Lockheed Martin’s M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) is the United States Army’s most powerful rocket launcher and it’s mounted on a standard Army M1140 truck frame. It’s capable of carrying six rockets or one MGM-140 ATACMS missile on the U.S. Army’s new Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) five-ton truck, and can launch the entire Multiple Launch Rocket System Family of Munitions (MFOM). Read more for a video and additional information.
Russia officially unveiled their fifth-generation SUKHOI fighter jet at its annual MAKS air show, called “Checkmate”. This lightweight tactical aircraft is touted as a rival to the U.S. F-35 stealth fighter and expected to take to the skies in 2023, with the first batch set for production in 2026. A total of 300 Checkmate fighter jets will be produced over 15-years once serial production begins. Read more for a video and additional information.
Russia successfully completed the first test of its Tsirkon (Zircon) hypersonic cruise missile on Monday. The defense ministry said that the missile was fired from the Admiral Gorshkov, a warship located in the White Sea, and traveled at approximately Mach 7 (seven times the speed of sound) before hitting a ground target on the coastline of the Barents Sea over 350 kilometers (217-miles) away. Read more for the video and additional information.
You’ve probably seen some bizarre aircraft before, but the Bartini Beriev VVA-14 could be the strangest yet. This vertical take-off amphibious aircraft was a wing-in-ground-effect aircraft developed in the Soviet Union during the early 1970s and designed to take off from the water before flying at high speeds over long distances. This meant that it could not only complete flights at high altitude, but also flying efficiently just above the water. Read more for a video and additional information.
Northrop Grumman’s B-2 Spirit’s successor can now be seen in all its glory with this new artist’s rendering from the US Air Force. This dual-capable penetrating strike stealth bomber will be capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear munitions, forming the backbone of the future Air Force bomber force consisting of B-21s as well as B-52s. The aircraft is nuclear capable and designed to accommodate manned or unmanned operations. Read more for a video and additional information.
Photo credit: Seaman Riley McDowell
The US Navy’s USS Gerald R Ford (CVN 78), the world’s largest aircraft carrier, recently completed the first scheduled explosive event in the Atlantic Ocean as part of the carrier’s Full Ship Shock Trials (FSST). Live explosives were used to confirm the design of new ships as well as their ability to withstand and perform in war-like conditions. It was conducted off the East Coast of the United States, within a narrow schedule that complies with environmental mitigation requirements. Read more for two videos and additional information.
Photo credit: Maya Margit
Israel-based Polaris Solutions in collaboration with the Israeli Ministry of Defense (MoD) unveils The Kit 300, camouflage technology that consists of a sheet made from thermal visual concealment (TVC) material that makes soldiers nearly undetectable. It uses a combination of microfibers, metals and polymers to make soldiers not only harder to see with the human eye, but thermal imaging cameras as well. Read more for a video and additional information.
Rheinmetall introduces the Mission Master XT, the latest addition to their Mission Master family of Autonomous Unmanned Ground Vehicles (A-UGVs). This diesel-powered beast can handle just about any terrain and remains highly mobile, all the while transporting carrying impressive payloads. Weighing 4887 lb (2217 kg), this powerful A-UGV is capable of carrying a 2204 lb (1000 kg) payload in all scenarios, enabling troops to transport special equipment to hard-to-reach locations. Read more for a video and additional information.
Russia’s Federal Government announced this week that they are continuing development on their “Cyclocar” prototype, with test flights set for 2022 and production by 2024. This hybrid-electric autonomous VTOL aircraft uses four cyclical propellers for propulsion and has room for six passengers, or a maximum payload capacity of 1,323 pounds. A miniature prototype weighing in at 140-pounds has successfully been tested. Read more for a video and additional information.
Sure, house and building fires can be extinguished with normal fire trucks, but what about those in oil wells? That is a job best left for Big Wind, which is now owned by the MOL Group. Initially based on a Russian concept used during the Soviet times for taking out gas as well as oil well fires, it consisted of a single MiG-15 jet engine tacked onto the bed of a truck. Since that time, Big Wind has been upgraded with two MiG-21 jet turbines bolted onto a tank chassis. Read more for a couple video and additional information.