Tag Archives: Popular Mechanics

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Weapon Wednesday – Air Force Hypersonic Engine

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hermeus, air force one

HERMEUS
  • The U.S. Air Force is funding an aviation startup working on a combined cycle engine.
  • Hermeus’s combined cycle engine can work like a regular turbofan or ramjet engine, reaching a speed of Mach 5.
  • The Air Force thinks the best application for the engine, oddly enough, is a future Air Force One.

Hermeus, a Georgia-based aviation startup, has announced a contract with the U.S. Air Force to develop its idea for a hypersonic aircraft engine. The Air Force department funding the project is the Presidential and Executive Airlift Directorate, the team that manages Air Force One. A Mach 5 aircraft could allow the president to fly from New York to London in 90 minutes, instead of the 7 hours it takes today. read more

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Weapon Wednesday – The Chevy Infantry Squad Vehicle

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isv

GM DEFENSE
  • The U.S. Army is buying the first of what will eventually be a fleet of more than 2,000 Infantry Squad Vehicles (ISVs).
  • The ISV is based on the Chevy Colorado pickup truck.
  • Fast and light, the ISV can quickly transport an infantry squad across the battlefield. read more
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Weapon Wednesday – WWII Coal Bombs

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world war ii derailment caused by the french resi

LAPIGETTY IMAGES
  • During World War II, spies needed a compact, disguised explosive to issue to resistance forces in occupied Europe.
  • One solution was “explosive coal,” which could be infiltrated into enemy coal supplies.
  • A similar program in Vietnam introduced defective, exploding bullets into enemy ammunition. read more
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Weapon Wednesday – Type X Drone “Robot” Tank

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milrem, rcv, drone

MILREM
  • The Type X drone is a new robotic combat vehicle (RCV) equipped with either an 25 or 30-millimeter auto cannon or anti-tank missiles.
  • Inexpensive and semi-expendable, RCVs hold the key to the future of land warfare.
  • In the future, Army ground forces will consist of human/RCV vehicles and even some unmanned RCV formations. read more
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Weapon Wednesday – Ratheon’s Stormbreaker Guided Bomb

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stormbreaker

Raytheon
  • A U.S. Navy Super Hornet successfully launched a Stormbreaker guided bomb, paving the way for service adoption.
  • Stormbreaker is capable of homing in on both stationary and moving targets, even in bad weather.
  • The Super Hornet is the second U.S. military warplane to carry Stormbreaker, after the F-15E Strike Eagle. read more
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Weapon Wednesday – Anti-Tank Gun Extinguishes Oil Fire

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oil well fire, rapira

YOUTUBE/RUSSIAN MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
  • A Russian oil company called in the army to fight an oil well fire it was unable to control.
  • The Russian army sent a Rapira anti-tank gun and crew to shell the wellhead.
  • An anti-aircraft gun isn’t the biggest weapon used to stop a fire. Think much bigger. Much, much bigger.

Russian troops called in to battle a Siberian oil well fire got the job done with an unusual firefighting tool: an anti-tank gun. The army troops were requested after the owners of an oil wellhead that had caught fire were unable to put out the blaze. The gun, designed to kill NATO tanks, successfully extinguished the fire. read more

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Weapon Wednesday – At Sea Repairs with Supersonic Metallic Spray

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australia france defence military submarines

PETER PARKSGETTY IMAGES
  • The Australian Navy is researching cold spray, a form of additive manufacturing, to repair submarines.
  • The tech blasts surfaces with tiny bits of metal at high speed, binding it to a surface.
  • The process could keep submarines out of shipyards and at sea where they’re needed. read more
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Weapon Wednesday – Fire the “Laser”

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pacific ocean may 16, 2020 the amphibious transport dock ship uss portland lpd 27 conducts a solid state laser technology maturation laser weapon system demonstrator lwsd mk 2 mod 0 test lwsd is a high energy laser weapon system demonstrator developed by the office of naval research and installed on portland for an at sea demonstration lwsd's operational employment on a pacific fleet ship is the first system level implementation of a high energy class solid state laser us navy photo

U.S. NAVY

The U.S. Navy released a video of its newest, most powerful laser in action, destroying a target drone in mid-flight. The MK 2 MOD 0, also known as the Solid State Laser—Technology Maturation Laser Weapon System Demonstrator (LWSD), is mounted on the amphibious ship USS Portland. The LWSD is likely the most powerful and destructive laser to go to sea. read more

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Weapon Wednesday – Drones Launched from Helicopters

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altius drone army

U.S. Army
  • In a test at Yuma Proving Ground, the U.S. Army launched a drone from a Blackhawk helicopter.
  • The test validated the ability to launch drones from helicopters, a tricky proposition due to the downwash created by the helo’s rotors.
  • In the near future the Army will field helicopters armed with ALEs, drones equipped with both video cameras and explosive warheads.

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Weapon Wednesday – U.S. Military Project Blackjack

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darpa

DARPA
  • The Pentagon wants mesh networks of small satellites capable of replacing its larger, more expensive satellites.
  • Project Blackjack’s satellites would replace one satellite with many, making for a more resilient system in wartime.
  • The first test satellites will launch in 2021. read more