Lifeboat Foundation

Is this a sign of nuclear escalation?

A top-of-the-line Russian nuclear-powered submarine has gone missing from its harbor in the Arctic along with its rumored “doomsday weapon,” according to multiple reports.

NATO has reportedly warned members that Russia’s Belgorod submarine no longer appeared to be operating out of its White Sea base, where it has been active since July. Officials warned that Russia may plan to test Belgorod’s “Poseidon” weapons system, a drone equipped with a nuclear bomb that Russia has claimed is capable of creating a “radioactive tsunami,” according to Italian media.

Continue reading “Russian nuclear submarine armed with ‘doomsday’ weapon disappears from Arctic harbor: report” »

https://youtube.com/watch?v=re4_gn26FCM

😲 Assault Droids!

A video showing a demonstration of a Chinese drone acting as a mini dropship for a robot dog armed with a machine gun has emerged online.

Continue reading “China Pairs Armed Robot Dogs With Drones That Can Drop Them Anywhere” »

Defense officials fear Russian President Vladimir Putin may flex his military power by testing a massive nuclear torpedo called Poseidon, a report said.

NATO reportedly issued an intelligence report to its members and allies warning that the Kremlin is planning to test so-called “doomsday” nuclear torpedo drones, a senior UK defense source told the Times of London on Monday.

Poseidon is a long-range undersea nuke designed to hit coastal cities at extremely long range by traveling to targets underwater.

LAS CRUCES, N.M., May 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — In four weeks of continuous live-fire exercises, an industry team led by Raytheon Intelligence & Space, a Raytheon Technologies (NYSE: RTX) business, and Kord, a wholly owned subsidiary of KBR, defeated multiple 60mm mortar rounds with a 50kW-class high energy laser integrated on a Stryker combat vehicle.

The directed energy weapon system — part of the U.S. Army’s Directed Energy Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense, or DE M-SHORAD — acquired, tracked, targeted and defeated multiple mortars and successfully accomplished multiple tests simulating real-world scenarios.

Continuing to put the DE M-SHORAD system to the test, the recent operational assessment at White Sands Missile Range also included defeating several small, medium and large drones.

Blainjett Aviation announced that initial testing of its hemi-rotor aerodynamic concept has confirmed its potential to deliver faster, more efficient performance in VTOL aircraft. Subscale tests demonstrated the novel configuration’s net positive lift and low drag through the ascent/hover, cruise, and descent/hover phases of flight.

The startup is applying the hemi-rotor concept to a subscale drone as part of a path to demonstrating that the configuration can scale to larger unmanned or manned aircraft in eVTOL applications from package delivery and cargo to transport and tactical military roles. Blainjett’s hemi-rotor design situates familiar vertical lift rotors partially inside opposite sides of an enclosed fuselage. The airfoil-shaped fuselage also houses a pair of electric motors to drive the lift-rotors. Situated in the empennage above an inverted V-tail, the third motor powers a pusher prop.

Continue reading “Blainjett’s hemi-rotor concept promises faster, more efficient VTOL performance” »

Hurricane researchers sent a marine drone into Hurricane Fiona, where it captured intense footage of the tropical storm. The research drone will help scientists better understand how tropical storms rapidly intensify.

Saildrone/NOAA

Recently, the collaboration between the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Saildrone, a company that develops sailing drones, did exactly that. They sent a robot into Hurricane Fiona, the tropical storm that has deluged Puerto Rico and is now headed towards Canada’s east coast, Mashable reported.

Russia’s war on Ukraine has turned a lot of assumptions about the fundamental nature and trajectory of how wars are fought, on its head.

For one thing, Ukraine’s strong defense has upended conventional wisdom about big powers being able to violate at will the sovereignty of little powers.

Continue reading “How drones, crypto, and satellites are changing the face of war / Thomas Frey & Trent Fowler” »

The technology, which has been tested in the lab, could ultimately be used for manufacturing and building in difficult-to-access or dangerous locations such as tall buildings or help with post-disaster relief construction, say the researchers.

3D printing is gaining momentum in the construction industry. Both on-site and in the factory, static and mobile robots print materials for use in construction projects, such as steel and concrete structures.

Continue reading “3D-printed drones work like bees to build and repair structures while flying” »