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Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter cockpit demonstrator hands-on (video)
We spend hundreds of hours on board a variety of airplanes each year, most often en-route to a trade show or product launch event, but occasionally we have a rare opportunity to hop on board military aircraft, to test out unrelated products, or, even more unusually, to take a seat behind the yoke. Sadly that's not what we're doing today -- well, not exactly. We are taking a closer look at the F-35 fighter jet at Lockheed Martin's Fighter Demonstration Center just outside our nation's capital, but, being in the middle of a corporate complex, there's no actual Lightning II on hand. We were able to take a simulated ride, however -- this isn't your ordinary 4D sickness-inducing amusement park thrill. The F-35 is by far the most advanced Lockheed jet to date, with updated radar, all-internal weapons, improved tracking systems, 360-degree infrared coverage with a visor readout, and a full-stealth design, not to mention the incredibly capable glass cockpit powered by more than 9.3 million lines of software code, and an overall smoother experience for pilots that could end up spending shifts of 12 hours or longer in flight. The F-35 has already seen plenty of field time in the US, with more than 500 flights already in 2012, and it's set to make its way to the UK armed forces next week and the Netherlands later this year, but while the aircraft is quite familiar to the pilots tasked with flying it, the public hasn't had an opportunity to experience Lockheed's latest airborne warrior. We flew a simulated mission within a grounded duplicate of the flyable F-35 cockpit, and the capabilities and improvements are quite clear -- you definitely don't want to encounter an F-35 from a previous-generation aircraft. The dual 8 x 10-inch touch-enabled displays combine to give you 8 x 20 inches of real estate, with dedicated modules for the weapons systems, targeting, and navigation easily accessible -- you can also move them to different panels depending on your current objective. A pair of joysticks at the left and right side provide direct access, letting you move a cursor to track enemy crafts or ground-based targets as well, and a very slick heads-up-display mounted in the helmet provides infrared mapping and instrument readouts. Overall, it seems to be an incredibly powerful system. Unfortunately, the mock-up on display here isn't accessible to the public, but you can join us for a behind-the-scenes look just after the break.%Gallery-160208%
Northrop Grumman Unveils US Navy's MQ-4C BAMS Triton unmanned aircraft
If Broad Area Maritime Surveillance, or war gadgets are your bag, then things just got real. Northrop Grumman has just unveiled the MQ-4C BAMS Triton, the latest addition to the US Navy's Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Force. The spy plane was more than four years in development, has a wingspan of 130.9 feet, and is able to cover more than 2.7 million square miles in a single mission. As you will have been unable to avoid noticing, the unmanned aircraft definitely inherited some of the RQ-4 Global Hawk's dome-like DNA, and will edge towards active service after completing functional requirement reviews and system development and demonstration flights. Want to bone-up on the full spec? Hit the more coverage link for the numbers. In the meantime, we're wondering if they might extend the research.
Attack of the drones: US Navy picks Linux for its unmanned VTOL aircraft control system
Disagreement between passionate Windows and Mac OS diehards have caused many a kerfuffle on the Interwebs. When it comes to the tactical control system of the US Navy's autonomous vertical take-off-and-landing craft, however, the military branch is putting its money on a different operating system. The Navy just awarded a contract worth nearly $28 million to Raytheon Intelligence and Information Systems to transition its VTOL drones to using its own flavor of good, old Linux. Eventually, the Navy plans to have 168 Northrop Grumman MQ-8B Navy Fire Scout drones rocking the OS as part of its fleet. The Register reports that the move was likely made for security reasons following a malware attack on the Air Force's Windows-based drone system last year. Add Samsung's recent inclusion into the Platinum ranks of Linux's core supporters and you really can't blame fans of the operating system if they decide to wear shades while pondering its future. [Image credit: Northrop Grumman]
Navy plans ship-based LTE for close-quarters communication
Bandwidth is a precious commodity on military vessels. Ships in the US Navy fleet are generating more data, but the pipe it's getting pumped through isn't getting any larger. What's more, with limited connectivity options on the table, the sea-faring military wing is missing out on all the smartphone and app store fun. Rather than turn green with envy, or turning their dress whites is for camouflage cargo pants, the Navy is beefing up its mobile tech arsenal, beginning with the U.S.S. Kearsarge, U.S.S. San Antonio and U.S.S. Whidbey Island. The ships will serve as test beds for a nautical LTE system, with a range of about 25 miles. The 4G network will serve as a localized platform for wirelessly feeding data to sailors, as well as a way for the enlisted to connect to the outside world. On the backend, the Marines are working on a new satellite broadband service that should be able to provide ships with 300 megabits of shared bandwidth. Satellite internet and off-grid LTE might induce yawns in some, but they're certainly a major part of modernizing our fighting forces. For more info, check out the source link.
Navy looks into UV cloak for stealth aircraft
The Navy's invested good money in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which obscures radar waves and redirects engine heat to evade recognition by infrared sensors. But that stealth flier is still vulnerable to another type of detection: UV sensors. The Pentagon recently began soliciting proposals to develop a device that cloaks aircraft from ultra-violet detection systems. The hope is that such a technology could shield aircraft from missile seekers that scan the sky for telltale "UV silhouettes." According to the call for research, the solution could involve a device that disperses a cloud of quantum dots or other materials to veil jet fighters in a shapeless mass of UV shadow. Given that this is a rather daunting task, it's not surprising that the development timeframe and projected cost are still up in the air.
LASR: behind the curtain of the Navy's robotics laboratory
I don't know all that much about the Naval Research Laboratory when I arrive in DC for "the public's first opportunity to look inside" the space's new $17 million Laboratory for Autonomous Systems Research (LASR). I give the cab driver the address, and he casually tells me that it "stinks," illustrating this notion with a universally familiar hand gesture. He means it literally, too - that you can smell the place, simply driving by in a cab, with the windows up. He says this with such assurance, such gusto, that I fully expect it to smell like the city dump. A wall of stink. It's not much to go on, but it's something. And while I can thankfully report that his reaction was a bit overstated - at least on this particular day - there's certainly a distinct odor to the place. It's a sprawling 130-acre complex that sits sandwiched between the 295 freeway and the waters of the Potomac River; a series of nearly identical big, white buildings facing inward toward a grassy courtyard. On the way in, a space with what appears to be crushed cars is visible from the freeway.
Navy awards Aerovel Flexrotor contract to develop marine surveillance tech
The high seas and UAVs go together like -- well, they go together really well. The Navy's cooking up 3D laser imaging technology for spotting pirates and the like, but it will need some aircraft for the task. Right on cue, a helicopter / airplane hybrid for maritime surveillance is inching toward reality. Aerovel's Flexrotor, an ultra-compact craft with a wing span of three meters (9.8 feet) and a weight of just 19.2 kg (42.3 lb), has already been demonstrated to switch between horizontal and vertical flight, but the next step is enhancing its propulsion system to improve its performance for longer distances and in windier conditions. Today the Office of Naval Research (ONR) awarded the company a contract for developing that tech. For now, you can check out a video of the Flexrotor's first test flight, which demoes the UAV transitioning from vertical and horizontal orientation and back again.
Zero Trace gadget bags dodge 'digital exploitation,' schadenfreude
Faraday bags? Oh, yeah. For the sleuthing shyster in your life, Escape the Wolf has a new range of gadget cases that are engineered with one primary purpose: to avoid technical surveillance, mobile phone tracking and remote digital exploitation. As it turns out, these guys have been lurking undercover for just over a month now, but it looks as if they're now on sale to the masses -- civilians included. The Zero Traces line can hold both laptops and phones alike, with each piece capable of shielding GSM / CDMA, WiFi and Bluetooth devices from being "remotely exploited." The pain? Between $24.99 and $199.99, and you can part ways with varying levels of cash right there in the source link.
US Navy Fire Scouts will automatically spot pirates, give 30 seconds to comply
War. What is it good for? Well, if new use of technology by the US Navy has anything to do with it, finding Pirates for a start. By upgrading its existing Fire Scouts with new 3D laser imaging tech, it's hoped that the drones will be able to recognize the small ships used by these unscrupulous seafarers. The system, known as LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging, also known as LADAR) uses millions of laser pulses reflected off an object to create the three-dimensional image, which could then referenced against known pirate ships from a database. Ultimately, human operators will make the final call, to avoid any ED-209 style mis-understandings. That said, if you're taking the dingy out past the Californian breakwaters this summer, you might want to keep the stars and stripes in clear view, as that's where the Navy will be running its initial trials.
US Navy shows off its new LASR autonomous robot testing facility
All the fun of the desert and the rainforest from the (relative) comfort of home? Sign us up. That's the promise offered by the admittedly awesomely named Laboratory for Autonomous Systems Research (that's LASR, for you abbreviators out there), first announced last month. The robotics lab, housed in a $17.7 million building at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington DC, offers up around 50,000 square feet, a portion of which is aimed at reproducing some of the Earth's more extreme ecosystems to test out naval robotics. The facility is home to firefighting robots, swimming 'bots and hydrogen fuel cell-powered unmanned aircrafts, to name but a few. The Naval Research Laboratory opened the doors of the massive facility up to members of the media today, and Engadget was on-hand along with a moderate sized gathering of fellow reporters. Included in the tour were two simulated environments. The Tropical High Bay is designed to mimic rainforest terrain, with flowing water, fog and climate controlled temperature and humidity. The Desert High Bay is a bit let complex in its environmental simulation, limited to a sand pit, rock way, and adjustable light, smoke and wind. Meanwhile, an on-site indoor pool is used to challenge aquatic vehicles. Testers demonstrated the Pectoral Fin Swimmer – an autonomous bot inspired by the biological movements of fish, in order to access areas not reached by more traditional propel driven robots. Also on hand was Lucas, a Mobile, Dexterous, Social (MDS) humanoid robot [pictured above] with a Segway base. The laboratory demonstrated how the robot was capable of reasoning in a simulated firefighting scenario – and, equipped with an extinguisher, was capable of putting out a very real fire on the floor of the facility. We'll have a more in-depth tour of the facility in the near future. In the meantime, check out a sneak-peek of what we saw in the gallery below.
US Navy LASR research facility builds robots, not ray guns
The US Navy announced a new robotics research facility this week located within the existing Naval Research Laboratory's main site in Washington D.C. The Laboratory for Autonomous Systems Research, or LASR, was created to support NRL research in "robotics and autonomous systems of interest to the Navy, the Marine Corps and the Department of Defense," wrote LASR director Alan C. Shultz, mentioning that a familiar sounding autonomous firefighting robot would be among the lab's projects. The new facility is kitted out with a litany of realistic environmental simulation bays, allowing NRL scientists to pit their research against the elements with ease. Researchers will also have access to machine shops stocked with 3D printers and other goodies, a power and energy lab, a sensor lab and what Shultz calls the "world's largest space for real-time motion capture." Sounds great, at least as long as the research projects never get ahold of a certain Navy-funded AI report. Check out Shultz' official statement at the White House blog link below.
SAFFiR: the autonomous, firefighting humanoid robot
It took six years, but at long last, Anna Konda has a formidable firefighting partner. SAFFiR, also known as the Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting Robot, is being shaped by scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory. As the story goes, it's a humanoid robot that's being engineered to "move autonomously throughout the ship, interact with people, and fight fires, handling many of the dangerous firefighting tasks that are normally performed by humans." Outside of being stoic (and brawny) from tip to tip, it's also outfitted with multi-modal sensor technology for advanced navigation and a sensor suite that includes a camera, gas sensor, and stereo IR camera to enable it to see through smoke. We're told that its internal batteries can keep it cranking for a solid half-hour, while being capable of manipulating fire suppressors and throwing propelled extinguishing agent technology (PEAT) grenades. Wilder still, it'll be able to balance in "sea conditions," making it perfect for killing flames while onboard a ship. Of course, it's also being tweaked to work with a robotic team, giving it undercover powers to eventually turn the flames on the folks that created it. Paranoid? Maybe. But who are we to be too careful?Update: Turns out, the same Dr. Hong that we had on The Engadget Show is responsible for this guy as well. It's the next step in evolution of the CHARLI humanoid, and the two photos seen after the break are credited to RoMeLa: Robotics & Mechanisms Laboratory, Virginia Tech.
Navy test-fires weaponized railgun with explosive results (video)
You're about to watch a test firing of BAE's experimental railgun demonstrating why the technology isn't science fiction anymore. Load an aluminum projectile into the 12-meter barrel and one million amps will hypersonically propel it toward the target. The conflagration you'll witness is due to the metal slug burning off in the charged air. In April, General Atomics will supply its own prototype so the military can identify which one is closer to making its way aboard the battleships of the 2020's. Anyway, now you can go watch the video fully aware of what's going on, try not to sit there with your mouth open.
US Navy ship-mounted railgun closer to reality, Raytheon and others to make it happen
Ah, the railgun. Previously a flight of fancy fit only for wars in works of science fiction, the ultimate in electromagnetic weaponry is one step closer to becoming a reality for the US Navy. We've seen the system working well in the lab, but Raytheon has just gotten $10 million to create the pulse-forming network needed to get a railgun flinging projectiles off the deck of a Naval warship. Making such a network isn't easy, as it must store massive amounts of energy in a small enough package that it can be "used in a modular and versatile way for multiple platforms" -- so that some day, even dinghies will have 33-megajoule stopping power on board. In addition to Raytheon's pulse-forming framework project, the Navy has already tasked BAE and General Atomics to design tactical technologies that'll get future railguns firing up to ten rounds per minute. When can we expect to see such kinetic weapons on the high seas? The goal is 2025, but naturally, finances and politics will dictate its date of deployment, so keep your fingers crossed it's sooner, rather than later.
It's not a flying fish, it's a submarine-launched UAV
VTOL may be old news already, but here's another great USP for any UAV: the ability to launch from a submerged submarine. The technology is still in development, but the Navy wants to try it from periscope depth during exercises in the Pacific Ocean next year. If all goes to plan, a Switchblade folding-wing drone will be ejected from the submarine's trash disposal unit and then carried to the surface by an SLV ('submerged launch vehicle'), which will keep it dry, point it into the wind and then hurl it heavenwards so it can go a-snooping. Whether the experiment succeeds or fails, we've glimpsed a worrying possibility: submarines are capable of dumping their trash right into the ocean. Until now, we sort of assumed they took it home with them.
US Navy's electromagnetic railgun hits testing milestone: 1,000 shots fired
If there's one thing you want your multi-million dollar electromagnetic railgun to be, it's reliable, and the US Navy announced today that it's reached a key milestone towards that goal. It's now successfully fired its prototype gun 1,000 times, which translates to as many as 15 shots per week. In recent years, those tests have generally been conducted at a 1.5 megajoule launch energy, which the Navy puts into perspective by noting that "a one-ton vehicle moving at 100 mph has approximately one megajoule of kinetic energy." Eventually, the Navy hopes to install even more advanced and far more powerful railgun weapons systems on ships, although the project's future remains a bit up in the air given some recent funding battles in the US Senate.
K-MAX unmanned chopper delivers Air Force salute to Afghan danger (video)
It's a year since Lockheed Martin won the contract to provide an unmanned cargo delivery system to the US military and now its first K-MAX helicopter is just about ready for duty. The 6,000-pound RC chopper is scheduled to journey to the manifold fronts of Afghanistan next month, where it'll get busy ferrying its own bodyweight in ammo and supplies to needy anthills up to 200km away. And, if things get too sticky for laptop flying, there's always room for a brave soul to jump in there and grab the controls. You'll find a fresh demo video after the break, plus we've also stuck in that fancy clip from last year to rotor your memory.
Boeing and BAE partner to put a laser on a machine gun, make the world a better place
Automated, computer-targeting machine guns are okay in a pinch, but sometimes putting 180 25mm slugs down range every minute just isn't enough. Sometimes you need a little more energy, and that's when you strap a laser on the thing. Boeing and BAE are partnering up to take the existing Mk 38 Mod 2 Machine Gun System, which offers a 25mm M242 barrel, and pair it with Boeing's directed energy system. The resulting beautiful machine is called the Mk 38 Mod 2 Tactical Laser System, offering the ability to fling both hot metal and even hotter photons against whatever targets would dare come in range. This integration is said to allow for these upgraded turrets to be easily installed and controlled on our naval vessels, vessels that are, for now, still stuck on the water. Apparently we're still a few years away from the Wave Motion Engine and FTL battleship travel.
Navy tests bacteria-powered hydrogen fuel cell, could start monitoring your underwater fight club
Microbial fuel cells aren't exactly new, but microbial fuel cells scouring the ocean floor? Now that's an initiative we can get behind. The Naval Research Laboratory is currently toying around with a so-called Zero Power Ballast Control off the coast of Thailand, presumably looking for treasures dropped from the speedboat of one "Alan Garner." Purportedly, the newfangled hydrogen fuel cell relies on bacteria to provide variable buoyancy, which allows an autonomous ocean sensor to move up and down water columns with little to no effort. Furthermore, it's able to get its energy from microbial metabolism (yeah, we're talking about hot air), and while it's mostly being used to measure things like temperature and pressure, it could be repurposed for more seirous tasks -- like mine detection. There's no clear word yet on when America's Navy will have access to this stuff, but if we had to guess, they've probably be using it behind our backs for the better part of a score. [Image courtesy of U.S. Navy Reserve / Tom Boyd]
Navy blends Jet A and algae-based biofuel, uses it to power Seahawk chopper (video)
Considering that helicopters are entirely dependent on a spinning rotor to remain in the air, an MH-60S Seahawk doesn't exactly seem the most likely candidate for experimental fuel. That didn't seem to stop the US Navy, however, which successfully completed a test flight with a 50 / 50 blend of algae-based biofuel and Jet A (traditionally the flavor of choice for turbine-based aircraft). The mixture used is known as Solajet HRJ-5 Jet fuel, which doesn't quite have the same ring to it as good ole Jet A -- but it does happen to be based on a renewable resource and managed to keep the rotor spinning. There's no word on how much the new fuel costs to produce or when it might be ready for commercial use, but if all goes to plan, we may soon be using the green stuff for more than just sushi rolls and miso soup.
