weight, not to mention the various charging devices for cell phones, PDAs and visual systems. There's good news though - German researchers have developed a lightweight hybrid power supply that will soon be able to ease the load. Read More
