Lifeboat Foundation

A new robot bug that can live in the ocean for 100 years and feed off of bacteria has made its debut as DARPA’s latest surveillance tool.

With a vast amount of area to cover, the US government is funding research for new oceanic spy technology. Now, a Binghamton University team has developed what may become one of the most simple and effective tools in its arsenal.

Now, a new DARPA initiative is playing off of the idea of “the Internet of Things,” the term used for the many non-computer devices connected to the Internet in some way, from refrigerators to fish tanks, and seeking to develop an “Ocean of Things.” With many futurists’ eyes on space conflict and satellite warfare, it’s easy to forget that 71% of the Earth’s surface is water, and naval conflict is still an element in geopolitics.

A new NASA-funded study has revealed for the first time that the airflow in supersonic combusting jet engines can be controlled by an optical sensor.

The finding can lead to more efficient stabilization of hypersonic jet aircraft, according to the study carried out by the researchers at the University of Virginia, School of Engineering and Applied Science.

The research allows operators to control airflow at the speed of light when a ‘shock train’ occurs. A shock train is a condition that precedes engine failure within a scramjet engine.

The fighter’s new engines can power laser weapons and enable a “pilot optional” mode.

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Mind to speech tech. Remember. Military is using secret tech. Thats not modern stuff… It only looks like.

Introduction to Brain-Computer Interface Technology.

Scientists have achieved a series of milestones in growing a high-quality thin film conductor, suggesting in a new study that the material is a promising candidate platform for future wearable electronics and other miniature applications.

Researchers at The Ohio State University, the Army Research Laboratory and MIT determined that the material is the best among similarly built films for its electron mobility—an index of how easy it is for an electrical current to pass through it.

Coupled with low defect density to reduce interference with electron movement on the surface, the material is like a tiny empty freeway where all the electrons can easily get where they need to go with no traffic to be seen.

Officials of the Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) at Fort Belvoir, Va., issued a request for information on Monday for the Hypervelocity Projectile (HVP) project.

Army officials want a company able to deliver HVP prototypes no later than fall 2027 for operational demonstrations in 2028, and later for possible deployment. Hypervelocity projectiles fly through the air at speeds of 8 or 9 times the speed of sound.

AI will enable drone wingmen to make autonomous decisions without centralized command.

According to Airbus, FCAS will be centered around a core Next Generation Weapon System (NGWS). In this “system of systems,” piloted New Generation Fighters will work together with Unmanned Remote Carriers – all connected to other systems in space, in the air, on the ground, at sea and in cyberspace via a data cloud called the “Combat Cloud.”

Continue reading “AI-powered drone wingmen to aid Europe’s 6th-gen combat jets” »

University of Florida senior engineering students, collaborating with peers and the U.S. Army, developed a vehicle camouflage deployment device that enhances battlefield safety and efficiency. The project, which spanned three semesters and involved input from soldiers, resulted in a device that significantly speeds up the camouflage process, uses existing materials more effectively, and adapts to various ground conditions.

University of Florida and Georgia Tech engineering students developed a vehicle camouflage system for the U.S. Army, enhancing camouflage speed and safety, and demonstrating the potential of academic-military collaboration to solve practical defense challenges.

What began as a class project for senior engineering students at the University of Florida evolved into a practical solution for soldiers, providing them with a quicker, easier, and safer method to camouflage their vehicles on the battlefield.

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has announced the design and construction of the Series Hybrid Electric Propulsion AiRcraft Demonstration (SHEPARD) vehicle. The uncrewed air system developed for DARPA recently received its official X-plane designation of XRQ-73. Built in collaboration with Scaled Composites, a Northrop Grumman subsidiary, the XRQ-73 SHEPARD is a DARPA “X-prime” program leveraging hybrid electric architecture and component technologies to quickly mature a new mission-focused aircraft design with propulsion architecture and power class for the Department of Defense.

“The idea behind a DARPA X-prime program is to take emerging technologies and burn down system-level integration risks to quickly mature a new missionized long endurance aircraft design that can be fielded quickly. The SHEPARD program is maturing a specific propulsion architecture and power class as an exemplar of potential benefits for the Department of Defense,” said Steve Komadina, SHEPARD program manager.

The DARPA team includes members from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), the Office of Naval Research (ONR), and warfighters. The prime contractor for SHEPARD is Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Aeronautics Systems sector in Redondo Beach, CA. Scaled Composites, LLC is a major supplier, along with Cornerstone Research Group, Inc., Brayton Energy, LLC, PC Krause and Associates, and EaglePicher Technologies, LLC. The XRQ-73 aircraft hybrid-electric uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) will be a Group 3 UAS weighing approximately 1,250 pounds. First flight of the XRQ-73 is expected by year-end 2024.