In the age of super-sonic fighter jets, cruise missiles, and exo-atmospheric ballistic missiles, carrier fleets must be able to monitor as accurately and far afield as possible to avoid being caught unaware of incoming threats. Odd then, that the duty of watching over the most sophisticated aircraft carriers ever constructed falls to the last propeller-powered planes still allowed to land on them. More »
While chatter between the US Air Force is spoken exclusively in English, communications between their aircrafts’ electronic systems is more akin to the United Nations cafeteria—a “dog’s breakfast of different datalinks,” according to Lt. Gen. William Lord. Since the numerous competing defense contractors tasked with building military aircraft often install contradicting and incompatible systems, the USAF employs a pair of legacy NASA fliers to act as battlefield interpreters. More »
The USAF has done a lot of borderline insane things in its time, but appropriating the legacy of MLK Jr. on MLK Day might take the Crazy Cake: the government now says King would be proud of our nuclear arsenal. More »
Forget bombs or the robopocalypse. In our minds, the most fearsome weapon is the one that disables our gadgets. That’s what makes Boeing’s newly tested Counter-electronics High-powered Microwave Advanced Missile Project (CHAMP) scarier than most projectiles. The missile bombards targets underneath with microwaves that shut down computers, power systems and just about anything electrical in their path. Thankfully, CHAMP’s invisible payload arrives in discrete bursts and arguably makes it the world’s most advanced (and likely expensive) non-lethal weapon: the prototype can target multiple individual buildings without ever having to detonate and hurt someone. Boeing is still developing CHAMP in a multi-year program and doesn’t have guarantees that it will become military ordnance, which gives us enough time to accept that saving lives is far, far more important than the risk we’ll have to stop fiddling with our technology.
Filed under: Misc
Boeing tests microwave missile that knocks out electronics, represents our worst nightmare (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 22:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Drones that fly for days and kill people from miles away are the future of warfare. But before they can become the present of warfare, we have to be able to able to fly many simultaneously. We’re on our way! More »
The government might still be keeping aliens from us, but they’re no longer keeping this schematics of a supersonic flying saucer the Air Force was considering trying to build back in the 1950s. Meet Project 1794. More »
When I was a kid I dreamed of being a jet fighter pilot. Too much Battle of Britain, Tora! Tora! Tora! and Star Wars. My doubt always was: do I want to be a pilot for the Air Force or the Navy? It’s a good old rivalry and there are arguments to be made for both parts. More »
This is not Captain America, but it’s as close as you will ever get to feeling like a real superhero. His name is Robert Zackery, an he is a jumpmaster assigned to the USAF’s 4th Air Support Operations Group. More »
Top aerospace and defense company Tupolev is developing a new stealth plane that will replace Russia’s mighty but aging nuclear strategic bomber fleet. Called the PAK-DA bomber, it will enter service in the mid-2020s, just in time to face the USAF’s new stealth strategic nuclear bombers. But that’s inoffensive compared to what’s coming next. More »
After a decade of deployment in Afghanistan and Iraq, the wings are literally falling off the USAF’s aging fleet of AC-130s. The Air Force thought about upgrading them to the new MC-27J Spartan multi-purpose gunship—but budget cuts nixed that idea. The Airmen will miss out on quite a machine. More »
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