Mod. Notice Technological advances in weaponry

[CD Xbow]

Hey love, come have a look at my bendy missile......

 

[CD Xbow]

Sea Mines are an old but effective weapon especially in constrained seas. we have received our first batch of the RWM Italia sea mines.

Australia Beefs Up Naval Defenses With First Batch Of Smart Sea Mines Aimed To Deter, Thwart China

Australia’s strained relations with China have prompted the island continent to strengthen its naval capabilities and the acquisition of the first batch of smart sea mines is a step in that direction.

www.eurasiantimes.com

These modern mines can be activated and deactivated from a distance.
The article states the PLA already have over 100,000 sea mines
The mines look very different to the classic WWII mine that most imagine. Not sure which models we are getting, the Murena is pictured on the left and Asteria on the right. Bit of convergence between mines and kamikaze USV happening.

 

[Bostonian]

Anyone else collect old military battlefield stuff?

 

[CD Xbow]

Something old, something new.

The warzone has an article about an F111 incident where the engines were producing more thrust than expected, the craft went much faster than expected. Allegedly the cockpit indictor showed mach 3.2. It burned off paint, antenna's and bubbled the cockpit. Whether it was truly greater than mach 3 we will never know but there does seem to be a few other reports of FIII reaching mach 2.9 along with appropriate paint damage etc.

The F-111 Was Faster Than You Think

The swing-wing F-111 was capable of reaching far higher speeds than most realize, and it did so on multiple occasions.

www.twz.com

Something new - US deploying 4 Strykers with 50kw lasers for field testing. At that power I suspect only soft targets like drones will be truly within their scope but in our drone filled world that alone would be a great new capability.

EXCLUSIVE: Strykers with 50-kilowatt lasers in CENTCOM for experiment, Army No. 2 says - Breaking Defense

“Is it 100 percent ready? Is it going to work perfectly? Probably not but we're going to learn from it,” Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Mingus told Breaking Defense.

breakingdefense.com

The article has an interesting comment about energy on target.

“You may have a 50-kilowatt laser, but at 10 kilometers can you put at least four kilowatts in a centimeter square because … that’s what you need to burn through a quarter inch steel plate?” he asked. “But that’s really hard to get … from a big beam to get the small portion of it on the exact spot to be able to burn at that high intensity and any kind of dust particle or that starts to disrupt that.”

It doesn't talk about time on target which is as important.

 

[Werewolf]

The Dragonfire laser weapon (UK) was tested a couple of months ago - impressive targeting ability:

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/13/europe/britain-air-defense-laser-dragonfire-intl-hnk-ml/index.html

 

[CD Xbow]

The Dragonfire laser weapon (UK) was tested a couple of months ago - impressive targeting ability:

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/13/europe/britain-air-defense-laser-dragonfire-intl-hnk-ml/index.html

That bloody atmosphere! One mile range. At that power (50kw) you are only going to be cooking low end drones or acting as a 'dazzler'. Still, that's a capability needed if you are threatened by a swarm. My understanding is that to see direct destructive antimissile effects you need 300kW or greater. Even then the range issue really limits their use against face moving hypersonic targets. I can see why the USAF was so keen to get their antiballistic missile laser on to a Jumbo all those decades ago.

Article by Richard Dunley, who is a senior lecturer in naval history and maritime strategy at UNSW about the threat of drones to surface ships and how it is analogous to the threat navies faced with Torpedo boats in the late 19th century.

Ukraine-style naval attack drones present challenges, but they are not revolutionary | The Strategist

Many believe attacks on Russian warships by Ukrainian forces using uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) represent a fundamental shift in warfare at sea. Hugh White has argued that ‘surface ships these days are just inherently very ...

www.aspistrategist.org.au

 

[Werewolf]

We're jumping on the anti-drone laser bandwagon:

Defence to trial drone-killing lasers that use advanced 'directed energy' technology

Defence has for the first time awarded a multi-million-dollar contract to a Melbourne company to trial its "directed energy" technology as a way of combating unmanned aerial vehicles.

www.abc.net.au

 

[CD Xbow]

It has been announced that a production facility for the MQ28 Ghost Bat is being built in Toowoomba. This article from the Warzone talks about it in some detail.

Boeing's MQ-28 Ghost Bat Getting Facility To Ramp-Up Production In Australia

Boeing's MQ-28 plant in Australia will be a first for the company outside the United States and points to a looming uncrewed revolution.

www.twz.com

More interesting to me was the image (below) showing it's specs and 4 of it's 'nasal' payloads. This is the first time I have seen these listed. Note the 'placeholder'



The next run are going to be Block II craft, I have not found anything describing the changes for Block II.

 

[CD Xbow]

Another drone gets posted on this board. Guess it's the vibe of the times. Northrups Manta Ray, a gliding UUV drone that mimics it's name sake. Also has a novel system to extract energy from thermal gradients in the ocean

​

With a shape like that and no folks on board, I'm expecting the second generation to be a flying sub, like that from Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. It really is one of the coolest SF designs.

​

Despite it not flying the sub is worth reading about.

Manta Ray High-Endurance Underwater Drone Unveiled

The testbed that mimics its namesake is designed to help DARPA hone its requirements for a new class of multi-mission submersible drones.

www.twz.com

 

[CD Xbow]

Droning on......
Saildrone USV is getting a Thales Australia towed array sonar for USN use. Good to see the USV finally getting some proper ASW kit, even better, it's the locally developed Blue Sentry sonar. Saildrone uses wind and solar power for propulsion, making them capable of very long duration missions. They have proved very useful and reliable for ocean science. The CSIRO has some. Manufacturing is being scaled up by Austal USA.

Saildrone and Thales Australia to Integrate Towed Array on USV - Naval News

Thales Australia’s BlueSentry thin-line towed array will be integrated with Saildrone Surveyor-class USVs for autonomous anti-submarine warfare (ASW) missions in the open ocean.

www.navalnews.com

 

[CD Xbow]

​

Lockheed have announced a new hypersonic air launched missile, the Mako, that is allegedly ready for production. It's much smaller than the meaty Russian missiles, 6 can be carried by an F35 with 2 going internally - see image above. Few details are available other than it is capable of Mach 5, can be carried on a wide range ot aircraft and can hit targets at see. Xavier with his wonderful accent interviews the program lead.

​

 

[CD Xbow]

The interception of the vast majority of Iran's drones and missiles in the attack on Israel demonstrated a very effective air defence system. It wasn't just Iron Dome, it was layered, multinational and involved aircraft, ships and ground launch facilities. I think it is the largest missile attack ever successfully engaged. This sadly is a glimpse of a future.

According to this article from the intercept about 150 drones and missiles failed, either at launch or on route. US Forces acting under US CENTCOM claim 80 attack drones and at least six ballistic missiles with 70 drones shot down by aircraft.

U.S., Not Israel, Shot Down Most Iran Drones and Missiles

American forces did most of the heavy lifting responding to Iran’s retaliation for the attack on its embassy in Damascus.

theintercept.com

Added - Saw this list of the cost of the missiles used, in USD. Expensive business.

SeaRAM (short-range) is $900K,
ESSM $1.75M,
SM-2 $2.35M(depending on model).
SM-6 is $4.3M.
SM-3 are $12M.
AIM-120 AMRAAM costs 1.1M each.
Aster 15/Sea Viper costs $2.85M each

Also saw USN conforming they used the SM3 anti-ballistic missile (at 12 million a pop) against the medium range ballistic missiles, the first use in combat.

SM-3 Ballistic Missile Interceptor Used for First Time in Combat, Officials Confirm - USNI News

For the first time in combat, guided-missile destroyers fired missiles developed to intercept ballistic missiles during the U.S. response to the Iranian attack on Israel, USNI News has learned. USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) and USS Carney (DDG-64), in the Eastern Mediterranean, fired four to seven...

news.usni.org

It doesn't seem so long ago FAS said it wouldn't never work, like trying to hit a bullet with a bullet. They were wrong.

 

[CD Xbow]

The Warzone has a long, but largely speculative article about our Ghost Shark USV.

Australia’s Ghost Shark Uncrewed Submarine Breaks Cover

The Ghost Shark is Australia’s ambitious extra-large autonomous undersea vehicle, but details about its future missions remain scarce.

www.twz.com

 

[CD Xbow]

The Warzone has an article about Project Aquiline, a small. bird like drone the CIA designed in the early 1970's, so about 50 years ago. it used a pusher propeller on a bird like airframe with a 2m wingspan. It predicted the design & use of many of the drones we see today. Ahead of it's time, it never went into production.

The CIA's Bird-Shaped Aquiline Drones Could Still Be Caged Up At Area 51

It's unknown what became of the CIA's Project Aquiline assets once they were boxed up and stored at the infamously secretive desert testing facility.

www.twz.com

The article also talks abpout some of the CIA other drones, also the mysterious bird types with flapping wings - not formally assigned to the CIA, but heck, nudge, nudge, wink, wink. The CIA had a biomimetic fish design in the 1960's, allegedly used by them in Vietnam. Of all the biomimetic movement designs, fish are the easiest to do. Even Iran was recently experimenting with them.

 

[CD Xbow]

Robots, robots and more robots. The first article is about the successful completion of the robot Patrol Boat for the RAN.

Austal completes Patrol Boat Autonomy Trial sea trials - Australian Defence Magazine

Austal Australia's collaborative Patrol Boat Autonomy Trial project has successfully completed Sea Acceptance Trials of the autonomously operated vessel, Sentinel, during March and April 2024.

www.australiandefence.com.au

The second is about a minigun armed drone. Really only a demo. There seems to be some question whether the types of guidance systems and precision they have are able to use these types of non precision weapons effectively.

Minigun-Armed Mojave Drone Now Blasting Targets At 6,000 Rounds Per Minute

This is the first time Minigun pods have been live-fired from a drone in this class and there are already plans to expand on the capability.

www.twz.com

A flame throwing robot, but no, it's not for war. (lol) Makes a rather nasty trench clearing warbot in the military domain.

Meet The Flamethrowing Robodog Named Thermonator

The robodog flamethrower system is being touted for peaceful purposes, but one like it could have far deadlier potential applications.

www.twz.com

 

[Werewolf]

The interception of the vast majority of Iran's drones and missiles in the attack on Israel demonstrated a very effective air defence system. It wasn't just Iron Dome, it was layered, multinational and involved aircraft, ships and ground launch facilities. I think it is the largest missile attack ever successfully engaged. This sadly is a glimpse of a future.

According to this article from the intercept about 150 drones and missiles failed, either at launch or on route. US Forces acting under US CENTCOM claim 80 attack drones and at least six ballistic missiles with 70 drones shot down by aircraft.

U.S., Not Israel, Shot Down Most Iran Drones and Missiles

American forces did most of the heavy lifting responding to Iran’s retaliation for the attack on its embassy in Damascus.

theintercept.com

Added - Saw this list of the cost of the missiles used, in USD. Expensive business.

SeaRAM (short-range) is $900K,
ESSM $1.75M,
SM-2 $2.35M(depending on model).
SM-6 is $4.3M.
SM-3 are $12M.
AIM-120 AMRAAM costs 1.1M each.
Aster 15/Sea Viper costs $2.85M each

Also saw USN conforming they used the SM3 anti-ballistic missile (at 12 million a pop) against the medium range ballistic missiles, the first use in combat.

SM-3 Ballistic Missile Interceptor Used for First Time in Combat, Officials Confirm - USNI News

For the first time in combat, guided-missile destroyers fired missiles developed to intercept ballistic missiles during the U.S. response to the Iranian attack on Israel, USNI News has learned. USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) and USS Carney (DDG-64), in the Eastern Mediterranean, fired four to seven...

news.usni.org

It doesn't seem so long ago FAS said it wouldn't never work, like trying to hit a bullet with a bullet. They were wrong.

From what I gathered, the mass drone attack was an economic win for Iran since Israel spent a LOT more money to defend against it. War is expensive business.

 

[CD Xbow]

From what I gathered, the mass drone attack was an economic win for Iran since Israel spent a LOT more money to defend against it. War is expensive business.

Yes, it is expensive.

You forget one part of the economic equation, to count the damage, death and injury they would have caused if they hadn't been intercepted. Probably many billions of dollars damage. Then add the human cost.

Also that was a significant heft of 100+ missiles by Iran, even the cheap drones that they used a few hundred of, cost about $50,000 a pop. They used quite a bit of gear for negligible military outcomes and they don't have much of an economy.

Very brave folks attacking a nuclear power like that. Can't help feeling something has changed in Iran. They had a shot at Pakistan the other day, another nuclear power. The usual modus operandi is via 3rd parties.

 

[CD Xbow]

Another robot, this time an F16, the RoboFalcon or RoboViper, you take your choice. Some very impressive footage of the beasty flying in formation, pretty close to the manned jets. Looks good in the orange, white a blue. They do cheat a bit, because the RoboViper doesn't have enough of a sensor suite to have true situational awareness itself.

Next Big Challenge For AI Dogfighting Is Keeping Track Of Enemies Up Close

Despite a breakthrough mock dogfight, actually sensing where the enemy is at during a tight-turning battle is a huge challenge to overcome.

www.twz.com

 

[Werewolf]

Yes, it is expensive.

You forget one part of the economic equation, to count the damage, death and injury they would have caused if they hadn't been intercepted. Probably many billions of dollars damage. Then add the human cost.

Also that was a significant heft of 100+ missiles by Iran, even the cheap drones that they used a few hundred of, cost about $50,000 a pop. They used quite a bit of gear for negligible military outcomes and they don't have much of an economy.

Very brave folks attacking a nuclear power like that. Can't help feeling something has changed in Iran. They had a shot at Pakistan the other day, another nuclear power. The usual modus operandi is via 3rd parties.

The Iranians knew full well their mass drone attack was never going to kill anyone; they were counting on Israel pulling out all stops to prevent death and destruction. So it was basically a win-win situation for Iran.

The economic equation will swing back in Israel's favour once Iron Beam is widely deployed. Lasers shooting down multiple drones for a tiny fraction of the cost of an interceptor missile will close that window of opportunity.

 

[Werewolf]

Stealth aerial refueling tankers... meant to be in service by 2040

New Skunk Works Stealthy Tanker Concept Unveiled

The U.S. Air Force has a critical need for survivable tankers, but questions are growing about its future aerial refueling plans.

www.twz.com

 

[CD Xbow]

Stealth aerial refueling tankers... meant to be in service by 2040

New Skunk Works Stealthy Tanker Concept Unveiled

The U.S. Air Force has a critical need for survivable tankers, but questions are growing about its future aerial refueling plans.

www.twz.com

Very expensive no doubt.

I'm waiting for modern technology to make something like a WWII heavily armored bomber viable again. They would carry some antiair missiles, lasers, EW kit and perhaps even networked, AI controlled gunnery systems. Might be cheaper than stealth airframes both in construction cost and maintenance.

Speaking of lasers, Wired has a pretty comprehensive article about the problems and pitfalls.

The US Has Unleashed the Age of the Laser Weapon

Amid a rising tide of adversary drones and missile attacks, laser weapons are finally poised to enter the battlefield.

www.wired.com

Small 20kw laser have been deployed and are described as sometimes being effective against drones. Vague. 50-60kw seems to be the power for larger drones and perhaps slower aircraft. 300 kw said to be the power 'burn out the nose cone of missile'.

Can't help thinking a little bit of evasive movement by the target is going to make that time on target problem that lasers face a whole lot more difficult. Clearly we have entered the age of the 'death ray'.

 

[CD Xbow]

​

I've posted about the Ocius Bluebottle USV before, now it's got it's first overseas customer, ThayerMahan, a sonar maker. They have bought 2 to host their sonar sentry system. CoA have already purchased 6.

Australia's OCIUS Sells two Bluebottle USVs to the USA - Naval News

Ocius announced the sale of two Bluebottle USVs to the USA for AUD2.4M and the signing of a Teaming Agreement with ThayerMahan...

www.navalnews.com

 

[CD Xbow]

Bloomberg have an interview/doco with Andruil head, Palmer Luckey whose first big tech product was Oculus Rift. The company has moved into defence tech in a big way, including being the prime for the development of the RAN's autonomous UUV, Ghost Shark.

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

It is interesting and covers a wide range of topics related to defence, security and technology.

 

[CD Xbow]

​

More drones. ADF have been trialling an electric loitering munition, the OWL (One-Way Loitering munition), which has a substantial 200km range. It's a pretty standard design for a loitering munition with a rear prop. The article suggests it will be introduced into the ADF next year. I just hope they get enough mass. It has been developed by Western Australia-based company Innovaero and Boeing subsidiary Insitu Pacific and has been in development for a couple of years.

Australian Army to bring 'the Owl', a locally made lethal drone, into service within months

An electrically powered drone able to travel almost 200 kilometres or loiter in the air for 30 minutes carrying a lethal payload will be brought into service by the Australian Army before the end of the year.

www.abc.net.au

I also saw this article describing RAAF C17 doing an airdrop to supply Mawson Station after recent supply difficulties. The C17 has been a mighty useful aircraft.

'Spectacular' airdrop in Antarctica as Defence sends much-needed supplies to Mawson Station

After weeks of planning, a RAAF C-17 Globemaster has completed a 10,000-kilometre mission to Antarctica to drop off essential cargo to expeditioners who were left with limited supplies after a recent voyage by Australia's icebreaker didn't go to plan.

www.abc.net.au

 

[CD Xbow]

Finally the CoA is buying the ADF the cardboard SYPAQ Systems CorvoX drones we have been providing for Ukraine.

New $100m drone package to grow ADF SUAS fleet

Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy has announced that the federal government is investing $100 million to boost the ADF’s small uncrewed aerial systems (SUAS) fleet.

www.defenceconnect.com.au

The package includes Quantum-Systems Vector 2-in-1 which you can read about here at their snazzy site.