US Military Technology

"Expert speculation on what could be used for the demonstration ranges from a terrestrially-based mobile laser used for blinding adversary reconnaissance sats to on-board, proximity triggered radio-frequency jammers on certain military satellites, to a high-powered microwave system that can zap electronics carried on maneuverable bodyguard satellites. However, experts and former officials interviewed by Breaking Defense say it probably does not involve a ground-based kinetic interceptor, a capability the US already demonstrated in the 2008 Burnt Frost satellite shoot-down."
Yes in France we are having exactly the same type of weapon in preparation probably based on laser.
 
I highly doubt the 6th gen fighter will even come close to looking like in the video. The wing bomber taking off is the B-21 that I do believe will look like the video.


So I guess these are Skunkworks toys...
Could be LM version and the Navy's 6th gen or another bomber/attack aircraft.
 
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I highly doubt the 6th gen fighter will even come close to looking like in the video. The wing bomber taking off is the B-21 that I do believe will look like the video.


So I guess these are Skunkworks toys...
Could be LM version and the Navy's 6th gen or another bomber/attack aircraft.
Flying in formation means whatever it is, it’s already has passed its development cycle.
 
So I guess these are Skunkworks toys...
Could be LM version and the Navy's 6th gen or another bomber/attack aircraft.
IMG_20220116_061002.jpg
 
Flying in formation means whatever it is, it’s already has passed its development cycle.
That flight was a message to China, Russia and to allies. You don't fly your most "secret" aircraft on a clear day at con altitude above populated counties for all to see unless you're sending a message. You can easily fly above con altitude in Nevada or over the west coast at day time to avoid being seen.
 
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That flight was a message to China, Russia and to allies. You don't fly your most "secret" aircraft on a clear day at con altitude above populated counties for all to see unless you're sending a message. You can easily fly above con altitude in Nevada or over the west coast at day time to avoid being seen.
The last time you tried a stunt like that over the USSR , they blew the U-2 out of the skies took the pilot Gary Powers prisoner , sentenced him to 10 yrs hard labour only to exchange him 2 yrs later for another high profile Soviet spy while the Eisenhower administration had egg all over it's face with Krushchev sticking it in.

This was likely when your pop was in liquid form. You ought to read more before shooting off your mouth like a delinquent.
 

A UH-60 Black Hawk Helicopter Just Flew Without Anyone Onboard For The First Time​

A modified pilot-optional UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter has flown for the first time ever without a single human crew member onboard. The test flight utilized a suite of systems that are designed primarily to help improve the helicopter pilots' performance and offer additional margins of safety, but that could also provide a stepping stone to even greater autonomous capabilities down the road.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, in cooperation with Lockheed Martin subsidiary Sikorsky, conducted the test flight involving the specially configured UH-60A testbed, which lasted roughly 30 minutes, at the Army's Fort Campbell in Kentucky on February 5. Another unmanned flight involving the same helicopter, which Sikorsky owns and has the U.S. civil registration code N600PV, took place on February 7. There are no additional details available so far about this second test. DARPA says it now plans to conduct the first flight of a fly-by-wire UH-60M equipped with this same system at Fort Eustis, Virginia sometime within the next month.

"To demonstrate its ability to adapt to a variety of mission environments, the uninhabited Black Hawk navigates at typical speed and altitude through a simulated cityscape, avoiding imagined buildings while route re-planning in real time." a Lockheed Martin press release says in describing the exact nature of the first entirely uncrewed flight test. "All the while, on-board sensor simulation provides real-time obstacle data."
"The Black Hawk helicopter then autonomously executes a series of pedal turns, maneuvers and straightaways before completing a perfect landing," it continues. "Once it shuts itself down, the two pilots approach and re-enter the aircraft. The OPV (optionally-piloted vehicle) switch is reversed from zero to two, and then the pilots taxi back down the runway."
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DARPA

The pilot-optional UH-60A, seen in flight without any pilots or other crew members aboard.

These recent test flights are the latest developments in DARPA's Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) program, which began in 2014. ALIAS leverages Sikorsky’s Matrix technology, a combination of software and hardware components that interfaces with an aircraft’s existing electronics and mechanical control systems, which has been in development since 2013. ALIAS has also been tested on a Sikorsky S-76B helicopter and a fixed-wing Cessna 208 Caravan in the past.

The expectation remains that aircraft equipped with ALIAS will still generally have pilots and other aircrew on board to oversee a flight. The ALIAS system is described as a “tailorable, drop-in, removable kit.” It is designed to be capable of supporting an entire mission from takeoff to landing and can assume control of an aircraft in the event of emergencies or any other situation that requires aviators to take the attention away from controlling the aircraft. Crew members can use a handheld tablet to control the system and change flight paths or other parameters mid-flight. They can also take over and resume direct control of the aircraft when needed.
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Lockheed Martin

Test pilots control an ALIAS-equipped UH-60A Black Hawk with a tablet interface.

“This capability will allow pilots to confidently switch back and forth between autonomy and piloted modes at any point of their mission with the literal flip of a switch," Benjamin Williamson, the lead test pilot for the Fort Campbell flights, said in a statement from Lockheed Martin. "This will support autonomous flight during a wide range of missions such as flight in degraded visual environments (DVE) and confined areas. Most critically, ALIAS will be capable of automatically detecting and preventing dangerous situations that lead to accidents, thereby saving lives.”
Helicopters can be especially challenging to fly in DVE conditions where bad weather or smoke, dust, or other obscurants significantly limit visibility. Attempting to maneuver a helicopter into a confined landing zone presents its own complexities. All of this increases physical and mental workloads for pilots, which can increase the potential for serious mistakes, especially when combined with the stresses of combat or general fatigue. Having what has been described variously as a "digital co-pilot" or "supervised autonomy" could help helicopter pilots and other crew members manage things in these circumstances, as well as just keep an eye out for issues in general.

“With reduced workloads pilots can focus on mission management instead of the mechanics,” Stuart Young, the ALIAS program manager in DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office, said in a separate statement today. “This unique combination of autonomy software and hardware will make flying both smarter and safer.”

At the same time, the advanced autonomous capabilities that ALIAS offers, which could be further expanded on as artificial intelligence and machine learning technology continue to improve, open doors to new concepts of operations that don't necessarily involve pilots or other aircrew, at all.

“With ALIAS, the Army will have much more operational flexibility,” DARPA's Young explained. “This includes the ability to operate aircraft at all times of the day or night, with and without pilots, and in a variety of difficult conditions, such as contested, congested, and degraded visual environments.”

DARPA's press release further notes that the Army, which has been heavily involved in the ALIAS program for years now, "is currently exploring potential use cases for technologies such as ALIAS, including those outlined in the U.S. Army’s Future Vertical Lift (FVL) program." FVL is a multi-faceted effort that the Army is leading that is focused on developing and acquiring a number of new helicopters or other rotorcraft designs to replace the bulk of its existing rotary-wing fleets. Other services might then acquire variants or derivatives of those aircraft to supplant their own existing types.

"Sikorsky’s advancements in flight automation and autonomy will be game-changers for Army aviators and ground commanders, particularly as the Army looks to modernize its enduring helicopter fleet with Future Vertical Lift," he said. “This transformational technology will provide commanders and aircrews with a strategic advantage in countering complex new threat environments.”

Various components of the broader FVL effort, such as the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program, have previously specified requirements for autonomous operation and pilot-optional flight. Last year, the ALIAS-equipped UH-60A participated in the Army's Project Convergence 2021 exercise, the second in an ongoing series of large-scale test events to evaluate a variety of new and advanced weapons and other systems, as well as concepts of operation for how to employ them.

When it comes to potential missions an ALIAS-equipped helicopter, the Army and the Marine Corps, in particular, have expressed interest in autonomous resupply aircraft in recent years, a task that could potentially be offloaded onto autonomous systems in some situations. As ALIAS and other semi-autonomous, optionally-manned flight systems continue to mature, we may eventually see these systems reach the point where they can replace at least some crew members in some circumstances, allowing pilots and other personnel to be allocated towards more operationally demanding needs.

Whether or not ALIAS ever replaces human crews entirely, the ability to help aviators make better decisions or multitask in a variety of demanding conditions could ultimately save lives. As DARPA continues its work with the system, we can expect to see further ALIAS demonstrations that could expand to other, more varied platforms and offer greater flexibility in the cockpit.
 

Increasing Production Is Important for Hypersonics, Defense Official Says​

The Defense Department is working hard on developing both hypersonic offensive and defensive capabilities. But in the immediate future, one of the most important areas to be developed is increasing the capacity at which such systems can be produced, said Gillian Bussey, director of the Joint Hypersonics Transition Office.



A missile launches, leaving a trail of smoke and fire.


"I would say that everything we're doing in terms of the interceptors, the strike weapons isn't going to make a difference unless we have sufficient quantities," Bussey said during a discussion today with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Having a dozen hypersonic missiles — regardless of whether they're really hypersonic or not — isn't going to scare anyone."

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The biggest technological and industrial capability the department can invest in right now, she said, is to increase production rates, particularly for thermal protection systems for glide vehicles and additive manufacturing for cruise missile engines.
"I think those are the long poles in the tent when it comes to production," she said. "Those are the things that take the longest. If we can reduce the production time and increase the capacity and you know double, triple, quadruple those production numbers, I think that's how we'll really make a difference."



The face of a person wearing protective glasses is seen through windows in a large metal tube.


Investing there, she said, needs to start now in order for capacity to be there when the department is ready with a program of record.
Bussey also said that defending against hypersonics is an expensive and complicated endeavor, while it remains less expensive to develop and launch a hypersonic offense. That's why, even though the department is focused on both offensive and defensive capabilities, it's prioritizing offensive systems.

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"Essentially, this means it's a lot easier to attack than it is to defend against such an attack," she said "Despite the obvious threat, as a department, we've chosen to focus on offense first because a good offense is the best defense, and offense is a lot easier."



In an illustration, a space vehicle floats above Earth.


At the same time, she said, research into both defensive and offensive systems yields valuable knowledge that can be used for both.
"What has the maneuverability, altitude, reach and speed to hit a hypersonic missile? A hypersonic missile," she said.
While technology for defensive and offensive systems are different, including seekers, guidance and booster technology, the fundamental design of an offensive or defensive kill interceptor vehicle can be the same, Bussey said.
"We've seen a number of proposals using what could be an offensive strike weapon used as an interceptor and vice versa," she said.
 
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