US Navy Sticking With Advanced Arresting Gear in Next Carrier despite tripling cost from $476 million to $1.4 billion

The Navy is electing to use the controversial Advanced Arresting Gear on its next Gerald R. Ford-class carrier, John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), USNI News has learned. The landing gear had been estimated in 2009 to cost $476 million in costs for research development and acquisition for four systems but have increased to a 2016 cost …

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Exosuits and Exoskeletons will be hitting milestones and ramping up from 2017-2026

The DARPA Warrior Web program aims to significantly lower the “metabolic cost” — or energy expenditure — of troops operating in the field, and reduce the physiological burden of the gear that they carry, which can exceed 100 pounds. They are developing soft robotic exosuits that are designed to provide power and torque to critical …

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In Situ processing lets researchers preview results of long run exascale simulations as they are running

The SENSEI in situ processing project takes aim at a set of research challenges for enabling scientific knowledge discovery within the context of in situ processing at extreme-scale concurrency. This work is motivated by a widening gap between FLOPs and I/O capacity which will make full-resolution, I/O-intensive post hoc analysis prohibitively expensive, if not impossible. …

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Army patents a shrapnel proof adult diaper like harness

Enngineers and designers at the Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center have patented a new design for a harness that protects its wearer from blast debris. Worn outside the pants, the harness is designed to protect the groin and femoral artery and prevent debris from embedding in and around the groin. Such injuries …

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Next generation Columbia submarines will have quieter electric drive, cost about $5 billion each and become operation 2030 through 2041

The Columbia class submarine program, previously known as the Ohio replacement program (ORP) or SSBN(X) program, a program to design and build a new class of 12 ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) to replace the Navy’s current force of 14 Ohio-class SSBNs. The Navy has identified the Columbia class program as the Navy’s top priority program. …

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Japan making steel 20-30% lighter and 25% stronger than the toughest high-tensile steel at the same price

Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal has developed an automotive steel sheet that is 20-30% lighter and 25% stronger than the toughest high-tensile steel now on the market, hoping to help carmakers build more fuel-efficient, safer vehicles. The company is conducting verification tests and will start marketing the product around 2020 for use in vehicle frames, …

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LPP Fusion needs some crowdfunding help to keep tests going and reach a better funding milestone

Focus fusion is funding raising for each test firing of its pulse fusion system. It will take about $150,000 to fire 200 shots. This is $750 per shot. Shots at present are cleaning remaining impurities from the machine and it may take quite a few more, 100-200, to get to the purity level they need. …

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New Russian mach 6 hypersonic missile will enter production 2018 and then be used on ships, submarines, bombers

Russia’s 3M22 Zircon hypersonic cruise missile is expected to enter into production in 2018. The new weapon-which is capable of speeds of around Mach 5.0-Mach 6.0 is currently in testing The hypersonic missile-which is a component of the 3K22 Zircon system-will be incorporated into the nuclear-powered Project 11442 Orlan -class battle cruiser Pyotr Veliky When …

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Israel will be getting first modified F-35 stealth jet fighters late in 2016 and will use them to maintain beat Iran’s Russian S-300 anti-air missiles

The Israeli version of the F-35 stealth fighter is being manufactured by Lockheed Martin according to Israeli specifications. The Isreali F-35 is called Adir (Awesome). The first two Adirs will be delivered to the Israel Air Force (IAF) in December 2016. Israel has publicly announced the efforts of its air force to double the flight …

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Spiders sprayed with water containing carbon nanotubes and graphene flakes have produced the toughest fibers ever measured

Spider silk is one of the more extraordinary materials known to science. The protein fiber, spun by spiders to make webs, is stronger than almost anything that humans can make. Nextbigfuture covered this work in May but here is some more details. The dragline silk spiders use to make a web’s outer rim and spokes …

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