This year birthed some of the most mind-bending military tech we’ve ever seen.
Whether you’re a war hawk or a pacifist, it’s hard to deny the last year’s mind-bending advances in warfare technology.
A Russian State-owned TV channel recently aired a segment which may give the first glimpse of a new Russian submarine design. In the corner of one scene (@ 2.48 minutes into the recording) it showed an official model of a new submarine together with previously known types. The Laika Class sub has until now been shrouded in secrecy. It is generally analogous to the Virginia Class attack submarine in service with the U.S. Navy.
Such a ‘leak’ was probably deliberate, something that Russia has been suspected of before. On November 9, 2015, Russian TV station NTV revealed the Poseidon Intercontinental Nuclear-Powered Nuclear-Armed Autonomous Torpedo to the world. Then called ‘Status-6,’ it was seen over the shoulder of an officer in a partially televised meeting with President Putin.
The new sub will primarily be a hunter-killer, meaning that it is designed to counter western nuclear-powered submarines. But it will also carry a range of cruise missiles, including the hypersonic Zircon.
The final Rockot booster converted from an intercontinental ballistic missile launched into space Friday (Dec. 27) carrying a trio Russian satellites and a military payload into orbit.
The Rockot, a launch vehicle based on Russia’s RS-18 ballistic missile, launched three Gonets-M communications satellites into space from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. The rocket also reportedly carried a military payload called Blits-M, a glass sphere designed to serve as a laser reflector, according to Russianspaceweb.com, which tracks the Russian space industry.
Fun topic, real or not.
Dan Burisch, a doctorate in microbiology and former worker of the secret military forces of the United States, details great puzzling information about extraterrestrials, the Orion Cube, time machines, secret government plans and human extinction.
Continue reading “The Orion Cube: An extraterrestrial device hidden by the US” »
More than half a million pieces of man-made space junk are orbiting the Earth at speeds up to 17,500 miles per hour. Even the tiniest pieces have the potential to destroy any of the 1,700 satellites circling the Earth.
Nuclear physicist Taylor Wilson joined the Air Force Space Command to see how a growing military and commercial space presence threatens the ubiquitous satellites, which are essential to humanity’s digital way of life.
Continue reading “Space Debris Is Now a Big Problem | VICE on HBO” »
Even ordinary computers flip a bit here and there, but their quantum cousins have a lot more ways to go wrong.
As the power and qubits in quantum computing systems increase, so does the need for cutting-edge capabilities to ascertain that they work. The Army Research Office and National Security Agency recently teamed up to solicit proposals for research that can help do exactly that.
The entities launched a broad agency announcement this week to boost the development of innovative techniques and protocols that allow for Quantum Characterization, Verification, and Validation, or QCVV, of intermediate-scale quantum systems. QCVV is essentially the science of quantifying how well a quantum computer can run quantum algorithms—and experts agree that it’s a necessary step towards useful quantum computing.
Times reporters traveled to Russia, Switzerland, California and Washington, D.C., talking to experts in the commercial tech, military and A.I. communities. Below are some key points and analysis, along with extras from the documentary.
“Killing in the Age of Algorithms” is a New York Times documentary examining the future of artificial intelligence and warfare.
When Russian nuclear inspectors traveled to the U.S. in the early 2000s, they were not allowed to directly examine classified nuclear weapon components, Professor Alex Glaser said. Instead, the inspectors were shown a radiation detector’s green light as confirmation that components were real.
The Russians were not convinced, Glaser said, noting that one said the only thing the test proved was that the Americans had a green LED with a battery connection.
Details about nuclear weapons remain among the world’s most highly guarded secrets. An expert dismantling a weapon, or even witnessing its destruction, can learn much about the warhead. On the other hand, without examining the weapon, it’s difficult to convince inspectors that a real weapon was destroyed. This has long been considered a problem for disarmament —how can countries convince others that a nuclear weapon is gone without revealing details about its arsenal?
Circa 2012
Recently declassified documents reveal that the US Air Force was working on a flying saucer-like craft in 1956. “Project 1794” was in research and development at the USAF’s Aeronautical Systems Division, and was contracted out to Canadian company Avro Aircraft Limited. The craft was designed to be a vertical take-off and landing plane that used propulsion jets to steer, and could reach a top speed between Mach 3 and Mach 4, with a ceiling of over 100,000 feet and a range of about 1,000 nautical miles. The Project 1794, Final Development Summary Report reveals that the project was going well, and would “provide a much superior performance to that estimated at the start of contract negotiations.”
The U.S. military wants soldiers that have superhuman eyesight, controllable augmented muscles that turn untrained novices into expert killers, and more.
