The US Air Force already has the Self-Protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator (SHiELD) to shoot down missiles, and this week they selected Raytheon Missiles & Defense to develop a hypersonic air-breathing attack cruise missile (HACM). This scramjet powered munition utilizes high vehicle speed to forcibly compress incoming air before combustion, which allows sustained flight at hypersonic speeds – Mach 5 or greater.
Not all of us have the knife-throwing skills of Steven Seagal in the 1992 film ‘Under Siege’, but one YouTuber has a solution. YouTuber Quint built a crazy knife throwing machine using 3D-printed components, heavy duty servo motors, solenoids, and high-performance batteries. The latter was needed to hurl the heavy metal throwing knives accurately with just the right amount of spin.
The Slow Mo Guys are back at it again, and this time, they used the Phantom TMX 7510 high-speed camera to see just how many glass panes a 9mm bullet can go through. This camera is the first to have a back side illuminated (BSI) high-speed sensor that delivers unprecedented resolution and speed combinations.
Someone purchased a Unitree robot dog that looks similar to Boston Dynamics’ Spot and then equipped it with a submachine gun. Since this robot dog isn’t as sturdy as the one from Boston Dynamics, the submachine gun’s recoil causes some stability issues, but it does manage to get its balance back after firing off a few rounds.
Milrem’s Type-X Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) successfully performed the first live fire test equipped with the Kongsberg Protector Remote Turret (RT-40), which includes the Bushmaster 30 mm cannon as well as a linkless ammunition handling system. This test is a step closer towards making the Nordic Robotic Wingman (NRW), a robotic fighting vehicle, a reality.
When a standard-sized armored vehicle just isn’t practical for the battlefield, there’s the Plasan Wilder ultra-light armored vehicle. Featuring Stanag 4569 Level 2 protection for 4 people in package that weighs in at just 3.7-tons, all the while still offering a full 800kg of payload.
Lockheed Martin and the US Air Force have successfully launched the AGM-183A ARRW hypersonic from a B-52H Stratofortress. This marks ARRW’s (Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon) fourth successful test flight and shows the weapon’s ability to reach and withstand operational hypersonic speeds, while collecting crucial data for use in further flight tests.
The US Navy’s new electric laser weapon system, officially called the Layered Laser Defense (LLD), was successful in shooting down a drone, which represented a subsonic cruise missile in flight. This innovative laser weapon system was designed and built by Lockheed Martin to counter unmanned aerial systems and fast-attack boats, while also boasting the ability to use its high-resolution telescope to track in-bound air threats as well as supporting combat identification.
Rafael’s Iron Beam laser weapon has been successfully tested with live targets, including UAVs, mortars, rockets, and anti-tank missiles in various scenarios. Unlike the Iron Dome, which requires costly $100,000 USD missiles to take down projectiles, the Iron Beam uses a high-powered optical fiber laser that locks onto targets up to 4.3-miles away and destroys them within 5-seconds.
Rheinmetall’s Mission Master SP is essentially a low-profile autonomous unmanned ground vehicle (A-UGV) engineered to provide assistance and reduce danger to dismounted soldiers in a wide range of missions. Thanks to its low-signature electric motor, this vehicle is designed to excel in any scenario requiring stealth and agility. It recently completed a live-fire test in which it successfully fired Thales FZ275 70 mm laser-guided rockets (LGRs) at a 4×4 vehicle.