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Are Militaries Too Afraid to Automate?

Amid the widespread anxiety of future jobs being lost to automation and artificial intelligence, the military sector has been particularly concerned about the impact of technological transformation. Despite often engaging with some of the world’s most advanced technology, the idea of replacing man with machine for defence application is often eyed with skepticism by military

US Army Tests Laser on Apache Helicopter

The U.S. Army and Raytheon have completed a flight test of a high-energy laser system on an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter that was deemed successful, according to a Raytheon statement Monday. The recent test at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, “marks the first time that a fully integrated laser system successfully engaged and fired

New Rifle, Bigger Bullets: Army”s Plans for More Lethal Small Arms

After carrying the M16 or one of its cousins across the globe for more than half a century, soldiers could get a peek at a new prototype assault rifle that fires a larger round by 2020. Army researchers are testing half a dozen ammunition variants in “intermediate calibers,” which falls between the current 7.62 mm

Frangible Collapsible Bullets Disintegrate after Designated Distance, Help Prevent Collateral Damage

Stray-bullet shootings are an often-overlooked consequence of gunfire that can cause severe injury or death to bystanders, or collateral damage victims in the military. A novel technology being developed at Purdue University could help prevent these incidents. A research group led by Ernesto Marinero, a professor of materials engineering and electrical and computer engineering has

New Water Filtration Process Uses 1,000 Times Less Energy

A new process for water filtration using carbon dioxide consumes one thousand times less energy than conventional methods. The research was led by University of Limerick’s Dr Orest Shardt together with Dr Sangwoo Shin (now at University of Hawaii, Manoa), while they were post doctoral researchers at Princeton University last year. With global demand for

Potassium-Ion Battery Concepts for Sustainable Energy Storage

Researchers are making progress in developing rechargeable batteries based on potassium, a potential alternative to lithium that”s less expensive and far more plentiful, and also have shown how to derive carbon for battery electrodes from old tires. “With the growth of rechargeable batteries for electronic devices, electric vehicles and power grid applications, there has been

Nanoribbons Create On/Off Switch for Graphene

A new way to grow narrow ribbons of graphene, a lightweight and strong structure of single-atom-thick carbon atoms linked into hexagons, may address a shortcoming that has prevented the material from achieving its full potential in electronic applications. Graphene nanoribbons, mere billionths of a meter wide, exhibit different electronic properties than two-dimensional sheets of the

PacSci EMC Compact Modular SmallSat Propulsion System

Pacific Science EMC announces the release of its new Modular Architecture Propulsion System (MAPS™) for the small satellite market. The compact design of MAPS is a breakthrough in reducing time and cost of integrating the propulsion system with the satellite and launch vehicle. MAPS reduces the time from fabrication and testing to integration on the

Solid-State Lithium Sulfur Battery

Applications include electric vehicles, consumer electronics, UAVs, and wind and solar energy storage. A novel 3D Li-S battery was developed that is based on a tri-layer solid-state electrolyte structure. The battery consists of three components: a tri-layer solid-state electrolyte, cathode, and lithium metal anode. The tri-layer solid-state electrolytes have a supported thin-film dense layer in

Navy Taps 4 Firms for Non-Lethal Weapon R&D Services

Four companies will compete for task orders under a U.S. Navy contract to provide research and development support for nonlethal weapons systems across a range of capability functional and technology areas. The Naval Surface Warfare Center’s Indian Head explosive ordnance disposal technology division in Maryland received 11 offers for the cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract, the Defense

Army Tanks Slowly Going Green in Europe

After years of combat in the Middle East, the U.S. Army still clings to its desert-colored M1 Abrams tanks and combat vehicles. This became a challenge for Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, commander of U.S. Army Europe, when hundreds of M1s began flowing into Europe”s woodland landscape to deter Russian aggression. Hodges recalled watching video with

Small Drone ”Shot with Patriot Missile”

The strike was made by a US ally, Gen David Perkins told a military symposium. “That quadcopter that cost 200 bucks from Amazon.com did not stand a chance against a Patriot,” he said. Patriots are radar-targeted weapons more commonly used to shoot down enemy aircraft and ballistic missiles. “Now, that worked, they got it, OK,