Hasta La Gadget!

All right, it is time for a shootout. Between the DARPA Captive Air Amphibious Transporter that you see in action in the video above compared to the DeLorean hovercraft, which would you rather have? The former would have all the relevant equipment and functionality that are required for hardcore military use, while the latter is an iconic figure from the world of science fiction, and most probably would be able to pull more fans – at least those who do not come from a practical point of view. Well, the DARPA Captive Air Amphibious Transporter is part of the fruits from DARPA’s effort in developing technologies to deliver assistance during natural or “man-made” disasters, where it is part of the TEMP plan (Tactically Expandable Maritime Platform).

Dubbed Captive Air Amphibious Transporters, or CAAT for short, this particularly rugged vehicle is capable of skimming across bodies of water thanks to its air-filled pontoons, and the main objective of such a vehicle would be to carry “containers over water and directly onto shore.” DARPA’s program manager, Scott Littlefield, said, “To allow military ships and aircraft to focus on unique military missions they alone can fulfill, it makes sense to develop technologies to leverage standard commercial container ships.” [Press Release]

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: DARPA DASH robot detects enemy subs , DARPA developing smart suits that will improve the endurance and balance of soldiers,

Taliban warfighters aren’t the only threat to American forces in Afghanistan. There are also the nastly explosives they leave behind. But rather than simply reinforce some Humvees and hope for the best, General Atomics has developed a system to spot IEDs from the air, up to a mile away, day or night. More »

Remember the giant spy blimp that we wrote to you about in early April this year? Well, unfortunately the Blue Devil Block 2 didn’t really make it to the final phase, and Mav6 – it’s creators – was forced to cancel the already ballooning $211 million project. Thankfully, Northrop Grumman’s Long-Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) made it through and took off to take its first ever flight test on Tuesday this week. The giant airship was spotted at a military base in Lakehurst where it successfully achieved its first 90-minute flight. But this is just the beginning for the LEMV.

Before it heads to the warzone next year, probably in Afghanistan, Northrop Grumman’s giant blimp will have to undergo more months of testing. Its developers said that apart from its spying capabilities, the LEMV is also capable of hauling seven tons of cargo 2,400 miles at 30 miles per hour. “The first flight primary objective was to perform a safe launch and recovery with a secondary objective to verify the flight control system operation,” Army spokesman John Cummings said in a statement. “Additional first flight objectives included airworthiness testing and demonstration, and system level performance verification. All objectives were met during the first flight.”

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Giant spy blimp sounds like an oxymoron, Airships to cater for the North,

The US Army’s not-so-secret Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) spy blimp is better at staying hidden than we thought… if unintentionally. Although it was due to fly the friendly skies of Lakehurst, New Jersey in mid-June, Northrop Grumman’s usually unmanned surveillance was only just caught floating over the Jersey Shore as part of a maiden flight on August 8th. The conspicuous, delayed test run proved that the LEMV could take off, steer and land smoothly, and started a series of exercises that should culminate in combat trials over Afghanistan at the start of 2013. Northrop’s KC Brown Jr. tells Wired that there’s a possible (if purely coincidental) consolation for missing another deadline — the airship could be used in a pinch for carrying as much as seven tons of supplies without getting into harm’s way, albeit at a fairly glacial 30MPH. The successful first flight won’t be much consolation to Mav6, whose Blue Devil 2 was scuttled at the last minute after technical issues; it’s nonetheless a relief for US troops, who may get weeks at a time of constant intelligence on enemy movements. Catch a short snippet of the early LEMV journey after the break.

Continue reading US Army’s LEMV spy blimp spotted hovering over New Jersey, may take up cargo duties (video)

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US Army’s LEMV spy blimp spotted hovering over New Jersey, may take up cargo duties (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Aug 2012 06:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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