Defense Technology International - March 2008 - (Page 44)

THE CUTTING EDGE TECH REVIEW CATHERINE MACRAE HOCKMUTH I Swift Development The U.S. Army is accelerating by two years test schedules of two robot prototypes for the Future Combat Systems program: the small unmanned ground vehicle (SUGV) and Class I (Block 0) unmanned aerial vehicle (photo). The decision is based on positive feedback from troops in Iraq and Afghanistan who used early models of both. Boeing and SAIC, the lead system integrators, report that 25 SUGVs, developed with iRobot Corp., and 11 Class I UAVs, developed with Honeywell, were delivered to Ft. Bliss, Tex., in January. Once testing is complete in September, ofﬁcials will recommend whether to ﬁeld the platforms or stay with the original schedule, which calls for deployment by 2015. The SUGV is a 30-lb. robot for high-risk environments. The UAV is a platoon-level, micro air vehicle (MAV) with vertical takeoff, hover and landing capability, for urban terrain and jungle. The ducted-fan MAV is also popular with the Navy, which ordered 185 systems for delivery this year in response to an urgent-need statement from warﬁghters. I 1 U.S. ARMY ON THE EDGE rived with a bang on Jan. 31, when the U.S. Navy test ﬁred an electromagnetic railgun at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Va. The weapon generated muzzle energy of 10.64 megajoules, and ﬁred a kinetic-energy projectile at a muzzle velocity of 2,520 meters (8,268 ft.) per sec. The railgun, which is still in the science and technology development phase, will eventually be able to hit a target 200 naut. mi. away. The 5-in. Mk 45 naval guns now in use have a range of 13 naut. mi. When railguns are installed on surface ships in about 15 years, they will generate 64 megajoules of energy, enough to ﬁre projectiles at Mach 7. The impact energy of a kinetic round will destroy a target (DTI July/Aug 2 U.S. NAVY Power Punch The future of naval gunnery ar- strategic assets. Duke University researchers David Smith and Steven Cummer claim it is possible to create a 3D sound cloak that makes subs undetectable by sonar. “We’ve devised a recipe for an acoustic material that would essentially open up a hole in space and make something inside that hole disappear from sound waves,” says Cummer. The ﬁndings, reported in January in the journal Physical Review Letters, are based on a successful demonstration by the two in 2006 of an electromagnetic invisibility cloak made from artiﬁcial metamaterials, which interact with electromagnetic waves in ways not possible with natural materials. The metamaterials were precisely arranged in a series of concentric circles. Smith says the discovery is not quite like the invisibility cloak used by Harry Potter, but demonstrates what can be achieved with artiﬁcial materials. I DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL MARCH 2008 AviationWeek.com/dti 3 Sound Cloak Stealth submarines would be huge U.S. NAVY 44 http://www.aviationweek.com/dti

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Defense Technology International - March 2008 Contents Sweden Cancels SEP; Israel Launches Imaging Satellite; Geotextiles Secure Ammo Dump U.S. Navy Taps Neural Architecture Software to Assure Job Satisfaction Shrapnel-Like Pieces of Reactive Materials Increase Explosive Force of Bombs Technology is Rapidly Closing the Gap Between Sensors and Shooters Italian Army Program Aims to Develop a Fully Networked Land Force Political and Military Uncertainties Plague U.S. Defense Budget Democrats Put Pentagon on Notice Over Spending and Policy at DTAR Conference Russian Combat Vehicle Protects Tank Formations from Anti-Armor Weapons European Battlelabs Use Simulation to Verify Technologies and Stretch Defense Funds Malaysia Accelerates Fleet Modernization to meet Long-Term Goals U.S. Navy Says Composite Raiding Boat May Reduce Injuries From Wave Shocks Seeing Isn’t Believing When it Comes to Deciphering Funds for Secret Projects Advances in Sensors and Propulsion Make Torpedoes Ever More Lethal FAA is in No Rush to Approve Rules that Let UAVs Fly in Civil Airspace USS Truman Carrier Strike Group Patrols a Rough Neighborhood 24/7 U.S. says Sino-Russian Space Disarmament Plan is Riddled with Pitfalls Hyperspeed Projectile; “Sound Cloak” Hides Subs; Improving Nuclear Forensics Dutch Air Commodore Theo ten Haaf Analyzes the Impact of Rotary-Wing Operations One Soldier’s War is a Behind-the-Headlines Look at Russia’s Campaigns in Chechnya Black Budgets are Huge and Growing, and Often Conceal Amazing Failures

Defense Technology International - March 2008

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