This thread covers the latest in military technology, which includes both vehicles and personal gear such as head-mounted displays, as well as surveillance and security. Future scenarios involving war, resource disputes, disasters or existential threats are also discussed.
More specific and indepth coverage of particular subjects will be found in other threads (e.g. drones/UAVs, hacking and cyberwarfare).
In a glimpse into the battlefield of the future, the Estonian Defence Force has carried out a live-fire exercise where two Milrem Robotics THeMIS combat robots provided troops with situational awareness, support fire, and casualty evacuation.
The April 2021 exercise involved ground troops carrying out a maneuver to counter a simulated incoming armor attack – represented by a white delivery van that has seen better days. With the main force remaining in defensive positions 1 km from the hostile force, a THeMIS Combat UGV integrated with FN Herstal’s deFNder Light Remote Weapon System moved to a forward point 430 m ahead.
The task of the THeMIS Combat Support robot was to transport anti-tank team ammunition and provide support fire using a 7.62 mm machine gun for the anti-tank and observer teams as they advanced. Meanwhile, a THeMIS Observe UGV deployed an Acecore tethered drone behind the main force for situational awareness and gathering targeting information for artillery. In addition to combat performance, the drone also acted as a live-fire safety monitor.
Air Force $48 Million SpaceX Starship Cargo Anywhere in an Hour Program
June 5, 2021 by Brian Wang
The US Air Force is funding $48 million to study using the SpaceX Starship to move military cargo anywhere in the world in one hour.
There will need to be more spent to actually use SpaceX Starships for rapid deployments. SpaceX seems to be well on the way to making Starship a technical and economic success. SpaceX Starships will be capable of flying 6000-8000 miles in a single stage at up to Mach 15-25 with a payload of 100 tons.
The US Air force will leverage the fully reusable SpaceX Starship and Super Heavy capabilities. The SpaceX Starship can technically be used as a hypersonic bomber. It can also deploy millions of times more material to orbit.
The impressive feat, which involved a Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet, demonstrated the significant potential of unmanned tanker drones and could mark the beginning of the end for traditional piloted tanker aircraft.
During the test flight, the drone - a Boeing-built device named MQ-25 Stingray - maintained its altitude and speed as the hose extended and the two aircraft briefly linked up to exchange fuel.
The test was carried out from the MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah, Illinois.
In total, 325lbs of fuel was transferred during the flight which lasted 4.5 hours.
"Unmanned systems alongside our traditional combatant force provide additional capability and capacity to give our warfighters the advantage needed to fight, win and deter potential aggressors," said Captain Chad Reed of the US Navy's Unmanned Carrier Aviation program office.
"The MQ-25 is that first step towards a future where the carrier-based fleet is augmented by unmanned systems."
(The Drive) A U.S. Navy research document from 2010 outlines the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Carderock Division's efforts to create a working design of a manned vehicle capable of both airborne flight and submerged travel. The craft was intended to provide stealthy transport for Special Forces units into and out of operating areas. This wasn't the first study of its kind to propose such a "transmedium" vehicle, defined as one capable of operating in multiple domains, such as in the air and underwater, but building such a craft has proven itself time and time again to be difficult, to say the least. It's not clear how far the Navy's efforts went, but the document's conclusions are significant in that they show that over a decade ago, Naval researchers concluded that a "working design is feasible within the current state of the art."
Aircraft that could also operate under the sea have long been pursued by the U.S. Navy and other militaries. A number of often unworkable or heavily compromised designs have been proposed and even tested by armed forces around the world since at least the 1950s, including various forms of submersible aircraft, to more modern designs like the short-lived Lockheed Martin Cormorant. While the degree to which these designs have been able to operate in both the sea and air environments vary greatly, among the "holy grails" of aerospace research is a truly hybrid vehicle, a submersible aircraft or "flying submarine" that can travel near-seamlessly between the sky and the sea.
Late last month, the Nomad pulled into San Diego harbor after a 4,000-mile voyage from the Gulf of Mexico. The long, flat-bed ship was utterly nondescript — except for the fact that it had navigated nearly the entire trip on its own, without the aid of a human pilot.
The Nomad joins a growing fleet of autonomous, artificial intelligence-piloted Navy surface ships in San Diego — part of an ambitious effort to find out how the emerging technology might be used to expand the service’s reach.
The ship is the second such ship to make the trip, with human hands only taking charge when they were passing through the Panama Canal and pulling into port, according to the Pentagon. The Nomad and Ranger, which arrived in October, are part of what’s known as the “Ghost Fleet Overlord” program, which is now under the watch of the San Diego-based Surface Development Squadron One.
And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future
Russia fires warning shots to deter UK warship in Black Sea
Source: AP
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV
MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian warship fired warning shots and a Russian warplane dropped bombs Wednesday to force a British destroyer away from an area in the Black Sea near Crimea that Russia claims as its territorial waters.
The incident marked the first time since the Cold War that Moscow has used live ammunition to deter a NATO warship, reflecting growing risks of military incidents amid soaring Russia-West tensions.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the Russian warship fired warning shots after the British missile destroyer Defender had ignored a notice against intrusion in Russia’s territorial waters. It said that a Russian Su-24 bomber also dropped four bombs ahead of the British ship to persuade it to change course. Minutes later, the British warship left the Russian waters, the ministry said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said it has summoned the U.K. military attache in Moscow to protest the British destroyer’s maneuver.
China condemns latest U.S. warship transit of Taiwan Strait
Source: Reuters
TAIPEI, June 23 (Reuters) - China condemned the United States on Wednesday as the region's greatest security "risk creator" after a U.S. warship again sailed through the sensitive waterway that separates Taiwan from China.
The U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet said the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur conducted a "routine Taiwan Strait transit" on Tuesday in accordance with international law.
"The ship's transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific."
The People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theatre Command said their forces monitored the vessel throughout its passage and warned it.
Gaza is often described as the world’s largest open-air prison. Over two million people inhabit the tiny coastal strip, and they must endure a 70 percent unemployment rate; frequent shortages of medical supplies, fuel and clean water; constant power outages; and the fundamentalist governance of the extremist group Hamas. Add to that the Israeli air strikes that knocked down multiple high-rise residential buildings in a war last May—the third war since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007.
Gazans who’ve had enough will find it difficult to leave. There’s both a naval blockade and a 40-mile-long border fence barring entry into Israel, complemented by an additional nine miles of steel and concrete walls on the Gaza-Egyptian border. Only a lucky minority are granted permits to pass through checkpoints into Israel or Egypt for work or medical care. But the checkpoints are frequently closed at times of high tension.
And now, in a new dystopian twist out of RoboCop, people defying the border barrier may be confronted by a robotic six-wheeled car blaring warnings from a built-in public address system. And if non-compliant, the robot can address the infraction with a turret-mounted machine gun.
And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future
The head of the Space Force acknowledged that the U.S. is developing the “appropriate” directed-energy systems to maintain American space superiority, although he declined to provide details in the unclassified setting of a June 16 congressional hearing.
Noting that directed-energy systems could be a possible defensive tool for American satellites, Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., asked Chief of Space Operations Gen. Jay Raymond whether the United States was adequately developing a directed energy portfolio “to be an effective capability for space dominance.”
“Yes sir, we are,” Raymond responded, suggesting that they discuss the issue in more detail in a classified setting. “We have to be able to protect these capabilities that we rely so heavily on.”
In a statement to C4ISRNET, a Space Force spokesperson said, “General Raymond has stated many times that China and Russia have directed energy capabilities that are designed to damage or destroy our satellites. His response to Congressman James Langevin’s question was confirming that our architecture developments in the face of these threats are appropriate.”
And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future
Biden Orders Second Set of Air Strikes into Syria and Iraq
June 27, 2021 by Brian Wang
The U.S. military launched air strikes targeting three operational and weapons storage facilities — two in Syria and one in Iraq. The US said that drone strikes were being launched from these locations at US interests in Iraq.
The US used F-15 and F-16 jets for the airstrikes.
There were five drone attacks over the past three months against or near US military bases in Iraq.
RUSSIA'S "city killer" submarine has set sail for the first time packed with nuclear drones capable of triggering monster tsunamis.
The 604ft Belgorod - which is twice the size of the Royal Navy's Astute-class attack subs - reportedly took to the sea for the first time on Friday.
The 14,700-tonne war machine bristles with nuclear-tipped underwater drone torpedoes - each guided by artificial intelligence.
The secretive launch came after Vladimir Putin's navy vowed to sink British warships the next time they sail too close to Crimea.
The war talk followed a face-off in the Black Sea where HMS Defender was accused of making a "deliberate provocation" by the Kremlin as it entered waters deemed to be Russian territory.
Soldiers from the 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade used an AI engine which provides information on the surrounding environment and terrain.
Through the development of significant automation and smart analytics, the engine is able to rapidly cut through masses of complex data. Providing efficient information regarding the environment and terrain, it enables the Army to plan its appropriate activity and outputs.
The Army’s Director of Information, Major General Jonathan Cole said:
The deployment was a first of its kind for the Army. It built on close collaboration between the MOD and industry partners that developed AI specifically designed for the way the Army is trained to operate.
The lessons this has provided are considerable, not just in terms of our support to deployed forces, but more broadly in how we inform Defence’s digital transformation agenda and the best practices we must adopt to integrate and exploit leading-edge technologies.
This AI capability, which can be hosted in the cloud or operate in independent mode, saved significant time and effort, providing soldiers with instant planning support and enhancing command and control processes.
Announced by the Prime Minister last November, Defence has received an increase in funding of over £24 billion across the next four years, focusing on the ability to adapt to meet future threats. Further outlined in the Defence Command Paper, the MOD intends to invest £6.6billion over the next four years in defence research and development, focusing on emerging technologies in artificial intelligence, AI-enabled autonomous systems, cyber, space and directed energy systems.
And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future
In May, the Keldysh Research Center released a paper showing that Zeus can be used in anti-aircraft defense, detecting air targets from the orbit and relaying information to anti-aircraft systems.
“In 2018-2019, the Arsenal design bureau conducted the ‘Yadro’ [Core] research project that reviewed options for using a spacecraft with a megawatt-class nuclear power propulsion system to perform the following tasks — probing the Earth surface and the near-Earth air space from a distance; electromagnetic interference with electronic components of control, reconnaissance, communication and navigation systems; directed-energy laser emission,” the Arsenal paper read.
The Zeus nuclear-powered space tug is designed for deep space flights from one orbit to another. It has been in development since 2010. The spacecraft’s preliminary design is expected to be finished by July 2024 and will cost 4.2 billion rubles.
And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future
