The U.S. Navy just released this stunning photo of sailors participating in a flight deck scrubbing exercise aboard the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), a Nimitz-class supercarrier that is currently undergoing sea trials. But what the hell are they scrubbing? Is the carrier caught in a blizzard? More »
The USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) is a beast. It’s the first of the new Ford-class supercarriers, and arguably the best aircraft carrier ever designed. And building these mammoths is a serious undertaking. More »
DARPA already intends to set a drone ship out to sea, and now it’s revealed plans for undersea payloads that lie dormant for years and launch themselves to the surface when remotely commanded. Dubbed Upward Falling Payloads, the containers will carry non-lethal cargo such as small UAVs or networking hardware, and take advantage of the “cheap stealth” their position underwater grants them. Since the vision is to have a fleet of UFPs spread throughout ocean floors, it’ll help the Navy “get close to the areas we need to affect, or become widely distributed without delay,” according to DARPA Program Manager Andy Coon. DARPA is aiming to tap engineering talent from telecom companies to the oil exploration industry in order to solve challenges such as communications used to wake up payload nodes and launching them to the surface. There’s no word on when UFPs will begin lurking sea floors, but DARPA is already looking for proposals to help build them.
[Image credit: Alwbutler, Flickr]
Continue reading DARPA unveils plans for undersea payloads that surface on command
Via: Gizmag
Source: Darpa
The U.S. Navy’s Marine Mammal Program began in the ’60s. The idea was that dolphins and sea lions would help defend harbors, retrieve sunken equipment and, even identify mines for deactivation. Now they have changed their mind and they want robots to do the dirty work. This will leave many sea mammals without a job, having to collect fish treats on their own.
It’s an expensive program with its team of veterinarians and handlers. Robots can be repaired, whereas if a dolphin dies, it has to be replaced and retrained. Dolphins will be replaced by the Knifefish by Bluefin Robotics, which basically looks like a missile. It can operate continuously underwater for up to 16 hours – much better than a dolphin who needs to actually breathe, eat, poop and occasionally sleep.
The Knifefish will use sonar to hunt for mines and will be joined by other robots who will take over all of the mammal’s duties.
Some dads really rock and go the extra mile to make sure that their kids have some great memories. When the video below was shot, Susie W’s kids had been separated from their dad for about 3 months. But dad had a surprise for them.
The kids thought that they wouldn’t be seeing him until December. When their son said that he wanted a Star Wars party so he could be Luke and fight Darth Vader, he had no idea what was in store for him. Vader was supposed to be his older cousin, but the dad came home from his Navy deployment for a 96-hour leave and surprised his son, dressed as Darth Vader.
Ah. This video makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Imagine if Luke and Vader’s Empire Strikes Back fight had ended in a hug… Damn, that sounds like Disney Star Wars. What are we all in for?
[via Geeks Are Sexy]
It will come as no surprise that the U.S. Navy places a high value on its secrecy when it comes to its special operations soldiers. I wondered when the developer of the video game Medal of Honor: Warfighter was bragging that the game had been developed with help from actual U.S. Navy SEALs how the military would feel about that sort of participation. It seems that there is no rule against soldiers consulting on projects such as this.
It turns out however, that the military has taken disciplinary action on seven members of the U.S. Navy’s famous SEAL Team Six. All seven of the men involved in the disciplinary action are still on active duty. The disciplinary action reportedly came for revealing secrets.
The video game is based on realistic missions that the U.S. Navy SEALs carried out. Exactly what secrets the SEAL team members revealed are unknown, but reports indicate that they were using classified material that had been given to them by the Navy while the acted as consultants on the game. What is known is the seven men who were punished received letters of reprimand, eliminating the chance of promotion, and had half their pay taken away for two months.
[via CBS News]
Every one of the modern US Navy’s 129 ships, and its entire fleet of aircraft, relies on gas turbines for either basic propulsion or to generate electricity for their critical systems—typically both. But as fuel costs continue to rise, these turbines now burn through nearly $2 billion of fuel annually. That’s why the Naval Research Lab is developing a revolutionary new type of engine that could reduce our armada’s energy consumption by as much as 25 percent (and save $400 million a year) even as the Navy transitions to “all electric” propulsion systems. More »
Advances in unmanned military tools and vehicles have come on leaps and bounds, but, until now, we haven’t seen a weapon firing drone operating in the seas. A recent test taking part offshore near Maryland saw several missiles launched from a new remote-controlled inflatable-hulled ship. While the Navy has used drones before for mine clearing and other defensive tasks, the small boat (similar to that pictured above) is the first experiment to involve true offensive capabilities. The almost zodiac-like craft has been an ongoing project over recent years, and contains a fully automated system which the Navy calls a “Precision Engagement Module” which uses an Mk-49 mounting with a dual missile launcher manufactured by Rafael. The hope is that such vehicles could patrol the coastline, or serve as a first defense against pirates, and other such small, fast-moving seafaring dangers. If you want to catch it in action, head past the break for the video, but don’t be fooled. While it might look like a series of misses, the Navy claims this is just a trick of the camera angle, with all six missiles apparently making contact.
Continue reading US Navy tests first 11-meter missile-firing sea drone (video)
Filed under: Robots, Transportation
US Navy tests first 11-meter missile-firing sea drone (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Oct 2012 05:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Laser pointers are no joke, and neither is shining them at planes. You may recall that the FBI recently set up a national laser attack task force, and they aren’t kidding around. One laser-happy moron just got sentenced to 18 months in prison. More »
Parallel parking a car is hard enough for most of us; just imagine trying to back the 686-ft, 22,000-ton HMS Illustrious into a stall at Plymouth Harbor. Officers at Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC) in Dartmouth, England don’t have to. A newly upgraded training simulator teaches them to command the Royal Navy’s biggest boats without ever getting their feet wet. More »
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