Lockheed Martin released the video of the first ever Vertical Take Off conducted by an F-35B Short Takeoff/Vertical Landing (STOVL) Lightning II test aircraft. The test was completed May 10 at Naval Air Station Patuxen River, Md.
The historic, albeit brief, flight occurred just a month after the Joint Strike Fighter program completed the first ever F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing during a night-time test mission. the F-35B is the Marine Corps version of the Joint Strike Fighter. [Continue reading…]
May 20th, 2013 | Air, F-35 Watch | 20 Comments
Tagged as: F-35B, Joint Strike Fighter, Vertical Take Off
The X-47B continues to make aviation history during it’s round of tests aboard the aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush. The carrier drone performed its first ever touch and go operation aboard a carrier on May 17.
Just three days earlier, the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System-Demonstrator became the first ever drone to be launched from a carrier. The drone crossed the Chesapeake Bay and landed at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., about an hour later. [Continue reading…]
May 20th, 2013 | The Defense Biz | 9 Comments
TAMPA — QinetiQ North America unveiled a lightweight, air-launched prototype Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) engineered with three flexible antennas and the ability to accommodate two separate sensor payloads, company officials explained May 14 at the 2013 Special Operations Forces Industry Conference here.
“It is designed to be deployed from a sonobuoy launch container which can drop from a SH-60 Sea Hawk helicopter or a P-8 [Poseidon surveillance plane]. Also, this has the ability to pivot vertically and expose antennas above the surface while using its motor to maintain stability,” said Carl Carlson, Sea Scout business development manager, QinetiQ. [Continue reading…]
May 17th, 2013 | AirSea Battle, Drones, Gadgets and Gear, Navy, Sea, Sea Services, Ships and Subs, Special Ops | 18 Comments
Tagged as: ASW, Mine Countermeasures, Navy, Unmanned Vehicles, UUV
The first MV-22 Ospreys set to fly presidential support missions for Marine Helicopter Squadron One have arrived at Quantico, Va., and they received a new paint job.
The Ospreys will not be white tops like the VH-3D Sea King and VH-60 White Hawks, which get their nickname from the white paint job up top. These are the helicopters that carry the President of the United States. Instead, the Ospreys were painted green as they will carry presidential support staff and the media. [Continue reading…]
May 17th, 2013 | Grand Ole Osprey | 64 Comments
Tagged as: green, Marine One, Osprey, President Obama
TAMPA – Experimental light weight body armor, the latest in infrared sensors, and next-generation night-vision technology are all among a series of key areas of focus for the U.S. Special Operations Command’s Science and Technology community, service officials said May 14 at the 2013 Special Operations Forces Industry Conference here.
Special Operations leaders have made developing technologies to improve small unit dominance, human performance, battlespace awareness and Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) a priority as the coffers funding modernization get smaller even for SOCOM, said Karen Sander, director of SOCOM S&T.
[Continue reading…]
May 16th, 2013 | Future Wars, Gadgets and Gear | 18 Comments
Tagged as: S&T, Special Operations Command
