The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization at first estimated the earthquake from last weeks North Korea’s bomb test at 5.8 magnitude, but later revised to 6.1. The higher estimate would indicate North Korea exploded a 250 kilotons of bomb instead of a 100-120 kiloton bomb. The UN Security Council unanimously imposed an eighth set of sanctions …
By the end of 2017, Israel is expected to become the second country after the United States to declare Initial Operational Capability for its F-35s. Israel already has taken possession of five of F35 fighters, and following an agreement late last month to buy an additional seventeen planes, will ultimately purchase fifty planes. All fifty …
The Israeli Defense Ministry released video footage showing new aircraft being tested – includinga hovering drone, whose weaponry is designed primarily as sniper fire. There are two new drone projects: the first is a kind of drone helicopter, made by Israel Aerospace Industries, that would be capable of carrying up to 180 kilograms (396 pounds) …
The UK showed a mockup of a 50 kw Dragon Fire combat laser mounted in a turret. Dragonfire system will be a 50kW class directed energy weapon designed for use on both land and sea. Laser weapons have key advantages over traditional systems: the munition is potentially unlimited, and it operates at the speed of …
Lockheed Martin unveiled a new small unmanned aircraft system (UAS) that has been designed and developed in the UK at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI). OUTRIDER is a lightweight, canister launched UAS that has been designed by engineers at Lockheed Martin UK’s Havant facility in partnership with Wirth Research, an engineering company with …
Ron Paul has made the argument that the USA should continue to buy the Russian RD-180 rocket which was permitted since 1995. The RD-180 is a rocket engine designed and built in Russia. It features a dual combustion chamber, dual-nozzle design and is fueled by a kerosene/LOX mixture. Currently, RD-180 engines are used for the …
Israel has pre-emptively attacked two of its enemies to eliminate emerging weapon of mass destruction capability. In the mid-1970s, it became clear to Israel that Iraq’s Saddam Hussein was working on acquiring nuclear weapons and missiles to deliver them. After coming to office in 1977, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin tried to convince the U.S. …
The Airbus Perlan Mission II, the world’s first initiative to send an engineless aircraft to the edge of space, made history yesterday in the Patagonia region of Argentina by soaring to over 52,000 feet and setting a new world altitude record for gliding. “We are celebrating an amazing victory for aerospace innovation and scientific discovery …
Reaction Systems of Colorado is making an advanced endothermic fuel system for Hypersonic Propulsion. The development of weapons that can travel at hypersonic speeds is becoming a high priority to the US Air Force. A key technology needed for the continued development of these propulsion systems is the ability to cool the combustor by flowing …
Michael Swaine, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, proposes accepting and managing a nuclear North Korea. Swaine says policymakers in the United States, China, South Korea, and Japan should adopt a more realistic approach focused on deterrence, containment, and an array of crisis management measures. * North Korea will not give up …
Instapundit relayed information from Alex Pournelle that Science Fiction author Jerry Pournelle has died. Wikipedia also confirms the death of Jerry Pournelle. Jerry Pournelle wrote online at Chaos Manor. In 1985, Footfall, in which Robert A. Heinlein was a thinly veiled minor character, reached the number one spot on the New York Times Best Seller …