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Category: military – Page 189

Air Force F-X concept: a fuel-sipping electric fighter jet for 2030

Circa 2011

The U.S. Air Force is working to produce its next-generation fighter jet, and word has it that the energy around the project is going to be electric. Literally.

It’s called the “F-X” concept (not to be confused with the VFAX/VFX/FX concepts of the 1960s and ’70s) and it’s intended to enter service in 2030.

The fighter is supposed to focus on energy efficiency, which the Air Force believes could allow for new weapons and capabilities, The Diplomat reports. The concept is referred to as the “More-Electric Aircraft,” and while the name doesn’t quite roll off the tongue, the point is to rethink the vehicle much in the same way automakers rethought the car for electric powertrains.

Tesla’s Bioweapon Filter Is Another Line Of Defense Against COVID-19

The Tesla Model S and Model X come standard with Bioweapon Defense Mode, which is possible due to a massive HEPA filter. If you haven’t seen it or replaced it, you’re likely to be shocked by its size. According to Tesla, the filter is “100 times more effective than premium automotive filters.” It removes “at least 99.97% of fine particulate matter and gaseous pollutants, as well as bacteria, viruses, pollen, and mold spores.” Is it really necessary, though?

There’s a pretty good chance that going out in your car is not going to make you highly susceptible to contracting the coronavirus, but we’re not doctors. At this point, it seems even doctors and scientists aren’t 100-percent sure about many details related to this new disease. We can tell you that we have seen many people walking alone outside with masks and gloves on, and just about as many people driving down the road with their windows closed and masks and gloves on.

Boson particles discovery provides insights for quantum computing

Scientists found that a class of particles known as bosons can behave as an opposite class of particles called fermions, when forced into a line.

The research, conducted at Penn State University and funded in part by the Army Research Office, an element of U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Army Research Laboratory, found that when the internal interactions among bosons in a one-dimensional gas are very strong, their velocity distribution transforms into that of a gas of non-interacting fermions when they expand in one dimension. The research is published in the journal Science.

“The performance of atomic clocks, quantum computers and quantum systems rely upon the proper curation of the properties of the chosen system,” said Dr. Paul Baker, program manager, atomic and molecular physics at ARO. “This research effort demonstrates that the system statistics can be altered by properly constraining the dimensions of the system. In addition to furthering our understanding of foundational principles, this discovery could provide a method for dynamically switching a system from bosonic to fermionic to best meet the military need.”

DARPA reveals ASTARTE multi-domain ‘common operational’ system

The airspace above future battlefields is expected to be increasingly congested with large numbers of unmanned aerial systems, manned aircraft, munitions and missiles filling the skies. To de-conflict airspace activities of friendly forces and rapidly counter an enemy’s actions on the battlefield requires new technologies to effectively integrate effects from all domains.

Air Force to begin combat test of Star Wars solution to taking down drones

Remember those tales of drones harassing northeastern Colorado back in December?

If they ever come back, the Air Force may have a new way to zap them from the sky. The service announced Monday it is ready to test its first high-energy lasers for use against enemy drones overseas.

“(Troops) will utilize this system as an operational asset against small unmanned aircraft systems for the duration of the field assessment,” said Michael Jirjis, who headed development of the laser for the Air Force Research Laboratory in Ohio.

The Navy’s Smallest Warship Gets a Big Laser Gun

One of the U.S. Navy’s newest and smallest warships is the latest to receive a laser weapon system. The USS Little Rock, which made the news last year after being trapped in Canada by ice, will get a laser during an upcoming deployment sometime this year. The laser is one of the most powerful military lasers yet and should give it the ability to damage or destroy small boats, drones, and aircraft.

According to U.S. Naval Institute News, defense contractor General Dynamics will install a 150 kilowatt laser weapon system aboard the littoral combat ship USS Little Rock. The ship is based in Mayport, Florida and will likely join the Navy’s 4th Fleet, responsible for Central and South America.

The Navy Will Put a Laser Gun on a Destroyer by 2021

Pew-pew-pew is coming soon-soon-soon.

The U.S. Navy plans to put a laser weapon on a warship by 2021. The High Energy Laser with Integrated Optical-dazzler and Surveillance (HELIOS) system, or HELIOS, is a defensive weapon system designed to burn boats and shoot down unmanned drones. The weapon will go to sea with a guided missile destroyer assigned to the Pacific Fleet in two years’ time, the Navy says.

The service placed an order for HELIOS in January 2019. The $150 million contract, awarded to Lockheed Martin, calls for the company to deliver two systems. According to a company press release, one will go to White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico for testing. USNI News says the Navy will install the other on a Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer.

The U.S. Army Plans To Field the Most Powerful Laser Weapon Yet

O,.o woah o.o

The U.S. Army is pushing forward with plans for the most powerful laser weapon to date. The Indirect Fires Protection Capability-High Energy Laser (IFPC-HEL) will be a 250 to 300 kilowatt weapon, up to 10 times more powerful than the U.S. Navy’s Laser Weapon System. The power boost should be enough to destroy targets as large as incoming cruise missiles.

The U.S. military is pushing into lasers in a big way, with all three of the main services—Army, Navy, and Air Force—pushing hard to get them onto ground vehicles, ships, and aircraft. The main appeal of lasers is their fast reaction time, literally the speed of light, and their ability to fire a high number of shots without stockpiling bullets, missiles, or shells.

Lasers instead rely on electrical power, and as long as there is electricity to power the weapon it can theoretically crank out an endless number of shots. “Ammunition” is basically the cost of generator fuel, or about $10 per shot.