Study work has been carried out examining the benefits of fitting a low-observable electronic warfare pod to the Lockheed Martin F-35 to further boost the aircraft’s electronic combat capability, according to a U.S. Marine Corps officer.
The F-35 is a candidate platform for the next-generation jammer (NGJ), though a conventional pod design would impact the aircraft’s radar cross-section. Using a stealthy pod configuration would provide additional capability while minimizing the impact on the aircraft’s low-observable characteristics.
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Monday, June 15, 2009
Raytheon Begins Testing Upgraded Laser-Guided Maverick Missile Components
Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) is testing key components that will be used in the AGM-65E2, the U.S. Air Force's newest variant of the laser-guided Maverick missile.
The laser-guided Maverick missile is a direct-attack, air-to-ground precision munition used extensively by the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps in ongoing combat operations.
The newest variant of the missile, the AGM-65E2, will have an enhanced-laser seeker and new software, reducing the risk of collateral damage and enabling aircraft to use their onboard lasers to designate a target.
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The laser-guided Maverick missile is a direct-attack, air-to-ground precision munition used extensively by the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps in ongoing combat operations.
The newest variant of the missile, the AGM-65E2, will have an enhanced-laser seeker and new software, reducing the risk of collateral damage and enabling aircraft to use their onboard lasers to designate a target.
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Air Force Awards First Phase of Next Generation Space Fence
The Air Force awarded firm-fixed-price contracts totaling $90 million for Phase A of Space Fence development to Lockheed Martin Corp. in Moorestown, NJ; Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. in Linthicum, MS; and Raytheon Co. in Sudbury, MA. Under the contracts, each worth $30 million, the companies will provide Space Fence system design review, plans trades analysis and data, systems engineering planning; architecture planning; prototyping, modeling and simulation systems trades and analyses; risk management life cycle cost estimate and technical data. Hill Air Force Base in Utah manages the contract (FA8213-09-C-0051).
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Sunday, June 14, 2009
MC-12 Flies First Combat Mission
The Air Force's newest intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft flew its first combat sortie June 10 over Iraq.
The MC-12 Liberty, assigned to the 362nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron, arrived in Iraq June 8 and took off from Joint Base Balad at approximately 2:30 p.m. local time for a four-hour mission.
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The MC-12 Liberty, assigned to the 362nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron, arrived in Iraq June 8 and took off from Joint Base Balad at approximately 2:30 p.m. local time for a four-hour mission.
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Steam Tech Gets Less Punk, More Stimulus Money
Take a jet engine hooked up to some big magnets, add some steam pipes, and what do you have? The comeback of some old-school technologies that could help solve our modern energy problem.
The idea is simple — generate both electricity and heat in the same place, but the potential benefits are big.
Unlike a traditional electric power plant, which can convert about 40 percent of its fuel into electricity but wastes the rest as heat, these combination plants capture that heat and use it to warm or cool buildings. The efficiency of combined heat and power plants can reach into the 80 percent range. If you hook up that plant to a network of steam pipes and electrical wires, you’ve got the tools to power an entire campus or community.
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The idea is simple — generate both electricity and heat in the same place, but the potential benefits are big.
Unlike a traditional electric power plant, which can convert about 40 percent of its fuel into electricity but wastes the rest as heat, these combination plants capture that heat and use it to warm or cool buildings. The efficiency of combined heat and power plants can reach into the 80 percent range. If you hook up that plant to a network of steam pipes and electrical wires, you’ve got the tools to power an entire campus or community.
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Saturday, June 13, 2009
Human vs. machine: IBM supercomputer takes on Jeopardy
In what could be a leap for AI, IBM programs Watson to take on quiz show champs.
IBM today unveiled Watson, an advanced computing system that engineers hope will be able to compete against humans on the long-running game show Jeopardy. And the show's producers seem to be up for the challenge: They are expected to soon announce plans to air a show pitting human against machine.
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IBM today unveiled Watson, an advanced computing system that engineers hope will be able to compete against humans on the long-running game show Jeopardy. And the show's producers seem to be up for the challenge: They are expected to soon announce plans to air a show pitting human against machine.
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Acer to build laptop with 3-D screen
Hoping to ride a recent surge in movies and TV shows filmed in 3-D, Acer Inc. plans to release a notebook PC this fall equipped with a 15.6-inch 3-D screen, according to a report.
The notebook will have built-in software that can correctly display 3-D movies but also convert regular 2-D movies into 3-D, Campbell Kan, vice president of Acer's mobile computing unit, told the Taiwanese magazine, Digitimes on Monday.
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The notebook will have built-in software that can correctly display 3-D movies but also convert regular 2-D movies into 3-D, Campbell Kan, vice president of Acer's mobile computing unit, told the Taiwanese magazine, Digitimes on Monday.
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Mind-Reading Tech May Not Be Far Off
At the World Science Festival this week, indications that brain scanners may soon uncover your private thoughts
Last night at the World Science Festival in New York, leading neuroscientists took the stage to discuss current research into functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), a type of scan that indirectly measures neural activity by measuring the change in the blood oxygen level in the brain. Neurons require oxygen in order to fire, so if a person is thinking about or looking at a specific image, by looking at the oxygen levels the scientists can see the patterns that "light up" in the brain, and link them to a specific word or image. Study results in this field are astonishing.
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Last night at the World Science Festival in New York, leading neuroscientists took the stage to discuss current research into functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), a type of scan that indirectly measures neural activity by measuring the change in the blood oxygen level in the brain. Neurons require oxygen in order to fire, so if a person is thinking about or looking at a specific image, by looking at the oxygen levels the scientists can see the patterns that "light up" in the brain, and link them to a specific word or image. Study results in this field are astonishing.
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Skunk Works nears flight for new breed of all-composite aircraft
When the latest X-plane crafted by Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works team soon takes flight over Palmdale, California, observers will be watching a throwback to a previous era of experimental flight technology, but also a potential harbinger of things still to come.
The Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft (ACCA), a heavily modified Dornier 328JET, is expected to receive an XC-series designation by the US Air Force. It is perhaps the most significant airlifter project dedicated to experimenting with new technologies since the early 1970s, when the McDonnell Douglas YC-14 and Boeing YC-15 were flown.
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The Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft (ACCA), a heavily modified Dornier 328JET, is expected to receive an XC-series designation by the US Air Force. It is perhaps the most significant airlifter project dedicated to experimenting with new technologies since the early 1970s, when the McDonnell Douglas YC-14 and Boeing YC-15 were flown.
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Friday, June 12, 2009
Plasma Waves Studied for New Electronics
First proposed in 1973 by Michael Dyakonov and my thesis advisor Michael Shur, plasma-waves are expected to allow silicon FETs to operate as high as 10 terahertz! In our lab, we’ve demonstrated detection from 0.2 to 1.6 terahertz with these devices, and terahertz detectors based on silicon FETs will be easy to integrate with complex image processing circuits.
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China 'Green Dam' Censorware Called Security Risk
China's plan to require Web filtering software on all PCs sold in the country after July 1 continues to draw fire from individuals and organizations inside and outside the country.
Three computer scientists with the University of Michigan on Thursday published an analysis of the "Green Dam Youth Escort" software required by the Chinese government and found that "it contains serious security vulnerabilities due to programming errors."
The researchers state that the software contains systemic flaws in its code as a result of unsafe programming techniques and that the software's problems are compounded by a design that exposes it to a large variety of potential attacks.
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Three computer scientists with the University of Michigan on Thursday published an analysis of the "Green Dam Youth Escort" software required by the Chinese government and found that "it contains serious security vulnerabilities due to programming errors."
The researchers state that the software contains systemic flaws in its code as a result of unsafe programming techniques and that the software's problems are compounded by a design that exposes it to a large variety of potential attacks.
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Aluminium hydride: a reversible material for hydrogen storage
Hydrogen storage is one of the challenges to be overcome for implementing the ever sought hydrogen economy. Here we report a novel cycle to reversibly form high density hydrogen storage materials such as aluminium hydride. Aluminium hydride (AlH3, alane) has a hydrogen storage capacity of 10.1 wt% H2, 149 kg H2/m3 volumetric density and can be discharged at low temperatures.
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Impulse flight
The first solar aircraft aiming to fly night and day without fuel will be unveiled in Switzerland on 26 June.
The prototype aircraft, called the HB-SIA, has been developed through Solar Impulse, a project run by Swiss aviators Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg.
The aircraft, which has been under construction since 2007, combines a lightweight 1,500kg structure with a 61m wingspan and a length resembling that of an Airbus 340. The difference is these wings are covered in a thin sheet of solar cells that convert the sun’s rays into electricity that drives the machine’s engines.
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The prototype aircraft, called the HB-SIA, has been developed through Solar Impulse, a project run by Swiss aviators Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg.
The aircraft, which has been under construction since 2007, combines a lightweight 1,500kg structure with a 61m wingspan and a length resembling that of an Airbus 340. The difference is these wings are covered in a thin sheet of solar cells that convert the sun’s rays into electricity that drives the machine’s engines.
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Turbine-powered car
Capstone Turbine, a Los Angeles-based manufacturer of microturbine energy systems, has announced that its C30 liquid-fuelled microturbine has been integrated into a Ford S-Max people carrier in the UK.
Langford Performance Engineering, which is based in Wellingborough, designed and modified the Ford S-Max seven-seat crossover vehicle into a series hybrid plug-in vehicles with a C30 under the hood as an electric range extender.
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Langford Performance Engineering, which is based in Wellingborough, designed and modified the Ford S-Max seven-seat crossover vehicle into a series hybrid plug-in vehicles with a C30 under the hood as an electric range extender.
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The Navy's New 100 KiloWatt Laser Weapons
The Office of Naval Research has awarded Raytheon a year-long contract to develop the preliminary design of a 100 kilowatt experimental Free Electron Laser (FEL) for naval warships. A FEL uses superconducting electron accelerators to produce high-power laser beams that could target cruise missiles, airplanes or boats.
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A Giant Solar Plane That Will Stay in the Air for Five Years Straight
Odysseus, an autonomous surveillance-plane concept,
will fly for years on end, powered by nothing but the sun
Nine days: That's the longest any airplane has stayed in the air. Burt and Dick Rutan's Voyager set the record in 1986 by flying 24,986 miles around the world without refueling. But nine days of uninterrupted flight won't cut it for Darpa, the Pentagon's advanced-research organization. It's challenged the aviation industry to come up with an unmanned surveillance and communications plane that can circle targets for half a decade — and do so on nothing but solar power.
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Nine days: That's the longest any airplane has stayed in the air. Burt and Dick Rutan's Voyager set the record in 1986 by flying 24,986 miles around the world without refueling. But nine days of uninterrupted flight won't cut it for Darpa, the Pentagon's advanced-research organization. It's challenged the aviation industry to come up with an unmanned surveillance and communications plane that can circle targets for half a decade — and do so on nothing but solar power.
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The plan for smaller, faster, deadlier UAVs
Besides wanting to shrink its UAVs, the Air Force wants them to fly faster — much faster.
The X-51A Scramjet Engine, designed to fly six times the speed of sound, will launch into space — its first test — this fall. Air Force officials, though, think it could serve as a UAV as easily as it could a space launch vehicle.
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The X-51A Scramjet Engine, designed to fly six times the speed of sound, will launch into space — its first test — this fall. Air Force officials, though, think it could serve as a UAV as easily as it could a space launch vehicle.
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New RFID Automated Self Serve Library Management Solution from SkyRFID Inc.
SkyRFID Inc. recently announced the availability of their new Automated Self Serve Library Management Solution. This new Microsoft SQL database solution allows patrons to access the facility with their RFID patron cards and select their item choices from the easy to use touch screens that are conveniently located throughout the facility. Multiple search functions allow looking for items by titles, descriptions, categories, sub categories and more, making it very easy to find what they are looking for.
Facility defined locations provide unlimited location control and the screens display the Aisle and Shelf Location of each item. If a selection is not in stock the patron can effortlessly reserve it and be automatically notified when their selection is subsequently available. For those patrons who like to select multiple items that may be located in disparate locations, they can simply touch the screen to receive a printout of their choices complete with location information.
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Facility defined locations provide unlimited location control and the screens display the Aisle and Shelf Location of each item. If a selection is not in stock the patron can effortlessly reserve it and be automatically notified when their selection is subsequently available. For those patrons who like to select multiple items that may be located in disparate locations, they can simply touch the screen to receive a printout of their choices complete with location information.
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NEC builds WiMAX router for sharing sweet broadband goodies with your friends over WiFi
NEC is showing off a vaguely defined Mobile WiMAX Router at Interop Tokyo 2009, which can run on battery and shares its connection over WiFi.
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'Black box' could hold answer to plane crash mystery
The "black box" is actually an orange cylinder -- about 13 pounds of metal wrapped around a stack of memory chips and designed to withstand the force of being slammed high-speed into a brick wall.
One such device -- possibly sitting more than two miles below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean -- is the object of a massive international search and could hold the answer to why Air France Flight 447 mysteriously plunged into the sea off the coast of Brazil last week with 228 people on board.
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One such device -- possibly sitting more than two miles below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean -- is the object of a massive international search and could hold the answer to why Air France Flight 447 mysteriously plunged into the sea off the coast of Brazil last week with 228 people on board.
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Smaller Aircraft Tests With ABL Eyed
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) wants to explore putting Airborne Laser (ABL) technology on a smaller aircraft than its current jumbo jet platform, MDA's director said June 11.
The high-powered laser, designed to destroy an attacking missile shortly after launch during the boost phase, currently flies on a modified Boeing 747-400 freighter. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has vetoed the idea of acquiring another 747, saying the existing equipment should first be used as a research and development platform to prove the capabilities of the large laser technology.
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The high-powered laser, designed to destroy an attacking missile shortly after launch during the boost phase, currently flies on a modified Boeing 747-400 freighter. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has vetoed the idea of acquiring another 747, saying the existing equipment should first be used as a research and development platform to prove the capabilities of the large laser technology.
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Real Lessons of a Great Engine War
The whole reason for the Great Engine War was a strained relationship between the Air Force & Pratt and Whitney at that time. In fact, Pratt & Whitney officials will be the first to say that that relationship was not handled in the best possible fashion, and that they learned many lessons from the experience, the most important lesson being the critical importance of listening to and working to meet your customer’s needs. As the F100 matured in the F-15, it experienced some performance challenges. The USAF was pushing the state of the art in jet engine technology on a very accelerated schedule and decided the military shouldn’t rely on just one engine at the time.
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Boeing Moving FAST on Satellite Power and Propulsion System
Boeing Satellite Systems in El Segundo, CA won a $13.8 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for Phase 2 of the Fast Access Spacecraft Testbed (FAST) satellite power generation and propulsion program. The objective of the FAST program is the development and demonstration of a high power generation and propulsion system for mobile satellites.
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$6.3M to Northrop Grumman for Navy Network Management System
Northrop Grumman Information Technology in McLean, VA received a $6.3 million hybrid firm-fixed-price/cost/cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order (NS09) under a previously awarded contract for a Navy network enterprise management system. Under this order, Northrop Grumman will provide tactical switching increment II spiral B1 equipment, including program management; configuration management; logistics; hardware and software updates; configuration management support; testing support; and on-site technical support at 2 Regional Network Operations and Security Centers (RNOSCs).
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Thursday, June 11, 2009
Top Gun (Sans Top Gunners)
The Los Angeles Times' Julian E. Barnes reports that the Air Force "is preparing to graduate its first pilots of unmanned drones from the elite U.S. Air Force Weapons School -- a version of the Navy's Top Gun program -- in a bid to elevate the skills and status of the officers who fly Predators, one of the military's fastest growing aircraft programs."
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USAF deploys first “Project Liberty” platform
The United States Air Force is about to deploy the first of its new manned intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms, designated “Project Liberty.”
The imminent deployment was highlighted during this week’s joint service Fire Support Seminar, hosted by the U.S. Army‘s Fires Center of Excellence at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
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The imminent deployment was highlighted during this week’s joint service Fire Support Seminar, hosted by the U.S. Army‘s Fires Center of Excellence at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
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French physicists claim breakthrough in ultra-fast data access
French physicists said on Sunday they had used ultra-fast lasers that could accelerate storage and retrieval of data on hard discs by up to 100,000 times, pointing the way to a new generation of IT wizardry.
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Raytheon Submits KillerBee UAS Bid to US Navy
Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) submitted its KillerBee unmanned aircraft system in response to the U.S. Navy's Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Tier II request for proposal.
The KillerBee UAS features a blended-wing aircraft body design. It also has systems for land or sea launch, recovery and ground control. The unique design of KillerBee enables growth for future payloads and additional mission capabilities.
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The KillerBee UAS features a blended-wing aircraft body design. It also has systems for land or sea launch, recovery and ground control. The unique design of KillerBee enables growth for future payloads and additional mission capabilities.
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NASA's Icy-Hot Rocket Engine
Rocket engines don't get much cooler than this. The Common Extensible Cryogenic Engine being developed for NASA burns a mixture of liquid oxygen (-297 degrees Fahrenheit) and liquid hydrogen (-423 degrees). Though the fuels are frosty, upon ignition they generate scorching steam (5,000 degrees) and plenty of thrust.
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The Mercedes ESF: Almost Death-Proof?
An experimental concept car from Mercedes-Benz turns turns the entire vehicle into an airbag using novel metal panels that inflate moments before impact.
The unimaginatively named ESF 2009 Experimental Safety Vehicle features gadgetry and safety features akin to a moon shot. Chassis components inflate to maximize impact resistance. An airbag under the car slows and supports the vehicle in a crash. Seats protect passengers like eggs in a carton. The list goes on.
“Safety is a central element of the Mercedes-Benz brand,” Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Daimler chairman and Mercedes CEO, said in a statement. “In this respect we have been setting the pace in the market for almost 70 years. The ESF 2009 shows that we still have plenty of ideas and the absolute will to lead the automobile industry in this field even in the future.”
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The unimaginatively named ESF 2009 Experimental Safety Vehicle features gadgetry and safety features akin to a moon shot. Chassis components inflate to maximize impact resistance. An airbag under the car slows and supports the vehicle in a crash. Seats protect passengers like eggs in a carton. The list goes on.
“Safety is a central element of the Mercedes-Benz brand,” Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Daimler chairman and Mercedes CEO, said in a statement. “In this respect we have been setting the pace in the market for almost 70 years. The ESF 2009 shows that we still have plenty of ideas and the absolute will to lead the automobile industry in this field even in the future.”
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