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Archive for the ‘military’ category: Page 169

Jan 3, 2020

Boeing’s Autonomous Fighter Jet Will Fly Over the Australian Outback

Posted by in categories: military, robotics/AI

If you drive along the main northern road through South Australia with a good set of binoculars, you may soon be able to catch a glimpse of a strange, windowless jet, one that is about to embark on its maiden flight. It’s a prototype of the next big thing in aerial combat: a self-piloted warplane designed to work together with human-piloted aircraft.

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Boeing Australia are building this fighterlike plane for possible operational use in the mid-2020s. Trials are set to start this year, and although the RAAF won’t confirm the exact location, the quiet electromagnetic environment, size, and remoteness of the Woomera Prohibited Area make it a likely candidate. Named for ancient Aboriginal spear throwers, Woomera spans an area bigger than North Korea, making it the largest weapons-testing range on the planet.

The autonomous plane, formally called the Airpower Teaming System but often known as “Loyal Wingman,” is 11 meters (38 feet) long and clean cut, with sharp angles offset by soft curves. The look is quietly aggressive.

Jan 3, 2020

Iran’s ‘forceful revenge’ against the US is likely to include cyberwarfare, and experts warn that the attacks could be devastating

Posted by in categories: cybercrime/malcode, energy, finance, internet, military

Iran has proved capable of cyberattacks that could target internet infrastructure, online banks, or even the US power grid.

Jan 3, 2020

‘Wow, What Is That?’ Navy Pilots Report Unexplained Flying Objects

Posted by in category: military

No one at the Pentagon is saying that the objects are extraterrestrial, but the Navy has issued new classified guidance for reporting unexplained aerial phenomena.

Jan 3, 2020

US launched Baghdad airstrike that killed Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani

Posted by in category: military

The Pentagon launched an airstrike Thursday night that killed a powerful Iranian military leader, Gen. Qasem Soleimani, at Baghdad’s international airport.

The Defense Department said it conducted the attack at President Donald Trump’s direction as a “defensive action” against Soleimani, who it said was planning further attacks on American diplomats and service members.

Soleimani is an extremely influential figure inside Iran, heading Iran’s elite Quds Force, part of the country’s hard-line paramilitary Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Jan 2, 2020

The Coolest (and Scariest) Military Tech of 2019

Posted by in category: military

This year birthed some of the most mind-bending military tech we’ve ever seen.


Whether you’re a war hawk or a pacifist, it’s hard to deny the last year’s mind-bending advances in warfare technology.

Jan 2, 2020

‘Leak’ May Reveal Russia’s Answer To The Virginia Class Attack Submarine

Posted by in categories: military, robotics/AI

A Russian State-owned TV channel recently aired a segment which may give the first glimpse of a new Russian submarine design. In the corner of one scene (@ 2.48 minutes into the recording) it showed an official model of a new submarine together with previously known types. The Laika Class sub has until now been shrouded in secrecy. It is generally analogous to the Virginia Class attack submarine in service with the U.S. Navy.

Such a ‘leak’ was probably deliberate, something that Russia has been suspected of before. On November 9, 2015, Russian TV station NTV revealed the Poseidon Intercontinental Nuclear-Powered Nuclear-Armed Autonomous Torpedo to the world. Then called ‘Status-6,’ it was seen over the shoulder of an officer in a partially televised meeting with President Putin.

The new sub will primarily be a hunter-killer, meaning that it is designed to counter western nuclear-powered submarines. But it will also carry a range of cruise missiles, including the hypersonic Zircon.

Jan 1, 2020

Final Rockot Booster Launches Russian Satellites Into Orbit

Posted by in categories: military, satellites

The final Rockot booster converted from an intercontinental ballistic missile launched into space Friday (Dec. 27) carrying a trio Russian satellites and a military payload into orbit.

The Rockot, a launch vehicle based on Russia’s RS-18 ballistic missile, launched three Gonets-M communications satellites into space from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. The rocket also reportedly carried a military payload called Blits-M, a glass sphere designed to serve as a laser reflector, according to Russianspaceweb.com, which tracks the Russian space industry.

Dec 31, 2019

The Orion Cube: An extraterrestrial device hidden by the US

Posted by in categories: alien life, existential risks, government, military

Fun topic, real or not.


Dan Burisch, a doctorate in microbiology and former worker of the secret military forces of the United States, details great puzzling information about extraterrestrials, the Orion Cube, time machines, secret government plans and human extinction.

Continue reading “The Orion Cube: An extraterrestrial device hidden by the US” »

Dec 28, 2019

Space Debris Is Now a Big Problem | VICE on HBO

Posted by in categories: military, satellites

More than half a million pieces of man-made space junk are orbiting the Earth at speeds up to 17,500 miles per hour. Even the tiniest pieces have the potential to destroy any of the 1,700 satellites circling the Earth.

Nuclear physicist Taylor Wilson joined the Air Force Space Command to see how a growing military and commercial space presence threatens the ubiquitous satellites, which are essential to humanity’s digital way of life.

Continue reading “Space Debris Is Now a Big Problem | VICE on HBO” »

Dec 26, 2019

NSA, Army Seek Quantum Computers Less Prone to Error

Posted by in categories: computing, information science, military, privacy, quantum physics

Even ordinary computers flip a bit here and there, but their quantum cousins have a lot more ways to go wrong.

As the power and qubits in quantum computing systems increase, so does the need for cutting-edge capabilities to ascertain that they work. The Army Research Office and National Security Agency recently teamed up to solicit proposals for research that can help do exactly that.

The entities launched a broad agency announcement this week to boost the development of innovative techniques and protocols that allow for Quantum Characterization, Verification, and Validation, or QCVV, of intermediate-scale quantum systems. QCVV is essentially the science of quantifying how well a quantum computer can run quantum algorithms—and experts agree that it’s a necessary step towards useful quantum computing.