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F-35 Lightning II

The F-35A Lightning II is a fifth-generation fighter combining advanced aerodynamics, survivability in high-threat environments and an enhanced ability to provide pilots and allied assets across operational domains with robust situational awareness. The F-35 is the result of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program to develop a single-engine, stealthy, multi-role fighter to replace an aging

Army Eyes Getting into the Ship Killing Business with This Cruise Missile

As the U.S. military rolls out its budget request for the 2019 fiscal year, one area that is likely to see newly increased attention is the development and purchase of land-based anti-ship weapons. The U.S. Army is already planning to sink a target ship with a truck-mounted anti-ship cruise missile in a major exercise as

China”s Electromagnetic Railgun is Apparently Already Roaming The High Seas

China”s futuristic electromagnetic railgun may already be the most powerful cannon to ever roam the high seas — ahead of schedule. In June, a U.S. intelligence assessment estimated that the Chinese military planned on fielding its own version of the electromagnetic railgun on naval vessels as early as 2025, far outstripping the Pentagon”s truncated efforts

Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) Tagging Detects Counterfeit Equipment

In order to identify counterfeit equipment and remove them from the supply chain, RDECOM ECBC scientists have developed a method to use DNA tags to identify them. A few years ago, the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee issued a report stating counterfeit components were frequently found in the supply chain, usually electronics. They noted that

Army Looks Into Laser-Powered Drones

Even as drone technology advances, power constraints limit the amount of equipment unmanned systems can carry, as well as the time they can stay in the air. Some drone systems, like the Persistent Aerial Reconnaissance and Communications drone from CyPhy Works, deliver power through a tether to keep a small drone aloft for an entire

Eel-Inspired Three Dimensional (3D)-Printed Hydrogel Instantly Generates Electricity

Inspired by the electric eel, researchers from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland have developed 3D-printed hydrogels that could generate up to 110 volts of electricity in an instant. The rows of gels contain positively and negatively charged ions that combine together to mimic the eel”s cellular structure. Unlike typical batteries, these systems are soft,

Commercial Accelerators and the Defense Department: A Blueprint for Collaboration

Three thousand two hundred and sixty-nine. This was the number of companies to graduate from more than 170 different accelerators across the United States and Canada in 2016. Since 2005, these short-duration programs, designed to expedite a company’s maturation, have helped their graduates secure over $19.5 billion in seed and early Series round funds. Zero.

Sorry, Primary Kilogram, But We Are Dumping You

The physical kilogram, the last of the physical primary-standard artifacts, has been made obsolete. The world’s metrology and standards organization voted to define all physical standards in terms of just seven universal constants. In November 2018, in Versailles, France, representatives from the National Institute of Standards and Technologies (NIST) and 60 countries unanimously voted to

Unmasking the F-15X, Boeing”s F-15C/D Eagle Replacement Fighter

Boeing and the United States Air Force (USAF) have been in talks for a year and a half about replacing the aging F-15C/D with a brand new advanced Eagle derivative, the F-15X. The aerospace-defense community was overwhelmingly intrigued by a report from Defenseone.com that said Boeing was pitching a new variant of its 45-year-old F-15

Army Boosts Investment in Lasers

The Army is investing more and more money in lasers to defeat incoming rockets and enemy drones. Across the Air & Missile Defense (AMD) portfolio, “we put over 50 percent of our S&T (Science and Technology) money going towards directed energy projects,” up from about a third previously, said the AMD modernization director, Brig. Gen.

Hybrid Theory: Lockheed Martin, Boeing pitch upgraded F-22, F-15

An F-22 with F-35 tech and a super-powered F-15 Eagle? The Air Force isn”t interested yet. Almost since the day the last F-22 Raptor fighter jet rolled out of Lockheed Martin”s assembly plant, the U.S. Air Force has been making plans for its successor—a “sixth generation” fighter aircraft to continue the U.S. military”s dominance of

Windshield Wiper Fluid a Potential Battlefield Fuel

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — Fuel cells using methanol may finally be making inroads with the Army after years of research and development. Berry Ferry, power division chief at the Army’s Communications-Electronics Research, Development, and Engineering Center (CERDEC), said resistance to the technology has come in the form of the service’s “one fuel forward” policy