By Agence France-Presse on Monday, October 28th, 2013

The US military has invested billions in blimp-like aircraft to trace militants planting roadside bombs however the spyship experiment is losing altitude due to technical failures and changing priorities. The lighter-than-air projects were billed as an innovative revival of an old aircraft design to conduct “unblinking” surveillance at the battlefield — at a fragment of the price of fuel-guzzling planes or helicopters. The Pentagon invested $7 billion in airship programs between 2007 and 2012, however the funding has mostly dried up amid budget cuts and embarrassing setbacks. Tethered balloons equipped with radar were used routinely for surveillance by US forces... Read More »

Russia is developing a fifth-generation unmanned fighter jet and an entirely new missile defense system which will simultaneously engage several supersonic targets in space, it’s been revealed on the MAKS-2013 airshow. The fifth-generation unmanned aircraft, weighing in at around 20 tons, takes after the T-50 fighter jet, with most of its characteristics modeled after it, Mikhail Pogosyan, president of Russia’s united aircraft-building corporation, told RIA Novosti on the MAKS-2013 show in Zhukovsky, just outside Moscow, which displayed the newest in air combat technology. “We are working according to plans developed along with the Defense Ministry. At this stage this suggests... Read More »

Germany: Eurofighter Typhoon has now achieved greater than 200,000 flying hours because the entry-into-service of its worldwide fleet. Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH confirmed the milestone today adding that, with 719 aircraft on contract, 571 aircraft ordered and 378 aircraft delivered, the programme has “never looked stronger”. 378 aircraft in service / 7 customers/ 20 operating units Backbone of 5 European Air Forces / Combat proven Alberto Gutierrez, Chief Executive Officer of Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH, said: “This impressive milestone underlines the exceptional track-record of the Eurofighter Typhoon. Today, our congratulations visit each of the air forces who’ve achieved this target, to greater... Read More »

As new technologies emerge and new cyber and electronic warfare threats plague Soldiers within the field, U.S. Army scientists and engineers continue to define next-generation protocols and system architectures to assist develop technology capabilities to combat these threats in an integrated and expedited fashion. As portion of the Integrated Cyber and Electronic Warfare, or ICE, program, the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command’s communications-electronics center, often known as CERDEC, researches the technologies, standards and architectures to support using common mechanisms used for the rapid development and integration of third-party cyber and electronic warfare, or EW, capabilities. “Currently, within cyber... Read More »