The United States Air Force is suffering a global air superiority crisis after 26 years of combat operations. Today, the service possesses just under 1,000 aircraft capable of air-to-air combat — F-15s, , F-22s, and F-35s. That is down more than 65 percent since the end of the Cold War. Given the global demands of …
All US Presidents from Reagan, to Bush 1, Clinton, Bush 2, Obama and Trump have failed to reverse the North Korean Nuclear program. Presidents from Eisenhower to Carter failed to prioritize and solve the North Korean rogue state issue. China has long feared a refugee crisis flooding its borders if North Korea’s leadership collapses. South …
Pre-election polls had forecast a sizable Macron victory, and he appeared to have delivered, with projections issued after polls closed showing him with around 65 percent of the vote. Macron promised to reform two institutions notoriously resistant to change: the European Union and the French bureaucracy. Macron promised to do more for the weaker EU …
Cascading F-35 testing delays could cost the Department of Defense (DOD) over a billion dollars more than currently budgeted to complete development of the F-35 baseline program. Because of problems with the mission systems software, known as Block 3F, program officials optimistically estimate that the program will need an additional 5 months to complete developmental …
The Navy would have to spend $102 billion annually build, operate and maintain a 355-ship fleet over the next 30 years, according to a new report from the Congressional Budget Office issued on Monday. This would be more than one-third greater than the amount appropriated for fiscal year 2016 for today’s 275-ship fleet. In total …
Right-wing politician Marine Le Pen claimed victory alongside centrist Emmanuel Macron for the French presidential runoff, with the future of the European Union at stake. Centrist Emmanuel Macron placed first and far-right leader Marine Le Pen placed second in initial exit polls in the first round of France’s presidential election, advancing them to a head-to-head …
The relative strength of nowcast projections (global growth at 4.4%) compared with more staid IMF forecasts (global growth 3.5%) are a result of ebullient consumer and business confidence surveys, particularly the US. Nowcasts, like those from Fulcrum and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, rely heavily on “soft” survey data, as it has proven …
The Carnival of Space 502 is up at Urban Astronomer. Evolving Planet – Origami-inspired Microbots, Our Future Planet Explorers Nextbigfuture – 3d printing using simulated lunar and martian regolith combined with common biologically derived polymer Nextbigfuture – Next Japanese solar sail will be 10-15 times bigger than Ikaros solar sail and have a far better …
The fate of the EU could be decided April 23-May 7, when the French vote for a new president in their elections. If a pro-European candidate doesn’t win there, the European project may instead be forced into a long, cold winter, and nationalist, protectionist and populist agendas may once again take the upper hand. The …
Modern electronic biomedical devices are enabling a wide range of sophisticated health interventions, from seizure detection and Parkinson’s disease therapy to functional artificial limbs, cochlear implants and smart contact lenses. An effective direct interfacing material is essential to communication between these devices and neural tissue, which includes nerves and the brain. In recent years, a …
The U.S. Navy has 10 Nimitz-class aircraft carriers. That’s below the number mandated by Federal law, but the Navy was granted a waiver while it waited for the Gerald R. Ford to enter the fleet. The Ford has seen repeated delays. The Navy expects Ford to enter the fleet this Spring, but hasn’t yet set …