Military

November 27, 2004 In an era of heightened security concerns - particularly at airports and major events - the ability to detect hidden materials quickly and unobtrusively has never been more paramount. AS&E's BodySearch personnel inspection system safely and quickly detects and displays threats or contraband hidden on a person - both in and under clothing. Designed to replace intrusive and time-consuming strip searches, the system provides better security than pat searches wherever these procedures are regularly performed.  Read More

UPDATED November 21, 2004 NASA's X-43A research vehicle screamed into the record books again, demonstrating an air-breathing engine can fly at nearly 10 times the speed of sound. Preliminary data from the scramjet-powered research vehicle show its revolutionary engine worked successfully at nearly Mach 9.8, or 7,000 mph, as it flew at about 110,000 feet. The November 16 flight took place in restricted airspace over the Pacific Ocean northwest of Los Angeles. The flight was the last and fastest of three unpiloted tests in NASA's Hyper-X Program. The program's purpose was to explore an alternative to rocket power for space access vehicles.  Read More

The US Marine Corps' first 4x4 hybrid-electric tactical vehicle - the Shadow RST-V - has been tested by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and may soon challenge the Humvee as the dominant vehicle for military use. The Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Targeting Vehicle (RST-V) is a high mobility, electric drive technology demonstrator that incorporates a lightweight diesel engine coupled to a permanent-magnetic generator which drives four in-hub permanent-magnet electric wheel motors. The RST-V is ideally suited as a reconnaissance vehicle, as its lithium-ion battery pack enables silent movement for upwards of 20 miles with extremely low thermal and acoustic signatures.  Read More

November 15, 2004 Austal USA has launched a High Speed Vessel catamaran with advanced hullform technology for the United States Office of Naval Research (ONR). The 31.2 metre vessel was built for American Marine Holdings, which has been awarded a contract to deliver and demonstrate its "AMH SeaCoaster" military vessel design to the ONR. High Speed Vessels (HSV) enable significantly enhanced brigade-sized (up to 5000-7000 soldiers/marines) operational manoeuvre from the sea by the Navy/Marine Corps team at high speed and over long range.  Read More

November 8, 2004 Xtreme Alternative Defense Systems (XADS) Ltd., has been tapped by the U. S. Marine Corps to develop a directed energy weapon for use in riot control and other situations requiring less-than-lethal force. The proposed 'StunStrike' prototype will temporarily disable an enemy combatant without using any form of projectile or other means of direct contact. Pictures are unavailable of the SunStrike but XADS has a working model Personal Defence Laser Pointer (see main picture) on the market to dazzle targets.  Read More

NEW PICS - UPDATED October 29, 2004 John Deere and iRobot have unveiled the Military R-Gator, an intelligent unmanned ground vehicle that will use off-the-shelf technology to autonomously perform dangerous and taxing missions. The R-Gator combines John Deere's rugged utility Gator with iRobot's robotics technology. The Robotic Gator, or R-Gator as it is called, is built on the combat-proven John Deere M-Gator military utility vehicle platform, and enhanced with proven iRobot military robotic controls and navigation and obstacle avoidance systems. The intelligent, durable and flexible R-Gator is designed to serve numerous important roles, including acting as an unmanned scout, "point man," perimeter guard, pack/ammo/supply carrier and more for soldiers, marines and airmen.  Read More

October 17, 2004 The Army has developed a prototype vehicle that may change the future battlefield. The Assault Weapon System, an experimental turret-mounted, multifunctional weapon system attached to General Motors' Humvee, may put the firepower of an entire heavy-weapons platoon into one vehicle in the near future. The system is the brainchild of Training and Doctrine Command, Raytheon and TRADOC System Manager- Close Combat Weapon Systems, and features an MK-19 grenade launcher, .50-calibre machine gun and two TOW missile-firing platforms.  Read More

December 20, 2003 Getting three square meals a day has a whole new meaning for American troops thanks to an innovative new package which provides everything necessary to feed up to 18 troops hot food in one small package. The Remote Unit Self Heating Meal (RUSHM), also referred to as "Kitchen in a Carton," takes the hassle out of serving hot food to warfighters in far away places.Developed by the Department of Defense Combat Feeding Directorate at the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Centre in Natick, Mass., the latest prototype of the remote meal reduces the carton's volume compared to previous prototypes by 20 percent by reconfiguring the package, trading larger dining trays for smaller ones, and swapping paper cups and beverage mixes for new resealable drink pouches.  Read More

The Firefly is a new disposable camera fired from a grenade launcher designed for those unfortunate moments a soldier encounters once in a while when you need to see what’s ahead, but don’t have a UAV to tell you. The Firefly is a miniature projectile weighing 145g and launched from a standard-issue M203 grenade launcher attached to an M16 assault rifle. It’s a use-once video camera with a life-span of just eight seconds. The idea behind the Firefly is that it is launched skyward above the area you wish to get a look at – say, over the next hill or above the location of people who are shooting at you. The camera has a range of 600 metres and and thanks to the wings that extend once it is launched, an extended hang-time of around eight seconds during which it transmits high resolution, colour video images back to portable PC or handheld (with add-on receiver and antenna) of what’s lying directly under its trajectory.  Read More