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Pterodactyls may have gone extinct millions of years ago, but a newly designed spy plane could bring the flying reptiles to life, albeit replacing blood and guts with carbon fiber and batteries. "The next generation of airborne drones won't just be small and silent," the design team announced recently. "They'll alter their wing shapes using morphing techniques to squeeze through confined spaces, dive between buildings, zoom under overpasses, land on apartment balconies, or sail along the coastline."

A joint Russian-Indian company has started the development of a cruise missile capable of flying at Mach 5, which will make it 'impossible to intercept'. BrahMos-2 will be the next generation of the highly successful the BrahMos missile already used by Indian military.

Here's the first look at the final version of the deadly XM25. We learnt this morning about the weapon's destructive power, but now we have all the details, starting with the key for its destruction power, a built-in fire-control system that can program each of the weapon's 25 millimeter rounds wirelessly, in real time, so soldiers can take down enemies around obstacles:As you can see in the schematics, the fire-control system uses thermal optic, day-sight, laser range finder, compass and IR light to exactly measure the distance to the target, programming each of the rounds' fuses so it explodes next...

June 19, 2008 -- IRobot, best known for their cute Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner, has teamed up with Metal Storm, purveyors of the million-rounds-per-minute electric gun, to create a slick, Terminator-like war robot for the U.S. military. The as yet unnamed war bot is being marketed for "border patrol" and "crowd control" scenarios, although other military situations are also under consideration. "We want our soldiers to have the option of controlling a robot that could go ahead and investigate, engage or deter an enemy and not put human soldiers at risk," said a spokesman for Metal Storm who wished to...

Another Agosta submarine ready By Our Reporter KARACHI, Sept 22: SM Hamza, the second indigenously built Agosta 90B submarine, will be commissioned in the Pakistan Navy on Sept 26, giving a qualitative boost to its capability to defend the country’s maritime boundaries. This was stated by Commodore Hassan Naser Shah, general manager of the submarine construction project, and Commodore Shah Masood at a background briefing at the PN Dockyard on Monday. The commissioning of SM Hamza was termed a historical moment because it has a special feature of air independent propulsion system which increases the diving autonomy of conventional submarines....

Two strategic Tu-160 bombers of Russia’s Air Force completed the flight in accordance with the plan to patrol remote geographical territories and returned to the airbase in Russia’s Saratov region from Venezuela, RIA Novosti reports with reference to a senior Air Force official, Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Drik. The two planes landed Friday at 01:16 a.m. Moscow time. Alexander Anfinogentov, Deputy Commander of the Russian Air Force, told the news agency that the two bombers set two world records during the flight from the Russian air base to Venezuela and back. The flight duration of the planes made up over 15...

They're blinding them with science. U.S. Marines fighting in Iraq have been issued low-power laser weapons designed to temporarily blind enemy forces, the Washington Post reported Monday. "Dazzlers," as they're called, shoot green beams designed to "warn or temporarily incapacitate individuals," according to a Defense Science Board report extensively quoted in the Post's story. The Geneva Conventions ban weapons meant to cause permanent blindness, but a Pentagon spokesman explained two years ago that "Dazzlers" didn't fall into that category. "They don't blind people," Army Lt. Col. Barry Venable told reporters. "It's like shining a big light in your eyes." The...

Lockheed Martin and the US Department of Defense are attacking the motivation behind a recent barrage of criticism aimed at the basic combat abilities of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Such “false claims” published in separate reports a few days apart have become a significant business risk for the programme, said Maj Gen Charles Davis, chief of the F-35 joint programme office. Each of the eight international partners must make acquisition decisions for the F-35 within the next year, said Tom Burbage, a Lockheed vice president. Some of partners, including Norway and The Netherlands, face controversial decisions within the next...

Friday, The Times' Greg Miller and Julian E. Barnes reported that the United States has escalated its war against Al Qaeda and its Taliban allies by "deploying Predator aircraft equipped with sophisticated new surveillance systems that were instrumental in crippling the insurgency in Iraq." It's a story whose significance may extend well beyond the benighted hills and valleys of Pakistan's violent Pashtun hinterlands and onto the hustings of our current presidential campaign. Coupled with Thursday's report in the New York Times that President Bush has signed a secret order permitting Afghanistan-based U.S. special operations forces to cross into Pakistan without...

SOUDA BAY, Greece, Sept. 21, 2008 - Loaded bow to stern with 26 combat aircraft and ready to deliver up to 1,800 Marines ashore on demand, USS Iwo Jima has a lot to bowl over a first-time visitor. But Navy Capt. Robert M. Irelan, Iwo Jima's commanding officer, said he has little doubt the civilian leaders who visited today were as wowed by the ship's crewmembers as by its technology and combat power. "It's not the steel," Irelan told participants in the Defense Department's Joint Civilian Orientation Conference of Iwo Jima, one of the Navy's largest amphibious assault ships that...

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EU parliament approves military use of Galileo In a majority decision on Thursday, the European parliament adopted a resolution on the importance of space for European security. The draft of the resolution submitted by Karl von Wogau, a member of the German CDU party and chairman of the European Parliament's subcommittee on security and defence, stipulated that Europe's future satellite navigation system, Galileo, should also be available for operations related to European security and defense policy (ESDP). 502 MEPs voted for the resolution, 83 against. The European Green Party proposed amendments so that Galileo could only be used for civilian...

Cobham is preparing to demonstrate what it believes will be the first in-flight docking of two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as it continues development of its autonomous aerial refueling system.Two specially designed UAVs – one a tanker, one a receiver – are being readied for flight-tests in restricted airspace at Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz., within the next month, Cobham says. One of the six-foot wingspan UAVs is equipped with an extendable refueling boom with drogue, or basket, and the other with a retractable probe. The two vehicles have been flown separately to check their flying qualities.Week-long trialThe week-long trial...

The U.S. drone aircraft involved in strikes against Taliban and Al Qaeda militants across the border have enhanced tracking ability. WASHINGTON -- As part of an escalating offensive against extremist targets in Pakistan, the United States is deploying Predator aircraft equipped with sophisticated new surveillance systems that were instrumental in crippling the insurgency in Iraq, according to U.S. military and intelligence officials.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N), its largest supplier, sought on Friday to shoot down criticism of their $299 billion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, the costliest planned U.S. arms buy ever. Published reports that Russian-built Sukhoi fighter jets thrashed the F-35 in simulated dogfights last month are "just flat false," Air Force Maj. Gen. Charles Davis, the Pentagon official in charge of the program, said in a teleconference hastily called by Lockheed to rebut negative publicity at a critical juncture for the program. > Citing U.S. Air Force analyses, he said the F-35 is at...

NAVAIR Patuxent River, MD – The U.S. Navy is making progress in the recovery of its grounded P-3C Orion aircraft. Currently, 10 of grounded aircraft have been inducted for outer wing modifications, with the first one due to be completed this fall - less than a year after grounding 39 aircraft for structural fatigue concerns. Additionally, the Navy awarded contracts to L-3 Communications Aug. 19 and to Lockheed Martin Aug. 26 for the production of 17 outer wings assembly kits for the P-3C Orion with delivery of the first outer wings scheduled to occur in early 2010. These kits will...

Excerpt - HONOLULU (AP) — The U.S. military aborted an attempt to shoot down an incoming missile with two interceptors Wednesday after the target malfunctioned shortly after launch off Kauai. ~ snip ~

Soldiers barking orders at each other is so 20th Century. That's why the U.S. Army has just awarded a $4 million contract to begin developing "thought helmets" that would harness silent brain waves for secure communication among troops. Ultimately, the Army hopes the project will "lead to direct mental control of military systems by thought alone." If this sounds insane, it would have been as recently as a few years ago. But improvements in computing power and a better understanding of how the brain works have scientists busy hunting for the distinctive neural fingerprints that flash through a brain when...

September 17, 2008 The tenth and final nuclear-powered Nimitz-class supercarrier, George H. W. Bush, enters service in 2009, but the next-generation is on its way. The Gerald R. Ford CVN 78 is the first ship in the first new carrier class in over 40 years. Northrop Grumman has received a $5.1 billion, seven-year contract for construction of the CVN 78, which is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in 2015. Northrop Grumman began advance construction of the Gerald R Ford in 2005, under a separate $2.7 billion contract. Roughly one third of the ship’s 1,200 structural units are currently...

In a move that could reverse years of Army small arms policy, the service is asking industry to send in ideas for a new combat rifle that could replace the M4 carbine. In late August, the Army issued a solicitation to the arms industry asking companies to submit proposals that would demonstrate "improvements in individual weapon performance in the areas of accuracy and dispersion ... reliability and durability in all environments, modularity and terminal performance." And in a dramatic gesture that could throw the door wide open to a totally new carbine, the service did not constrain ideas to the...

Colombian police are training up a new elite squad of rats and a cat to tackle the growing problems of land mines laid by Marxist rebels. Tomas the cat is being trained alongside 14 rats, including his partner Pablo, in a laboratory in the north of the capital, Bogota. advertisementVet Luisa Fernanda Mendez, who runs the laboratory, said: "We chose rats because they have a sniffing capacity similar to dogs, but can search in less accessible sites and their training can be completed more quickly." The role of the cats is to act as "bodyguards" to protect the rats from...

Private aviation group works on own attack-helicopter design By: Martin Zhuwakinyu Published: 12 Sep 08 - 9:00 South African aviation and defence company Advanced Technologies and Engineering (ATE) has embarked on conceptual planning for the development of what is to be known as the New Attack Helicopter (NAH), external affairs director Lorris Duncker tells Engineering News. This comes on the back of the successful upgrade of the Russian-made Mi-24 helicopter, now in production for the air force of a North African country and the demonstration of another upgraded Russian stalwart – the Mi-17 combat helicopter – to an unnamed potential...

The US army is poised to unleash the dogs of war – four-legged, petrol-powered robots to help its troops in battle. Billed as ‘the most advanced quadruped robot on Earth’, BigDog has been devised to support American troops by carrying up to four packs of equipment on awkward terrain unsuitable for wheeled vehicles. Standing at over 2ft tall and more than 3ft long, BigDog comes equipped with all manner of high-tech gadgets, including laser gyroscopes, a video camera sensor system and a sophisticated on-board computer – but, sadly, no wagging tail. The 11 stone machine, created by Boston Dynamics, can...

Military technology: Advances in camouflage, concealment and deception are revolutionising an age-old art of warfare AS A special-forces agent in the French Navy, Michel Malalo has clandestinely entered several African countries by sea to extract endangered French nationals. Almost all the enemy fighters he encountered carried the AK-47, a widely used assault rifle renowned for its rugged reliability. But the AK-47 has a serious drawback: glint, which gave Mr Malalo an advantage in firefights. Made with steel, the AK-47 reflects light. “It’s flashy—and from afar,” says Mr Malalo, who took advantage of glint giveaways when shooting at the enemy. Mr...

Wall Street analysts are smiling on the early and friendly contract award to Northrop Grumman for detail design and construction of the future USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), the lead ship in the U.S. Navy's next class of aircraft carrier. "We had been expecting contract award in late Q4, so the early date adds clarity to [Northrop Grumman's] long-term outlook at Shipbuilding," Credit Suisse analysts said in referring to Northrop's recently restructured shipbuilding unit. But perhaps most importantly, the CVN-78 contract has been structured as a cost-plus type, with various fee mechanisms, they further said. "This means that, should cost...

Opposition defends Joint Strike Fighter over simulated dogfights September 11, 2008 THE federal Opposition has dismissed new doubts about the multi-billion dollar Joint Strike Fighter project and the jet's performance. The JSF jets, for which Australia is likely to pay $16 billion, were comprehensively beaten in highly classified simulated dogfights against Russian Sukhoi fighters, it has been reported. The war games, conducted at Hawaii's Hickam airbase last month, were witnessed by at least four RAAF personnel and a member of Australia's peak military spy agency, the Defence Intelligence Organisation, The West Australian said. Opposition defence spokesman Nick Minchin said he...

Joint Strike Fighter: The Latest Hotspot in the U.S. Defense Meltdown While its illusion as an "affordable" multi-role fighter-bomber is alive and well in Washington D.C., the F-35 "Joint Strike Fighter" is already a disaster, and the bad news has barely begun to roll in. Internationally recognized combat aircraft designer Pierre Sprey and Straus Military Reform Project Director Winslow Wheeler summarize the many failures in a new opinion piece that appears in the Sept. 10, 2008 issue of Janes Defence Weekly and is reproduced below. "Joint Strike Fighter: The Latest Hotspot in the U.S. Defense Meltdown" by Pierre M. Sprey...

Opinion: Maintaining air superiority Congress must fund more F-22s By Phil Gingrey, Washington Times 09/09/2008 The F-22A Raptor is the key to America's air superiority, and we need more of them. Recently, however, some have argued otherwise. Many of the dissenters suggest that Congress is considering continuing F-22 production for simple, political reasons. I respectfully disagree. Continuing the F-22 production is not a political nicety for the Air Force or for the defense of our nation. It is a necessity and the current program of record - 183 Raptors - is woefully inadequate to fulfill the National Military Strategy. This...

ARLINGTON, Va. (Army News Service, Sep. 8, 2008) -- The Army kicked off a celebration recognizing 100 years of military aviation during a Sept. 6 ceremony at Fort Myer, Va. Despite heavy rains and flooded streets due to Tropical Storm Hanna, hundreds turned out to Conmy Hall to see the first public starting of the engine on a replica of the 1908 Wright Model A. The original of that aircraft flew Sept. 3, 1908 at Fort Myer. That flight was the first in a series that led to a $30,000 Army contract awarded to the Wright brothers in July 1909...

Defense Update magazine has published a news story about a new Marine Corps contract awarded to Navistar Defense, for the development and production of a lighter version of the MaxxPro Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) under a $752 million contract awarded last week by the US Marine Corps. The corps is the program manager for the development and procurement of the MRAP vehicles, built under an urgent requirement to protect troops in Iraq and Afghanistan from ambushes, improvised explosive devices (IED), mines and roadside bombs. The full story is available: HERE

The general also confirmed that a decision to build new aircraft carriers for the Russian Navy had been adopted. Russia's Navy commander, Adm. Vladimir Vysotsky, said in July that the Navy command had decided to form in the future 5-6 aircraft carrier task forces to be deployed with the Northern and Pacific fleets.

ST. LOUIS, Sept. 06, 2008 -- Boeing, through its commercial launch business, successfully launched the GeoEye-1 satellite today aboard a Delta II rocket procured from United Launch Alliance (ULA). Liftoff occurred at 11:50 a.m. Pacific time from launch pad SLC-2W at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The ULA Delta II rocket deployed the spacecraft approximately 58 minutes after liftoff. GeoEye-1 will have the highest resolution of any commercial imaging system, capable of collecting images with a ground resolution of 16 inches (.41 meters) in panchromatic (black-and-white) mode. Virginia-based GeoEye is the premier provider of geospatial information for the national...

Washington, D.C. - At a conference in Washington, D.C., this week, a Department of Defense official sounded a startling alarm. "The defense community is critically reliant on a technology that obsoletes itself every 18 months, is made in unsecure locations and over which we have absolutely no market share influence," said Ted J. Glum, director of the DoD's Defense Microelectronics Activity unit. "Other than that," he cracked, "we're good."

Laser weapons may be a battlefield reality by the end of 2008 Laser weapons are an interesting subject that has been a staple of science fiction and movies for decades. Laser weapons will become a reality on the battlefield at some point -- though exactly when that point will be is a subject of debate. When it comes to laser weapons there are two basic types: chemical and solid-state. The chemical lasers are powered by chemicals that would make them hazardous on most battlefields to the soldiers deploying the weapon systems. That makes the solid-state laser a more viable option...

August 27, 2008 (by SSgt. Don Branum) - Coalition air forces in Iraq unleashed a new precision guided weapon against anti-Iraqi forces August 12. Two F-16 pilots with the 77th EFS executed the first-ever combat deployment of an GBU-54 Laser JDAM against a moving enemy vehicle in Diyala Province. The GBU-54 is the U.S. Air Force's newest 500-pound precision weapon, equipped with a special targeting system that uses a combination of GPS and laser guidance to accurately engage and destroy moving targets. "This employment first represents a great step in our Air Force's ability to deliver precise effects across the...

Stanford computer scientists have developed an artificial intelligence system that enables robotic helicopters to teach themselves to fly difficult stunts by watching other helicopters perform the same maneuvers. The result is an autonomous helicopter than can perform a complete airshow of complex tricks on its own. The stunts are "by far the most difficult aerobatic maneuvers flown by any computer controlled helicopter," said Andrew Ng, the professor directing the research of graduate students Pieter Abbeel, Adam Coates, Timothy Hunter and Morgan Quigley. The dazzling airshow is an important demonstration of "apprenticeship learning," in which robots learn by observing an expert,...

Coalition air forces in Iraq unleashed a new precision guided weapon against anti-Iraqi forces August 12. Two F-16 pilots with the 77th EFS executed the first-ever combat deployment of an GBU-54 Laser JDAM against a moving enemy vehicle in Diyala Province. The GBU-54 is the U.S. Air Force's newest 500-pound precision weapon, equipped with a special targeting system that uses a combination of GPS and laser guidance to accurately engage and destroy moving targets. "This employment first represents a great step in our Air Force's ability to deliver precise effects across the spectrum of combat," said Lt. Gen. Gary North,...

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq, Aug. 28, 2008 – Coalition air forces in Iraq unleashed a new precision-guided weapon against enemy forces Aug. 12 when two F-16 Fighting Falcon pilots with the 77th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron here executed the first combat employment of a GBU-54 Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition against a moving enemy vehicle in Diyala province. Air Force Staff Sgts. Michael Jackson (left) and Anthony Bagen align a 500-pound GBU-54 Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition before connecting it to an F-16 Fighting Falcon at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, Aug. 14, 2008. F-16 pilots with the 77th Expeditionary Fighter...

After passing a U.S. Navy review, Lockheed Martin Corp. is closing in on delivering a new warship that will be a milestone in the defense contractor's expanding foray into shipbuilding. The USS Freedom, the first of a new class of near-shore combat vessels called the Littoral Combat Ship, was recently inspected by Navy officials and put through trials on Lake Michigan. The ship is being built at the Marinette shipyard in Wisconsin and is based on a commercial high-speed hull design from Italian shipbuilding giant Fincantieri Cantieri Navali Italiani SpA. The successful inspection is one of the few bright spots...

American, French and South Korean aircrews are getting a close look at one of the world's fabled aircraft - the Indian air force's Su-30MKI strike fighter. An Indian air force group of 50 pilots and weapon systems officers - flying eight Su-30MKIs, two Il-78 tankers and an Il-76 transport - are just finishing a month-long deployment to the United States with a training cycle at the latest, annual Red Flag aerial combat excercises based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. They were part of a contingent of 246 IAF personnel selected from 20 (fighter) Squadron, Poona; 78 (tanker) Squadron, Agra;...

A deal on missile defences angers Russia even though they may not work THE east Europeans have little reason to fear a strike from Iran. So why are they eagerly signing up to America’s system to intercept Iranian missiles? Because they are scared of Russia. Within days of Russia’s invasion of Georgia, Poland had agreed to host ten American interceptors. Ukraine offered to link up its early-warning radars and contribute to surveillance in space. The Czech Republic had already agreed to host the missile-tracking radar. “We have crossed the Rubicon,” said the Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, as the deal...

ST. PETE’S BEACH, Fla., Aug. 19, 2008 – Scientists and battlefield medical clinicians shared their knowledge and experiences to advance medicine during the military’s premier trauma care conference here. The U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command’s annual Advanced Technology Applications for Combat Casualty Care Conference was held Aug. 11 to 15. What evolved from a disjointed vendor-oriented conference more than 10 years ago with just a couple hundred participants is now an extremely relevant knowledge exchange that has the ability to improve military medicine, said Army Col. Bob Vandre, a former MRMC Combat Casualty Care Program director who organized...

Elements of Boeing's proposed upgrade package for transforming the C-17A into a more suitable theatre transport could be added piecemeal rather than in a single, $2 billion development package, a company executive says. That detail could be a key factor for the "C-17B" concept to gain joint US Air Force and US Army approval, and, thus, to preserve the life of the production line far into the next decade. Boeing has identified eight major upgrades required to make the C-17B a true tactical airlifter. The package includes higher thrust engines and double-slotted flaps for "extreme" short-field landings adding a centre...

TEHRAN, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- A test in Iran of a rocket able to carry a satellite into orbit was likely a failure, Pentagon officials said Monday. A senior U.S. defense official told CNN while Iranian officials claimed the launch of their country's first satellite carrier was a success this weekend, Pentagon officials opposed such a claim. "The Iranians did not successfully launch the rocket," the unidentified official said of Saturday's launch.

Missile Defense Agency director, announced today that testing of a key propulsion system component for the Agency’s Multiple Kill Vehicle-L (MKV-L) payload has been successfully completed. During an engagement with the enemy, this high-performance propulsion system maneuvers the carrier vehicle and its cargo of kill vehicles into the threat complex to intercept the targets. This technology will negate more advanced countermeasures that could be aboard hostile ballistic missiles. In the event of an enemy launch, a single interceptor equipped with this payload destroys not only the re-entry vehicle but also all credible threat objects,including countermeasures the enemy deploys to try...

ran has upgraded its fighter jets to allow them to fly 3,000 kilometres without refuelling, Iran's air force commander said on Sunday, which would put arch-foe Israel easily within reach. "We have succeeded in upgrading the capabilities of our planes and have increased the range of these planes to 3,000 kilometres (1,860 miles) without refuelling," Brigadier General Ahmad Mighani was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency. "We do not wish to attack another country... but we will defend ourselves should we be attacked," he added, without however mentioning Israel.

The human brain could become a battlefield in future wars, a new report predicts, including 'pharmacological land mines' and drones directed by mind control Rapid advances in neuroscience could have a dramatic impact on national security and the way in which future wars are fought, US intelligence officials have been told. In a report commissioned by the Defense Intelligence Agency, leading scientists were asked to examine how a greater understanding of the brain over the next 20 years is likely to drive the development of new medicines and technologies. They found several areas in which progress could have a profound...

Poland's 'Peace Sky' at home in Arizona August 15, 2008 (by Capt. Gabe Johnson) In the transition from Soviet-built MiG-29s and Su-22s to American-built F-16s, Poland takes on one of NATO's most aggressive fighter up-starts known as "Peace Sky". A new generation of Polish Air Force pilots are learning how to fly their country's most advanced fighter, the F-16C/D block 52 "Jastrzab" or Hawk as it's called, from the Arizona Air National Guard. To date, the Central European country has received 41 of the 48 F-16s it has on order, and is rapidly increasing its number of qualified pilots with...

Eisenhower said the simple Higgins boat was the key to victoryBEAUFORT - For days now, the men, all in their 80s, have trickled in as if visiting a friend in the hospital. They stand on the observation balcony inside the N.C. Maritime Museum's barnlike waterfront boat shed, mixed among the tourists and squinting at the rust-streaked, rectangular hulk on the shop floor. Eventually they have to speak. "Is that the LCVP?" they ask one of workers down on the floor, though they know the answer better than anyone. Then the stories start, stories about how this strange boat carried the...

I have been wanting to get this topic on airplanes going for awhile. I hope some of you find an interest also.