Mod. Notice Technological advances in weaponry
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Sea Mines are an old but effective weapon especially in constrained seas. we have received our first batch of the RWM Italia sea mines.
www.eurasiantimes.com
These modern mines can be activated and deactivated from a distance.
The article states the PLA already have over 100,000 sea mines
The mines look very different to the classic WWII mine that most imagine. Not sure which models we are getting, the Murena is pictured on the left and Asteria on the right. Bit of convergence between mines and kamikaze USV happening.
Australia Beefs Up Naval Defenses With First Batch Of Smart Sea Mines Aimed To Deter, Thwart China
Australia’s strained relations with China have prompted the island continent to strengthen its naval capabilities and the acquisition of the first batch of smart sea mines is a step in that direction.
www.eurasiantimes.com
The article states the PLA already have over 100,000 sea mines
The mines look very different to the classic WWII mine that most imagine. Not sure which models we are getting, the Murena is pictured on the left and Asteria on the right. Bit of convergence between mines and kamikaze USV happening.
Something old, something new.
The warzone has an article about an F111 incident where the engines were producing more thrust than expected, the craft went much faster than expected. Allegedly the cockpit indictor showed mach 3.2. It burned off paint, antenna's and bubbled the cockpit. Whether it was truly greater than mach 3 we will never know but there does seem to be a few other reports of FIII reaching mach 2.9 along with appropriate paint damage etc.
www.twz.com
Something new - US deploying 4 Strykers with 50kw lasers for field testing. At that power I suspect only soft targets like drones will be truly within their scope but in our drone filled world that alone would be a great new capability.
breakingdefense.com
The article has an interesting comment about energy on target.
“You may have a 50-kilowatt laser, but at 10 kilometers can you put at least four kilowatts in a centimeter square because … that’s what you need to burn through a quarter inch steel plate?” he asked. “But that’s really hard to get … from a big beam to get the small portion of it on the exact spot to be able to burn at that high intensity and any kind of dust particle or that starts to disrupt that.”
It doesn't talk about time on target which is as important.
The warzone has an article about an F111 incident where the engines were producing more thrust than expected, the craft went much faster than expected. Allegedly the cockpit indictor showed mach 3.2. It burned off paint, antenna's and bubbled the cockpit. Whether it was truly greater than mach 3 we will never know but there does seem to be a few other reports of FIII reaching mach 2.9 along with appropriate paint damage etc.
The F-111 Was Faster Than You Think
The swing-wing F-111 was capable of reaching far higher speeds than most realize, and it did so on multiple occasions.
www.twz.com
Something new - US deploying 4 Strykers with 50kw lasers for field testing. At that power I suspect only soft targets like drones will be truly within their scope but in our drone filled world that alone would be a great new capability.
EXCLUSIVE: Strykers with 50-kilowatt lasers in CENTCOM for experiment, Army No. 2 says - Breaking Defense
“Is it 100 percent ready? Is it going to work perfectly? Probably not but we're going to learn from it,” Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Mingus told Breaking Defense.
The article has an interesting comment about energy on target.
“You may have a 50-kilowatt laser, but at 10 kilometers can you put at least four kilowatts in a centimeter square because … that’s what you need to burn through a quarter inch steel plate?” he asked. “But that’s really hard to get … from a big beam to get the small portion of it on the exact spot to be able to burn at that high intensity and any kind of dust particle or that starts to disrupt that.”
It doesn't talk about time on target which is as important.
Werewolf
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The Dragonfire laser weapon (UK) was tested a couple of months ago - impressive targeting ability:
That bloody atmosphere! One mile range. At that power (50kw) you are only going to be cooking low end drones or acting as a 'dazzler'. Still, that's a capability needed if you are threatened by a swarm. My understanding is that to see direct destructive antimissile effects you need 300kW or greater. Even then the range issue really limits their use against face moving hypersonic targets. I can see why the USAF was so keen to get their antiballistic missile laser on to a Jumbo all those decades ago.
Article by Richard Dunley, who is a senior lecturer in naval history and maritime strategy at UNSW about the threat of drones to surface ships and how it is analogous to the threat navies faced with Torpedo boats in the late 19th century.
Ukraine-style naval attack drones present challenges, but they are not revolutionary | The Strategist
Many believe attacks on Russian warships by Ukrainian forces using uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) represent a fundamental shift in warfare at sea. Hugh White has argued that ‘surface ships these days are just inherently very ...
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- #182
We're jumping on the anti-drone laser bandwagon:
www.abc.net.au
Defence to trial drone-killing lasers that use advanced 'directed energy' technology
Defence has for the first time awarded a multi-million-dollar contract to a Melbourne company to trial its "directed energy" technology as a way of combating unmanned aerial vehicles.
www.abc.net.au
It has been announced that a production facility for the MQ28 Ghost Bat is being built in Toowoomba. This article from the Warzone talks about it in some detail.
www.twz.com
More interesting to me was the image (below) showing it's specs and 4 of it's 'nasal' payloads. This is the first time I have seen these listed. Note the 'placeholder'
The next run are going to be Block II craft, I have not found anything describing the changes for Block II.
Boeing's MQ-28 Ghost Bat Getting Facility To Ramp-Up Production In Australia
Boeing's MQ-28 plant in Australia will be a first for the company outside the United States and points to a looming uncrewed revolution.
www.twz.com
The next run are going to be Block II craft, I have not found anything describing the changes for Block II.
Another drone gets posted on this board. Guess it's the vibe of the times. Northrups Manta Ray, a gliding UUV drone that mimics it's name sake. Also has a novel system to extract energy from thermal gradients in the ocean
With a shape like that and no folks on board, I'm expecting the second generation to be a flying sub, like that from Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. It really is one of the coolest SF designs.
Despite it not flying the sub is worth reading about.
www.twz.com
With a shape like that and no folks on board, I'm expecting the second generation to be a flying sub, like that from Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. It really is one of the coolest SF designs.
Despite it not flying the sub is worth reading about.
Manta Ray High-Endurance Underwater Drone Unveiled
The testbed that mimics its namesake is designed to help DARPA hone its requirements for a new class of multi-mission submersible drones.
www.twz.com
Droning on......
Saildrone USV is getting a Thales Australia towed array sonar for USN use. Good to see the USV finally getting some proper ASW kit, even better, it's the locally developed Blue Sentry sonar. Saildrone uses wind and solar power for propulsion, making them capable of very long duration missions. They have proved very useful and reliable for ocean science. The CSIRO has some. Manufacturing is being scaled up by Austal USA.
www.navalnews.com
Saildrone USV is getting a Thales Australia towed array sonar for USN use. Good to see the USV finally getting some proper ASW kit, even better, it's the locally developed Blue Sentry sonar. Saildrone uses wind and solar power for propulsion, making them capable of very long duration missions. They have proved very useful and reliable for ocean science. The CSIRO has some. Manufacturing is being scaled up by Austal USA.
Saildrone and Thales Australia to Integrate Towed Array on USV - Naval News
Thales Australia’s BlueSentry thin-line towed array will be integrated with Saildrone Surveyor-class USVs for autonomous anti-submarine warfare (ASW) missions in the open ocean.
www.navalnews.com
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The interception of the vast majority of Iran's drones and missiles in the attack on Israel demonstrated a very effective air defence system. It wasn't just Iron Dome, it was layered, multinational and involved aircraft, ships and ground launch facilities. I think it is the largest missile attack ever successfully engaged. This sadly is a glimpse of a future.
According to this article from the intercept about 150 drones and missiles failed, either at launch or on route. US Forces acting under US CENTCOM claim 80 attack drones and at least six ballistic missiles with 70 drones shot down by aircraft.
theintercept.com
Added - Saw this list of the cost of the missiles used, in USD. Expensive business.
SeaRAM (short-range) is $900K,
ESSM $1.75M,
SM-2 $2.35M(depending on model).
SM-6 is $4.3M.
SM-3 are $12M.
AIM-120 AMRAAM costs 1.1M each.
Aster 15/Sea Viper costs $2.85M each
Also saw USN conforming they used the SM3 anti-ballistic missile (at 12 million a pop) against the medium range ballistic missiles, the first use in combat.
news.usni.org
It doesn't seem so long ago FAS said it wouldn't never work, like trying to hit a bullet with a bullet. They were wrong.
According to this article from the intercept about 150 drones and missiles failed, either at launch or on route. US Forces acting under US CENTCOM claim 80 attack drones and at least six ballistic missiles with 70 drones shot down by aircraft.
U.S., Not Israel, Shot Down Most Iran Drones and Missiles
American forces did most of the heavy lifting responding to Iran’s retaliation for the attack on its embassy in Damascus.
theintercept.com
Added - Saw this list of the cost of the missiles used, in USD. Expensive business.
SeaRAM (short-range) is $900K,
ESSM $1.75M,
SM-2 $2.35M(depending on model).
SM-6 is $4.3M.
SM-3 are $12M.
AIM-120 AMRAAM costs 1.1M each.
Aster 15/Sea Viper costs $2.85M each
Also saw USN conforming they used the SM3 anti-ballistic missile (at 12 million a pop) against the medium range ballistic missiles, the first use in combat.
SM-3 Ballistic Missile Interceptor Used for First Time in Combat, Officials Confirm - USNI News
For the first time in combat, guided-missile destroyers fired missiles developed to intercept ballistic missiles during the U.S. response to the Iranian attack on Israel, USNI News has learned. USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) and USS Carney (DDG-64), in the Eastern Mediterranean, fired four to seven...
news.usni.org
It doesn't seem so long ago FAS said it wouldn't never work, like trying to hit a bullet with a bullet. They were wrong.
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The Warzone has a long, but largely speculative article about our Ghost Shark USV.
Australia’s Ghost Shark Uncrewed Submarine Breaks Cover
The Ghost Shark is Australia’s ambitious extra-large autonomous undersea vehicle, but details about its future missions remain scarce.
www.twz.com
The Warzone has an article about Project Aquiline, a small. bird like drone the CIA designed in the early 1970's, so about 50 years ago. it used a pusher propeller on a bird like airframe with a 2m wingspan. It predicted the design & use of many of the drones we see today. Ahead of it's time, it never went into production.
www.twz.com
The article also talks abpout some of the CIA other drones, also the mysterious bird types with flapping wings - not formally assigned to the CIA, but heck, nudge, nudge, wink, wink. The CIA had a biomimetic fish design in the 1960's, allegedly used by them in Vietnam. Of all the biomimetic movement designs, fish are the easiest to do. Even Iran was recently experimenting with them.
The CIA's Bird-Shaped Aquiline Drones Could Still Be Caged Up At Area 51
It's unknown what became of the CIA's Project Aquiline assets once they were boxed up and stored at the infamously secretive desert testing facility.
www.twz.com
Robots, robots and more robots. The first article is about the successful completion of the robot Patrol Boat for the RAN.
www.australiandefence.com.au
The second is about a minigun armed drone. Really only a demo. There seems to be some question whether the types of guidance systems and precision they have are able to use these types of non precision weapons effectively.
www.twz.com
A flame throwing robot, but no, it's not for war. (lol) Makes a rather nasty trench clearing warbot in the military domain.
www.twz.com
Austal completes Patrol Boat Autonomy Trial sea trials - Australian Defence Magazine
Austal Australia's collaborative Patrol Boat Autonomy Trial project has successfully completed Sea Acceptance Trials of the autonomously operated vessel, Sentinel, during March and April 2024.
www.australiandefence.com.au
The second is about a minigun armed drone. Really only a demo. There seems to be some question whether the types of guidance systems and precision they have are able to use these types of non precision weapons effectively.
Minigun-Armed Mojave Drone Now Blasting Targets At 6,000 Rounds Per Minute
This is the first time Minigun pods have been live-fired from a drone in this class and there are already plans to expand on the capability.
www.twz.com
A flame throwing robot, but no, it's not for war. (lol) Makes a rather nasty trench clearing warbot in the military domain.
Meet The Flamethrowing Robodog Named Thermonator
The robodog flamethrower system is being touted for peaceful purposes, but one like it could have far deadlier potential applications.
www.twz.com
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From what I gathered, the mass drone attack was an economic win for Iran since Israel spent a LOT more money to defend against it. War is expensive business.The interception of the vast majority of Iran's drones and missiles in the attack on Israel demonstrated a very effective air defence system. It wasn't just Iron Dome, it was layered, multinational and involved aircraft, ships and ground launch facilities. I think it is the largest missile attack ever successfully engaged. This sadly is a glimpse of a future.
According to this article from the intercept about 150 drones and missiles failed, either at launch or on route. US Forces acting under US CENTCOM claim 80 attack drones and at least six ballistic missiles with 70 drones shot down by aircraft.
U.S., Not Israel, Shot Down Most Iran Drones and Missiles
American forces did most of the heavy lifting responding to Iran’s retaliation for the attack on its embassy in Damascus.
Added - Saw this list of the cost of the missiles used, in USD. Expensive business.
SeaRAM (short-range) is $900K,
ESSM $1.75M,
SM-2 $2.35M(depending on model).
SM-6 is $4.3M.
SM-3 are $12M.
AIM-120 AMRAAM costs 1.1M each.
Aster 15/Sea Viper costs $2.85M each
Also saw USN conforming they used the SM3 anti-ballistic missile (at 12 million a pop) against the medium range ballistic missiles, the first use in combat.
SM-3 Ballistic Missile Interceptor Used for First Time in Combat, Officials Confirm - USNI News
For the first time in combat, guided-missile destroyers fired missiles developed to intercept ballistic missiles during the U.S. response to the Iranian attack on Israel, USNI News has learned. USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) and USS Carney (DDG-64), in the Eastern Mediterranean, fired four to seven...
It doesn't seem so long ago FAS said it wouldn't never work, like trying to hit a bullet with a bullet. They were wrong.
Yes, it is expensive.
You forget one part of the economic equation, to count the damage, death and injury they would have caused if they hadn't been intercepted. Probably many billions of dollars damage. Then add the human cost.
Also that was a significant heft of 100+ missiles by Iran, even the cheap drones that they used a few hundred of, cost about $50,000 a pop. They used quite a bit of gear for negligible military outcomes and they don't have much of an economy.
Very brave folks attacking a nuclear power like that. Can't help feeling something has changed in Iran. They had a shot at Pakistan the other day, another nuclear power. The usual modus operandi is via 3rd parties.
Another robot, this time an F16, the RoboFalcon or RoboViper, you take your choice. Some very impressive footage of the beasty flying in formation, pretty close to the manned jets. Looks good in the orange, white a blue. They do cheat a bit, because the RoboViper doesn't have enough of a sensor suite to have true situational awareness itself.
Next Big Challenge For AI Dogfighting Is Keeping Track Of Enemies Up Close
Despite a breakthrough mock dogfight, actually sensing where the enemy is at during a tight-turning battle is a huge challenge to overcome.
www.twz.com
