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☆ A new experimental US Air Force bomb can sink warships, but the question is if it's the right weapon for a war with China
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-10 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Read previewA US Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bomber recently used a new anti-ship weapon to sink a decommissioned warship in the Pacific and a cargo ship off the coast of Florida. A US Air Force B-2 Spirt receives fuel from a KC-135 Stratotanker in the sky over northwest Missouri in August 2018. According to the Air Force Research Laboratory, the goal is to replicate the combat potential of a submarine with an aircraft that can cover a much larger area. QUICKSINK is not the only initiative indicative of the Air Force's desire to increase its maritime strike capabilities. The Air Force remains interested in developing more affordable munitions for maritime strikes.

Persons: —, Vincent De Groot, Bryan Clark, Lindsey Heflin, Mark Gunzinger, QUICKSINK, Clark, Gunzinger Organizations: Service, Air Force, American, Business, US Air Force, KC, US Air National Guard, Air Force Research Laboratory, US Navy, Hudson Institute, US, People's, Army, China News Service, Getty, Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, Ship, Navy Locations: Pacific, Florida, China, Missouri, Hawaii, Gulf of Mexico, Washington, Beijing, Western Pacific

☆ RIMPAC: US Air Force B-2 bomber used in exercise to sink surface ship with low-cost bomb
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-27 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Earlier this month, the US and allies practiced taking out a large surface ship with long-range weapons, including, for the first time, a US Air Force B-2 bomber. It showed the US military can use one of its most survivable weapons platforms, the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, to sink a major surface ship with a low-cost guided bomb. The Air Force says its stealthy characteristics allow it to penetrate heavily defended areas and also fly with a small chance of being detected by radar at high altitudes. Mating it up with relatively cheap and demonstrably effective precision-guided bombs with warheads of up to 2,000 pounds could give the Air Force bombers the “anti-ship lethality” of a submarine-launched torpedo without the liabilities of a submarine, according to a US Air Force website. The Air Force first tested QUICKSINK in 2022, when an F-15 fighter jet released a GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) that destroyed a full-scale surface target in the Gulf of Mexico, according to an Air Force statement.

Persons: ”, Seleena Muhammad, QUICKSINK, Carl Schuster, ” Schuster, Jon Husman, Alessio Patalano, Mark Hammond, Australia’s, “, LSIS Daniel Goodman, USS Fitzgerald, John Wade, RIMPAC, John Bradford, ” Bradford, Zhongping Organizations: South Korea CNN, US Air Force, US, Air Force, Munitions, Royal Air Force, U.S . Air Force, Navy, Air Force Research, Liberation Army Navy, PLAN, US Pacific Command Joint Intelligence Center, U.S . Navy, King’s College, US Navy, Ship, 3rd Fleet, Royal Australian Navy, Naval, Australia, Royal Australian, Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, US Navy destroyer, US Marine Corps, Task Force, Foreign Relations International Affairs, Times, PLA Navy, Global Times, ” Global Times Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Kauai, China, Tarawa, England, U.S, Gulf of Mexico, Pacific, Taiwan, Philippines, Japan, London, Oahu, Hawaii, Norwegian, USS Dubuque, ‘, Malaysia, Netherlands, China China, Asia, Taiwan Strait, South China

☆ A US Air Force B-2 stealth bomber helped sink an old warship in the Pacific with new anti-ship QUICKSINK bombs
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-24 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewA US Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bomber used a new anti-ship munition to sink a decommissioned warship during a series of recent live-fire drills with partner forces in the Pacific Ocean, the US Navy said this week. US Air Force photo / 1st Lt Lindsey Heflin"This capability is an answer to an urgent need to quickly neutralize maritime threats over massive expanses of ocean around the world at minimal costs," it added. Over the years, the various elements of the US armed forces have been pursuing more and more anti-ship capabilities. AdvertisementIn addition to B-2s dropping QUICKSINK bombs, a US Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet used a Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile, or LRASM, to help sink the Tarawa.

Persons: —, Lindsey Heflin, Royal Netherlands Navy De Zeven, Tromp, Cristian Schrik, John Wade Organizations: Service, Air Force, US Navy, Business, Defense, Research, Engineering, US Air Force, Air Force Research Laboratory, Navy, Ship, Fleet, Malaysian, Royal, Royal Netherlands Navy, US, Task Force Locations: Hawaii, Pacific, Dubuque, South, Royal Netherlands

☆ See the XQ-67A combat drone's first flight as the US Air Force works to build its fleet of manned and AI-piloted aircraft
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-11 | by ( Hope Seck | Sandboxx News | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

It's been an eventful few months for the XQ-67A and the Air Force's efforts to create a fleet of low-cost, high-tech autonomy-capable aircraft that can network with and support manned fighters in the air. Air Force Research Laboratory/DVIDsThe new angles highlighted in the short video underscore the unique design of this prospective fighter jet teammate. The Air Force plans to fast-track production of the first 100 collaborative combat aircraft, delivering them to the fleet by 2029. AdvertisementThe Air Force hopes CCA won't just augment or modernize air warfare — but transform it entirely. Air Force Research Laboratory/DVIDsCCA, the paper's authors write, could help disrupt China's preferred way of fighting and deny the country an assured victory, if employed correctly to multiply capabilities.

Persons: Atomics Gray, It's, Atomics, Mike Atwood, Kratos, Frank Kendall, China's Organizations: Service, US Air Force, Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Air, Air Force, ASI, USAF, Air Force Research, and Space Forces Magazine, Cessna, CCA, Atomics, Marine Corps, Collaborative, Attritable Aircraft Technologies, The Air Force, Force, Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies Locations: Atomics Gray Butte, Palmdale , CA, OBSS, China

LOS ANGELES (AP) — U.S. aerospace company Stratolaunch conducted the first powered test flight of a new unmanned craft for hypersonic research on Saturday and called it a success. Hypersonic describes flights at speeds of at least Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound. The Talon, powered by a liquid-fuel rocket engine, ended its flight by descending into the ocean as planned. The company called the result a major milestone in the development of the United States' first privately funded, reusable hypersonic test capability. That project was canceled, and new owners then repurposed Stratolaunch for launches of reusable hypersonic research vehicles.

Persons: Stratolaunch, Zachary Krevor, ” Krevor, Roc, Paul G, Allen Organizations: ANGELES, —, Mojave Air, Space, Microsoft, U.S . Air Force Research Laboratory Locations: — U.S, California, United States, Los Angeles, Reston , Virginia

JoeBen Bevirt is an evangelist for the new industry and the founder and CEO of Joby Aviation Inc., which delivered its first eVTOL to the Air Force last month. What will you learn from how the Air Force uses it? There will certainly be valuable learnings and the operational experience, the feedback from the Air Force pilots to the FAA flight-test pilots. Q. Joby announced in September that you’re going to build a $500 million production facility in Dayton, Ohio, with up to $325 million in state and local incentives. You’ve got Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, which is the home of the Air Force Research Laboratory and AFWERX (the Air Force’s technology-innovation program).

Persons: Bevirt, We’ve, Davis, that’s, we’ve, don’t, Joby, you’re, Wright, You’ve Organizations: Joby Aviation Inc, Air Force, Toyota, Associated Press, University of California, Joby Aviation, Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, NTSB, National Transportation Safety, Patterson Air Force Base, Air Force Research Laboratory, Boeing, Airbus Locations: Santa Cruz , California, California, Dayton , Ohio, Dayton, Ohio, Joby

☆ The US Air Force's plan to give its biggest planes new missions has gotten China's attention
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

US Air Force officials say they're pursuing a plan to drop "palletized effects" from cargo planes. Minihan said "palletized effects" could include much more than just "kinetic effects" like missiles. There's other kinetic effects, non-kinetic effects, jammers, that if it can fit in the back and can be air-launched" then it could be employed to deliver "decisive effects," Bauernfeind said. "When it comes to palletized effects, I'm not looking for big modifications. AdvertisementAdvertisementA palletized effects system in the air during a live-fire test in Norway in November 2022.

Persons: It's, Brandon Esau, Mike Minihan, Minihan, Tony Bauernfeind, Bauernfeind, Brandon Esau Minihan, Derek Solen, Solen, Brigette, Brigette Waltermire Solen Organizations: US Air Force, Service, Air Force, Air Force Research Laboratory, Air Force Special, Command, Air Mobility Command, Staff, Air and Space Forces, Washington DC, Air Force Special Operations Command, China National Defense, PLA, Communist, Military Commission, US Air, China Aerospace Studies, Science, US Air National Guard / Tech Locations: Wall, Silicon, China, Florida, Norwegian, Norway

Importantly, the site is near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the headquarters of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratories. With this announcement, that aspiration has been realized.”Political Cartoons View All 1163 ImagesThe Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, lived and worked in Dayton. Joby CEO JoeBen Bevirt told the AP that the company chose Ohio after an extensive and competitive search. 3 in the nation on manufacturing jobs — and that depth of manufacturing prowess, that workforce, is critical to us as we look to build this manufacturing facility. That included the loss of tens of thousands of auto and auto parts manufacturing jobs in the early 2000s and the loss of ATM maker NCR Corp.'s headquarters to an Atlanta suburb in 2009.

Persons: Wright, Mike DeWine, Jon Husted, ” Husted, Orville, Wilbur, Orville Wright's, Hawthorn Hill, Joby, JoeBen Bevirt, Bevirt, J.P, Nauseef, that’s, —, ” Bevirt, DeWine —, John Glenn, Neil Armstrong Organizations: Joby Aviation Inc, ” Republican Gov, Associated Press, Intel, Dayton International, Republican, Gov, Patterson Air Force Base, U.S . Air Force Research Laboratories, “, U.S, Hawthorn, Wright Model B, Toyota, Delta Airlines, Air Force, U.S . Department of Energy, AP, Boeing, Airbus, NCR Corp, U.S . Air Force’s, . Space Command, Space Force Locations: COLUMBUS , Ohio, Ohio, Wright, Dayton, Santa Cruz , California, “ Ohio, Atlanta, Springfield, Marina , California

☆ Why NASA's Artemis program is the only moon-return mission since Apollo to survive 2 successive US presidents and our best chance of actually returning humans to the lunar surface
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Mariel Borowitz | The Conversation | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The Artemis program marks the first time since the Apollo program that an effort to send humans to the moon has been supported by two successive US presidents. Some, like Japan-based iSpace and US-based Astrobotic, are developing commercial lunar landers and have plans to eventually collect lunar resources, such as water or minerals. Just as the United States is leveraging commercial developments, the US is working with international partners, as well. The United States is also seeking international support for the Artemis Accords, a set of principles for responsible lunar exploration and development. It's worth noting that China's lunar program also emphasizes international engagement.

Persons: it's, Artemis, Christina Hammock Koch, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Jeremy Hansen, Wang Yaping, Gene Kim, Bill Nelson Organizations: Service, NASA, European Space Agency, SpaceX, Companies, Canadian Space Agency, United Nations, US Space Force, Air Force Research Laboratory, Oracle, Military, Artemis Accords, United, United Arab Emirates, Lunar Research Locations: China, Wall, Silicon, Japan, United States, Soviet, Europe, Canada, United Kingdom, Rwanda, Nigeria, United Arab, India, Russia, Sweden, France, Italy, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates

☆ Layoffs hit Colorado space companies as funding remains tight
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A pair of Colorado space companies laid off employees this past week, seeking to adapt to the new normal of a tight funding environment. The layoffs came at Ursa Major, which makes rocket engines, and Orbit Fab, a startup aiming to provide refueling services to spacecraft. An Ursa Major spokesperson confirmed to CNBC that the company restructured, but declined to specify the number of layoffs made. In a statement, Ursa Major said the job reductions are "realigning our workforce to better meet the needs of our national security customers." TechCrunch first reported the Ursa Major layoffs.

Persons: Major, Adam Harris, Harris, Ursa Major Organizations: Ripley, Ursa, Ursa Major, CNBC, Space Capital, Air Force Research Laboratory, Astra, Space Force, Space Agency, TechCrunch Locations: Colorado, Berthoud , Colorado, Lafayette , Colorado

☆ The US military has 6 new air-to-air missiles in the works
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Alex Hollings | Sandboxx News | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

The US military has at least six new air-to-air missiles in active development. The US's current air-to-air missiles are effective, but they aren't designed for the newest US jets. Russia and China are fielding missiles with incredible rangeChinese-made PL-9C, left, and PL-5E air-to-air missiles at the Airshow China exhibition in November 2000. Peregrine Air-to-Air missileRaytheon's Peregine air-to-air missile has actually been around for a few years already. Modular Advanced Missile (MAM)The Modular Advanced Missile (MAM) is among the newest additions to this list.

Nate was identified with tinnitus and now is one of more than 200,000 claimants suing 3M over its Combat Arms earplugs. To protect his hearing, Frei wore standard issue earplugs made by 3M . Plaintiffs claim 3M earplugs were "defective" and failed to protect against hearing loss and tinnitus. 3M's Combat Arms CAEv2 earplugs CNBCEach earplug had two ends: The green end was designed to block out all sound. 3M disagreed with those claims, telling CNBC: "The data support what 3M has maintained throughout this litigation: the Combat Arms Earplugs version two were safe and effective to use.

☆ The US military let artificial intelligence fly a fighter jet and even battle simulated enemies in air-to-air combat
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A recent series of US military tests saw AI fly a fighter jet and battle simulated enemies. The modified jet practiced beyond-visual-range engagements and dogfighting, the 412th Test Wing revealed. It can be piloted by autonomous AI programs and mirror the flight characteristics of aircraft like the F-16 jet or MQ-20 drone. One of the two programs tested by the US military was a product of the Air Force Research Laboratory's Autonomous Air Combat Operations, or AACO. This program piloted the VISTA in one-on-one engagements against a simulated enemy beyond visual range, the 412th Test Wing said.

☆ A US plan to drop bombs from cargo planes hit another milestone, but the Air Force is still figuring out how it would use it in a war
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

US Air Force special operators launched a cruise missile from a cargo plane over Norway this month. The Air Force wants to have more planes that can launch long-range strikes, but there are logistical hurdles. US Air Force personnel load a Rapid Dragon deployment system on an MC-130J before a test in November 2021. Air Force Research Laboratory"The beauty of that capability is it doesn't require any aircraft modifications. We are intentionally trying to be provocative without being escalatory," said Melnicoff, Special Operations Command Europe's lead officer for Operation Atreus.

☆ The Pentagon says it's testing Elon Musk's Starlink in the Arctic, which could help connect US troops
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The US military is testing Elon Musk's SpaceX Starlink in the Arctic, per Bloomberg. An Air Force engineer said the Pentagon demonstrated Starlink on a moving vehicle in Alaska. Over the last two weeks, the Pentagon has used Elon Musk's Starlink on a moving vehicle in Alaska, Beal said in a statement to Bloomberg. He expected 240 more Starlink satellites to be launched in the next six months, per the report. Beal told Bloomberg the Pentagon was set to review whether the Arctic's harsh environment had an impact on Starlink's performance.

☆ The US military is getting a 2-for-1 replacement for its vaunted Hellfire missile
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( Alex Hollings | Sandboxx News | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

This results in one missile that can do the job of both Hellfire missiles currently in service. This results in one missile that can do the job of both Hellfire missiles currently in American and allied inventories. Living up to the legacy of the HellfireA YAH-64 Apache prototype armed with AGM-114A Hellfire missiles in March 1982. Today's primary family of Hellfire missiles includes the AGM-114R Hellfire II, commonly known as the Hellfire Romeo, and the AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire. An SH-60 helicopter armed with AGM-1148 Hellfire missiles aboard USS John F. Kennedy in March 2002.

☆ US Air Force special operators turned cargo planes into bombers. Now they're showing other militaries how it's done.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-13 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

One effort involving Air Force Special Operations Command is modifying cargo planes to drop bombs. Other air forces could easily deploy those weapons from their cargo planes, the head of AFSOC said. A major part of that effort has been repurposing its largest aircraft, cargo planes and tankers, for other missions. Brandon EsauThe Air Force has been contemplating how to deploy more firepower with its existing fleet for nearly a decade. US Air Force Special Operations CommandAFSOC is looking to add other capabilities to its MC-130s as well.

☆ We found at least 25 ex-Gaetz staffers who don't mention the congressman by name on their LinkedIn page
▼ + stars: | 2021-06-20 | by ( Robin Bravender | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Gaetz's name is absent from McFaul's LinkedIn page, too, where he describes his duties during that time working as a chief of staff for an unnamed "congressman." At least 25 of Gaetz's former congressional staffers don't mention the Republican congressman by name on their LinkedIn pages, according to an Insider analysis. McFaul declined to comment about why Gaetz's name wasn't on his LinkedIn page or his Ballard bio page. She also worked for Miller, Gaetz's congressional predecessor, but doesn't name him on her LinkedIn page, either. Drew Angerer/Getty Images'Riding the wave'Some current and former Gaetz staffers continue to publicize their work for the congressman.

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