NEW MILITARY TECHNOLOGY ARCHIVE :

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NewsHour, 01 Jul 08, with Paul Solman et al
After Delays and Criticism, Pentagon Shifts Priorities to Protect Soldiers
'Beginning in 2007 the Pentagon shifted its spending priorities to meet the deadly threat of roadside bombs leading to the procurement of the MRAP, or 'Mine Resistant Ambush Protected'. The fourteen-ton vehicle is credited for a drastic decline in roadside bomb fatalities, but why did it take so long?'

Green Bay Press-Gazette, 03 Jul 08, by Rachel Rivard
USS Green Bay clears test run
'The USS Green Bay will carry a crew of 363 and also will be able to carry almost 700 Marines.'

Popular Mechanics, 11 Jun 08, by Joe Pappalardo
World's Priciest Stealth Plane Takes First Run to Vertical Landing
'The skies over Fort Worth, Texas, hosted a historic aviation milestone today when the most expensive plane on Earth – a modded version of the F-35 Lightning II that lands vertically like a helicopter – made its first flight. Its pilot certainly had the chops to do the job: He learned to fly short take-off/vertical landing (STOVL) airplanes when Jimmy Carter was president.'

International Herald Tribune, 11 Nov 07, by Philip Taubman
The demise of a pricey U.S. spy satellite program
'... an investigation by The New York Times found that the collapse of the project, at a loss of at least $4 billion, was all but inevitable - the result of a troubled partnership between a government seeking to maintain the supremacy of its intelligence technology, but on a constrained budget, and a contractor all too willing to make promises it ultimately could not keep.'

International Herald Tribune, 03 Oct 07, by Thom Shanker
New U.S. missile system successful, military says
'After a successful test last week, the tracking radars and interceptor rockets of a new U.S. missile defense system can be turned on at any time to respond to an emerging crisis in Asia, senior military officers said.'

International Herald Tribune, 11 Nov 07, by Philip Taubman
The demise of a pricey U.S. spy satellite program
'... an investigation by The New York Times found that the collapse of the project, at a loss of at least $4 billion, was all but inevitable - the result of a troubled partnership between a government seeking to maintain the supremacy of its intelligence technology, but on a constrained budget, and a contractor all too willing to make promises it ultimately could not keep.'

International Herald Tribune, 03 Oct 07, by Thom Shanker
New U.S. missile system successful, military says
'After a successful test last week, the tracking radars and interceptor rockets of a new U.S. missile defense system can be turned on at any time to respond to an emerging crisis in Asia, senior military officers said.'

Associated Press
A look at the MQ-9 Reaper Attack Drone

Virginian-Pilot, 23 Jul 06
Blackwater: Inside America's Private Army
'Enter a world where the military has become a business – where citizen soldiers work for a private company whose currency comes from conflict. It's a place some salute and others fear. And it's right in our backyard.'

PBS 'NewsHour', 25 Jul 07
Pilots Discuss Use of Osprey
'The V-22 Osprey, an airplane that can land and take off like a helicopter, is expected to deploy to Iraq in September, although critics contend it has design flaws. Two pilots answered your questions about the aircraft.'

Aviation Week, 22 Jul 07, by Amy Butler
Future Bomber a Foundation for Next-Gen Gunship
'Air Force Special Operations Command (Afsoc) is planning to buy a fleet of bombers to house its future gunship, breaking with a decades-old tradition of using C-130 transports to carry heavy fires into the sky.'

The Register (UK), 20 Jul 07, by Lewis Page
Stealth bombers to get bunker-nobbling weapons
'American stealth bombers will soon be equipped to drop the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), the gigantic deep-bunker-blasting bomb currently being developed by the Yanks. Northrop Grumman announced the relatively cheap $2.5m stealth-bomber refit contract yesterday. An undisclosed number of the US Air Force's 22 B-2 "Spirit" bombers will each be able to carry a brace of 15-tonne MOPs in around seven months' time.'

StrategyPage, 29 Jun 07, by James Dunnigan
An Unprecedented Capability
'The U.S. Air Force is installing new bomb racks in its B-2 bombers, that will allow them to carry 80 smart bombs (500 pound ones). To complement that, the B-2s are also getting Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar.'

PBS 'NewsHour', 18 Jul 07, with Betty Ann Bowser
Marine Tilt-rotor Aircraft Set for Deployment Despite Problems
'The V-22 Osprey, a new tilt-rotor aircraft, is expected to be deployed to Iraq in several months, but critics say it has operational and design problems.'

PBS 'NewsHour', 18 Jul 07
Pilots Discuss Use of Osprey
'Two pilots take your questions about the controversial aircraft.'

National Defense Magazine, Jul 07, by Grace Jean
Can the Air Force Build a Satellite in Six Days?
'... as the Pentagon becomes increasingly dependent on space-based technology, it also worries about its capabilities to protect and reconstitute satellites following hostile attacks or naturally occurring events.'

DefenseTech.org, 18 Jun 07, by Norman Polmar
More Tomahawks May Fly
'The continued problems being encountered in flight tests of the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) could lead to resurrection of the air-launched Tomahawk missile. The JASSM -- designated AGM-158 -- was initiated in 1995 following cancellation of the Tri-Service Standoff Attack Missile (TSSAM) because of massive cost increases.'

ABC News/AP, 12 Jun 07, by Erica Werner, AP
Lawmakers Argue Over Aircraft Endeavor
'Neither the Pentagon nor NASA ever wanted to invest money in the DP-2 aircraft, meant to hover and take off and land vertically, but the program has gotten more than $63 million over the years at the direction of Congress.'

military.com, 20 Jun 07, by Master Sgt. Mitch Gettle, Army News Service
C-27J Named as Joint Cargo Aircraft
'The U. S. Army announced a $2.04 billion contract award June 13 to L-3 Communications Integrated Systems for their C-27J Spartan to be the Joint Cargo Aircraft. This JCA program is a combined Air Force and Army effort to have an airframe that will meet warfighter needs for intratheater airlift.'

Washington Times, 29 May 07, by W. Thomas Smith Jr.
Ex-SEAL vies to fortify U.S. combat trucks
'Former Navy SEAL Chris Berman is building two versions of an armored combat vehicle competing for a piece of the MRAP pie. MRAP is a U.S. Defense Department acronym for the Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicle design that soldiers want and contractors are bidding on to build in great numbers.'

Canadian American Strategic Review, Oct 06, by Stephen Priestley
Blast-Resistant Vehicles for Beginners
'The downsides of flat-bottomed armoured vehicles are obvious where landmines or roadside improvised explosive devices are encountered. If IEDs or mines might be thwarted by shaping the bottom of the vehicles to deflect the blast wave, why has this approach taken so long to gain acceptance? Political appearances are one reason. The origin of mine-resistant vehicles is firmly connected with apartheid in South Africa and few western armies were eager to be associated with that time.'

American Forces Press Service, 09 May 07, by David Mays
Pentagon Channel Documentary Focuses on Futuristic Military Technology
'On a military installation near Dayton, Ohio, not far from where Orville and Wilbur Wright designed a powered aircraft that would be the first in history to successfully fly, scientists are working around the clock to develop amazing future technology for tomorrow's war fighters.'

International Herald Tribune/AP, 10 May 07
Stakes rise for armored vehicle makers as Pentagon eyes orders
'The stakes are rising for nine companies vying to supply new armored vehicles to U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. While the Pentagon will name winners for a big chunk of the $8.4 billion contract in June, shares of one competitor -- Force Protection Industries Inc. of Ladson, South Carolina -- soared Thursday on word that the Army plans to boost its order for next-generation armored vehicles.'

DefenseNews.com, 07 May 07, by Bryant Jordan
USAF Wants Tactical Cargo Plane Concept by Fall 2008
'The planes that Lockheed Martin Aeronautics of Texas and Aurora Flight Sciences of Virginia will design will carry about three standard pallets, up to 20 combat soldiers or a single up-armored Humvee. The winning company will build the actual aircraft.'

Navy Times, 26 Apr 07, by Rick Maze
Congress halts Air Force plan for new handgun
'Congressional negotiators have put a hold on the Air Force's plans to replace the M9 9mm handgun so the Defense Department can consider the possibility of a joint plan for upgrading or replacing pistols.'

Navy Times, 25 Apr 07, by Jan TenBruggencate, The Honolulu Advertiser
Aegis missile test aims for 2 separate kills
'The Missile Defense Agency will try to shoot two simulated enemy missiles down at once Thursday in the latest test of the Navy's Aegis ballistic missile defense system.'

StrategyPage, 18 Apr 07
New Generation IED Jammer Arrives
'The United States has developed a new generation jammer for roadside bombs. In the next year, 10,000 CREW (counter radio-controlled IED electronic warfare) jammers will be delivered to the troops. EDO Communications, the manufacturer, has been providing such equipment since 2003.'

Army Times, 09 Apr 07, by Kris Osborn
Iraq war drove weight of FCS vehicles
'The Iraq war helped persuade Army planners to increase the weight of the Future Combat Systems Man-Ground Vehicle (MGV) from 18 tons to the current planned weight of 27 tons, FCS planners said. ... The vehicles are slated to have active protection systems and lightweight composite and add-on armor, but the vehicles kept getting heavier.'

GovExec.com, 20 Mar 07, by Megan Scully
Osprey helicopter nears overseas deployment
'The Marine Corps is expected to announce in early April the much-anticipated details of the V-22 Osprey's first overseas deployment, a move that will intensify the debate over whether the tilt-rotor aircraft with a tumultuous 25-year history is ready for battle.'

Army.mil, 23 Mar 07, by Debi Dawson
PEO Soldier Tests Improved Parachute System
'Under the current fielding plan, the 75th Ranger Regiment, the Rigger School and the Airborne School will receive the T-11 in 2008-09. The 82nd Airborne Division will receive the new parachute in 2009-11 and T-10s will be replaced Armywide by 2014.'

Military.com/AP, 02 Mar 07
New Nuke Design Selected
'The Bush administration selected a design Friday for a new generation of atomic warheads, taking a major step toward building the first new nuclear weapon since the end of the Cold War two decades ago.'

Baltimore Sun, 18 Feb 07, by Allison Connolly
Run silent, run very fast
'Funding pushes development of 127 mph sub : Russia has it. And reportedly, so does Iran. Now the United States is taking another look at supercavitation, a technology first honed in Maryland more than 50 years ago that would allow mini-submarines to travel beneath the ocean's surface at more than 100 miles an hour.'

BBC News, 22 Feb 07, by Paul Rincon
Record power for military laser
'A laser developed for military use is a few steps away from hitting a power threshold thought necessary to turn it into a battlefield weapon.'

The Providence Journal, 04 Feb 07, by Solon Economou
Forget about evading Navy's new gun
'The U.S. Navy has successfully tested a high-tech powderless, electromagnetically driven rail gun that can hurl a projectile up to 300 miles inland to support Marine missions. In comparison, the range for conventional naval 5-inch guns is less than 20 miles.'

F-16.net, 25 Jan 07, by Lieven Dewitte
F-35 Lightning II avionics test bed takes wing BAE systems
'The Joint Strike Fighter Cooperative Avionics Test Bed (CATB), a 737-300 aircraft extensively modified by BAE Systems, successfully completed its maiden flight Jan. 23 at Mojave, California.'

BBC News, 25 Jan 07
US military unveils heat-ray gun
'The US military has given the first public display of what it says is a revolutionary heat-ray weapon to repel enemies or disperse hostile crowds.'

BBC News, 25 Jan 07, by Gavin Thomas
US military looks to 'black ice'
'The US military has appealed to scientists to help develop a novel weapon - artificial black ice.'

National Review Online, 15 Jan 07, by W. Thomas Smith Jr.
More Fighter than Pilot
'America's brand-new F-35 Lightning II is currently undergoing a series of tests over Fort Worth, Texas. The third flight on Wednesday tested the aircraft at 23,000 feet, the highest altitude the aircraft has ever been. And this week, Lockheed Martin's chief test pilot Jon Beesley - the only man on the planet to have flown the F-35 - plans to take the jet even higher.'

The Register, 16 Jan 07, by John Leyden
US Navy seeks help in developing e-warfare systems
'The goal of electronic warfare is to deny communication and control capabilities to enemy forces while allowing friendly forces to communicate normally. In insurgency conflicts and anti-terrorism operations, that translates to the ability to prevent explosives being denoted remotely by radio jamming techniques without impeding troop use of tactical communication systems.'

Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 09 Jan 07, by Bob Cox
Second test flight of F-35 is a success
'Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II jet made its second test flight Monday, and this time, there were no glitches.'

Christian Science Monitor, 11 Jan 07, by Peter Ford
Fighter jet signals China's military advances
'A sleek, swept-wing fighter-bomber dubbed the "Jian-10," unveiled here last week, is more than just another jet plane. It is China's calling card, announcing Beijing's arrival among the top ranks of military manufacturers.'

Christian Science Monitor, 10 Jan 07, by Tom Regan
Is US Army blocking use of Israel's anti-RPG weapons in Iraq?
'Critics say the Army prefers to develop its own system to protect soldiers against insurgents' grenades.'

Middle East Online, 10 Jan 07, by Frida Berrigan
The Nightmare Weaponry of Our Future
'From the Arms Trade Resource Center, Frida Berrigan considers a range of US weapons systems slated to come our way somewhere between tomorrow and 2040.'