Interesting engineering news and general interest to get you through the week. » Latest Engineering News » Military and DefenceMilitary and Defence We live in interesting times. And it's unfortunate but the military play an important part in it. Military and defense operations have been responsible for many innovations however that we take for granted in our lives. Indeed the success of our military almost relies upon their being ahead of the game which drives them to constantly innovate.
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
Japanese engineers intend to build an elevator to deliver cargo into space. Japanese authorities are prepared to allocate $10 billion for the project.
The space elevator is expected to cut the cost of delivering cargo into space and is considered one of the most ambitious projects of the 21st century. The Japanese plan to unveil a schedule for the elevator's assembly and commissioning this November.
The idea of a space elevator is over 100 years old. Russia's Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the founder of theoretical astronautics, suggested building a tower thousands of kilometers high attached to some firmament in orbit. Steel, the most durable material of Tsiolkovsky's time, however, was not capable of bearing even a small part of the expected physical stress.
In 1960, before the first manned flight was performed by Yury Gagarin, Yury Artsutanov, a post-gradate student at the Leningrad Technology Institute, using Tsiolkovsky's ideas, suggested creating a cable-guide connecting a spot on the equator and a space platform in a geostationary orbit at 35,786 km, whose orbit would remain synchronous to that of the location on Earth. Gravity and centripetal force would keep the cable, connecting the platform to Earth, constantly taut, making transportation possible. The time required for cargo from Earth to reach the platform was estimated at one week.
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Tuesday 7 October, 2008 04:04 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Sean
NASA, the United Space Alliance and Lockheed Martin have presented their flight rationale for the External Tank that will fly with Endeavour next month (STS-126), following an extensive investigation into a suspect noise from within the tank, heard shortly after its arrival inside the Vehicle Assembly Building.
ET-129 was being transitioned into the vertical position - following its arrival from the Michoud Assembly Facility - for transition into its checkout cell, when a handful of engineers heard a metallic noise coming from inside the tank.
Even though most of the engineers present didn’t hear the noise, managers immediately called for a full investigation - one which would reach as far as the Flight Readiness Review (FRR) and the Space Shuttle Program (SSP).
“Investigation Approach/Status: KSC-led integrated team was formed to investigate the source of the noise,” noted a SSP level investigation overview presentation (available on L2). “Fault tree approach used to identify potential source candidates.
“ET inspections (visual and NDE - Non Destructive Evaluation) were given top priority to provide SSP with additional data prior to ET/SRB (Solid Rocket Booster) mate milestone.”
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Monday 6 October, 2008 06:31 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration , which opened its doors on Oct. 1, 1958, is struggling with its identity and its future. The agency's angst is Velcroed to the vehicle that NASA has been married to for more than half its life and is seeking to dump: the space shuttle.
The shuttle has kept NASA going to the same place over and over, circling the Earth 18,449 times since 1981. For much of that time, NASA's mission has been to build the international space station, a place to do research and to learn how to live in space. The NASA of the future is looking to retire the shuttle in 2010 and build new space vehicles to return astronauts to the moon and, someday, to travel to Mars.
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Sunday 5 October, 2008 08:26 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
To ensure that UK armed forces have the best equipment to keep them one step ahead of the enemy, the defence sector has developed some of the most advanced and innovative engineering.
Design and construction of the new Astute Class submarine has been arguably the most challenging engineering project in the UK, involving the production of over 7,000 drawings covering 10,000 separate designs and engineering requirements.
The RAF has new squadrons of the elegant Typhoon, fusing the work of aerospace engineers, fluid dynamists, data integrators, sensors and human factors — almost every field of engineering is touched on in delivering this very potent machine. The Army, too, has seen enormous contributions from innovative engineering to protect our forces deployed on operation — strengthening their vehicles, accommodation and personal equipment.
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Thursday 2 October, 2008 09:07 AM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
The face of Army patrols in Afghanistan has changed over the course of this year. Where previously soldiers had set out in armour-plated, weapons-bristling Land Rovers, since June they have had access to a very different vehicle. Dubbed the Jackal by the MoD, the patrol vehicle brings a fresh set of capabilities to the arduous conditions of Afghanistan.
The Jackal is a type of vehicle known in Army parlance as a Mobility Weapon-Mounted Installation Kit or MWMIK. In essence, it is a mobile weapons platform; a four-wheel-drive, all-terrain truck, armed with machine guns and grenade launchers.
Developed by Devon-based all-terrain vehicle specialist Supacat, it has a greater range than the Land Rover and can carry more of a payload.
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Wednesday 1 October, 2008 11:36 AM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Ali Hamoud
As NASA's 50th anniversary approaches, the agency finds itself at a crossroads between the waning era of the U.S. space shuttle and serious hurdles ahead to build a replacement spaceship while still keeping American astronauts flying.
The U.S. space agency turns 50 years old on Oct. 1 with the last flight of its three aging shuttles already set for May 31, 2010 aboard the orbiter Atlantis.
NASA officials in charge of the developing the shuttle's replacement - the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicles and their Ares I boosters - hope to have the spaceship ready for manned flights by 2014, though unless Congress steps in soon American astronauts will likely be grounded beginning in 2012 due to restrictions on NASA's ability to buy seats aboard Russian spacecraft. Meanwhile, the agency is simultaneously taking an academic look at what's needed to extend shuttle missions through 2015 to be ready for any questions from the new administration after November's presidential election.
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Thursday 25 September, 2008 08:32 AM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Susan Decker
I Power Energy Systems today announced that they have been awarded a contract by the Army Power Division of the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC) for the development of a Hybrid Intelligent Power (HI-Power) management system. The program addresses the technology development and demonstration of an intelligent power management architecture layout and system design that will employ both source and load-side power management in a tactical environment.
The operational objective of the system is the
reduction of battlefield fuel consumption for small to medium battlefield tactical operation centers while having a minimum impact on transportability, deployability, and
readiness levels.
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Thursday 18 September, 2008 09:40 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
NASA has taken a major step toward building the nation’s next generation launch vehicle with the successful completion of the Ares I rocket preliminary design review.
Starting in 2015, the Ares I rocket will launch the Orion crew exploration vehicle, its crew of four to six astronauts, and small cargo payloads to the International Space Station. The rocket also will be used for missions to explore the moon and beyond in the coming decades.
The preliminary design review is the first such milestone in more than 35 years for a U.S. rocket that will carry astronauts into space.
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Wednesday 17 September, 2008 08:15 AM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Ryan
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers made the trip to BAE Systems in Lancashire to honour the English Electric Lightning , the first and still the only all-British fully supersonic aircraft type, with an Engineering Heritage Award.
The Ligntning set a record for a fighter jet in frontline service with the Royal Air Force for over 28 years.
The fighter is one of the most iconic designs of the 20th Century – and is one of only 45 objects of significant engineering excellence to be recognised by the Engineering Heritage Award Scheme operated by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (I Mech E).
Officials from I Mech E gathered at BAE Systems’ Warton manufacturing facility in Lancashire on Friday to meet with former pilots and those who worked on the Lightning for the unveiling of a special English Heritage Award plaque by Warton’s own Lightning ‘gatekeeper’ aircraft – FMk.6 XS928.
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Wednesday 17 September, 2008 12:27 AM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Bob Smith
As dawn broke over the Mojave Desert on the morning of July 28th, WK2 waited in hanger 62 at Scaled Composites, ready to be rolled out to the world’s press and Virgin Galactic’s customers.
This anticipated event drew several hundred press and broadcast media, Virgin Galactic customers and VIP guests from all around the world to Los Angeles, all eager to witness this historic event.
The pre-test flight Roll Out of WK2 marked a milestone in aerospace history and a very tangible evidence on the progress of the world’s first sub orbital commercial spaceline. WK2 is the world’s largest, all carbon composite aircraft with a unique high altitude lift capacity, capable of launching SpaceShipTwo and its eight astronauts into sub-orbital space flight.
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Monday 15 September, 2008 08:07 AM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Adam Crighton
The Marine Corps, like the Army, is “still waiting for that technological breakthrough” needed to build a combat vehicle that’s light and agile but also protects crewmembers inside, the Marine Corps commandant said yesterday.
“So we continue to wait,” while exploring best options available now, Marine Gen. James T. Conway told reporters during a Pentagon news briefing.
Both the Army and Marine Corps have sent mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles, with their V-shaped hull that deflects underbelly blasts away from the crew compartment, into Iraq and Afghanistan. The 10,000th MRAP rolled off the assembly line in early July, marking a milestone for the joint MRAP program that began as a Marine Corps initiative.
But the Marines have opted to buy fewer MRAPs than initially planned, and have dedicated them largely to specialized missions such as explosive ordnance disposal and engineering missions.
“In the past, our engineers have ridden to war in the back of a dump truck,” Conway said. “We owe them something better than that.” The small versions of the MRAPs, known as the Category 1 variants, are a good vehicle for that, the general added.
Ultimately, the Marines likely will need hundreds, not thousands, of MRAPs, he said.
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Friday 12 September, 2008 11:52 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
South African aviation and defence company Advanced Technologies and Engineering (ATE) has embarked on conceptual planning for the development of what is to be known as the New Attack Helicopter (NAH), external affairs director Lorris Duncker tells Engineering News.
This comes on the back of the successful upgrade of the Russian-made Mi-24 helicopter, now in production for the air force of a North African country and the demonstration of another upgraded Russian stalwart – the Mi-17 combat helicopter – to an unnamed potential customer.
The Mi-17 upgrade entailed the night vision goggle-compatible conversion of all cockpit and cabin lighting, external navigation and formation lighting and the inclusion of infrared landing lights. It also included the installation of glass cockpit avionics, a sighting system and a weapons system that incorporates twin 23-mm cannons in pylon slung pods, eight Ingwe missiles on stub-wing outboard stations, rocket pods and chaff and flare countermeasures.
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Friday 12 September, 2008 11:42 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Dillon Smatcher
Following a preliminary design review late Wednesday, NASA officials unanimously approved the launch system being designed to replace the space shuttle.
These reviews are to make sure that the broad design, plans and software mesh properly and pass early safety questions. A more detailed test - a critical design review - is scheduled for March 2011.
NASA intends to spend $3 billion a year in 2009 and 2010 in order to meet its projected debut launch in 2015.
"This is a critical step for development of the Ares I rocket," said Rick Gilbrech, associate administrator of the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate in Washington. "Completing the preliminary design review of the integrated vehicle demonstrates our engineering design and development are on sound footing, and the Ares I design work is taking us another step closer to building America's next mode of space transportation."
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Friday 12 September, 2008 08:40 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
Northrop Grumman Corporation received a $5.1 billion, 7-year cost plus incentive fee contract award for detail design and construction of the Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. This new class of carrier is the replacement for the Nimitz-class design that originated in the 1960s.
Photos accompanying this release are available at http://media.primezone.com/noc/
The company's Shipbuilding sector will perform the work, which includes ship construction, ship design activities, engineering services, procurement of materials and hardware to support construction and logistics activities.
"This contract award is an important and historic milestone for our company, our Navy and our country," said Matt Mulherin, vice president and general manager for Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding's Newport News operations. "It represents an incredible opportunity for the great shipbuilders of Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding to build the first new aircraft carrier class in more than 40 years. The work we are doing today will play a significant role in America's defense for many generations to come."
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Friday 12 September, 2008 05:57 AM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Barot Casha
A major support group for U.S. warfighters is gathering in Salt Lake City this week, looking for ways to ensure that the military's aircraft and equipment are in top-flight shape.
More than 1,000 people are attending Autotestcon, a systems-readiness technology conference for leaders in the design, development, procurement, application and operations of automatic test systems and related technologies used by the military and in other government and aerospace applications.
Mark D. Johnson, executive director of the Ogden Air Logistics Center at Hill Air Force Base, said during the event's opening keynote on Tuesday that ways must be found to make testing more efficient and cost-effective. He noted that the Defense Department has 464 types of automatic testing systems, with the Air Force owning more than 367.
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Thursday 11 September, 2008 11:44 AM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
Europe's space freighter has undocked from the International Space Station after completing its mission to the orbiting platform.
The ship - dubbed Jules Verne - moved away from the rear of the ISS at 2129GMT, taking itself to a position some 5km below the station.
The freighter will enter the atmosphere in three weeks' time, on 29 September.
The maneuver, over the Pacific, will destroy the vehicle and the station waste loaded on to it by astronauts.
Undocking was overseen by ISS mission controllers in Moscow, and by Jules Verne's dedicated management facility in Toulouse, France.
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Sunday 7 September, 2008 10:35 AM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Ryan
Washington: A company is designing and testing the installation of a prototype airless tire that can withstand extreme punishment, even those meted out in military combat zones.
The tire is being developed by Resilient Technologies, LLC, along with the UW (University of Wisconsin) - Madison Polymer Engineering Center and the US Department of Defense, to boost the security of vehicles in combat.
The research will aim to develop a non-pneumatic tire for use on heavy-grade military vehicles such as Humvees.
The project could literally be a lifesaver for the military.
For example, in many situations in Iraq, tires have proven to be weak links in Humvees that enemies target with improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.
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Monday 30 June, 2008 12:14 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Rose Shah
Bangalore: With a projected demand of 1,000 new civilian aircraft in the next 10 years, both for long and short haul flights, it is time the Indian aeronautics industry “wakes up and captures the national market,” Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) G. Madhavan Nair said here on Thursday.
He was speaking at the inauguration of a two-day International Conference on Aerospace Science and Technology, organised by the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL).
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Saturday 28 June, 2008 10:54 AM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by John William
In the past 10 years or so, as spending on new military projects has reached its highest level since the Reagan years, the Pentagon has increasingly been losing the people most skilled at managing those projects.
When Paul Kaminski completed his graduate work in 1971 with degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University, he started building advanced airplanes for the Air Force. By the time he stopped several decades later, he had played a pivotal role in producing a flock of new weapons, including radar-evading stealth aircraft.
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Saturday 28 June, 2008 04:58 AM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Ali Hamoud
French defence and electronics major Thales hopes to double its India business from 250 million to 500 million euros in the next five years with increased sales in the military and civilian sectors.
"We have a long involvement with India and hope to increase our sales to double in next five years both in defence and civilian areas," Francois Dupont, Thales Managing Director & Country Corporate Director, told a group of visiting Indian journalists.
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Monday 23 June, 2008 03:27 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
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Britain won a dubious new accolade this week: it became the world's number one arms exporter . Not that the government had any regrets: the trade minister Digby Jones greeted it as "outstanding" and promised: "I look forward to working with the defence sector in future."
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Monday 23 June, 2008 11:29 AM |
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