Feb 06
If this is what it looks like, this is bad for everyone who isn’t Iran: after claiming the capture of a downed, super-advanced American drone in 2011, we now have what looks like decoded video straight from its brain. More »
Feb 06
The lives of British soldiers in the Brigade Reconnaissance Force just got a little safer. Rather than having to undertake the dangerous task of checking for ambushes, investigating potential enemy positions themselves (“Go see if there are a bunch of guys with guns in that house”), or just sticking their head around the corner, they can now send this fist-sized spy ‘copters to scout for danger ahead instead. More »
Jan 29
The 21st century has been a real disappointment so far. Our robot servants top out at mediocre vaccums, self-driving cars are years away (and won’t be able to fly even when they do arrive), and we’re closer to inventing tricorders than phasers. A tricorder. Who wants a goddamn medical scanner when you could be blasting baddies with awesome handheld lasers? More »
Jan 29
In 2008, a magnitude 8.0 earthquake decimated China’s Sichuan province, killing nearly 70,000. The disaster which was compounded by the country’s lack of large cargo aircraft, which are essential vehicles for humanitarian missions, brought on by the military’s unyielding focus on fighter jets. In response to this logistical shortfall (and the disgrace of having to accept a pair of loaner C-17s, from the Americans of all people), China’s military kicked a languishing strategic air freighter project into gear and have debuted the results: a C-17, minus the performance capabilities. More »
Jan 23
Big Ivan, better known as Tsar Bomba, was 57 Megatons of Soviet might. That’s 1,400 times Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined and ten times the entire combined fire power expended in WWII. In one bomb. One explosion. And, incredibly, that’s only half of what it could have done. More »
Jan 22
Aerial refueling is an invaluable technique, not only extending a jet’s operational endurance, it allows for more and heavier equipment to be carried than would otherwise be possible. Since its inception in the biplane era, this technology has developed into what you see here: two F-35C Lightning II jets attached to the business end of a Lockheed Martin KC-130 Hercules. At the same time. That’s a first. More »
Jan 21
While UAVs have joined spy satellites as an indispensable part of America’s military operations—especially in delivering timely, accurate intel to troops on the ground—they are not the end-all-be-all perfect solution, even in coordination. That’s why DARPA plans to supplement these unmanned intelligence gathering platforms with jet-deployed constellations of micro-satellites. Soon, every grunt will have access to a real-time battlefield mini-map just in like video games. More »
Jan 18
Good. Bad. These are relative ideals that depend almost entirely on which end of the gun is facing us. A quartet of French art students—Michaël Balthazart, Clément Granjon, Quentin Sauvinet, and Raphaël Gaudin—collaborated at ArtFX 2012 to explore this concept in Voile Noir, which follows a pair of pilots, Allan and Yvan, as they attempt to deliver a bomb that will single-handedly end the war. More »
Jan 18
Snipers are among the most valuable assets a military can deploy in battle and have become a pillar of modern US counterinsurgency tactics. While mile-and-a-half-long shots are possible, they’re not all that common. But with DARPA’s new One Shot XG scope system, any ol’ Killroy will be able to accurately fire an M24 up to a mile. More »
Jan 16
This Is the Chemical Weapon Reportedly Used by Syria Against its Own People (Updated)
Posted in: Today's Chili
In the nearly two years since the start of the Syrian Civil War, the international community has steadfastly refused to directly intervene—despite reports of atrocities ranging from horrific detainee abuse to indiscriminate airstrikes and shelling against civilians. However, the Assad regime may have finally crossed the “red line” by unleashing a deadly nerve agent against residents of Homs. In doing so, the government may be courting a full-scale NATO retribution. More »
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