The Australian Army scored a first when it performed the first successful firing of a HELLFIRE II missile from Australia's Eurocopter Tiger armed reconnaissance helicopter (ARH), at the Woomera test range in Australia's southern desert earlier this week. The Tiger is the first non-U.S. platform to integrate the HELLFIRE II missile. The missile was equipped with an inert warhead and was launched in the lock-on-before-launch mode by a Eurocopter test pilot, targeting a simulated armored personnel carrier (APC) target six kilometers downrange. The target was designated by the launching ARH helicopter. The missile struck dead center, leaving a gaping hole in the target. The Hellfire II comes in four models: the high-explosive anti-tank missile, the blast fragmentation missile, the millimeter-wave radar Longbow missile and the thermobaric Hellfire missile. Watch the videos inside to understand the differences between each lethal variant.  Read More

Northern California (USA) news service News10 Sacramento is about to debut the most innovative traffic tool the market has yet seen called “Beat the Traffic”. “Beat the Traffic” is cutting edge 3-D traffic displays that offer the viewer a look at traffic from a completely different angle. One of the most exciting things “Beat the Traffic” will provide is travel forecasting. The system computes historical traffic information and will predict how long it will take to arrive at a destination. Travel forecasting can tell you what time on a Friday before a major holiday that traffic will start backing up! This will help viewers save time when planning events and trips.  Read More

August NASA's MESSENGER team is using the CCSDS File Delivery Protocol (CFDP), a highly specialised protocol designed to overcome space operations communications challenges, to download data captured during a successful flyby of Earth last week. A team of international space data communications experts collaborating through the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) developed CFDP to reliably and efficiently downlink files from a spacecraft even in the strenuous environment of deep space. Since the MESSENGER spacecraft's launch a year ago, it has successfully used CFDP to enable mission communications and will use it throughout its 7.9-billion kilometre journey to Mercury.  Read More

– Two Boeing Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS) X-45A unmanned aircraft successfully completed a graduation exercise when they flew their most challenging simulated combat mission to date earlier this week at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California. For test flights 63 and 64, the X-45As departed from the base, climbed to altitude, and autonomously used their on-board decision-making software to determine the best route of flight within the "area of action" or AOA. The pilot on the ground approved the plan and the two unmanned vehicles entered the AOA, a 30 by 60 mile area within the test range, ready to perform a simulated Preemptive Destruction-Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses mission. The mission involved identifying, attacking and destroying pre-identified ground-based radars and associated missile launchers before they could be used to launch surface-to-air missiles. During the test flight, the X-45A unmanned aircraft faced a simulated "pop-up" threat, used evasive maneuvers to avoid it, and autonomously determined which vehicle held the optimum position, weapons and fuel to attack the higher priority simulated target. Once the pilot authorized the attack, the unmanned aircraft simulated dropping weapons on the target. After engaging and destroying a second simulated target, the two X-45As completed their mission and safely returned to Edwards.  Read More

Updated August 11, 2005 NEW IMAGES Seemingly in keeping with the latest fitness trends, the Sea Jogger is an interesting combination of recreational and exercise machine technologies. Clearly convergence isn’t just happening with all things digital – it seems that stepping machines are making a bid to become part of our exercise regime in many different ways. A few weeks ago we reported on a bicycle with a stepping machine power system (the US$795 Staircycle, which won Yahoo! Search Marketing’s Think Big contest) and now we’re writing about the Sea Jogger. Kinda similar to the Shuttle Bike which is a cross between a bicycle and a boat, the US$899 Sea Jogger differs in that it has a “stepper system” for the human power input, and instead of a propeller, there’s a quiet, effective and quite unique fin propulsion system. There is no need to take off your shoes or get wet. Just naturally walk on water. If you can walk, you can walk on water, with Sea Jogger.  Read More

ICAP Maximus has won line honours in the Rolex Fastnet Race, after crossing the Plymouth finish line at 0822 hours this morning. The 98-foot New Zealand Maxi led the race from start to finish, never seriously threatened by her Australian rival Skandia Wild Thing. Co-owners Charles St Clair Brown and Bill Buckley celebrated with champagne and bacon butties and praised the crew and the boat, whose performance has exceeded expectations. “I think our performance was a surprise to most people, and to ourselves to some extent. We tried some sail combinations, some by design some by accident, which have produced some amazing speeds.”  Read More

Renault will show a new Egeus concept car at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month, a resolutely upmarket 4WD SUV with the seductive elegance and luxurious, comfortable interior of a saloon. Thanks to its SUV size, Egeus offers a spacious interior while its exterior promises solidity and a dynamic personality. The longer bonnet highlights a soft, flowing design worthy of an upper-segment coupe. Egeus is about how Renault sees the high-end SUV segment. Patrick le Quement, Senior VP of Corporate Design at Renault describes the Egeus thus - an SUV for city driving and the open road, a sort of tall coupe that combines driving pleasure with elegance and sportiness.  Read More

Polar Electro and adidas have formed a partnership to introduce the world’s first completely integrated training system. Called “Project Fusion”, it seamlessly integrates Polar heart rate and speed and distance monitoring equipment into adidas apparel and footwear. The system combines the adiStar Fusion range of apparel, the adiStar Fusion shoe, Polar’s s3 Stride Sensor, the Polar WearLink transmitter and the Polar RS800 Running Computer into one system. Special fibers bonded onto adidas tops, work in conjunction with Polar’s Wear Link technology to eliminate the need for a separate chest strap to monitor heart rate. Just snap the tiny Polar WearLink connector onto the front of the shirt and go. The data is wirelessly sent to the wrist-mounted running computer, which displays and records all information in real time. The adiStar Fusion shoe has a cavity in the midsole which can house the Polar s3 Stride Sensor. As with the heart rate monitor, data is sent wirelessly to your running computer. Information like speed and distance, chronograph functions, along with heart rate, are shown on the RS800 in real time. And when the workout is over, all data can be downloaded onto a computer so workouts can be easily managed and analysed.  Read More

It's that wonderful time of year before the major European Auto Show again, and all the heavyweight automotive manufacturers are teasing the automotive world with their next big concept vehicle that will be released at, in this case, this year's Frankfurt International Motor Show (12-25 September). The latest example of cutting-edge styling from the Citroen design team, the C-SportLounge concept car looks set to wow the crowds this year. With its distinctive combination of powerful, sleek lines and 2+2 comfort and refinement, the C-SportLounge captures the true essence of a 21st century Grand Tourer.  Read More