Check out these latest photos of China’s newest attack helo, the Z-19. The twin-seat bird, an updated version of the Z-9W that’s been in service since the 1990s, is just one more example of China’s military modernization.

If the chopper’s lines look vaguely familiar, it’s because the bird is based on the Eurocopter Dauphin series, you know, the same ones the U.S. Coast Guard flies. The Z-9 series are licence-built versions of the Dauphin. Now Beijing  has modified it into an attack helo.

Click through the jump for more pics.

Via China Defense Blog.

 

 

 

February 3rd, 2012 | Arms Trade, Around the Globe, China Rising, Eye on China, Planes, Copters, Blimps | 1632011 Commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fdefensetech.org%2F2012%2F02%2F03%2Ffriday-eye-candy-chinas-newest-attack-helo%2FFriday+Eye+Candy%3A+China%27s+Newest+Attack+Helo2012-02-03+15%3A28%3A14John+Reedhttp%3A%2F%2Fdefensetech.org%2F%3Fp%3D16320

In case you guys haven’t seen this video, it’s awesome. It shows a swarm of tiny quadrotor UAVs flying in numerous formations, performing figure eights with each other and even flying around obstacles. Talk about sense and avoid!

The little drones (monsters?) were developed and programmed by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception (GRASP) lab. The nano-copters were built by KMel robotics, according to the video.

Can’t you imagine a swarm of tiny drones like these being launched at an enemy by a small infantry unit? They could be carried in a backpack, controlled by a laptop and sent to spy on a nearby enemy and even explode on any targets they spot, similar to what the Army’s Switchblade UAV can do now. They’d be hard to spot until they were on top of the target and given their size and numbers, they’d be damn tough to defend against.

Scary to think about; almost as scary as this.

Click through  the jump to watch the video.

February 1st, 2012 | Bizarro, Drones, Planes, Copters, Blimps, Robots, Rotary Wing, Video Lounge | 1630751 Commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fdefensetech.org%2F2012%2F02%2F01%2Fcreepycool-video-tiny-uavs-flying-in-formation%2FCreepy-Cool+Video%3A+Tiny+UAVs+Flying+in+Formation2012-02-01+18%3A39%3A36John+Reedhttp%3A%2F%2Fdefensetech.org%2F%3Fp%3D16307

The Air Force is paying Northrop Grumman $47 million to equip two more Block 20 RQ-4 Global Hawks with BACN. You know, the communications link that allows different types of  datalinks to communicate with one another; allowing troops on the ground to easily share info with pilots in jets overhead even if they’re out of line-of-sight radio range.

The jets equipped with the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node will be dubbed EQ-4Bs and will likely head to Afghanistan where BACN has been in use aboard a WB-57 Canberra (old school, huh) and a Bombardier Global Express business jet. Keep in mind that the company was awarded a similar contract to install BACN on a pair of Global Hawks several years ago. The jets loiter over the war zone using BACN to translate communications between ground troops and attack jets. In theory, BACN should also allow the F-22 Raptor’s stealthy Intra-Flight Datalink (IFDL) to talk to older jets that use the standard Link-16 datalink.

This is a small step toward what will someday become a flying network in the sky where high-attitude drones capable of staying aloft for long periods of time form an airborne communications (and possibly navigation info) network capable of backing up ground and space-based networks.

Here’s a Northrop announcement on the latest deal:

The U.S. Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) a $47.2 million contract for the purchase and integration of two more Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) payloads on two existing Block 20 Global Hawk aircraft.

BACN is a high-altitude, airborne communications and information gateway system that maintains operational communications support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The persistent connectivity that BACN provides improves situational awareness and enables better coordination between forward-edge warfighters and commanders. BACN bridges and extends voice communications and battlespace awareness information from numerous sources using a suite of computers and radio systems.

After the BACN payloads have been integrated on the Block 20 Global Hawks, the aircraft will be designated as USAF EQ-4B unmanned systems, providing long endurance and high persistence gateway capabilities.

“The addition of two more BACN systems on Global Hawks will decisively enhance the required 24/7 gateway capability,” said Claude Hashem, vice president of the network communications systems business at Northrop Grumman’s Information Systems sector. “The EQ-4B unmanned systems will continue to provide long endurance and unsurpassed communications persistence to our warfighters.”

Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor for the development, fielding and maintenance of the BACN system and the RQ-4 Global Hawk aircraft. The company was awarded the first BACN contract in April 2005 by the Air Force Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass. The Global Hawk program is managed by the Air Force Aerospace Systems Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

“This latest award continues the BACN program tradition of delivering new capability on compressed timelines that meets the operational needs,” said Steve Zell, Northrop Grumman BACN program director.

Northrop Grumman’s work on the BACN program is managed and performed in San Diego with Global Hawk integration performed in Palmdale, Calif.

 

February 1st, 2012 | Air Force, Arms Trade, Around the Globe, Drones, Money Money Money, Planes, Copters, Blimps | 162983 Commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fdefensetech.org%2F2012%2F02%2F01%2Fget-ready-for-the-eq-4-global-hawk%2FGet+Ready+for+the+EQ-4+Global+Hawk2012-02-01+16%3A01%3A34John+Reedhttp%3A%2F%2Fdefensetech.org%2F%3Fp%3D16298

In case you haven’t seen it, Sandia National Labs is working on a self-guided bullet for small arms that can hit targets a mile away. Kinda like a small version of the Army’s Excalibur smart artillery round.

The four-inch, dart-like round uses tiny fins and an optical sensor in its nose to follow a laser beam all the way to its target, similar to the way a laser-guided bomb finds its target.

Think you can build it, then Sandia’s two researchers who are developing the round, Red Jones and Brian Kast, want to talk to you.

Click through to watch a video of the round and read more on it from a Sandia National Labs press release:

Most bullets shot from rifles, which have grooves, or rifling, that cause them to spin so they fly straight, like a long football pass. To enable a bullet to turn in flight toward a target and to simplify the design, the spin had to go, Jones said.

The bullet flies straight due to its aerodynamically stable design, which consists of a center of gravity that sits forward in the projectile and tiny fins that enable it to fly without spin, just as a dart does, he said.

Computer aerodynamic modeling shows the design would result in dramatic improvements in accuracy, Jones said. Computer simulations showed an unguided bullet under real-world conditions could miss a target more than a half mile away (1,000 m away) by 9.8 yards (9 m), but a guided bullet would get within 8 in (0.2 m), according to the patent.

The prototype does not require a device found in guided missiles called an inertial measuring unit, which would have added substantially to its cost. Instead, the researchers found that the bullet’s relatively small size when compared to guided missiles “is helping us all around. It’s kind of a fortuitous thing that none of us saw when we started,” Jones said.Plastic sabots provide a gas seal in the cartridge and protect the delicate fins until they drop off after the bullet emerges from the firearm’s barrel.

As the bullet flies through the air, it pitches and yaws at a set rate based on its mass and size. In larger guided missiles, the rate of flight-path corrections is relatively slow, so each correction needs to be very precise because fewer corrections are possible during flight. But “the natural body frequency of this bullet is about 30 hertz, so we can make corrections 30 times per second. That means we can overcorrect, so we don’t have to be as precise each time,” Jones said.

Testing has shown the electromagnetic actuator performs well and the bullet can reach speeds of 2,400 ft/sec, or Mach 2.1, using commercially available gunpowder. The researchers are confident it could reach standard military speeds using customized gunpowder.

 

January 31st, 2012 | Ammo and Munitions, Future Wars, Guns, Los Alamos and Labs, Video Lounge | 162831 Commenthttp%3A%2F%2Fdefensetech.org%2F2012%2F01%2F31%2Fsandias-new-smart-bullet%2FSandia%27s+New+Smart+Bullet2012-01-31+16%3A29%3A24John+Reedhttp%3A%2F%2Fdefensetech.org%2F%3Fp%3D16283

 

Here are some images I wasn’t expecting to see this century. It shows the Su-27s of the Russian Knights aerobatic team being escorted by Iranian F-14 Tomcats and F-4 Phantoms. Talk about bizarre. Two of America’s legendary Cold War fighters being flown by one of its biggest 21st Century adversaries alongside two Soviet-designed jets that were meant to shoot them down.

Click through the jump for more great pics.

Images via Alert5.

January 30th, 2012 | Around the Globe, Bizarro, Crazy Ivan, Old Skool, Planes, Copters, Blimps | 1626010 Commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fdefensetech.org%2F2012%2F01%2F30%2Fmonday-eye-candy-tomcats-and-sukhois-what%2FMonday+Eye+Candy%3A+Tomcats+and+Sukhois.+What%21%3F2012-01-30+16%3A08%3A27John+Reedhttp%3A%2F%2Fdefensetech.org%2F%3Fp%3D16260

In case you didn’t see this on Friday, the Pentagon is converting the 1970s-vintage amphibious assault ship USS Ponce into a mothership for special ops and countermining missions in the Middle East, the Washington Post is reporting.

The 570-foot long ship’s big flight deck and well deck are well suited to carry the choppers and small boats that SOF troops would use to execute raids from this floating assault base. In fact, a Navy market survey document laying out requirement to develop a floating base that can be used in the Persian Gulf says whatever ship is chosen must be able to carry 370 people, have a 20-person operations center, accomodate “4 MH-53 size helicopters” and a have up to 12 small vessels like riverine patrol boats and 7-meter Zodiac boats lash up to its side at any one time. Click through the jump to read the Navy’s market survey and the requirements for the floating base.

Here’s the Navy’s solicitations for company’s to convert the Ponce into that mothership, and quickly, in order to get the vessel to the seas around the Middle East and you can bet the Horn of Africa too. The Ponce is expected to serve as the SOF and counterming ops mothership until a more permanent floating base can be built, according to the Post.

AFSB Market Survey MM-12–04 Revision 1 Dec 22

January 28th, 2012 | Around the Globe, Cloak and Dagger, Commandos, Door Kickers, navy, Sea Services, Ships and Subs | 1625416 Commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fdefensetech.org%2F2012%2F01%2F28%2Fuss-ponce-to-become-spec-ops-mothership%2FUSS+Ponce+to+Become+Spec+Ops+Mothership2012-01-28+20%3A11%3A22John+Reedhttp%3A%2F%2Fdefensetech.org%2F%3Fp%3D16254

Imagine flying, along with 20 or so fellow aircrew, in an Air Force E-8C Joint Surveillance Targeting and Attack Radar System (JSTARS) jet for a mission to track down insurgents planting roadside bombs in Iraq or Afghanistan. You’ve just taken off from your base in Qatar but before you can go scan the ground for bad guys with the plane’s powerful AN/APY-7  radar, you’ve got to refuel from a waiting KC-135 tanker since the E-8’s ancient Pratt & Whitney JT3D engines burned way too much gas taking off on a hot Middle Eastern day.

The E-8 you’re flying in is a converted Boeing 707 passenger jet that was built in 1967 and flew in airline service for decades before being purchased by the Air Force and refurbished for military use in the 1990s.

Approaching the tanker, all is going smoothly until the two planes hook up and fuel starts flowing into the JSTARS. You hear a “loud bang throughout the midsection of the aircraft.” This freaks everyone out enough for the pilot to immediately stop the refueling to check the aircraft for damage or malfunctioning systems.  Finding none, the pilot brings the jet back into contact with the tanker and as soon as fuel starts flowing between the two jets, the E-8C begins to shudder as “another series of loud noises and vibrations” are “heard and felt throughout the aircraft.”

As this is happening, the KC-135’s boom operator, lying on his couch underneath the aft-belly of his jet, sees vapor and fuel pouring out of the JSTARS. Something is very wrong. The tanker crew tells the pilots of the JSTARS what they’re seeing and the E-8’s crew sees the same thing as they look out the windows in the aft of their jet; fuel is streaming out of “at least two holes in the left wing, just inboard of the number two engine.”

The pilot immediately brings the jet back to its base in Qatar. Once on the ground, mechanics find that the number two main fuel tank has been ruptured, “causing extensive damage to the wing of the aircraft.” How extensive? $25 million dollars worth of damage extensive.

What caused this potentially fatal and incredibly expensive accident to one of the United States’ biggest spy planes? A contractor accidentally left a plug in one of the fuel tank’s relief vents during routine maintenance.

This actually happened on March 13, 2009 and the story above is taken directly out of the Air Force accident investigative board’s report on the incident.

Yup, a civilian contractor inadvertently left the test plug inside the jet’s fuel tank when the plane went in for Programmed Depot Maintenance (PDM) at the Air Force’s Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Georgia, according to the accident report.

“The PDM subcontractor employed ineffective tool control measures,” reads the document. Tool control measures; you know, the absolutely basic practice of accounting for the exact location of every tool that is used to work on an airplane once that work is finished. Wow. Just, wow.

The contractor’s mistake caused a “near catastrophic fuel tank over-pressurization” and $25 million in damage during that aerial refueling session, the report states. Luckily, no one was hurt.

The report goes on to say, “The PDM subcontractor failed to follow Technical Order (TO) mandated procedures when employing the fuel vent test plug during PDM. Due to the relatively short period of time between take-off and [aerial refueling], the [mishap crew] did not have the opportunity to burn a substantial amount of fuel from the number two fuel tank which could have allowed the “dive flapper” valve to open after the tank’s excessive air pressure decreased to the point where the flapper valve would open. This explains why this mishap did not occur during [aerial refueling] conducted between the time the [mishap aircraft] left the PDM facility and the time of the mishap.

A colleague tells me that Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said this morning that one JSTARS will be retired, it may well be this bird.

Here are some pictures of the damage to the wing. Note how it doesn’t look that bad from outside. Once you see the inside however, it’s another story. If that’s not enough to convince you that fuel tank over-pressurization caused by a forgotten plug is a big deal, check this out.

 

 

 

 

 

January 27th, 2012 | Air Force, Money Money Money, Planes, Copters, Blimps, The Deadlies, The Defense Biz | 1615759 Commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fdefensetech.org%2F2012%2F01%2F27%2Fa-basic-mistake-that-trashed-a-jstars%2FA+Basic+Mistake+That+Trashed+a+JSTARS2012-01-27+18%3A08%3A08John+Reedhttp%3A%2F%2Fdefensetech.org%2F%3Fp%3D16157

I had a chance to sit down with Medal of Honor recipient SFC Leroy Petry a couple of days ago while participating in the AFCEA West 2012 conference in San Diego.  Like all who’ve received the nation’s highest award for valor, his story of courage under fire is amazing.  (Read more about him in Military.com’s headlines here.)

Petry lost his right hand when the enemy grenade he was throwing away from his fellow Rangers went off right as he released it.  After an extended convalesence and many hours of rehab, he was offered a range of prosthetic options.  While many amputees prefer the age-old hook because of its superior gripping power, Petry decided to go high-tech.  He selected the Touch Bionics iLimb Pulse.

From the article at Military​.com:

The iLimb Pulse basically has two parts: the robotic hand and the sleeve that slips over the forearm. Sensors within the sleeve pick up muscle movement near the surface of the forearm, which in turn programs the digits in the robotic hand to move.

“It basically runs off the same muscles you’d use to open and close your hand,” Petry explains. The robotic hand also rotates 360-degrees at the wrist, which comes in handy when trying to reach things in out-of-the-way places.

Petry recently upgraded from the Pulse to the iLimb Ultra, which has better tuned micro-motors and more titanium components. He also can replace the hand with an array of attachments including tools or cutlery.

“I never golfed until they told me they had a golf attachment,” he says. “Now I love the sport.”

And as an added feature, Petry had a special placard attached to his base plate with all the names of the Army Rangers from the Second Ranger Battalion who had been killed in combat since Operation Urgent Fury in 1984. “It reminds me that men are still out there fighting,” he says pointing to the placard. “Hopefully, it doesn’t have to get any bigger.”

(Photo — SFC Leroy Petry’s Touch Bionics iLimb Ultra — with memorial placard to fallen Army Rangers.)

– Ward

January 27th, 2012 | Gadgets and Gear, Robots, The Defense Biz | 161812 Commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fdefensetech.org%2F2012%2F01%2F27%2Fmoh-level-valor-leads-to-a-robot-hand%2FMoH-level+Valor+Leads+to+a+Robot+Hand2012-01-27+15%3A50%3A00Wardhttp%3A%2F%2Fdefensetech.org%2F%3Fp%3D16181

So, the Navy just took a big step toward achieving the military’s goal of having UAV’s capable of mid-air refueling.

Last month, a Navy Learjet equipped with flight control software and refueling hardware from the service’s X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstrator jet autonomously completed a mock air-to-air refueling from a Boeing 707-based tanker (shown in the picture above, note the safety pilot you can see in the Learjet’s cockpit).

Remember, the X-47B is designed to prove that a stealthy, fighter-size drone can be operated from aircraft carriers and perform long-range strike, ISR and aerial refueling missions. X-47B is meant to pave the way for the Navy’s Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) combat drone, set to enter service later this decade.

The technology used in the refueling tests is similar to this tech that will be used to allow the X-47B to take-off and land aboard aircraft carriers.

From a NAVAIR press release:

“The AAR segment of the program is intended to demonstrate a system that will enable the X-47B UCAS-D to safely approach and maneuver around tanker aircraft, performing both Navy and Air Force style refueling techniques,” said Capt. Jaime Engdahl, Navy UCAS program manager.

The Navy has been working closely with the Air Force Research Lab for the past decade to develop technologies and operating concepts for AAR, Engdahl said. Both services share a common goal of enabling tankers to autonomously refuel manned and unmanned aircraft in the future, he added.

The UCAS-D team began this test phase in November when a team from Northrop Grumman installed X-47B hardware and software on a Calspan Learjet surrogate aircraft. The initial ground and taxi tests culminated in the first AAR test flight Dec. 20.

The team then conducted a series of flights using the surrogate aircraft, equipped with X-47B software and hardware, and an Omega K-707 Tanker. The Learjet successfully completed multiple air-refueling test points autonomously while commanded by a ground operator.

The AAR segment of the UCAS-D program is designed to assess the initial functionality of the X-47B AAR systems and navigation performance, as well as to test the government tanker refueling interface systems. The AAR program is using similar command and control, and navigation processes being demonstrated by the UCAS team aboard the aircraft carrier.

This is a major step in advancing the flight control systems that allow UAVs to safely fly extremely close to other aircraft and execute potentially dangerous missions. Keep in mind that so-called, automatic sense-and-avoid technology is the key to allowing drones to safely fly in crowded airspace to keep things like this from happening. Once sense and avoid is perfected, you’ll see UAVs regularly flying aerial refueling missions and others that require serious interaction with other aircraft, manned and unmanned. You might even see them cleared by the FAA to fly in civil airspace.

January 26th, 2012 | Drones, Money Money Money, navy, Planes, Copters, Blimps | 16158No Commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fdefensetech.org%2F2012%2F01%2F26%2Fnavy-getting-very-close-to-uav-aerial-refueling%2FNavy+Getting+Very+Close+to+UAV+Aerial+Refueling2012-01-26+16%3A39%3A25John+Reedhttp%3A%2F%2Fdefensetech.org%2F%3Fp%3D16158

Wow, so it looks like we’re seeing the first of the upcoming budget cuts for the Air Force trickle out. The AP is reporting that the Air Force is cancelling the RQ-4 Global Hawk high-altitude spy drone opting instead to keep the legendary U-2 Dragon Lady in service (for now, anyway)! Yup, the 50-year old U-2 is replacing its replacement for the second time. Remember, it the U-2 outlasted the SR-71 Blackbird, a plane also meant to replace it.

Rather than fight through the Block 30 version of the jet’s teething problems, service officials are moving to can the Air Force’s version of the Northrop Grumman-made RQ-4, a jet the Navy also flies.

Officials say Pentagon budget cuts will end the Air Force’s long-range surveillance drone known as the Global Hawk, but keep the Navy’s version of the unmanned aircraft.

Defense analyst Loren Thompson says defense officials have decided to rely on the less expensive, high-altitude U-2 spy plane, which has a shorter range but has been used in Asia, particularly to keep an eye on North Korea.

Thompson, who is with the Virginia-based Lexington Institute, says the Global Hawk, which can stay airborne for 24 hours, would be more valuable as the Pentagon shifts focus to the vast Pacific region.

Officials say that while Air Force Block 30 version is being cut, the Navy’s variant could be used by the Air Force. Global Hawks are made by Northrop Grumman Corp.

Just last week we ran a post asking about last summer’s mysterious crash of a Global Hawk just inside Pakistan. I wonder if Air Force and Pentagon officials are simply giving up on the older, problem laden UAV program in favor of pushing money into newer, more survivable drones that incorporate lessons learned from Global Hawk into their designs.

Speaking of budget cuts, check out what’s going on with Army vehicles.

January 25th, 2012 | Air Force, Drones, Extra! Extra!, Money Money Money, Old Skool, Planes, Copters, Blimps | 1614312 Commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fdefensetech.org%2F2012%2F01%2F25%2Fadios-global-hawk-u-2-will-stick-around%2FAdios+Global+Hawk%2C+U-2+Will+Stick+Around2012-01-25+13%3A56%3A35John+Reedhttp%3A%2F%2Fdefensetech.org%2F%3Fp%3D16143