Sure, you could buy a Polaris Rampage, but this dad wanted to build a functional miniature tank inspired by the World of Tanks game for his son, complete with tracks and even a rotating turret. Powering this machine is a 250cc engine from a Piaggio scooter making 22 hp engine. A few other components were also salvaged from the scooter including the instrument cluster and some electronic parts.
Rheinmetall’s Lynx Optionally-Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) is a next-generation tank built specially for U.S. Army forces. Featuring a new, lethal unmanned 50mm turret with third-generation FLIR, optimized for a two-soldier crew, complete with on-board active protection systems that ensure the highest level of survivability.
DARPA’s Liberty Lifter is designed for transporting large payloads at sea, while their Perceptually-Enabled Task Guidance (PTG) program takes AI assistants to the next level, thanks to AR headsets. Simply put, this program aspires to develop virtual task guidance assistants capable of working with different sensor platforms to help military personnel perform complex physical tasks and expand their skill-sets.
NASA announced today that it has partnered with DARPA to develop DRACO (Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations), a nuclear-powered rocket that could be used for future manned missions to Mars. A nuclear thermal rocket makes sense because it allows for faster transit time and increased science payload capacity, all the while reducing risk for astronauts.
Photo credit: Jeremy Corbell
Jeremy Corbell has been investigating unexplained aerial phenomena for quite some time, and his latest find is eye opening to say the least. This image, captured in 2016 by a US spy plane, appears to show a silver UFO orb over a conflict zone in Mosul, Iraq. It was allegedly flying alongside the plane without changing altitude.
Raytheon’s hypersonic air-breathing attack cruise missile is designed for the battlefield, while Hermeus’ Chimera hypersonic engine test functions best in an aircraft. What is Chimera? A turbine-based combined cycle engine (TBCC) that combines turbojet and ramjet technologies into one, with the ability to switch between these two modes.
When naval engineers aren’t working on an electric laser weapon system, some are busy at the Navy’s indoor ocean and its 216 cutting edge, electronically-controlled wave boards. Located at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C., the hinged wave boards each come equipped with its own motor synced up to software that can precisely recreate eight ocean conditions across all seven seas.
Lockheed Martin’s F-117 Nighthawk may have been retired from combat use, but Northrop Grumman’s B-21 Raider is set to take over. The name pays tribute to the Doolittle Raids of World War II when 80 men and 16 B-25 Mitchell medium bombers participated in a mission that changed the course of World War II forever.
Unlike this sitting on air trick, University of Maryland’s real invisibility cloak is simpler than you think. It consists of a pullover with a stay-dry microfleece lining with adversarial patterns the evade most AI facial recognition cameras.
Elbit System’s LANIUS drone is designed to carry both lethal and non-lethal payloads, or in other words, explode upon reaching its intended target. These unmanned aerial vehicles sit atop a larger drone and can be deployed from there, thanks to its relatively light 2.76-pound frame. On a full charge, the small lithium battery is good for a flight time of up to 7-minutes.