Potentially interesting MILITARY-related stuff
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Winston
Lorenzo von Matterhorn
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24 Apr 2020
U.S. Transportation Officials Seek Alternative Tech for GPS
Ten years after decommissioning the previous backup to the country’s global satellite fleet, government agencies are taking steps to create a new one
https://spectrum.ieee.org/aerospace...ation-officials-seek-alternative-tech-for-gps
The U.S. Global Positioning System fleet of satellites provides critical data for navigation apps, banks, power grids, and other commercial and government infrastructure. But for the past decade, it has operated without a safety net, with no backup system in place. Now, two U.S. federal agencies want to change that, and they could select one or more alternatives by September.
Next month, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is due to deliver the results of a recent demonstration of potential GPS backup technologies to the National Executive Committee for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT). The committee, which is cochaired by deputy secretaries of the U.S. Departments of Transportation and Defense, is expected to use the findings to announce next steps sometime in August. Those steps may include selecting one or more technologies and issuing a request for proposals for companies to develop them.
Eleven finalists participated in the two-week, mid-March demo, in which they showed how their respective PNT systems would perform if GPS went down because of jamming, spoofing, or other problems. The companies, which tested both space- and ground-based systems and include venture-backed startups and industry old-timers, were awarded a total of approximately US $2.5 million to prepare for the demos.
A GPS fail-safe has been a long time coming. A previous backup was built on the Loran-C radio navigation system that had been in use in some form since World War II, but it was determined to be obsolete and was dismantled in 2010. Four years later, lawmakers and federal agencies began investigating a new alternative. Although Congress passed laws in 2017 and 2018 authorizing tests of backup options, red tape and lack of funding delayed activity until last year, when a newly appointed DOT assistant secretary for research and technology fast-tracked funding for a test.
Companies that participated in the demo had to show systems that could provide either timing or positioning data or both, and operate independently of GPS or broadcast signals from any other Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). On NASA’s technology-readiness-level system, which measures the maturity of a particular technology on a scale of 1 to 9, demo systems had to operate at TRL 6 or higher.
UrsaNav, of North Billerica, Mass., is one of several in the demo developing enhanced long-range navigation, or e-Loran, which according to researchers has better receiver design and transmission than the older, analog-based Loran-C technology it replaces. In both schemes, ground stations emit low-frequency radio waves that receivers can use to triangulate positioning. The new version features additional pulses that can transmit auxiliary data. “Government studies and academia say it’s the best option,” said UrsaNav’s cofounder and CEO Chuck Schue, who’s been in the industry since the 1970s and has set up such systems around the world.
Just In Case: This e-Loran antenna owned by Hellen Systems can fit inside a shipping container for easy transport.
Enhanced Loran
https://web.stanford.edu/group/scpnt/jse_website/documents/Enhanced_Loran_rv2-short.pdf
U.S. Transportation Officials Seek Alternative Tech for GPS
Ten years after decommissioning the previous backup to the country’s global satellite fleet, government agencies are taking steps to create a new one
https://spectrum.ieee.org/aerospace...ation-officials-seek-alternative-tech-for-gps
The U.S. Global Positioning System fleet of satellites provides critical data for navigation apps, banks, power grids, and other commercial and government infrastructure. But for the past decade, it has operated without a safety net, with no backup system in place. Now, two U.S. federal agencies want to change that, and they could select one or more alternatives by September.
Next month, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is due to deliver the results of a recent demonstration of potential GPS backup technologies to the National Executive Committee for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT). The committee, which is cochaired by deputy secretaries of the U.S. Departments of Transportation and Defense, is expected to use the findings to announce next steps sometime in August. Those steps may include selecting one or more technologies and issuing a request for proposals for companies to develop them.
Eleven finalists participated in the two-week, mid-March demo, in which they showed how their respective PNT systems would perform if GPS went down because of jamming, spoofing, or other problems. The companies, which tested both space- and ground-based systems and include venture-backed startups and industry old-timers, were awarded a total of approximately US $2.5 million to prepare for the demos.
A GPS fail-safe has been a long time coming. A previous backup was built on the Loran-C radio navigation system that had been in use in some form since World War II, but it was determined to be obsolete and was dismantled in 2010. Four years later, lawmakers and federal agencies began investigating a new alternative. Although Congress passed laws in 2017 and 2018 authorizing tests of backup options, red tape and lack of funding delayed activity until last year, when a newly appointed DOT assistant secretary for research and technology fast-tracked funding for a test.
Companies that participated in the demo had to show systems that could provide either timing or positioning data or both, and operate independently of GPS or broadcast signals from any other Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). On NASA’s technology-readiness-level system, which measures the maturity of a particular technology on a scale of 1 to 9, demo systems had to operate at TRL 6 or higher.
UrsaNav, of North Billerica, Mass., is one of several in the demo developing enhanced long-range navigation, or e-Loran, which according to researchers has better receiver design and transmission than the older, analog-based Loran-C technology it replaces. In both schemes, ground stations emit low-frequency radio waves that receivers can use to triangulate positioning. The new version features additional pulses that can transmit auxiliary data. “Government studies and academia say it’s the best option,” said UrsaNav’s cofounder and CEO Chuck Schue, who’s been in the industry since the 1970s and has set up such systems around the world.
Just In Case: This e-Loran antenna owned by Hellen Systems can fit inside a shipping container for easy transport.
Enhanced Loran
https://web.stanford.edu/group/scpnt/jse_website/documents/Enhanced_Loran_rv2-short.pdf
Winston
Lorenzo von Matterhorn
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You've got to be kidding me...
The Hidden Troubles of the F-35
The Pentagon will have to live with limits on F-35’s supersonic flights
https://www.defensenews.com/air/202...live-with-limits-on-f-35s-supersonic-flights/
WASHINGTON — An issue that risks damage to the F-35’s tail section if the aircraft needs to maintain supersonic speeds is not worth fixing and will instead be addressed by changing the operating parameters, the F-35 Joint Program Office told Defense News in a statement Friday.
The deficiency, first reported by Defense News in 2019, means that at extremely high altitudes, the U.S. Navy’s and Marine Corps’ versions of the F-35 jet can only fly at supersonic speeds for short bursts of time before there is a risk of structural damage and loss of stealth capability.
The problem may make it impossible for the Navy’s F-35C to conduct supersonic intercepts.
“This issue was closed on December 17, 2019 with no further actions and concurrence from the U.S. services,” the F-35 JPO statement read. “The [deficiency report] was closed under the category of ‘no plan to correct,’ which is used by the F-35 team when the operator value provided by a complete fix does not justify the estimated cost of that fix.
“In this case, the solution would require a lengthy development and flight testing of a material coating that can tolerate the flight environment for unlimited time while satisfying the weight and other requirements of a control surface. Instead, the issue is being addressed procedurally by imposing a time limit on high-speed flight.”
The potential damage from sustained high speeds would influence not only the F-35’s airframe and the low-observable coating that keeps it stealthy, but also the myriad antennas located on the back of the plane that are currently vulnerable to damage, according to documents exclusively obtained by Defense News.
For the F-35, as opposed to the F-22 where supersonic flight is baked into its tactics, the ability to fly supersonic is more of a “break glass in case of emergency” feature, said Bryan Clark, an analyst with the Hudson Institute and a retired naval officer.
“Supersonic flight is not a big feature of the F-35,” Clark said. “It’s capable of it, but when you talk to F-35 pilots, they’ll say they’d fly supersonic in such limited times and cases that — while having the ability is nice because you never know when you are going to need to run away from something very fast — it’s just not a main feature for their tactics.”
In fact, going supersonic obviates the main advantages of the F-35, Clark said. “It sort of defeats all the main advantages of the F-35,” he explained. “It takes you out of stealthiness, it burns gas like crazy so you lose the range benefits of a single engine and larger fuel tank. When you go into afterburner, you are heating up the outside of your aircraft.”
That creates all kinds of signatures that can be detected by an adversary, Clark said.
But a retired naval aviator told Defense News last year that the limitations on the afterburner could prove deadly in close-combat scenarios.
The concept of operations for the F-35 is to kill an enemy aircraft before it can detect the fighter jet, but relying on long-range kills is a perspective that, for historical and cultural reasons, naval aviation distrusts. In the Vietnam War, when air warfare began heavily relying on missiles and moved away from the forward gun, it caused a spike in air-to-air combat deaths.
“The solution is: ‘Hey, we’ll just limit the afterburner to less than a minute at a time,’ ” a retired naval aviator said when told of the issue. “Which, with what the aircraft is supposed to do and be capable of, that’s a pretty significant limitation.”
The Hidden Troubles of the F-35
The Pentagon will have to live with limits on F-35’s supersonic flights
https://www.defensenews.com/air/202...live-with-limits-on-f-35s-supersonic-flights/
WASHINGTON — An issue that risks damage to the F-35’s tail section if the aircraft needs to maintain supersonic speeds is not worth fixing and will instead be addressed by changing the operating parameters, the F-35 Joint Program Office told Defense News in a statement Friday.
The deficiency, first reported by Defense News in 2019, means that at extremely high altitudes, the U.S. Navy’s and Marine Corps’ versions of the F-35 jet can only fly at supersonic speeds for short bursts of time before there is a risk of structural damage and loss of stealth capability.
The problem may make it impossible for the Navy’s F-35C to conduct supersonic intercepts.
“This issue was closed on December 17, 2019 with no further actions and concurrence from the U.S. services,” the F-35 JPO statement read. “The [deficiency report] was closed under the category of ‘no plan to correct,’ which is used by the F-35 team when the operator value provided by a complete fix does not justify the estimated cost of that fix.
“In this case, the solution would require a lengthy development and flight testing of a material coating that can tolerate the flight environment for unlimited time while satisfying the weight and other requirements of a control surface. Instead, the issue is being addressed procedurally by imposing a time limit on high-speed flight.”
The potential damage from sustained high speeds would influence not only the F-35’s airframe and the low-observable coating that keeps it stealthy, but also the myriad antennas located on the back of the plane that are currently vulnerable to damage, according to documents exclusively obtained by Defense News.
For the F-35, as opposed to the F-22 where supersonic flight is baked into its tactics, the ability to fly supersonic is more of a “break glass in case of emergency” feature, said Bryan Clark, an analyst with the Hudson Institute and a retired naval officer.
“Supersonic flight is not a big feature of the F-35,” Clark said. “It’s capable of it, but when you talk to F-35 pilots, they’ll say they’d fly supersonic in such limited times and cases that — while having the ability is nice because you never know when you are going to need to run away from something very fast — it’s just not a main feature for their tactics.”
In fact, going supersonic obviates the main advantages of the F-35, Clark said. “It sort of defeats all the main advantages of the F-35,” he explained. “It takes you out of stealthiness, it burns gas like crazy so you lose the range benefits of a single engine and larger fuel tank. When you go into afterburner, you are heating up the outside of your aircraft.”
That creates all kinds of signatures that can be detected by an adversary, Clark said.
But a retired naval aviator told Defense News last year that the limitations on the afterburner could prove deadly in close-combat scenarios.
The concept of operations for the F-35 is to kill an enemy aircraft before it can detect the fighter jet, but relying on long-range kills is a perspective that, for historical and cultural reasons, naval aviation distrusts. In the Vietnam War, when air warfare began heavily relying on missiles and moved away from the forward gun, it caused a spike in air-to-air combat deaths.
“The solution is: ‘Hey, we’ll just limit the afterburner to less than a minute at a time,’ ” a retired naval aviator said when told of the issue. “Which, with what the aircraft is supposed to do and be capable of, that’s a pretty significant limitation.”
Winston
Lorenzo von Matterhorn
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Great video.
World's BEST Military Airshow Teams
Enjoy an overview of some of the most popular and best military airshow display teams in the world! Featuring in order of appearance:
US Air Force Thunderbirds
Republic of Korea Air Force Black Eagles
French Air Force Patrouille de France
Royal Canadian Air Force Snowbirds
Russian Air Force Russian Knights
Royal Air Force Red Arrows
Swiss Air Force Patrouille Suisse
US Navy Blue Angels
Aeronautica Militare Frecce Tricolori
World's BEST Military Airshow Teams
Enjoy an overview of some of the most popular and best military airshow display teams in the world! Featuring in order of appearance:
US Air Force Thunderbirds
Republic of Korea Air Force Black Eagles
French Air Force Patrouille de France
Royal Canadian Air Force Snowbirds
Russian Air Force Russian Knights
Royal Air Force Red Arrows
Swiss Air Force Patrouille Suisse
US Navy Blue Angels
Aeronautica Militare Frecce Tricolori
Winston
Lorenzo von Matterhorn
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Mostly about support logistics and NOT the Minuteman's development, but with much footage about launch complex construction and outfitting, so it's still interesting.
Minuteman - From Design To Delivery (1963)
Minuteman - From Design To Delivery (1963)
Winston
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Film in unusually good condition. At 4:43, a look of what might be a pit insertion tool used with the Mk6 warhead used in the ESS shot as the soldier is rising from the ESS hole just prior to infilling. ESS crater and dirt cloud shows what a "mere" 1.2kt yield can do.
Operation Teapot Military Effect Studies (Color Version) (1955)
Operation Teapot
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Teapot
Operation Teapot Military Effect Studies (Color Version) (1955)
Operation Teapot
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Teapot
Winston
Lorenzo von Matterhorn
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Nuclear Matters Handbook 2020 (web version)
https://www.acq.osd.mil/ncbdp/nm/nmhb/index.htm
The Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Matters (ODASD(NM)) is pleased to present the Nuclear Matters Handbook 2020, celebrating over 20 years in print. This book offers an overview of the U.S. nuclear enterprise and how the United States maintains a safe, secure, and effective nuclear deterrent.
Full book in PDF form:
https://fas.org/man/eprint/nmhb2020.pdf
An image from Chapter 4:
https://www.acq.osd.mil/ncbdp/nm/nmhb/index.htm
The Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Matters (ODASD(NM)) is pleased to present the Nuclear Matters Handbook 2020, celebrating over 20 years in print. This book offers an overview of the U.S. nuclear enterprise and how the United States maintains a safe, secure, and effective nuclear deterrent.
Full book in PDF form:
https://fas.org/man/eprint/nmhb2020.pdf
An image from Chapter 4:
Winston
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Extensive Hiroshima and Nagasaki close-up damage coverage with analysis. Interesting English language interview with German(?) Jesuit Priest who was in Hiroshima.
1945 U.S. ARMY REPORT ON ATOMIC BOMBING OF JAPAN
1945 U.S. ARMY REPORT ON ATOMIC BOMBING OF JAPAN
Does anyone have any ideas what these flying objecst might be? And why would the Navy be releasing these type of videos? and not the US Air Force? Isn't the Air Force responsible for the air space over the the US?
Winston
Lorenzo von Matterhorn
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The spherical ones with cubes inside I've read (or have seen in a video) may be balloons with radar retro-reflectors inside which would show up on radar. It was also theorized that they were possibly released by the subs of adversaries to monitor US fleet response to those fake targets via various means including SIGINT and ELINT.
Winston
Lorenzo von Matterhorn
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Can't find much about this on-line. Very interesting and unusual engine and fuel feed method. Usually, there are PDFs to be found SOMEWHERE that go into great detail about most any missile.
A Rocket Engine Inside Another Rocket Engine - The Lance Missile
A Rocket Engine Inside Another Rocket Engine - The Lance Missile
Winston
Lorenzo von Matterhorn
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Film is in unusually good condition. At 4:43, a look of what might be a pit insertion tool used with the Mk6 warhead used in the ESS shot as the soldier is rising from the ESS hole just prior to infilling. ESS crater and dirt cloud shows what a "mere" 1.2kt yield can do.
Operation Teapot Military Effect Studies (Color Version) (1955)
Operation Teapot
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Teapot
Operation Teapot Military Effect Studies (Color Version) (1955)
Operation Teapot
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Teapot
Winston
Lorenzo von Matterhorn
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Captain Eddie’s Fairey Firefly
Eddie Kurdziel, EAA 431776, brought his rare Fairey Firefly AS6 to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2019, and won Reserve Grand Champion: Post World War II. The Firefly was introduced in 1943, and operated by the British Royal Navy as a fighter and anti-submarine aircraft, and was also used in a ground-attack role during the Korean War. A 45,000 man-hour restoration over 8 years.
Fairey Firefly WB518
The Journey - By Captain Eddie
https://faireyfirefly.com/index.php/wb518-s-story/1-the-journey-by-captain-eddie
Excerpt:
During Thanksgiving, November of 1993 I was perusing every pilot's favorite wish book Trade-a-plane when I spotted an ad for a 60% restored Firefly! Now I am the kind of guy who will drive all over town on $25.00 worth of gas to save a couple of dollars on a pair of running shoes. I spoke with the sellers, the Simpsons, and told them that if the aircraft was as they said it was I would buy it, sight unseen! After the first of the year I made the long journey to OZ to have a look at the project and take some pictures. After having a great time with my hosts the Simpsons I returned home with the pictures and showed them to Ray Middleton and asked if he would be interested in doing a restoration. I bought Ray a ticket and had him look the project over and if it was good to start packing it. I was away on a trip at the time and on my return I called Ray and he was packing the containers! I joined him in Australia and we worked long days over the Easter Week packing the plane and parts for shipping to Fort Collins, Colorado. At the end of each day we looked like a couple of chimney sweeps covered with dirt from head to foot. We finished packing on Easter Sunday, two containers and the aircraft fuselage being shipped bulk on a Russian freighter. The Simpson's at the time had a Bulgarian man working for them who could read and write Russian and he put directions all over the aircraft in Cyrillic so it would not be damaged in transit. I met the ship in Long Beach and found the fuselage on the dock surrounded by bulldozers. The dockworkers were quite worried about it being damaged. Once the aircraft and containers arrived in Fort Collins the lowest of the eleven bids for shipping amounted to over $55,000.00! Ouch! I was already over budget and I had not even started.
The restoration had already been started by Classic Aviation in Australia. It was partially stripped and disassembled, basically thousands of parts in boxes and no directions! I had purchased a giant one to one scale model. It took almost one and a half years of my spare time, lots of volunteers, and tons of 'pay' in the form of margaritas and beer to complete a fairly comprehensive inventory. Pick up the 'unknown' part, find the part number, look it up in the parts manual, write it down on the inventory, and place it in a numbered box. The sea container became my office, hot as hell in the summer and freezing cold in the winter. My job was to keep the parts flowing to the guys at Q.G. I spent the next eight years traveling the world buying and trading for the parts I so desperately needed to complete my restoration. After all these years I have enough spares to keep the machine running for years to come.
WB518 came off of a pole in Griffith NSW where it had served as a memorial to airmen. [In front of what is the Assie equivalent of a VFW lodge. They had paid $400 for it at a UK auction and the fuel to fly it to Oz had been donated. - W]
Trade-a-Plane (warbirds)
https://www.trade-a-plane.com/search?s-type=aircraft&warbird=t
Eddie Kurdziel, EAA 431776, brought his rare Fairey Firefly AS6 to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2019, and won Reserve Grand Champion: Post World War II. The Firefly was introduced in 1943, and operated by the British Royal Navy as a fighter and anti-submarine aircraft, and was also used in a ground-attack role during the Korean War. A 45,000 man-hour restoration over 8 years.
Fairey Firefly WB518
The Journey - By Captain Eddie
https://faireyfirefly.com/index.php/wb518-s-story/1-the-journey-by-captain-eddie
Excerpt:
During Thanksgiving, November of 1993 I was perusing every pilot's favorite wish book Trade-a-plane when I spotted an ad for a 60% restored Firefly! Now I am the kind of guy who will drive all over town on $25.00 worth of gas to save a couple of dollars on a pair of running shoes. I spoke with the sellers, the Simpsons, and told them that if the aircraft was as they said it was I would buy it, sight unseen! After the first of the year I made the long journey to OZ to have a look at the project and take some pictures. After having a great time with my hosts the Simpsons I returned home with the pictures and showed them to Ray Middleton and asked if he would be interested in doing a restoration. I bought Ray a ticket and had him look the project over and if it was good to start packing it. I was away on a trip at the time and on my return I called Ray and he was packing the containers! I joined him in Australia and we worked long days over the Easter Week packing the plane and parts for shipping to Fort Collins, Colorado. At the end of each day we looked like a couple of chimney sweeps covered with dirt from head to foot. We finished packing on Easter Sunday, two containers and the aircraft fuselage being shipped bulk on a Russian freighter. The Simpson's at the time had a Bulgarian man working for them who could read and write Russian and he put directions all over the aircraft in Cyrillic so it would not be damaged in transit. I met the ship in Long Beach and found the fuselage on the dock surrounded by bulldozers. The dockworkers were quite worried about it being damaged. Once the aircraft and containers arrived in Fort Collins the lowest of the eleven bids for shipping amounted to over $55,000.00! Ouch! I was already over budget and I had not even started.
The restoration had already been started by Classic Aviation in Australia. It was partially stripped and disassembled, basically thousands of parts in boxes and no directions! I had purchased a giant one to one scale model. It took almost one and a half years of my spare time, lots of volunteers, and tons of 'pay' in the form of margaritas and beer to complete a fairly comprehensive inventory. Pick up the 'unknown' part, find the part number, look it up in the parts manual, write it down on the inventory, and place it in a numbered box. The sea container became my office, hot as hell in the summer and freezing cold in the winter. My job was to keep the parts flowing to the guys at Q.G. I spent the next eight years traveling the world buying and trading for the parts I so desperately needed to complete my restoration. After all these years I have enough spares to keep the machine running for years to come.
WB518 came off of a pole in Griffith NSW where it had served as a memorial to airmen. [In front of what is the Assie equivalent of a VFW lodge. They had paid $400 for it at a UK auction and the fuel to fly it to Oz had been donated. - W]
Trade-a-Plane (warbirds)
https://www.trade-a-plane.com/search?s-type=aircraft&warbird=t
Winston
Lorenzo von Matterhorn
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F-105 Thunderchief
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Republic_F-105_Thunderchief#
The yellow item on the nose gear marked "504" is a radar retro-reflector to allow better airfield radar tracking because the head-on radar cross section of the F-105 was so low:
Secret DIA Project Have Donut test of US military aircraft against a Mig-21. Contains extensive analysis of the Mig-21 with critiques and praise:
https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu//NSAEBB/NSAEBB443/docs/area51_50.PDF
Republic F-105D Thunderchief at National Museum of the USAF
https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/V.../Article/196054/republic-f-105d-thunderchief/
F-105 “THUD” MECHANIC RECALLS VIETNAM DAYS
21 Oct 2019
https://sofrep.com/fightersweep/f-105-thud-mechanic-recalls-vietnam-days/
Why Pilots Loved the F-105 ‘Thud’ Despite its Vulnerability
https://www.historynet.com/why-pilots-loved-the-f-105-thud-despite-its-vulnerability.htm
Outstanding documentary that led me to really respect the F-105 and those who flew it:
Thud Pilots [free Amazon Prime streaming]
https://www.amazon.com/Thud-Pilots-Larry-Poole/dp/B07MLC3WS3
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Republic_F-105_Thunderchief#
The yellow item on the nose gear marked "504" is a radar retro-reflector to allow better airfield radar tracking because the head-on radar cross section of the F-105 was so low:
Secret DIA Project Have Donut test of US military aircraft against a Mig-21. Contains extensive analysis of the Mig-21 with critiques and praise:
https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu//NSAEBB/NSAEBB443/docs/area51_50.PDF
Republic F-105D Thunderchief at National Museum of the USAF
https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/V.../Article/196054/republic-f-105d-thunderchief/
F-105 “THUD” MECHANIC RECALLS VIETNAM DAYS
21 Oct 2019
https://sofrep.com/fightersweep/f-105-thud-mechanic-recalls-vietnam-days/
Why Pilots Loved the F-105 ‘Thud’ Despite its Vulnerability
https://www.historynet.com/why-pilots-loved-the-f-105-thud-despite-its-vulnerability.htm
Outstanding documentary that led me to really respect the F-105 and those who flew it:
Thud Pilots [free Amazon Prime streaming]
https://www.amazon.com/Thud-Pilots-Larry-Poole/dp/B07MLC3WS3
Winston
Lorenzo von Matterhorn
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Army's New Missile Prototype Strikes 50-Mile Test Target in Just 91 Seconds
4 May 2020
https://www.military.com/daily-news...ikes-50-mile-test-target-just-91-seconds.html
The U.S. Army's experimental long-range missile just completed its latest test to show it's just as effective at attacking enemy targets much closer than its maximum range of 310 miles.
The service's new Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) quickly closed the 85 kilometers, or 52 miles, and struck its target during an April 30 test at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, according to a recent Army news release.
The test was "the shortest and most challenging yet," Brig. Gen. John Rafferty, director of the Army's Long Range Precision Fires Cross-Functional Team, said in the release.
At shorter ranges, the PrSM must expend more energy to adjust its angle of attack in a short period of time, Rafferty said in the release.
"It has to start tipping as soon as it comes out of the launcher," he said. "It was a pretty exciting 91 seconds or so."
Precision Strike Missile (PrSM)
https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/products/precision-strike-missile.html
4 May 2020
https://www.military.com/daily-news...ikes-50-mile-test-target-just-91-seconds.html
The U.S. Army's experimental long-range missile just completed its latest test to show it's just as effective at attacking enemy targets much closer than its maximum range of 310 miles.
The service's new Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) quickly closed the 85 kilometers, or 52 miles, and struck its target during an April 30 test at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, according to a recent Army news release.
The test was "the shortest and most challenging yet," Brig. Gen. John Rafferty, director of the Army's Long Range Precision Fires Cross-Functional Team, said in the release.
At shorter ranges, the PrSM must expend more energy to adjust its angle of attack in a short period of time, Rafferty said in the release.
"It has to start tipping as soon as it comes out of the launcher," he said. "It was a pretty exciting 91 seconds or so."
Precision Strike Missile (PrSM)
https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/products/precision-strike-missile.html
Winston
Lorenzo von Matterhorn
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Everything We Learned From Boeing About Its Potentially Game-Changing Loyal Wingman Drone
The stealthy Airpower Teaming System drone has a snap-on nose that can accommodate a huge variety of payloads and can be swapped quickly in the field.
MAY 4, 2020
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...potentially-game-changing-loyal-wingman-drone
In what is a massive milestone for Boeing and potentially for unmanned aerial combat systems as a whole, the company officially rolled out the first of three pre-production unmanned teaming aircraft, which is the central component of a total system called the Airpower Teaming System, or ATS for short. The War Zone was part of a small roundtable of journalists that talked with two of the minds behind ATS ahead of the official unveiling and we learned a lot about this potentially game-changing system, to say the least.
ATS is designed to work with manned aerial assets in the 'loyal wingman' role and to do so at a remarkably low cost. In effect, the concept has to potential to drastically expand the size of a tactical jet force at a fraction of the cost of buying full-up manned airframes, while also infusing a whole new set of disruptive tactics into an air arm's playbook. It will also make manned assets more survivable by not having to risk them during the direst parts of some missions. You can read more about this concept overall, here.
The stealthy Airpower Teaming System drone has a snap-on nose that can accommodate a huge variety of payloads and can be swapped quickly in the field.
MAY 4, 2020
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...potentially-game-changing-loyal-wingman-drone
In what is a massive milestone for Boeing and potentially for unmanned aerial combat systems as a whole, the company officially rolled out the first of three pre-production unmanned teaming aircraft, which is the central component of a total system called the Airpower Teaming System, or ATS for short. The War Zone was part of a small roundtable of journalists that talked with two of the minds behind ATS ahead of the official unveiling and we learned a lot about this potentially game-changing system, to say the least.
ATS is designed to work with manned aerial assets in the 'loyal wingman' role and to do so at a remarkably low cost. In effect, the concept has to potential to drastically expand the size of a tactical jet force at a fraction of the cost of buying full-up manned airframes, while also infusing a whole new set of disruptive tactics into an air arm's playbook. It will also make manned assets more survivable by not having to risk them during the direst parts of some missions. You can read more about this concept overall, here.
Winston
Lorenzo von Matterhorn
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2009
- Messages
- 9,560
- Reaction score
- 1,749
Origins Of The Black Death Traced Back To China, Gene Sequencing Has Revealed
November 1, 2010
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/206309#1
Gene sequencing, from which scientists can gather hereditary data of organisms, has revealed that the Black Death, often referred to as The Plague, which reduced the world’s total population by about 100 million, originated from China over 2000 years ago, scientists from several countries wrote in the medical journal Nature Genetics. Genome sequencing has allowed the researchers to reconstruct plague pandemics from the Black Death to the late 1800s.
The Black Death is known as one of the deadliest and widespread pandemics in history. It peaked in Europe between 1348 and 1350 and is thought to have been a bubonic plague outbreak caused by Yersinia pestis, a bacterium. It reached the Crimea in 1346 and most likely spread via fleas on black rats that travelled on merchant ships. It soon spread through the Mediterranean and Europe. The Black Death is thought have destroyed 30% to 60% of Europe’s population – experts say it took 150 years for Europe to recover its population size. The plague came back several times until the 19th century, when it left Europe for good. Most victims died with two to seven days of becoming infected.
The authors in this new study say the plague evolved around the area of China over 2000 years ago and spread globally several times as deadly pandemics. They compared 17 complete plague genome sequences as well as 933 variable DNA sites on a unique worldwide collection of bacterial strains (plague isolates), allowing them to follow pandemics that took place in history around the world, and to work out the age of different waves of them.
VOLUME 42 | NUMBER 12 | DECEMBER 2010 Nature Genetics
Yersinia pestis genome sequencing identifies patterns of global phylogenetic diversity
https://www.nature.com/articles/ng.705.pdf
November 1, 2010
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/206309#1
Gene sequencing, from which scientists can gather hereditary data of organisms, has revealed that the Black Death, often referred to as The Plague, which reduced the world’s total population by about 100 million, originated from China over 2000 years ago, scientists from several countries wrote in the medical journal Nature Genetics. Genome sequencing has allowed the researchers to reconstruct plague pandemics from the Black Death to the late 1800s.
The Black Death is known as one of the deadliest and widespread pandemics in history. It peaked in Europe between 1348 and 1350 and is thought to have been a bubonic plague outbreak caused by Yersinia pestis, a bacterium. It reached the Crimea in 1346 and most likely spread via fleas on black rats that travelled on merchant ships. It soon spread through the Mediterranean and Europe. The Black Death is thought have destroyed 30% to 60% of Europe’s population – experts say it took 150 years for Europe to recover its population size. The plague came back several times until the 19th century, when it left Europe for good. Most victims died with two to seven days of becoming infected.
The authors in this new study say the plague evolved around the area of China over 2000 years ago and spread globally several times as deadly pandemics. They compared 17 complete plague genome sequences as well as 933 variable DNA sites on a unique worldwide collection of bacterial strains (plague isolates), allowing them to follow pandemics that took place in history around the world, and to work out the age of different waves of them.
VOLUME 42 | NUMBER 12 | DECEMBER 2010 Nature Genetics
Yersinia pestis genome sequencing identifies patterns of global phylogenetic diversity
https://www.nature.com/articles/ng.705.pdf
I read some years ago that due to the death rate in 14th and 15th century Europe, today, in the 21st century, as many as one in four persons of European ancestry carry a genetic immunity (or resistance) to the plague whereas persons of virtually all other ancestries carry almost none. Basically, just because the only people that survived in many areas of Europe were those unusual people that carried some kind of genetic immunity or resistance.
Winston
Lorenzo von Matterhorn
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A number of interesting weapons development tricks were tried in Tumbler-Snapper. Some of what was blanked out in the sanitized audio of the YouTube videos can be guessed at by looking at the Wikipedia info on the operation, info which was assembled via research using unclassified sources by nuke enthusiasts like the late, great Chuck Hansen:
The Swords of Armageddon [$360 for the entire set]
U.S. Nuclear Weapons Development since 1945
https://80bola.com.uscoldwar.com/index.htm
We are now in the year 2020. The Swords of Armageddon, first published over 25 years ago is still available. If you are really interested in these subjects, since this history is not written for children, then I encourage you to look and read. Many of us have more time than usual since we are sheltering-in-place as strongly suggested by out local health authorities. Don't get me wrong. I am not against these public safety health care measures. I think it is a good time to catch up with projects we have been meaning to do.
Welcome again to the uscoldwar.com web site. The purpose of this web site is to provide you with information about Chuck Hansen's history of the post 1945 U.S. development of nuclear weapons--The Swords of Armageddon. You are embarking on a voyage of discovery through information about one of the "blackest" military weapons programs ever instituted by the United States.
Chuck Hansen's first version of his opus on this subject was published in late 1995 as a set of eight (volumes) Adobe Acrobat PDF files on CD-ROM. Chukelea Publications is now taking orders for Swords of Armageddon Version 2, the long awaited, updated, revision of Swords. Swords of Armageddon Version 2 consists of seven volumes now instead of eight. Volume I consists of the material that was previously in Volumes I and II.
U.S. Nuclear Weapons the Secret History Hardcover – March 20, 1988 [I own this one]
https://www.amazon.com/U-S-Nuclear-Weapons-Secret-History/dp/0517567407
Operation Tumbler–Snapper
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Tumbler–Snapper
It included Mk-5, Mk-7, and Mk-12 weapons development tests:
Operation Tumbler Snapper (1952)
Operation Tumbler Snapper: Shot Able (Additional footage - slow to 0.25x to see bomb dropping into frame - claimed to be a Mk5, but looks more like a Mk7 case)
Operation Tumbler Snapper: Shot Charlie
Operation Tumbler Snapper: Shot Dog
LOTS of audio blanked out in this one. Note that Shot George audio actually includes the info on the test of an an external betatron initiator that shot gamma rays into the core to induce neutrons by photofission, NOT "X-rays" as claimed in the Wikipedia info on the shot:
Technical Report: Tumbler-Snapper (1952)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijqth0l6AVA
Operation Tumbler - Effects of Nuclear Explosions - Photographic Techniques
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gONsz_O7lc
Mark 5 nuclear bomb
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_5_nuclear_bomb
The Mark 5 nuclear bomb and W5 nuclear warhead were a common core nuclear weapon design, designed in the early 1950s and which saw service from 1952 to 1963.
The Mark 5 design was the first production American nuclear weapon which was significantly smaller than the 60 inch (150 cm) diameter implosion system of the Fat Man nuclear bomb design first used in 1945, down to 39 inches (99.1 cm) diameter. The Mark 5 design used a 92-point implosion system (see Nuclear weapon design) and a composite Uranium/Plutonium fissile material core or pit.
The Mark 5 and W5 were pure fission weapons. There were at least four basic models of core design used, and sub-variants with yields of 6, 16, 55, 60, 100, and 120 kilotons have been reported.
A Mark 5 was used as the primary fission trigger used in Ivy Mike, the first thermonuclear device in history.
Mark 7 nuclear bomb
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_7_nuclear_bomb
The Mark 7 was in service from 1952 to 1967(8) with 1700–1800 having been built.
The Mark 7 was a variable yield fission weapon using a levitated pit and an implosion design using 92 high explosive lenses. The weapon had multiple yields of 8, 19, 22, 30, 31, and 61 kt by using different weapon pits.[dubious – discuss] The weapon had both an airburst and contact fuzing modes. The weapon used in flight insertion for safing and later versions of the weapon used a PAL A type arming and safing system. Approximately 1700 to 1800 Mark 7 bombs and 1350 W7 warheads were produced.[3][4]
Mark 12 nuclear bomb
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_12_nuclear_bomb
The Mark-12 nuclear bomb was a lightweight nuclear bomb designed and manufactured by the United States which was built starting in 1954 and which saw service from then until 1962.
The Mark-12 was notable for being significantly smaller in both size and weight compared to prior implosion-type nuclear weapons. For example, the overall diameter was only 22 inches (56 cm), compared to the immediately prior Mark-7 which had a 30 inches (76 cm) diameter, and the volume of the implosion assembly was only 40% the size of the Mark-7's.
It had a yield of 12 to 14 kilotonnes of TNT (50 to 59 TJ).
The Mark-12 has been speculated to have been the first deployed nuclear weapon to have used beryllium as a reflector-tamper inside the implosion assembly (see nuclear weapon design). It is believed to have used a spherical implosion assembly, levitated pit, and 92-point detonation.
LLNL Atmospheric Nuclear Tests [playlist]
497 videos 6,744,232 views
Last updated on Jul 3, 2018
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvGO_dWo8VfcmG166wKRy5z-GlJ_OQND5
The Swords of Armageddon [$360 for the entire set]
U.S. Nuclear Weapons Development since 1945
https://80bola.com.uscoldwar.com/index.htm
We are now in the year 2020. The Swords of Armageddon, first published over 25 years ago is still available. If you are really interested in these subjects, since this history is not written for children, then I encourage you to look and read. Many of us have more time than usual since we are sheltering-in-place as strongly suggested by out local health authorities. Don't get me wrong. I am not against these public safety health care measures. I think it is a good time to catch up with projects we have been meaning to do.
Welcome again to the uscoldwar.com web site. The purpose of this web site is to provide you with information about Chuck Hansen's history of the post 1945 U.S. development of nuclear weapons--The Swords of Armageddon. You are embarking on a voyage of discovery through information about one of the "blackest" military weapons programs ever instituted by the United States.
Chuck Hansen's first version of his opus on this subject was published in late 1995 as a set of eight (volumes) Adobe Acrobat PDF files on CD-ROM. Chukelea Publications is now taking orders for Swords of Armageddon Version 2, the long awaited, updated, revision of Swords. Swords of Armageddon Version 2 consists of seven volumes now instead of eight. Volume I consists of the material that was previously in Volumes I and II.
U.S. Nuclear Weapons the Secret History Hardcover – March 20, 1988 [I own this one]
https://www.amazon.com/U-S-Nuclear-Weapons-Secret-History/dp/0517567407
Operation Tumbler–Snapper
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Tumbler–Snapper
It included Mk-5, Mk-7, and Mk-12 weapons development tests:
Operation Tumbler Snapper (1952)
Operation Tumbler Snapper: Shot Able (Additional footage - slow to 0.25x to see bomb dropping into frame - claimed to be a Mk5, but looks more like a Mk7 case)
Operation Tumbler Snapper: Shot Charlie
Operation Tumbler Snapper: Shot Dog
LOTS of audio blanked out in this one. Note that Shot George audio actually includes the info on the test of an an external betatron initiator that shot gamma rays into the core to induce neutrons by photofission, NOT "X-rays" as claimed in the Wikipedia info on the shot:
Technical Report: Tumbler-Snapper (1952)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijqth0l6AVA
Operation Tumbler - Effects of Nuclear Explosions - Photographic Techniques
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gONsz_O7lc
Mark 5 nuclear bomb
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_5_nuclear_bomb
The Mark 5 nuclear bomb and W5 nuclear warhead were a common core nuclear weapon design, designed in the early 1950s and which saw service from 1952 to 1963.
The Mark 5 design was the first production American nuclear weapon which was significantly smaller than the 60 inch (150 cm) diameter implosion system of the Fat Man nuclear bomb design first used in 1945, down to 39 inches (99.1 cm) diameter. The Mark 5 design used a 92-point implosion system (see Nuclear weapon design) and a composite Uranium/Plutonium fissile material core or pit.
The Mark 5 and W5 were pure fission weapons. There were at least four basic models of core design used, and sub-variants with yields of 6, 16, 55, 60, 100, and 120 kilotons have been reported.
A Mark 5 was used as the primary fission trigger used in Ivy Mike, the first thermonuclear device in history.
Mark 7 nuclear bomb
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_7_nuclear_bomb
The Mark 7 was in service from 1952 to 1967(8) with 1700–1800 having been built.
The Mark 7 was a variable yield fission weapon using a levitated pit and an implosion design using 92 high explosive lenses. The weapon had multiple yields of 8, 19, 22, 30, 31, and 61 kt by using different weapon pits.[dubious – discuss] The weapon had both an airburst and contact fuzing modes. The weapon used in flight insertion for safing and later versions of the weapon used a PAL A type arming and safing system. Approximately 1700 to 1800 Mark 7 bombs and 1350 W7 warheads were produced.[3][4]
Mark 12 nuclear bomb
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_12_nuclear_bomb
The Mark-12 nuclear bomb was a lightweight nuclear bomb designed and manufactured by the United States which was built starting in 1954 and which saw service from then until 1962.
The Mark-12 was notable for being significantly smaller in both size and weight compared to prior implosion-type nuclear weapons. For example, the overall diameter was only 22 inches (56 cm), compared to the immediately prior Mark-7 which had a 30 inches (76 cm) diameter, and the volume of the implosion assembly was only 40% the size of the Mark-7's.
It had a yield of 12 to 14 kilotonnes of TNT (50 to 59 TJ).
The Mark-12 has been speculated to have been the first deployed nuclear weapon to have used beryllium as a reflector-tamper inside the implosion assembly (see nuclear weapon design). It is believed to have used a spherical implosion assembly, levitated pit, and 92-point detonation.
LLNL Atmospheric Nuclear Tests [playlist]
497 videos 6,744,232 views
Last updated on Jul 3, 2018
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvGO_dWo8VfcmG166wKRy5z-GlJ_OQND5
X-rays and gamma rays overlap in energy. Depending on how they are created, they are then usually called one or the other. X-rays are created by electron reactions in the shell, gamma rays are created by reaction in the nucleus. Because the betatron is a particle accelerator that uses electrons, it's output is usually called X-rays.
Reinhard
Winston
Lorenzo von Matterhorn
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Thanks! I will take that into consideration in my future DIY warhead designs.
Now, if I could just solve my lack of fissile materials issue... That's a real show stopper.
Winston
Lorenzo von Matterhorn
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2009
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- 9,560
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- 1,749
Get Your First Look At The Navy's Block III F/A-18 Super Hornet Test Jet
This is the first of two jets the Navy will use for initial testing ahead of starting to receive fully upgraded jets later this year.
MAY 8, 2020
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...-navys-block-iii-f-a-18-super-hornet-test-jet
This is the first of two jets the Navy will use for initial testing ahead of starting to receive fully upgraded jets later this year.
MAY 8, 2020
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...-navys-block-iii-f-a-18-super-hornet-test-jet
Winston
Lorenzo von Matterhorn
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2009
- Messages
- 9,560
- Reaction score
- 1,749
X-37B Space Plane's Microwave Power Beam Experiment Is A Way Bigger Deal Than It Seems
When the X-37B launches on May 16, it will carry a technology that could eventually allow drones to stay aloft indefinitely anywhere on the globe.
MAY 8, 2020
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...experiment-is-a-way-bigger-deal-than-it-seems
The shadowy X-37B, the Air Force’s unmanned, reusable spacecraft, is set to launch for its sixth flight on May 16 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. While most of the payloads set for the flight are standard fare for space experiments, at least the ones that are disclosed, one of them has immense potential implications for the future of remote power generation and especially long-endurance unmanned aircraft propulsion.
The X-37B's upcoming mission is known as both Orbital Test Vehicle-6 (OTV-6) and U.S. Space Force-7 (USSF-7). It will carry out missions that will assess the effects of cosmic radiation and other “space effects” on plant seeds and various material samples. According to a Space Force press release, which went out on May 6, another payload aboard the X-37B will be an experimental system designed by the Naval Research Laboratory that is capable of capturing solar power and beaming that energy back to Earth in the form of microwaves.
While the press releases of the Department of Defense and the Space Force are scant on details, the Naval Research Laboratory’s head of beamed power has explicitly stated in the past that this system has enormous implications when it comes to long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In addition, it could allow satellites to provide reliable power anywhere on the planet or even to spacecraft or other satellites in orbit.
In the video, laser, not microwave transmission. Incredibly inefficient, but it's potentially for military and scientific use:
When the X-37B launches on May 16, it will carry a technology that could eventually allow drones to stay aloft indefinitely anywhere on the globe.
MAY 8, 2020
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...experiment-is-a-way-bigger-deal-than-it-seems
The shadowy X-37B, the Air Force’s unmanned, reusable spacecraft, is set to launch for its sixth flight on May 16 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. While most of the payloads set for the flight are standard fare for space experiments, at least the ones that are disclosed, one of them has immense potential implications for the future of remote power generation and especially long-endurance unmanned aircraft propulsion.
The X-37B's upcoming mission is known as both Orbital Test Vehicle-6 (OTV-6) and U.S. Space Force-7 (USSF-7). It will carry out missions that will assess the effects of cosmic radiation and other “space effects” on plant seeds and various material samples. According to a Space Force press release, which went out on May 6, another payload aboard the X-37B will be an experimental system designed by the Naval Research Laboratory that is capable of capturing solar power and beaming that energy back to Earth in the form of microwaves.
While the press releases of the Department of Defense and the Space Force are scant on details, the Naval Research Laboratory’s head of beamed power has explicitly stated in the past that this system has enormous implications when it comes to long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In addition, it could allow satellites to provide reliable power anywhere on the planet or even to spacecraft or other satellites in orbit.
In the video, laser, not microwave transmission. Incredibly inefficient, but it's potentially for military and scientific use:
Winston
Lorenzo von Matterhorn
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2009
- Messages
- 9,560
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Navy Needed Targets To Mimic Supersonic Anti-Ship Missiles So They Bought Real Ones From Russia
After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Navy acquired the same Kh-31 missiles that threatened its ships and made them into anti-ship missile targets.
MAY 7, 2020
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...missiles-so-they-bought-real-ones-from-russia
It's extremely important for any military to make its training regimens as realistic as possible to give its forces the best sense of the threats they might face in combat and how to respond to them. Unfortunately, developing high-quality surrogates for the weapons and other systems that potential adversaries might employ is not always easy and in some cases, it ends up being possible to just go to the source of the threat itself.
The U.S. Navy faced just this predicament in the 1990s when it went looking for a high-speed target to simulate supersonic anti-ship and anti-radiation missiles and ultimately decided to just buy the MA-31, a derivative of Russia's air-launched rocket-ramjet-powered Kh-31 missile.
In 1995, McDonnell Douglas first received a contract to deliver modified Kh-31A missiles as part of a Foreign Comparative Test (FCT) to see if they could meet the Navy's requirement for a Supersonic Sea-Skimming Target (SSST). The American company subsequently worked with the Russian manufacturer, Zveda-Strela, to develop the MA-31.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Navy acquired the same Kh-31 missiles that threatened its ships and made them into anti-ship missile targets.
MAY 7, 2020
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...missiles-so-they-bought-real-ones-from-russia
It's extremely important for any military to make its training regimens as realistic as possible to give its forces the best sense of the threats they might face in combat and how to respond to them. Unfortunately, developing high-quality surrogates for the weapons and other systems that potential adversaries might employ is not always easy and in some cases, it ends up being possible to just go to the source of the threat itself.
The U.S. Navy faced just this predicament in the 1990s when it went looking for a high-speed target to simulate supersonic anti-ship and anti-radiation missiles and ultimately decided to just buy the MA-31, a derivative of Russia's air-launched rocket-ramjet-powered Kh-31 missile.
In 1995, McDonnell Douglas first received a contract to deliver modified Kh-31A missiles as part of a Foreign Comparative Test (FCT) to see if they could meet the Navy's requirement for a Supersonic Sea-Skimming Target (SSST). The American company subsequently worked with the Russian manufacturer, Zveda-Strela, to develop the MA-31.
