The U.S. Defense Department's High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (Haarp) is closed, at least for right now, marking an end to one of the military's more notorious research facilities. Haarp—near Gakona, Alaska—was used by researchers to study the ionosphere. The facility, which comprises of 360 radio transmitters and 180 antennas, can accelerate electrons in the ionosphere, essentially “heating” the upper atmosphere and allowing scientists to conduct experiments.
Operational tactics that have been developed in the past decade among Western forces often owe their origins to asymmetric warfare. One such tactic—wide-area aerial persistent surveillance (Waaps)—evolved from U.S. Air Force missions in Afghanistan. Waaps is now finding acceptance among Israeli strategists. It leads efforts by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to provide air and ground elements with the ability to remotely monitor wide areas and use resulting intelligence to assess situations and act against enemies in timely and decisive ways.
The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) has achieved a milestone in fiber-optic design with development of a hollow air-filled core that forces light to move through channels of air instead of glass. As a result, light properties significantly increase. The hollow-core fiber is reportedly the first to maintain properties in three key areas.
Northrop Grumman demonstrated that a new active, electronically scanned array antenna it developed for the B-2 bomber can establish and maintain communications with an orbiting advanced, extremely high frequency communications satellite operated by the U.S. Air Force.
Israel fully expects Iran to deploy a long-range cruise missile, according to a leading Israeli expert on missile defense. Speaking in Washington on July 19, Israel Air Force Brig. Gen. (ret.) Uzi Rubin said that the weapon will be based on the technology of Russia's Kh-55 (see photo), several of which were illegally transferred to Iran from Ukraine in 2001. “The trick is developing a small jet engine with low fuel-consumption,” Rubin said, adding that Iran has options for a guidance system.
The U.S. Army has lead status in development of a Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation (DMDI) Institute that is expected to change how the military develops parts and equipment. The Army's Manufacturing Technology Program, managed by its Research, Development and Engineering Command of Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., is overseeing the DMDI initiative, with input from the Air Force, Navy, nine federal agencies and industry.
The Royal Navy laid the keel for the sixth Astute-class submarine at a ceremony July 18, at Barrow-in-Furness, Scotland, where the boats are built by prime contractor BAE Systems Maritime Submarines. The new submarine, HMS Agamemnon, is the sixth of seven boats in the class. Astute submarines will replace the Royal Navy's Trafalgar-class boats. Two are completing sea trials: HMS Astute, which was launched in 2007; and HMS Ambush, launched in 2011. Three others—Artful, Audacious and Ansom—are in various stages of construction.
The Spanish navy has been identified as the first customer for Saab's Skeldar rotary-wing unmanned aerial system (UAS). Saab was awarded a €2.5 million ($3.07 million) contract on June 26, but did not announce the deal until July 11 and did not initially disclose the customer. The agreement, understood to be a service contract, was concluded by the Spanish navy's supply and transport directorate.
Researchers at the U.S. Army's Research, Development and Engineering Command are evaluating the benefits of adding carbon nanotubes to specific locations within helicopter rotor blades as well as to the composite matrix that is used in their manufacture. A key goal would be to increase energy dissipation at the interface of the nanotubes and the composite matrix, and thus improve vibration-damping characteristics with few—or no—compromises in flight performance. The effort seeks to resolve trade-offs between dynamic stability and vibration.
The Undersea Defense Technology (UDT) conference and show here in June marked a break from previous years when much of the focus was on large and sophisticated remotely operated underwater vehicles and submarines. This time a number of small and medium-sized companies were showing novel, low-cost systems for littoral security.
A more robust and maturing sensor network for the U.S. missile defense architecture is allowing planners to expand the options for an enhanced kill vehicle (KV).
Airspace access is the holy grail for an unmanned-aircraft industry seeing wartime demand winding down and looking to civilian uses for continued growth.
Rolls-Royce's association with India began in 1932, with Gypsy engines on the first Tata Aviation aircraft. Today, Rolls-Royce has 1,300 engines in service there. Kishore Jayaraman, president of Rolls-Royce India, discusses his company's future plans with Aviation Week's Jay Menon. AW&ST: Can you elaborate on any specific plans for Rolls-Royce in India in the next five to ten years?
U.S. defense primes are reporting impressive second-quarter earnings. General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon all raised guidance for 2013, and their stock prices responded favorably. The bite of sequestration—automatic, across-the-board cuts in the Defense Department's budget—has initially proved to be not as harsh as was expected earlier in the year, and operating profits are benefitting from cost-cutting. Shareholders adore the primes' share repurchase
The European Union is keen to set up its own network of space surveillance assets that could track spy satellites and near-Earth objects, help satellite operators avoid orbital-debris collisions and protect critical infrastructure when spent spacecraft or other objects enter Earth's atmosphere. (Photo: NASA)
Flying a helicopter low and fast over rugged terrain—using the hills for masking—to a safe landing in a forest clearing is among the most demanding tasks a pilot can face, but one that U.S. Army researchers believe can be performed autonomously with the right sensors and algorithms.
EADS has sought to be a broad and balanced aerospace group ever since its inception in 2000. That the group is now renamed Airbus—consolidating its weaker businesses—indicates it remains what it was: a commercial aircraft manufacturer with a defense/space and helicopter division.
A testbed for future fuel-efficient transport and unmanned aircraft with slender, flexible wings has made its first flight at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Calif. The X-56A Multi-Utility Technology Testbed was built by the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works for the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and NASA to test active aeroelastic control technologies for flutter suppression and gust-load alleviation.
