There is this bridge in Brooklyn that I am authorized to offer for sale….
Sukhoi General Director Mikhail Pogosyan is saying that he expects the PAK-FA 5th generation Russian fighter to fly by year’s end.
Yeah, sure.
I’ll offer 2:1 odds against.
Category: technology
Industry, MDA Buoyed By New Thaad Flight-Test Data
THAAD Launch
Image of Target (l) and Debris Intercepts
It appears that the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is beginning to get a handle on the problems that have plagued the Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) program, (paid subscription required) with the latest test having two interceptors fired in salvo.
The 1st missile hit the target, and the 2nd missile struck the largest piece of debris remaining.
A lot of the problem has been the hand off between the radar and the missile’s own IIR seeker:
“Things look different to an X-band sensor than they do to an IR sensor. Something that really has a lot of sharp edges . . . will look big and bright to an RF [sensor], but it might be real, real cold,” says McGrath. “So, it doesn’t look that way to an IR [sensor]. I like to think of this as our two-color approach to life.”
Additionally, it looks like they are working at integrating the system with the Navy’s Aegis fire control system, which implies that the the reports that the MDA is looking at a larger 21, up from 14½ in diameter booster, (paid subscription required) the size of the standard Navy torpedo, cruise missile, and Standard missile, are about possibly mounting the missile on board a ship, as well as improving the missile kinematics.
Still, I am dubious of reports that
the MDA is looking at moving to deployment on any of its systems. (paid subscription required)
Simply put, the record, even if improved lately is just not there, and the technology remains ruinously expensive.
Neat: Touchable Holography
H/T CNET
Israel Looking at UAV Ambulance
There are definitely reasons for such a craft, but I think that unmanned ambulance is not one of the better applications.
If you are evacuating someone, you want have a doctor or paramedic on site to administer things like plasma, etc., and they would likely need to monitor the patient for the trip if it is any longer than about 10 minutes, and once you have to do that, having a pilot too makes sense.
That being said, things like remote resupply would be a viable application.
Sikorsky X2 Going to Disneyworld
Actually, it’s going to Sikorsky West Palm Beach test facility, which is some distance from the Orlando region.
The compound helicopter is going there so that they can expand the flight envelope to what they hope will be something in the 250+ kt range.
Friends Don’t Let Friends Use Palm® Pre™ Phones
I actually use a Palm® Centro™, but to the best of my knowledge, it does not send information about my location and what applications that I run on my phone back to Plam, Inc.
And now that they have been caught, Palm is saying that the ToS allows this…Man, what a dumb-ass thing to do.
Vasimr Proceeds to Higher Power Tests
30 kw first stage test
VX -200 Prior to entering Test Chamber
In vacuum chamber
The Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (Vasimr) is slated to enter higher power testing. (paid subscription required)
The first stage, a 30kw system, has been successfully tested, and they are now working on a 2nd stage, which will boost the power of the unit to around 200 kw.
The performance benefits, the ISP (basically fuel economy) is more than 10 times that of chemical rockets, would be very significant if this can be made to work.
For example, it could take the time for a transit to Mars from 180-200 days to about 40 days.
Prior posts here.
Flying Saucers News
Nothing particularly sinister or Area 51 here, it’s just that the former GFS (Geoff’s Flying Saucer, Ltd), now Aesir, is continuing to develop their Coanda effect VTOL UAV, which uses a blower and the Coanda effect (earlier post here) to get the desired characteristics, has come up with a 1000kg payload concept, the Hoder.
You can see more pictures here, and there is a video below.
It appears to be stable, and it has an advantage over a ducted fan in that the entire bottom of the aircraft could be used to hand sensors or weapons.
Hopefully Without Rinkles
Airbus has released pictures of its carbon fiber fuselage proof of concept models, and it looks like they are going “whole hog” on this:
“The extensive use of carbon-fibre is a significant advance: the panels, frames, window frames, clips, and door are all made from it, with a hybrid door frame structure consisting of carbon-fibre and titanium being used for the first time,” Airbus adds. The barrel also contains some metallic components in the floor and in the highly loaded “test load introduction area”.
Hopefully, they will avoid Boeing’s problems with composite structures.
Boeings Airborne Laser Takes Shots
I would note, however that these were nowhere near full power, and the program has been dropped from the 2010 budget anyway.
During the test, the modified Boeing 747-400F aircraft took off from Edwards Air Force Base and used its infrared sensors to find a target missile launched from San Nicholas Island, Calif. The Boeing-developed battle management system aboard ABL then issued engagement and target location instructions to the beam control/fire control system, which acquired the target and fired its two solid-state illuminator lasers to track the target and measure atmospheric conditions. ABL then fired a surrogate high-energy laser at the target, simulating a missile intercept. Instrumentation on the target verified that the surrogate high-energy laser hit the target.
(emphasis mine)
I think that this program is a dead end for a number of reasons, the defense draw-down, the rise of the UAV, and the fact that there have been significant advances in high energy solid-state lasers, which makes the chemical technology used by the ABL an expensive, and highly toxic, relic.
And Yet Another 787 F^%$-Up
It seems that Boeing halted Alenia’s production of 787 one piece fuselage barrel sections because of “wrinkles” on the skin (also here)
What’s more, the stop work order has been in force for a couple of months, but it’s only come out now.
You know, for all the problems that Airbus has had with the A380, Boeing is still looking pretty bad.
Les Paul Dead at 94
He is one of the (many) fathers of the solid body electric guitar, and was one of the first to use multi-track recording, which is the basis of modern record production, in addition to being a seriously kick ass guitar player.
787 Wings Worse Than Thought
So, we have some more details on just how screwed up the Boeing 787 wing is.
Not only is there delamination in the wing, but it appears that they have the same sort of problem on the wingbox, opposite the attachment bulkhead body fixture.
As you can see from the pictures, the geometry there appears to be a read-made pull test machine. I’m not a composites guy, but this is really really ugly work, and the idea that they did not experimentally verify this joint before assembling aircraft just buggers the mind.
I would also note that the problem is with two different vendors and the interface across the fastening fixture, and their geometry, and their fix, appears to be identical, so the finger of blame points back squarely to Boeing, and not their “partners”.
Russia Upgrades R-77 and R-73 AAMs
They are better known in the west as the AA-12 Adder medium range and AA-11 Archer dogfight missiles respectively. (paid subscription required)
It looks like there will be improvements in range (about +35% for the R-77), and sensors and off bore-sight capability (R-72).
Not surprising…There is a lot of performance that can be wrung out of both missiles with technology upgrades.
Seriously, Cancel the JASSM
Seriously, this thing has always underperformed tests, and now the lot 6 acceptance tests for the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) have been deferred. (paid subscription required)
This thing has never performed as reliably as the specs require, and cancellation for cause would be a good way to kick a defense contractor in the teeth for delivering crap, and then expecting the taxpayer to fund the fixes.
Sometimes, you have to do stuff like this prevent this sort of behavior from becoming endemic in the defense procurement process.
Woah…This Has Failure Written All Over It
The Indian Defense (or is Defence) Ministry has initiated a project to create a “digital soldier”, called Futuristic Infantry Soldier-As-A-System (F-INSAS), and it seems to be analogous to the Pentagon’s recently canceled suspended “Land Warrior” system.
Of course, this ambitious system in juxtaposed with the Indian Defense R&D programs, which have taken more than 30 years to take a tank and an aircraft from concept to operational deployment, and 22 years to develop an anti-tank missile, so I see this as very likely being another complete cluster f$#@.
I’m not sure why Indian defense R&D is so completely fracked, but they have our own Pentagon beat on this, which must be scary for the Indian soldier and taxpayer.
Solid-State Laser Ready for Deployment
The US Navy is looking to place a high power solid state laser abroad selected naval vessels in the nest 12-18 months. (paid subscription required)
It appears that they will be using Northrop Grumman’s JHPSSL (Joint High Power Solid-State Laser), which uses 15kw blocks that can be ganged together to create a more powerful beam, as a basis for the weapon, and its intended target is small boats.
As to how viable the system is, if the Navy deploys it to the waters off Somalia’s coast to fight pirates, then they think that it can be made to work under combat conditions, if not then there is a lack of confidence in the system.
As Sure as Death and Taxes
Is the fact that a high profile indigenously developed defense system developed by the Indian military defense establishment will be completely fracked.
In this case, we are talking about the Tejas light combat aircraft, where we are seeing delays in developing its radar and other avionics, and the Indian Air Force has just rejected a joint venture with Snecma do develop the Kaveri engine, which has been in development for the small fighter for over two decades.
Seriously, the Indians have the US beat hands down in the dysfunctional defense procurement apparatus department.
The Who: Pictures of Lily
Their paean to photographically induced auto-eroticism.
The two things that strike most is just how much studio technology has progressed, and how unbelievably dorky those costumes from the 1960s look:
In Studio
On Stage
The Best Press Release Ever
Cyclone Power Technologies issued the following press release regarding rumors of it creating flesh eating zombie hordes:
PRESS RELEASE
Cyclone Power Technologies Responds to
Rumors about “Flesh Eating ” Military RobotPOMPANO BEACH, FL, July 16, 2009. In response to rumors circulating the internet on sites such as FoxNews.com, FastCompany.com and CNET News about a “flesh eating ”robot project, Cyclone Power Technologies Inc. (Pink Sheets: CYPW) and Robotic Technology Inc. (RTI) would like to set the record straight: This robot is strictly vegetarian.
On July 7, Cyclone announced that it had completed the first stage of development for a beta biomass engine system used to power RTI ’s Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot (EATR™), a Phase II SBIR project sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Defense Sciences Office. RTI ’s EATR is an autonomous robotic platform able to perform long-range, long-endurance missions without the need for manual or conventional re-fueling.
RTI ’s patent pending robotic system will be able to find, ingest and extract energy from biomass in the environment. Despite the far-reaching reports that this includes “human bodies,” the public can be assured that the engine Cyclone has developed to power the EATR runs on fuel no scarier than twigs, grass clippings and wood chips – small, plant-based items for which RTI ’s robotic technology is designed to forage. Desecration of the dead is a war crime under Article 15 of the Geneva Conventions, and is certainly not something sanctioned by DARPA, Cyclone or RTI.
“We completely understand the public ’s concern about futuristic robots feeding on the human population,but that is not our mission,”stated Harry Schoell,Cyclone ’s CEO.“We are focused on demonstrating that our engines can create usable, green power from plentiful, renewable plant matter. The commercial applications alone for this earth-friendly energy solution are enormous.”
(emphasis original)
Somehow, I do not think that this press release will help much. They just cemented their position in the public view as a manufacturer of Cannibal Zombdroids™.
If Leno, O’Brien, Letterman, Colbert, or Stewart’s writer’s hear about this, it will be how your company is introduced to mainstream America.
H/t Noah Shachtman.