Recent Warfare Technologies

[a_majoor]

Low cost UAV delivery drones. The CQ should love these!

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/10/robotic-cargo-drone-for-under-1-million.html

Robotic cargo drone for under $1 million and 120 mile range

The Air Force needs a low-cost, expendable, autonomous cargo drone to carry out resupply in contested airspace. Though the 3-ton payload Lockheed/Kaman K-MAX autonomous cargo helicopter is too high-end, the U.S. Marine Corps has operationally demonstrated the concept’s reliability in Afghanistan since 2011. Yet something like the SOCOM/MMIST CQ-10A/BSnowgoose costs less than $1 million and is capable of carrying 600 pounds of cargo 200 kilometers (120 miles).

Snowgoose

The self launch variant or "BRAVO" SnowGoose UAV system has vertical take off and near vertical landing capability, is designed to be operated from unprepared launch and landing sites and has unmattched flexibility with regard to operating location and terrain. The CQ-10B variant is an incremental upgrade to the existing CQ-10A system.

 

[a_majoor]

Interesting development in robotics: one which can fly and swim using the same appendages:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/10/harvard-demos-insect-sized-flying.html

Harvard demos insect sized flying submarine robot
 
Researchers at the Harvard Paulson School have demonstrated a flying, swimming, insectlike robot, easing the way to create future aerial-aquatic robotic vehicles. The research was presented recently in a paper at the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems in Germany, where first author Chen accepted the award for best student paper.

The RoboBee is a miniature robot that has long been able to fly. But what if the RoboBee lands in water? Using a modified flapping technique, researchers at the Harvard John Paulson School and Wyss Institute have demonstrate that the RoboBee can also swim. This is the first-ever aerial and aquatic capable insect-scale robot.

The Harvard RoboBee, designed in Wood’s lab, is a microrobot, smaller than a paper clip, that flies and hovers like an insect, flapping its tiny, nearly invisible wings 120 times per second. In order to make the RoboBee’s transition from air to water, the team first had to solve the problem of surface tension. The RoboBee is so small and lightweight that it cannot break the surface tension of the water. To overcome this hurdle, the RoboBee hovers over the water at an angle, momentarily switches off its wings, and crashes unceremoniously into the water in order to sink.

Next the team had to account for water’s increased density.

“Water is almost 1,000 times denser than air and would snap the wing off the RoboBee if we didn’t adjust its flapping speed,” said Helbling, the paper’s second author.

The team lowered the wing speed from 120 flaps per second to nine but kept the flapping mechanisms and hinge design the same. A swimming RoboBee changes its direction by adjusting the stroke angle of the wings, the same way it does in air. Like a flying version, it is still tethered to a power source. The team prevented the RoboBee from shorting out by using deionized water and coating the electrical connections with glue.

While this RoboBee can move seamlessly from air to water, it cannot yet transition from water to air because it can’t generate enough lift without snapping one of its wings. Solving that design challenge is the next phase of the research, according to Chen.

“What is really exciting about this research is that our analysis of flapping-wing locomotion is not limited to insect-scaled vehicles,” said Chen. “From millimeter-scaled insects to meter-scaled fishes and birds, flapping locomotion spans a range of sizes. This strategy has the potential to be adapted to larger aerial-aquatic robotic designs.”

“Bio-inspired robots, such as the RoboBee, are invaluable tools for a host of interesting experiments — in this case on the fluid mechanics of flapping foils in different fluids,” said Wood. “This is all enabled by the ability to construct complex devices that faithfully re-create some of the features of organisms of interest.”

 

[a_majoor]

Frustratingly short of detail, but finding ways to desalinate water cheaply and effectively is imperative in many places (and this sort of technology is also useful for things like wastewater treatment or remediating tailing ponds as well):

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/10/pervaporation-eliminates-need-for.html

Pervaporation eliminates the need for electricity in desalination to cut energy usage in half

Scientists at Alexandria University in Egypt are developing an innovative water-purifying technique that uses half the energy as previous methods. They have created a membrane that can both clean and desalinate water, that could offer Egypt and other developing countries an inexpensive new water source. The method uses materials from North Africa and could make water desalination a more affordable process, according Digital Trends. Researchers ultimately plan to mass-produce the membrane and print sheets for individual use.

The breakthrough by Alexandria researchers lies in the new kind of membrane with just five "ingredients" that could be made in other labs without great difficulty. It binds with the salt in the water – it even works with the very salty water found in the Red Sea.

"Using pervaporation eliminates the need for electricity that is used in classic desalination processes, thus cutting costs significantly," Ahmed El-Shafei, an agricultural and biosystems engineering professor at Alexandria University, told Digital Trends.

Water Science and Technology - Desalination of simulated seawater by purge-air pervaporation using an innovative fabricated membrane

Abstract - Desalination of simulated seawater by purge-air pervaporation using an innovative fabricated membrane

An innovative polymeric membrane has been invented, which presents a breakthrough in the field of desalination membranes. It can desalinate simulated seawater of exceptionally high concentration to produce a high flux of potable water with over 99.7% salt rejection (%SR) in a once-through purge-air pervaporation (PV) process. A set-up was constructed for conducting the desalination experiments and the effect of initial salt solution concentration (Ci) and pervaporation temperature (Tpv) on the water flux (J), %SR, separation factor, and pervaporation separation index were determined. The membrane was prepared by the phase-inversion technique, of a specially formulated casting solution consisting of five ingredients, after which the membrane was subjected to a post-treatment by which certain properties were conferred. The results confirmed that the salinity of the pervaporate was independent of Ci (all %SR above 99.7). The best result was at Tpv = 70 °C, where J varied from 5.97 to 3.45 l/m2 h for Ci = 40–140 g NaCl/l, respectively. The membrane morphology was confirmed to be asymmetric. The contact angle was immeasurable, indicating the membrane to be super-hydrophilic. Activation energies computed using Arrhenius law were, under all conditions investigated, less than 20 kJ/mol K.

 

[a_majoor]

The science of "photonics" just became more exciting. Fibre to the desktop will eventually become "fibre all the way" (although this probably means that we can now process funny cat pictures and XKCD a million times faster than ever....)

http://qz.com/#532580/scientists-have-found-a-way-to-make-light-waves-travel-infinitely-fast/?utm_source=parWD

Scientists can now “squeeze” light, a breakthrough that could make computers millions of times faster

Have you ever wondered why we don’t use light to transmit messages? Nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, but while we use light to carry signals along fiber optic cables, we use electrons to process sound and information in our phones and computers. The reason has always been because light particles–photons—are extremely difficult to manipulate, whereas electrons can be manipulated relatively easily.

But now a group of Harvard physicists has taken a major step toward solving that puzzle, and have brought us one step closer to ultra-fast, light-based computers.

The physicists, led by Professor Eric Mazur, have created a material where the phase velocity of light is infinite. Their results were published in Nature Photonics on Oct. 19th.

“The phase speed is infinite—much larger, infinitely larger than the speed of light,” Mazur tells Quartz.


This doesn’t mean light itself is traveling faster than the speed of light, which would violate the laws of relativity. “Phase velocity” refers to the speed of the crest of waves that ripple out when light strikes a material. The Harvard scientists created a material that allows these wave crests to move infinitely fast. This is a strange thought to wrap your head around, and means the crests of the waves are oscillating through time, but not space. Under these peculiar conditions, the Harvard scientists found that it’s easy to manipulate the photons, squeezing them down to the microscopic scale and turning them around. In other words, we can treat photons in the same way we currently manipulate electrons.

And it’s electromagnetic waves that count when it comes to telecommunications. “These waves are everywhere,” says Mazur. “We can talk on mobile phones because, in our phones, there are electrons that move up and down to create a wave. This wave travels to the antennae of the phone company and makes electrons there move up and down, which can be detected and turned into electrical signals that can be turned into an audio signal.”

That means the potential commercial uses for this discovery are massive. We won’t see light-based computers yet, as there are still several obstacles to address, but Mazur and his team have overcome a key challenge. “Usually, light needs to be handled very carefully and squeezed very slowly,” says Mazur. “With our material, you relax those constraints completely. You can bend the light, squeeze it, twist it.”

Light-powered telecommunications would allow phones and computers to process information millions of times faster. And because light conserves energy far better than electrons (which tend to waste energy by creating heat), battery lives would be far longer.

It may seem that we already transmit communications pretty fast. But if we could use light to process messages, everything would get a whole lot faster.

Actual article here: http://www.nature.com/nphoton/journal/v9/n11/full/nphoton.2015.198.html

 

[a_majoor]

Using a tether to send power and comms to micro drones gives them much more versatility:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/11/microtethered-drone-never-needs-to-land.html

Microtethered Drone never needs to land

The Persistent Aerial Reconnaissance and Communications (PARC) system is designed to provide long term persistent stare capabilities and enable reliable long distance communications. PARC uses CyPhy Works’ patented microfilament system to deliver extreme endurance, increased capabilities, and a smaller logistical footprint. PARC flies itself, so very little user training is required; and when operating the system the user can focus on the data that PARC produces, instead of the system itself.

The PARC system consists of a Ground Control Station (GCS) and a purpose built hexrotor VTOL air vehicle. The PARC vehicle carries a gyro-stabilized, gimbal mounted, EO/IR camera payload. In addition to the camera system, PARC has additional payload capacity for communications devices. If additional payload capacity is required, the camera payload can be removed.

The PARC vehicle can operate at altitudes of up to 500 feet above ground level, or 10,000 feet density altitude. This high altitude capability enables long distance communications and extends visual reach. The microfilament system carries power and Ethernet communication between the GCS and PARC vehicle. Because the microfilament provides a direct connection, communications are secure and reliable.

The microfilament is impervious to jamming and unaffected by water, power lines, and other possible interferences. The microfilament connects the robot to its Ground Control Station (GCS), so communications can't be intercepted, spoofed, or otherwise compromised, it added.

MICROFILAMENT TECHNOLOGY

CyPhy Works’ microfilament technology sets our flying robots apart. The combination of reliable, consistent, high-speed data and continuous power erases the most formidable problems facing unmanned systems today. Plus, our microfilament is impervious to jamming and unaffected by water, power lines, and other possible interferences And because the microfilament directly connects the robot to its Ground Control Station (GCS), communications can’t be intercepted, spoofed, or otherwise compromised, leading to world-class data security.

IT’S OKAY TO SAY THE “T” WORD

It’s a tether in the same way a tank is a “vehicle.” Our microfilament enables free movement and unlimited flight time. And unlike other tethered systems, ours boasts robust command and control, enabling high-quality, full frame rate, unbroken, high-definition video. Our microfilament also contains a strengthening element that can perform the traditional role of a tether, if needed. While it is technically a tether, it’s also so much more.

WHAT’S SO SPECIAL ABOUT IT?

CyPhy Works’ microfilament is superfine — more like fishing line than typical wire — and it has to be if it’s going to be used with air vehicles. However, small cables normally mean low power throughput, and poor communications. CyPhy Works’ patented system flips that dynamic. We get high power and high-definition communications through a tiny cable. Thanks to novel electronics our thin, lightweight cable enables mobility. Mobility empowers you.

SPOOLING

CyPhy Works microfilament is managed differently, depending on the product and its primary mission. PARC is a station-keeping platform, intended to hover in a desired area, or to travel in formation with a ground vehicle on the move. Therefore, its microfilament is actively spooled from a ground unit to keep a constant tension on the microfilament in the face of changing wind conditions. Pocket Flyer is designed to move dynamically through its environment, conducting investigations inside structures. Its microfilament is spooled passively from the vehicle so it has full freedom of motion. This disposable microfilament is not under tension and because it is being played out constantly – it never tangles nor does it break.

Key Benefits

EXTREME ENDURANCE - Ground power enables flight durations measured in days, not minutes.
SECURE COMMUNICATIONS - Direct connection with GCS can't be intercepted, jammed, or spoofed
HIGH DEFINITION VIDEO - High quality, full frame rate, unbroken, hi-def video
NIGHT VISION - Combined EO/IR means no need to swap payloads when lighting changes
GYRO STABILIZED CAMERA GIMBAL - Clear video starts with stable video
500 FEET ALTITUDE - See and communicate farther
FLEXIBLE POWER INPUT - Connect to generator, grid, vehicle, or other power source.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Likely good in the desert, be a pain to deploy in Scandinavia. Plus you have to get all air traffic to avoid the area and it's not immune to being cut by a stray bullet. Also how do they deal with the issues of ring state vortex? 

 

[a_majoor]

Likely good in the desert, be a pain to deploy in Scandinavia. Plus you have to get all air traffic to avoid the area and it's not immune to being cut by a stray bullet. Also how do they deal with the issues of ring state vortex? 

Remember this is a mini drone, so even small clearings in the forest can be used for launch and reterival. How you look for things in the forest is up to you (although if the opposition puts enough of these things are in fligt, you might discover that you have to move slowly and carefully through the woods to avoid being spotted). The impression I got about the tether is it is like a monofiliment fishing line, so the odds of being cut by a bullet are very slim. How multi rotor vehicles like quad and hexcopters deal with ring state vortex will need an answer by an SME, but if you can reach up and grab it as it is coming in to land, that might solve a few problems.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Remember this is a mini drone, so even small clearings in the forest can be used for launch and reterival. How you look for things in the forest is up to you (although if the opposition puts enough of these things are in fligt, you might discover that you have to move slowly and carefully through the woods to avoid being spotted). The impression I got about the tether is it is like a monofiliment fishing line, so the odds of being cut by a bullet are very slim. How multi rotor vehicles like quad and hexcopters deal with ring state vortex will need an answer by an SME, but if you can reach up and grab it as it is coming in to land, that might solve a few problems.

It will be like having a kite, and even a light line will have wind resistant and won't be straight up and down. Attempting to operate in to small of a clearing means entanglement. Generally the advice given to all drone flyers is do not hover in place for to long of a period. I can see this providing a cheap and portable solution to temporary surveillance of an area, but likely the enemy will spot the drone and if it was stationary for a period, might decide that directly below it is a good place to drop some arty. 

 

[Oldgateboatdriver]

True enough Colin, but for infantry, if it is very easy to launch and recover and light enough for two man team to carry, it could let you take quick look sees on the reverse slopes of the hill/ridge you're about to go up on and perhaps discover the platoon of tanks dug in there.

Similarly, if you can set it up with a VHF antenna and ride it up 500 feet, it could enable you to have much better tactical comms if operating in mountainous terrain so you can check in or get your messages at set intervals. Always useful.

 

[CougarKing]

The Navy wants robots to look for enemy submarines:

http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2012/08/16.aspx

An update on the ACTUV program described above:

Diplomat

US Navy’s Prototype Robot Ship Gets New Sonar

An autonomous vessel designed to track Chinese and Russian subs in shallow waters gets new sonar.
L1001025
By Franz-Stefan Gady
November 24, 2015

The prototype of a U.S. Navy robot ship was recently equipped with a new hull-mounted sonar system, IHS Defense Weekly reports.

The Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV), received Raytheon’s Modular Scalable Sonar System (MS 3), which “will be integrated as the ACTUV’s primary search-and-detection sonar,” according to the article.  The sonar system will produce an “acoustic image” of targets in order to identify and classify vessels in close proximity to the robot ship.

“Designed to autonomously conduct active and passive searches, detect torpedoes, filter passive threats, localize and track submarines, and avoid small objects, the MS 3 is Raytheon’s first fifth-generation medium-frequency hull-mounted sonar system,” IHS Defense Weekly explains.

The ACTUV is an unmanned autonomous trimaran designed by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), an agency responsible for developing emerging technologies for the military’s use. DARPA was tasked with developing an anti-submarine drone — a robot ship capable of tracking enemy subs in shallow waters in 2010.

(...SNIPPED)

 

[a_majoor]

Given the discussion on water purification in another thread, this caught my eye. Dispensing with the membrane is probably the biggest advantage if this works as advertised:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/11/scaling-shock-electrodialysis-for.html

Scaling Shock Electrodialysis for Desalination

A team at MIT has come up with an innovative desalination approach that, unlike most traditional desalination systems, does not separate ions or water molecules with filters, which can become clogged, or boiling, which consumes great amounts of energy.

Instead, the system uses an electrically driven shockwave within a stream of flowing water, which pushes salty water to one side of the flow and fresh water to the other, allowing easy separation of the two streams.

Membranes in traditional desalination systems, such as those that use reverse osmosis or electrodialysis, are “selective barriers,” Bazant explains: They allow molecules of water to pass through, but block the larger sodium and chlorine atoms of salt. Compared to conventional electrodialysis, “This process looks similar, but it’s fundamentally different,” he says.

In the new process, called shock electrodialysis, water flows through a porous material —in this case, made of tiny glass particles, called a frit — with membranes or electrodes sandwiching the porous material on each side. When an electric current flows through the system, the salty water divides into regions where the salt concentration is either depleted or enriched. When that current is increased to a certain point, it generates a shockwave between these two zones, sharply dividing the streams and allowing the fresh and salty regions to be separated by a simple physical barrier at the center of the flow.

Environmental Science and Technology Letters - Scalable and Continuous Water Deionization by Shock Electrodialysis

Arxiv - Water Purification by Shock Electrodialysis: Deionization, Filtration, Separation, and Disinfection

“It generates a very strong gradient,” Bazant says.

Even though the system can use membranes on each side of the porous material, Bazant explains, the water flows across those membranes, not through them. That means they are not as vulnerable to fouling — a buildup of filtered material — or to degradation due to water pressure, as happens with conventional membrane-based desalination, including conventional electrodialysis. “The salt doesn’t have to push through something,” Bazant says. The charged salt particles, or ions, “just move to one side,” he says.

The underlying phenomenon of generating a shockwave of salt concentration was discovered a few years ago by the group of Juan Santiago at Stanford University. But that finding, which involved experiments with a tiny microfluidic device and no flowing water, was not used to remove salt from the water, says Bazant, who is currently on sabbatical at Stanford.
The new system, by contrast, is a continuous process, using water flowing through cheap porous media, that should be relatively easy to scale up for desalination or water purification. “The breakthrough here is the engineering [of a practical system],” Bazant says.

One possible application would be in cleaning the vast amounts of wastewater generated by hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. This contaminated water tends to be salty, sometimes with trace amounts of toxic ions, so finding a practical and inexpensive way of cleaning it would be highly desirable. This system not only removes salt, but also a wide variety of other contaminants — and because of the electrical current passing through, it may also sterilize the stream. “The electric fields are pretty high, so we may be able to kill the bacteria,” Schlumpberger says.

Abstract

Rising global demand for potable water is driving innovation in water treatment methods. Shock electrodialysis is a recently proposed technique that exploits deionization shock waves in porous media to purify water. In this letter, we present the first continuous and scalable shock electrodialysis system and demonstrate the separation of sodium, chloride, and other ions from a feed stream. Our prototype continuously removes over 99% (and up to 99.99%) of salt from diverse electrolytes over a range of concentrations (1 mM, 10 mM, and 100 mM). The desalination data collapses with dimensionless current, scaled to charge advection in the feed stream. Enhanced water recovery with increasing current (up to 79%) is a fortuitous discovery, which we attribute to electro-osmotic pumping. The results suggest the feasibility of using shock electrodialysis for practical water purification applications.

 

[a_majoor]

Israel moves towards robotic enhancements to the force:

http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/air-space/isr/2015/11/29/israel-outlines-unmanned-systems-plans/76330898/

Israel Outlines Unmanned Systems Plans
By Barbara Opall-Rome 12:02 p.m. EST November 29, 2015
Robotic Forward Force To Team With Manned Maneuvering Units

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel’s Ministry of Defense is eyeing new autonomous operating concepts and a spectrum of unmanned air, ground and sea systems, several of which could become functional within a decade.

In a rare public presentation earlier this month, Brig. Gen. Nir Halamish, head of the military research and development unit of the Ministry’s MAFAT Research and Development Bureau, outlined Israel’s unmanned vehicles blueprint through 2025.

Speaking at a conference of Israel Defense and the local chapter of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, Halamish cited MoD’s interest in unmanned flight, unmanned surface ships and autonomous underwater systems for countering mines.

He said MoD started a five-year program to advance civilian unmanned gliders for military missions, insisting the ministry and local industrial partners do not intend to “reinvent the wheel,” but rather are focusing on injecting military-grade robustness for maneuvering forces.

In the realm of ground vehicles, he noted that Israel is the only country in the world to deploy unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) for persistent, around-the-clock border control missions. The experience Israel has accumulated with UGVs operating at its border with Gaza will be replicated in other areas.

“These [UGVs] are the first at any event, which prevents our soldiers from coming into contact with the enemy at the outset,” he said.

Knowledge gained from unmanned border patrol missions will eventually be expanded to a point where UGVs will be part and parcel of maneuvering ground forces. Halamish cited.

A key future vector for land warfare is use of unmanned systems as a type of “robotic advance guard,” whereby armed UGVs would team with manned units for joint operations in high-threat theaters.

“This advance guard is to be deployed hundreds of meters ahead of the manned force. We hope to get there in the coming years,” he said.

Unmanned logistics convoys are another future vector, as are small unmanned submersibles, both of which Halamish said Israel can achieve “relatively easily” in the coming five years.

Also within reach, he said, are two new UAV systems, one involving small hovercraft built to carry up to 40 kilos for escorting tactical-echelon ground forces and the other heavy-lift drones capable of transporting several hundred kilograms.

Elad Aronson, executive vice president of Elbit systems and general manager of its ISTAR division, said that beyond the plethora of new platforms under development is the need to focus on improving autonomous or remotely controlled execution of specific missions.

“The issue is not the platform, but the mission,” Aronson said in a Nov. 24 interview.

“Obviously, we’re going to see a lot of new platforms operating in all dimensions: on the sea, under the sea, on the ground, under the ground, in air and in space. The key is to get these systems to perform 90 percent of the work autonomously,” he said.

Email: bopallrome@defensenews.com

 

[a_majoor]

DARPA works on an electrochemical process to create shaped charges and EFP's:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/12/darpa-has-been-working-on-hand-held.html

DARPA has been working on hand held Magnetic jet guns and China is copying it

DARPA has been working on the MAgneto Hydrodynamic Explosive Munition (MAHEM) since about 2008.

Explosively formed jets (EFJ) and fragments and self-forging penetrators (SFP) are used for precision strike against targets such as armored vehicles and reinforced structures. Current technology uses chemical explosive energy to form the jets and fragments [rocket propelled grenades]. This is highly inefficient and requires precise machining of the metal liners from which the fragments and jets are formed. The Magneto Hydrodynamic Explosive Munition (MAHEM) program offers the potential for higher efficiency, greater control, and the ability to generate and accurately time multiple jets and fragments from a single charge.

The MAHEM program will demonstrate compressed magnetic flux generator (CMFG)-driven magneto hydrodynamically formed metal jets and SFP with significantly improved performance over EFJ. Generating multiple jets or fragments from a single explosive is difficult, and the timing of the multiple jets or fragments cannot be controlled. MAHEM offers the potential for multiple targeted warheads with a much higher EFJ velocity, than conventional EFJ/SFP. This will increase lethality precision. MAHEM could also be packaged into a missile, projectile or other platform, and delivered close to target for final engagement.

Explosive warheads have worked in pretty much the same way since Henry Shrapnel's 1784 artillery shell, which was designed to explode and throw out musket balls in all directions. The shaped charge was a 20th century refinement in which the force of the explosion blasted a hollow metal cone into an armor-piercing jet, enabling low-velocity weapons like the bazooka to knock out heavy tanks. Then came the Explosively Formed Projectile. Here, the explosion folds metal into an aerodynamic slug that is less penetrating than a shaped charge but able to do more damage against lightly-armored targets. (It's a larger mass at a lower velocity, and makes a bigger hole.)

MAHEM is different because it combines explosives with electricity. It works in three stages. The first is an electronically modified explosion. The explosion creates an expanding fireball; applying an electrical current to the fireball increases the velocity and pressure of the blast, getting more bang from the same ingredients.

In the second stage, the power of the explosion is converted into electricity. This builds on previous work into "explosively driven flux compression generators" that convert explosive power into an electromagnetic pulse. In MAHEM, a ceramic material produces an intense electric current as the shockwave hits it, in a process known as electromagnetic braking. In contrast to a normal explosion, in which most of the energy is wasted, the makers claim the MAHEM has "superb energy conversion efficiency."

Other explosively driven flux compression generators are designed to produce a high-energy electromagnetic pulse to destroy electronics. In MAHEM, the electrical energy is used to accelerate metal, as with a railgun. Depending on the intended target and how it is triggered, MAHEM can fire shrapnel, an armor-piercing jet, or an explosively formed projectile. And because of its high efficiency, MAHEM can accelerate a projectile to higher speed, or accelerate a greater weight, than existing warheads. It also has more controlled precision; the makers claim it can project multiple jets.

Contracts and SBIRs indicate MAHEM progress

Adjustable dial-a-yield warhead that could be set to any blast level as needed.

A shoulder-launched bunker-buster that was completed last year.

SBIR - Electromagnetic Explosive Warhead (EMEW) for Scalable Lethal and Nonlethal Effects

Another is a contract for a "Novel Light-weight Warhead for Breaching and Destroying Hardened Structures"— a shoulder-launched bunker-buster that was completed last year.

The latest version is the Electromagnetic Explosive Warhead (EMEW), a MAHEM warhead for the US Army's Organic Precision Munitions program, which includes portable lethal drones. EMEW provides "augmented explosion, selectable fragmentation, and controlled blast." The pattern and direction of the effects can be controlled, or it can produce blast only with no fragments, like a giant stun grenade, for "non-lethal effects."

China Copying

A scientific paper from China entitled "Physical Modeling of Magneto Hydrodynamic Explosive Munition and Detonation Control" from the journal Applied Mechanics and Materials. The paper was written by a team at the "ministerial key laboratory" at the Nanjing University of Science and Technology, and is a detailed theoretical breakdown of how MAHEM works. It includes block diagrams of the electronics, the complex "kinematics differential equations of kill element" that indicates how it accelerates metal projectiles, and details of the ferroelectric ceramics in the flux generator. This is more information than you can get from any US source, and appears to be based on the reverse-engineering MAHEM by a team with a very detailed knowledge of magnetohydrodynamics and munitions.

The Chinese paper was published in 2013 and refers to several other theoretical studies, but only limited experimental work. Unless there is other, undisclosed practical side to the work, China is still several years behind the US in developing this type of warhead.

SOURCES -Popular Mechanics, DARPA, SBIR

 

[a_majoor]

DARPA cancelled this program due to issues with the proposed fuel mixture (a bit too sensitive for use on an aircraft), but something like this is sure to appear sooner or later simply because small satellites are now so versatile and putting a satellite up on demand can be a huge force multiplier:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOaJWoVLhAc

 

[CougarKing]

For those who imagined or predicted the use of such lasers on fighters:

CNN

USAF: Fighter jet lasers 5 years away


(...FULl VIDEO REPORT AT LINK ABOVE)

 

[a_majoor]

A waterless toilet, part of the initiative sponsored by the Gates Foundation. This would also be useful for us in isolated outposts, FOBS, on exercise and so on, without the smell, expense and chemicals of "blue rockets".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX0jAn-iNng for an explanation of how it works

https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/About/Media-Centre/news-archive/news-2015/Nano-Membrane-Toilet-finalist-for-Cleantech-Innovate-award

Nano Membrane Toilet finalist for Cleantech Innovate award
03 November 2015

cross-section toilet
Cranfield University’s Nano Membrane Toilet has been announced as a finalist for the fourth Cleantech Innovate showcase by ecoConnect CIC, the UK’s green industry business network.

The Nano Membrane Toilet – a toilet which aims to treat human waste in the home without external energy or water – will join 35 other low carbon technology companies pitching to an audience of investors, buyers, industry specialists and support agencies on Thursday, 11th February 2016 at the Royal Institution in London. Jake Larsson, a PhD student in Cranfield University’s Centre for Competitive Creative Design, will lead the pitch.


Cleantech Innovate is organised by ecoConnect CIC, the UK’s green industry business network, which connects individuals and companies working in the low carbon sector by providing essential links to investment, business support and industry expertise.

The Nano Membrane Toilet is currently being developed by researchers at Cranfield University. The toilet aims to treat human waste in the home without external energy or water. It has an innovative flush which does not require water but still blocks odour. It uses membrane technology produce clean water, and solid waste is gasified to convert it to ash and energy to power the membrane process.

Professor Elise Cartmell, Director of Environmental Technology at Cranfield University, said: “We are delighted to see this innovative solution gaining national recognition through Cleantech Innovate. The Nano Membrane Toilet has the potential to change millions of lives by providing access to safe and affordable sanitation.”

Robert Hokin, Co-Founder of ecoConnect CIC, said: “Cleantech is a dynamic and growing sector, worth over £120 billion to the UK alone and an area of the economy expected to maintain positive growth rates for the future. It is also a key employment area. We are proud to enable the sector’s best innovators to present directly to an audience of investors, buyers, industry specialists and support agencies."

 

[a_majoor]

Hypervelocity rounds created for railguns also have applications for conventional cannon. While I don't think the RCN has any more 5" guns, the Artillery branch does have 155mm cannons, and I'm sure that we can all think of applications for these kinds of rounds in our regular artillery park (especially the extended range these will be capable of)

http://nextbigfuture.com/2016/01/us-navy-looks-at-three-ways-to-kill.html

US Navy looks at three ways to kill everything which include Hypervelocity Projectiles and Railguns
The US Navy is adopting a philosophy of increased lethality and "three ways to kill everything."

Hypervelocity Projectiles (HPV)

Among projects in the works for the US Navy is the development of new gun rounds, including the possibility of a smaller version of the electromagnetic projectile launching technology used by the rail gun weapon now in development. The rail gun, which can hurl a projectile at well over 5,000 miles per hour, is being evaluated for possible mounting on a Zumwalt-class destroyer by the mid-2020s.

"When we take that projectile with the rail gun, why not make it small enough to put in a five-inch round ... with a couple of hundred five-inch rounds that now can shoot something as far, almost as accurately as a rail gun?" Rear Admiral Peter Fanta suggested.

As the Navy was developing EMRG (electromagnetic railgun), it realized that the guided projectile being developed for EMRG could also be fired from 5-inch and 155mm powder guns. Navy cruisers each have two 5-inch guns, and most Navy destroyers each have one 5-inch gun. The Navy’s three new Zumwalt class (DDG-1000) destroyers, which are under construction, each have two 155mm guns.

BAE Systems states that HVP is 24 inches long and weighs 28 pounds, including a 15-pound payload. The total length and weight of an HVP launch package, BAE Systems states, is 26 inches and 40 pounds. BAE states that the maximum rate of fire for HVP is 20 rounds per minute from a Mk 45 5-inch gun, 10 rounds per minute from the 155mm gun on DDG-1000 class destroyers (called the Advanced Gun System, or AGS), and 6 rounds per minute from EMRG. HVP’s firing range, BAE Systems states, is more than 40 nautical miles (when fired from a Mk 45 Mod 2 5-inch gun), more than 50 nautical miles (Mk 45 Mod 4 5-inch gun), more than 70 nautical miles (155mm gun on DDG-1000 class destroyers), and more than 100 nautical miles (EMRG).

The Navy describes the HVP as “a next generation, common, low drag, guided projectile capable of completing multiple missions for gun systems such as the Navy 5-Inch, 155-mm, and future railguns.... HVP’s low drag aerodynamic design enables high velocity, maneuverability, and decreased time-to-target. These attributes coupled with accurate guidance electronics provide low cost mission effectiveness against current threats and the ability to adapt to air and surface threats of the future.

Railgun tests and engineering to get to operational railgun by 2021

If the Navy does take the railgun out to sea on a fast transport, it will be in 2017 at the earliest. In lieu of testing the prototype rail gun in an at-sea environment, the Navy might instead proceed directly to developing an operational weapon system.

Zumwalt destroyer

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) railgun projectiles were fired from the company’s Blizter prototype railgun weapon during recent tests at the U.S. Army’s Dugway Proving Ground

Technologies unlocked for railguns and combat lasers and what remains is engineering

Fanta said that he believes that an operational railgun is feasible within the next five years. Indeed, the Navy hopes to replace one of the 155mm gun turrets onboard the third and final Zumwalt-class destroyer Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002) with a rail gun. “I don’t know if I can get there from the engineering status yet. But that’s what we continue to look at,” Fanta told Defense.

According to Fanta, most of the key technologies behind railguns—which have until now mostly been in the realm of science fiction—have been unlocked. “It’s engineering at this point, it’s no longer science,” Fanta told Defense News. “It’s no longer the deep dark secrets of what can I do with this sort of energy. It’s engineering and how much power density can I get, how much beam quality can I get, what sort of metallurgy do I need to sustain multiple shots over multiple periods of time. The rail gun as well as the laser.”

SOURCES - Defense News, Aviation Week, FAS, General Atomics

 

[a_majoor]

Just when your day couldn't get any worse:

http://thediplomat.com/2016/02/russia-reveals-new-flame-throwing-anti-tank-multicopter-uav/

Russia Reveals New Flame-Throwing Anti-Tank Multicopter UAV
A prototype of a new missile-firing multicopter drone was presented at a robot conference near Moscow.
By Franz-Stefan Gady
February 15, 2016

Last week, Russia’s Ministry of Defense released a 44-second video of the prototype of a new multi-copter unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) fitted with cameras and a shoulder-launched rocket system. The new missile-firing multi-copter drone was showcased at a Russian Armed Forces robotics conference, held near Kubinka in the Moscow Region.

During the demonstration, the UAV is seen engaging multiple simulated armored targets with its missiles. However, the multi-copter appears to be a single shot solution, with the aircraft having to land and reload after each shot.

“The rocket appears to be unguided and visually sighted, as evidenced by the ‘rocket-eye view’ of the on-board camera in the opening seconds of the footage and the optical sighting system that has been flipped down over the lens,” IHS Jane’s International Defense Review explains.

The new UAV has been developed by the United Instrument Manufacturing Corporation (UIMC), a subsidiary of Russian Technologies State Corporation (Rostec). According to Russian defense industry officials, the multi-copter is also armed with a built in flamethrower.

Maxim Skokov, head of the department of future development of the UIMC told reporters that “this drone is a multi-copter. It is military drone. It can shoot both vertically and horizontally. In this video we can see the target engagement, now this drone is being tested for the accuracy.”

He adds: “Now it can fire an anti-tank rocket launcher RPG-26. We are also testing other products now, for example the anti-tank rocket launch systems, RPO-A Bumblebee and 2-RShG.”

IHS Jane’s International Defense Review explains that the RPG-26 “fires the 72.5 mm PG-26 rocket that is armed with a HEAT warhead and has an initial velocity of 144 m/s. It has a maximum effective range (from the ground) of 250 m, with target penetration of 400 mm of rolled homogenous armor (RHA) plate.”

The drone showcased at the military robot conference is purportedly part of a multi-copter complex, consisting of several drones including a robotic helicopter, reconnaissance multi-copter, sentinel multi-copter, and the anti-tank assault multi-copter.

The drones are all are equipped with the GLONASS/GPS navigation system.  The robotic helicopter, according to information supplied by Rostec, has a range of several hundred kilometers and can perform video surveillance, whereas the reconnaissance multi-copter is fitted with a thermal imaging device to identify possible targets, and the sentinel multi-copter can verify targets and direct artillery strikes.

The drone complex “is called to replace [soldiers] effectively where it is possible, be it scouting, patrolling, monitoring, cartography, transportation and combat missions,” Sergey Skokov, Rostec’s deputy director general, told Russian media.

The multi-copter complex is controlled by a mobile control center, which can operate autonomously up to a week and “takes less than 15 minutes” to set up, according to RT.

 

[GR66]

https://www.eol.ucar.edu/system/files/APAR_brochure_2015.pdf


I came across this article while trying to learn a bit more about the radars on AAD Destroyers.  My understanding is that for the AAD version of the CSC there was a perference to install the Thales Smart-L search radar combined with the APAR radar which would handle the mid-course and terminal correction guidance to the SM-2 missiles (I gather this is what turns the AD capability of a warship into an AAD capability) as opposed to the US AEGIS system which I understand uses the AN/SPY-1 radar for mid-course correction and the AN/SPG-62 radar for terminal guidance.

As per the attached link, the National Centre for Atmospheric Research in the US is in the process of mounting an APAR system on a C-130 aircraft in order to conduct detailed weather system analysis.

I'm curious if an airborne APAR radar such as this could have the capability to replace current AAD destroyers with an airborne missile control unit.  Such an aircraft could potentially deploy to support any naval taskforce equipped with SM-2 missiles, even if not accompanied by a dedicated AAD command ship and be provided with an AAD capability. 

 

[Cloud Cover]

Just when your day couldn't get any worse:

http://thediplomat.com/2016/02/russia-reveals-new-flame-throwing-anti-tank-multicopter-uav/

That thing looks like a knock off of Aeryon's Skyranger, which has been weaponized by rebels in Libya (free fall drops an 2 pound explosive charge that looks like it is tie wrapped onto the tip of lawn dart).