U.S Army To Test Small Robots

The U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems has begun testing of the first Small Unmanned Ground Vehicles (SUGVs) to arrive at Fort Bliss, Texas.

The SUGV is a 30-pound tactical robot designed to search for bombs, clear caves and buildings and give soldiers eyes around corners in combat.

In a $6 million deal with FCS lead systems integrator Boeing, iRobot will deliver 25 SUGVs for testing at Fort Bliss by May.

Three SUGVs have been delivered and 22 more will be produced to deliver till mid-May. This is a system that was originally supposed to be delivered in 2013 or 2010.

Once testing with the 25 robots is complete, TRADOC and FCS program officials will make a recommendation to Army leaders. As of yet, there is no set date specifying when the SUGVs will be sent to Iraq and Afghanistan. However, Army officials were impressed with industry's ability to produce a large number of robots with numerous sensors in a short time.

The robot goes in there first, where there are adversaries, tripwires or bombs.The SUGV can pass imagery onto the network and has multispectral, electro-optical infrared sensors.Emerging compression technologies allow the robot to move large amounts of video instantly.Compression algorithms allow the robot to transfer the information in smaller sizes to maintain high resolution.

In the months ahead, iRobot may add to the SUGV chemical, biological and radiation sensors such as the company's ICX FIDO kit, which examines the air for explosive residue.

The Army Research Night Vision Lab is also working on through-the-wall X-ray technology and ground-penetrating radar so that robots can detect buried explosives.

'INDEPENDENCE' (LCS 2) , A new Us WarShip

USA has successfully launched its landmark 127-metre Littoral Combat Ship ‘Independence’ (LCS 2).Since its keel-laying in January 2006, ‘Independence’ has steadily progressed within Austal USA’s purpose built construction facility in Mobile, Alabama toward becoming a formidable warship.It will get commision in USN in 2009.

The LCS indeed is a new kind of USN warship. She is high speed (40 knots-plus; we have seen numbers up to 60 knots) and very maneuverable. She is said to be able to turn 360 degrees in less than eight boat lengths at sprint speed.

Arguably, her most important feature is that she is a modular ship. That means she can be reconfigured to carry a variety of combat packages targeted for specific missions. She will be able to interdict ships on the high seas, conduct intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and provide anti-terrorism force protection, including employment of special operations forces. She will support launching and recovering small boats for use by such special forces. She can carry two SH-60 Seahawk helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles.

The LCS carries the nomenclature "littoral" for a reason. Littoral means the ship will operate close to shorelines, which means she can operate where larger warships cannot. She can more easily support insertion and extraction of small numbers of specialized combat forces.

She will also carry an entirely new class of missiles, called the non-line-of-sight attack missiles, which are still in development and testing.The system envisions having two kinds of missiles, both precision attack. The Loitering Attack Missile LAM is an expendable, hunter-killer that can loiter, search out a target over a large area, and attack a target using its automatic target recognition system. The Precision Attack Missile PAM is a direct attack missile. LAM will be used for fleeting targets, while PAM for fixed and stationary targets.

LCS-1 is powered by two Fairbanks Morse Colt-Pielstick 16PA6B STC diesel powerplants and two Rolls Royce MT30 gas turbines driving four Rolls Royce waterjets. She will be interconnected to many other naval elements, satellites, airborne vehicles and command centers.

India launches 10 Satellites in One Mission

An Indian rocket has blasted off and successfully launched a cluster of 10 satellites in a single mission, marking a milestone for the country's 45-year-old space programme.

The PSLV rocket lifted off Monday morning from the Sriharikota space station in southern India carrying an Indian remote-sensing satellite, a mini satellite and eight so-called nanosatellites developed by German and Canadian research institutions.

The satellites were deployed in orbit within minutes of each other in a rare space feat, with the entire mission lasting about 20 minutes.

(Although this news doesn't seems to be related with defence but i put the news on my blog as now a days satellites are playing great role in defence. They are being used for tracing the enemy and for targetting them through missiles, and are being used for many other defence purposes such as smooth sailing in seas and much more.)

Israeli F-16I Training Flights Halted

The Israel Air Force (IAF) halted all training flights on its 75-aircraft fleet of F-16I 'Soufa' multirole fighters on 21 March after a carcinogenic substance was found in the cockpit of some of the aircraft.
Continual complain from several aircrews was of a strong odour in the cockpit during the flight, causing sore eyes and throat, the IAF hired a commercial company to examine the air inside the cockpits of several F-16Is.
The tests found traces of formaldehyde - a substance known to be carcinogenic in high concentration - in the crew compartment but the aircraft will continue to be used in other operations as investigations continue.
Although the substance was found in a hazardous concentration level in only one aircraft, IAF Commander in Chief Major General Eliezer Shkedi decided to cease training flights of the whole fleet until the matter is fully examined.

Upgrading Taiwan's Air And Defence Capabilities

Raytheon Company has received a $79 million Foreign Military Sales award from the U.S. Army to provide Taiwan with Patriot Configuration-3 radar upgrade kits and related engineering and technical services.

The award for Taiwan Patriot upgrade kits follows recent company announcements of contracts totaling $279 million to provide South Korea command and control, communications, and maintenance support and training equipment for its Patriot air and missile defense system. Additionally, Raytheon announced Patriot contract awards of $377 and $115 million in February and March, respectively. These awards included engineering services, missile upgrades and support for the U.S. Army's "Pure Fleet" initiative.

These awards for Taiwan are additional indications of the continued expansion of Patriot as the cornerstone of the U.S. and its international partners' integrated air and missile defense systems. Working with the U.S. Army, they are providing Taiwan this increased capability. These upgrades are a testament to the continuing growth and operational flexibility of this premier system.

Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) is the prime contractor for the Patriot system and the integration of all its variants.

Raytheon Company, with 2007 sales of $21.3 billion, is a technology leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 72,000 people worldwide.