The U.S. Army's Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation in Orlando, Fla., is expected soon to select a video game to replace its first-person shooter game, Virtual Battlespace 2 from Bohemia Interactive. The Army wants to take advantage of improvements in gaming technology, such as more memory, better hardware and advances in artificial intelligence, that increase the realism of such games. But do not expect the new video game to match the flash-bang graphics players see in commercial gaming technology.
It's difficult to smuggle explosives into areas that are monitored by sensors or bomb-sniffing dogs. Research at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), a U.S. Energy Department facility in Richland, Wash., could make it virtually impossible, especially with military-grade explosives that have extremely low vapor pressure. PNNL scientists developed a real-time vapor-detection technique for explosives that is reportedly accurate in the parts-per-quadrillion (ppq) range—similar to or more sensitive than a dog's sense of smell.
In the future, if a rogue nation is caught secretly testing a nuclear weapon, and is confronted with credible evidence about blast size, location, date and time of detonation, satellites and radio telescopes may get the credit. Researchers at Ohio State University and astronomers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory have discovered that GPS and GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) satellites, along with the Very Large Array (VLA) of 27 radio telescopes in New Mexico, can detect atmospheric disturbances caused by nuclear blasts.
Crowdsourcing, which is increasingly popular for national security applications, may soon move into arms-control verification. The U.S. State Department's “Innovation in Arms Control Challenge” selected several ideas for new technologies and approaches to help with verification. One winning concept, proposed by an aerospace and defense consultant in Florida, enlists virtual armies of citizens to track “treaty limited items” (TLI) to ensure countries comply with arms-control obligations.
Lengthy testing by the U.S. Army confirmed the validity of an alternative armor technology for the Bradley Fighting Vehicle that meets performance criteria for protection and saves money. Army Contracting Command (ACC)-New Jersey has certified that reactive tile sets of aluminum can be installed on vehicles in place of the titanium tiles in use with no loss of protection. The reactive tiles withstand anti-armor threats from rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons.
U.S. Army soldiers could be shooting straighter if the benefits of a new weapons contract materialize. Last month, the U.S. Army Contracting Command of Warren, Mich., announced the award of a firm-fixed-price contract for procurement of up to 120,000 M4 and M4A1 carbines to FN Manufacturing of Columbia, S.C. The projected completion date for the order is Feb. 19, 2018. The maximum value of the contract, which is being allocated in stages, is $76.9 million. The initial stage involves 24,000 rifles and is worth $9.3 million. All eyes will be on the M4A1 side of the order.
The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) has selected Lockheed Martin to move forward with a program to build a “flying Humvee” that takes off and flies over roads planted with roadside bombs. Darpa narrowed the Transformer program to two competitors: AAI Textron and Lockheed Martin. Both companies' concepts used ducted fans, but took different approaches to the vehicle.
An Asian shipping company looking to boost its antipiracy defenses started the year by becoming the latest client of the LRAD Corp. of San Diego, maker of long-range acoustic hailing devices that can rumble sound over water for more than a mile and cause hearing damage from 50 ft. away. LRAD stands for long-range acoustic device, the general term for the acoustic systems the company makes.
Research at Georgia Tech indicates that programming military robots for deceitful behavior against enemies is a way of protecting them along with materiel they might be guarding. In a program funded by the Office of Naval Research, Ronald Arkin led a team at Georgia Tech that applied this tactic in programming a robot. Arkin read studies showing how deceitful behavior aids animal survival and wondered if it could help robots thwart an enemy, robotic or human. Biologists, for example, found that a squirrel stores acorns in hiding places and routinely checks the stashes.
When teams of researchers at Germany's Technical University of Hamburg and Kiel University used chemical vapor and a high-temperature oven last summer to produce a new carbon-based lattice they call Aerographite, it immediately grabbed attention for its weight: At 75 times lighter than Styrofoam and six times lighter than air, it is billed as the world's lightest material.
The Taliban have a lot to worry about when it comes to Western military technology. The latest threat is easy to miss but potentially deadly in its effect: a 4 X 1-in. unmanned air vehicle (UAV) the British Army is deploying for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance in Afghanistan. Called the Black Nano Hornet, the UAV weighs 16 grams (5 oz.) and has a camera with zoom function that transmits still images and full-motion video to a handheld monitor. The U.K.
The Pentagon recently signed off on plans to spend more than $1 billion on new equipment for the Afghan air force. The shopping list includes a mix of fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, including additional Cessna C-208s, which the air force uses for cargo and personnel transport, and more MD 530F helicopters. While some purchases were expected based on long-standing plans, a major change is the addition of four Lockheed Martin C-130 aircraft to replace a fleet of Alenia Aeronautica G.222 transports that proved burdensome to maintain.
Vice Adm. (ret.) Yedidia Yaari President and CEO, Rafael Armament Development Authority Ltd., Haifa, Israel Birthplace: Kibbutz Merhavia, Israel, 1947 Education: B.A., Middle East History, Haifa University; M.P.A., Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; Advanced Naval Command Course, U.S. Naval War College.
At the Aero India exposition this month, Israeli companies Elbit Systems and Windward Ltd. displayed for the first time an integrated maritime patrol platform for India. The platform comprises an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from Elbit, the new Maritime Hermes 900, equipped with Marint, a satellite-based maritime analytics system from Windward. The platform is intended to perform 24/7 monitoring of India's large maritime environment, including littoral waters and economic exclusion zones.
Although U.S. and Afghan soldiers have become skilled at recognizing signs of improvised explosive devices (IED), the Pentagon is seeking technologies that detect IEDs before they threaten troops and vehicles. One recent development is Scissor-G (Shadow-Class Infrared Spectral Sensor-Ground), which picks up irregularities and other indicators of IEDs from a safe distance. Scissor-G is a product of the U.S. Army's Communications, Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center (Cerdec).
The AASM (armament air-sol modulaire) Hammer bomb, the principal air-to-ground weapon in use by the French air force and navy on Rafale combat aircraft, will receive a third guidance kit this year, most likely in the first half, incorporating a laser sensor for the terminal flight phase.
A dream of science fiction and engineering is to sail beneath the waves and fly above them in one vehicle. Students at the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (BUAA) are the latest to buy into this idea, along with the military officials who fund their research. An article on the university's web page about the “Booby” unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) became a minor sensation on the Chinese Internet in late 2012.
The Derby missile, manufactured by Rafael, is the weapon of choice for India's Tejas fighter. A contract is to be signed by the end of this month to supply the air-to-air weapon for the light combat jet, developed by India's Aeronautical Development Agency. A key aircraft requirement is integration of a beyond-visual-range missile. The Rafael Python V missile, closely related to Derby, was also an option. The Indian air force has ordered 40 Tejas aircraft and plans to add 160 more: 100 Mk. II versions for the air force and 60 for the navy.
Since shedding Soviet-style communism in 1990 and adopting parliamentary government and a market economy, Mongolia has become the most democratic of the Central Asian republics. Moreover, it sits atop the world's largest coal reserve as well as mountains of gold, copper, uranium and rare minerals. In 2012, the landlocked nation posted 13% economic growth. Everything should be coming up roses.
