NASA has successfully applied a new technology in flight that allows aircraft to fold their wings to different angles while in the air. The recent flight series, which took place at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, was part of the Spanwise Adaptive Wing project, or SAW. This project aims to validate the use …
The Russian military is developing a wing in ground effect a super-heavy transport- ekranoplan is developed, capable of landing not only on water, as its predecessors, but also on land. By its dimensions, the car will be comparable to the famous “Caspian Monster” in Soviet times. The device is planned to be used in the …
F-35 stealth jets are having significantly longer repair times than planned because maintenance facilities are six years behind schedule. The time to repair a part has averaged 172 days — “twice the program’s objective” — the Government Accountability Office, Congress’s watchdog agency, found. The shortages are “degrading readiness” because the fighter jets “were unable to …
The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. The nuclear-powered submarine. Ultra-advanced stealth bombers and fighters. These all represent the most lethal, sophisticated and expensive weapons in the US military’s mighty arsenal—and they might soon all be close to obsolete. The aircraft carrier, stealth fighters and submarines will still be useful but they will have new vulnerabilities that will …
Scaled Composites has flown a new experimental aircraft called the Model 401. It has new features, including signature reduction design features. It is similar to the General Atomics Predator C Avenger and could be used for unmanned refueling drones and other applications. Scaled Composites is a wholly owned subsidiary of Northrop Grumman. It is powered …
The US Senate’s version of the annual defense bill provides $200 million for rapid prototyping of directed energy weapons. There’s no shortage of U.S. military interest in battlefield lasers and other directed-energy weapons. From truck-mounted lasers to high-powered microwaves that take down small drones, the Army, Navy, and Air Force are all exploring the possibilities. …
China’s j-20 stealth fighter is operational. It has small wings and is not optimized to beat other advanced fighters like the US F-22 raptor. Short-range tactical fighters like the F-22, F-35 and J-20 are ill-suited for operations in the Western Pacific where distances are vast and bases are scarce. The same geographic constraints also apply …
The Stratolaunch team (funded by billionaire Paul Allen) is proud to announce that our aircraft is one step closer to providing convenient, reliable, and routine access to low Earth orbit. The first test flights are planned to begin in 2017, with a goal of a commercial launch by 2020. The first flight of the carrier …
Bell Helicopter is so confident in their new V-280 tilt-rotor prototype that they want the Pentagon to accelerate the Future Vertical Lift program by five to eight years. This would pull production of the first future helicopter replacement, twice as fast and longer-ranged replacement for Army UH-60s and Marine UH-1s, from the 2030s to as …
The F-22 Raptor stealth figheter has been involved in combat missions since 2014, the Air Force is planning to equip the fifth-generation aircraft with new missiles, upgraded sensors and perform key maintenance on its special stealth coating. By 2019, the Air Force and Lockheed Martin hope to upgrade the F-22 to carry advanced AIM-120D and …
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 …