BYU’s holography research group has can create holographic lightsaber battles and spaceship battles of the Starship Enterprise and a Klingon Battle Cruiser that incorporate photon torpedoes launching and striking the enemy vessel that you can see with the naked eye. The researchers believe they will be able to create immersive holographic video that surrounds the …
Parachute assaults have been the exception, rather than the rule but paratroopers are still useful. Airborne troops are the first “boots on the ground” in any crisis. This could be major combat or humanitarian relief. A brigade of paratroopers can deploy into anywhere in the world in as little as 18 hours as part of …
Today is May the Fourth be with you day. Star Wars is usually considered a Space Opera Fantasy and not a source of accurate predictions of the future. However, there is a significant probability that day to day life could have many similarities to the worlds of Star Wars. I, Brian Wang, actually believe that …
Netherlands Urban Intervention SOF team setup exercises to explore the tactical value of the Gravity Jet Suit. Rapid deployment and access to top cover positions, plus rapid relocation in pursuit of the threat, all in support of the ground team. They seem to have added holsters and storage of the jet engine thrusters. This lets …
Gravity Industries has demonstrated using a jet suit to help board a ship. The person in a jet suit flies a few hundred meters onto a ship and then lowers a climbing rope for a boarding party. This is the real-life enablement of the Mandalorian or Marvel’s Falcon. Adam Savage also helped this team make …
The US Navy will place its first at-sea hypersonic missiles aboard one of the service’s three Zumwalt-class destroyers in four years (by 2025). These will likely be hypersonic warheads on regular vertically launched missiles. Hypersonic warheads can go faster and can move around more than regular warheads. Hypersonic weapons go at 5 times the speed …
The 2020 US Department of Defense reports that China’s Navy has more vessels than the US Navy. The PRC has the largest navy in the world, with an overall battle force of approximately 350 ships and submarines including over 130 major surface combatants. In comparison, the U.S. Navy’s battle force is approximately 293 ships as …
There is speculation that China’s 2020 census could report a population that is already in decline. China reported an estimated population of over 1.4 billion in 2018. China’s population was previously not expected to peak until 2024-2030. In February, 2021, China’s National Health Commission proposed fully lifting the family planning policy firstly in Northeast China. …
Plasma Kinetics makes light-activated hydrides. It removed the hydrogen from a hydride using light. It system is safe, clean, and scalable and holds more energy than a lithium-ion battery, costing less, and recharges in 5 minutes. This is an energy storage technology that Sandy Munro believes is workable. PK is the first company to pursue …
ULA, a 50-50 joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, has four Delta 4-Heavy rockets left to launch in the next few years. All will launch spy satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office. The retirement was announced in 2019 and the last Delta IV Heavy should fly in 2023. ULA’s Delta 4 Heavy’s price has …
Kelvin Long explores the Advanced Space Propulsion Landscape and goes from all of the concepts from different energy drives (chemical to antimatter), beam concepts, space drives and time drives. Kelvin has worked on various fusion propulsion, laser sails and evaporating black hole drives. Kelvin is also looking at hybridized concepts for things like combining nuclear …
