The next war will not be fought only in the air, sea, and on land, but in cyberspace, space, and even in augmented reality. Recently, Microsoft announced it will begin moving from the prototype phase to production and rapid fielding of its HoloLens augmented reality system for the U.S. Army. The program will provide enhanced situational awareness, enabling information sharing and assisted decision making in a variety of scenarios. Read Microsoft’s full write up of the technology below: The United States Army announced that it will work with Microsoft on the production phase of the Integrated … [Read more...]
DARPA’s ACE Program Notches Key Accomplishments
According to DARPA, the purpose of the Air Combat Evolution (ACE) program is “to develop trusted, scalable, human-level, AI-driven autonomy for air combat by using human-machine collaborative dogfighting as its challenge problem.” In simple terms, that means staging mock fights between AI and human pilots to train the AI to be better. After humiliating an experienced F-16 fighter pilot in a 5-0 defeat in the AlphaDogFight finals, artificial intelligence (AI) is turning its attention to ACE's Phase 2 live-fly sub-scale aircraft scenarios scheduled for late 2021. The ability for AI algorithms … [Read more...]
The F-15E Strike Eagle’s New Role in the USAF – “Bomb Truck”
The USAF wants to use its F-15E Strike Eagle as a “bomb truck,” loading it up with 15 JDAMS for transport. A test conducted in Feb 2021 showed an F-15E loaded with 6 GBU-38 JDAMs on a single side of the aircraft. The test is proof of concept for the USAF’s Agile Combat Employment (ACE). The F-15E’s would carry weapons to remote airfields reducing the need for vulnerable C-130s which the USAF currently uses. Stefano D’urso of The Aviationist writes (abridged): The U.S. Air Force published an interesting photo of a recent test performed by the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron, showing an F-15E … [Read more...]
US Army Wants to Vaporize Threats with Powerful New Laser
Imagine harnessing the power it takes to light up 1.7 trillion light bulbs and shooting it through a lens at an object. That is just what the U.S. Army’s new Tactical Ultrashort Laser (USPL) hopes to do. The laser will be the most powerful in the Army’s arsenal. It’s a million times more powerful than any other. It’s designed to reach a terawatt of output. That’s a mind boggling 1 trillion watts of energy. It will emit short, pulse like bursts, unlike conventional lasers who emit a continuous beam. It has the power to vaporize a drone’s surface and cause a blast wave. A working prototype is … [Read more...]
UPGRADE! B-2 Bomber Could Get MAJOR New EMP Hardware
As the U.S. military becomes ever more reliant on the latest technology, the threat of a crippling attack by an EMP weapon grows. As Dr. Lowell Wood writes, "EMP is much more threatening to modern electronics than to old-fashioned ones." Older larger components are extremely rugged and more tolerant to EMP interference, but as tinier transistors make their way into military electronics, so does an inherent vulnerability. Moore's Law, which states that leading-edge integrated-circuit electronics shrink in an area by two-fold every year-and-a-half, only assures that this vulnerability will … [Read more...]
New Assault Helicopter Design to Revolutionize U.S. Army Capabilities
Defiant X a revolutionary assault helicopter was designed for the U.S. Army’s Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) competition. New details are emerging about DEFIANT X and its unmatched range and survivability. The helicopter’s range and speed are double that of the Army’s current workhorse, the Black Hawk. That level of improvement will revolutionize the Army’s air assault capabilities. Read more from Lockheed’s press release below. Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Company (NYSE: LMT), and Boeing (NYSE: BA) today released details of its advanced helicopter for the U.S. Army's Future … [Read more...]
Longshot: Closing the Air-to-Air Missile Gap
DARPA has selected General Atomics, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman to begin the design phase of the Longshot unmanned air vehicle (UAV). The Longshot UAV would be launched from a larger manned aircraft, such as a bomber, and would fly to a predefined location to engage hostile aircraft or air defenses. Longshot would allow current 5th generation fighter jets, who are grossly outmatched by Russian and Chinese air-to-air missiles, to be able stay outside the counterattack range. It would also help extend the reach of vulnerable, non-stealth, 4th generation fighter jets. DARPA … [Read more...]
Key Figures in U.S. Airstrike that Killed Soleimani
UPDATE: Reports are surfacing that the Hellfire’s big brother, the JAGM was used in the Soleimani strike. - Steve Schneider The key figures in the January 3 U.S. airstrike that killed Qassem Soleimani have been identified, most notably Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and commander of Kataeb Hezbollah. Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis was listed as a terrorist in the United Arab Emirates and the United States. Some security experts are divided on whether Muhandis was specifically targeted or if he was a bonus kill. Iranian and Iraqi officials have … [Read more...]
Terrorists, Meet Hellfire’s Big Brother
UPDATE: Missile fragments from scene of the Qasem Soleimani strike suggests he was killed by the U.S.’s new Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM). The Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) 2020 Annual Report states that the JAGM has “successfully completed 87 test shots, which included safety of flight, developmental, integration, and operational testing against a variety of targets. JAGM has successfully engaged and disabled heavy and light armor, structures, personnel in the open, maritime targets, and classified counterinsurgency targets such as truck and motorcycles.” The JAGM … [Read more...]
World’s First Satellite Launching Drone Unveiled
Meet the world’s first satellite launching drone. Ravn X was developed by Aevum, a U.S. based startup, and will be able to carry new payloads into orbit every 180 minutes. Ryan Morrison from DailyMail.com writes (abridged): Aevum says the massive 80ft long drone, named the Ravn X, is fully autonomous, 70 per cent reusable, and can take off and land on runways as short as a mile long. Come join our team in Jacksonville, FL and help us launch autonomous UAVs and orbital rockets! Tell us about you by sending your resume/CV to careers@aevum.us with a professional statement and what it means to … [Read more...]