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Tag: US Air Force

  • US Air Force Moving Ahead With Its Own Cloud Platform, Not Waiting for DOD

    US Air Force Moving Ahead With Its Own Cloud Platform, Not Waiting for DOD

    The US Air Force is moving ahead with its cloud plans rather than waiting on the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability (JWCC) contract.

    JWCC is the successor to the doomed $10 billion Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract that was initially awarded to Microsoft. AWS challenged the award and kept it tied up in court for so long that the DOD ultimately abandoned it in favor of the multi-vendor JWCC. The DOD is currently seeking bids from AWS, Google, Microsoft, and Oracle.

    The Air Force has decided it doesn’t want to wait for the DOD and risk another delay. The military branch is instead moving forward with its own Cloud One endeavor.

    “The short story is we’re not waiting, we haven’t waited, we will continue to not wait for anybody else to come and provide us with capability,” Air Force CIO Lauren Knausenberger told FedScoop. “We’re moving forward, we’re moving out, we’re continuing to improve” Cloud One, she added.

    Knausenberger went on to call Cloud One the “world’s largest cloud instantiation for any commercial or government entity.”

    The Air Force tapped SAIC to implement its own multicloud approach, using AWS, Google, and Microsoft’s cloud platforms. While the DOD is continuing to pursue the $9 billion JWCC contract, Knausenberger doesn’t see a conflict with Cloud One. In fact, if JWCC becomes a reality, she believes it may offer “better pricing on compute” and ultimately complement Cloud One.

    “And if it does, we’ll still use our Cloud One as a front door and we will purchase that compute via JWCC,” she added.

  • Maine B-52 Crash Remembered by Survivor, Rescuer

    Maine B-52 Crash Remembered by Survivor, Rescuer

    On January 24, 1963, a U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber training flight carrying a crew of nine crashed into Elephant Mountain in Maine. There were only two survivors of the crash, the pilot, Lt. Col. Dan Bulli, and the navigator, Capt. Gerald Adler (pictured). Both survived a night in freezing temperatures that reached -30°F while rescue workers searched for survivors throughout the night. In the morning, rescuers were able to use dog sleds, snowmobiles, and aircraft to locate the fallen airmen.

    This week, over 50 years after the incident, one of the crash’s survivors has finally come face-to-face with his rescuer.

    According to an Associated Press report, the now 81-year-old Adler this week met with Eugene Slabinski, the 83-year-old former medic who rescued Adler and Bulli all those years ago. Slabinski was a part of the first rescue team to reach Adler and Bulli the morning after the crash. According to the AP report, Slabinski dropped from a helicopter and helped to airlift the surviving airmen to safety.

    The reunion came at a Memorial Day remembrance that took place at the site of the B-52 crash.

    Adler stated to the AP that his experience highlights the fact that a military career can be dangerous, even out of combat. His comments are particularly poignant, coming just weeks after a Navy SEAL died during a training exercise at Fort Knox. Two Navy divers also died earlier this year, drowning during a training exercise in a test pond at the Aberdeen Proving Ground.

  • Declassified Documents Show Air Force Was Working On UFOs

    Everybody loves a good UFO story. The fascination with alien spacecraft has been documented throughout the centuries with stories dating all the way back to 10th-century mentioning the circular flying machines. Flying saucers really took off in popular culture in the 50s, however, and we haven’t looked back.

    It appears that not only filmmakers were obsessed with the flying saucer as recently declassified documents show the Air Force was working on their own UFOs. The National Archives has the scoop on Project 1794. The project was spearheaded by the US Air Force to create a flying saucer that could reach speeds of mach 4. Here’s some concept images of the machine:

    Air Force UFOs

    Air Force UFOs

    The work on the Air Force’s UFO line was outsourced to a Canadian firm called Avro Aircraft Limited. The fruits of their labor would neve be seen outside the military as the Air Force pulled the plug on the project in 1960. Wired found what appears to be the only video footage available of the flying saucer that the Air Force was working on. Once you watch the video, it becomes immediately apparent as to why the Air Force canceled the project.

    For many years, UFO sightings were attributed to secret aircraft testing by the Air Force. The above video shows that the Air Force and Avro were not able to lift their vehicle more than a few feet off the ground. If anything, these new documents are going to rekindle the debate on flying saucers and the authenticity of various sightings.

  • DARPA To Fortify Military’s Phones And Tablets

    Security in the military is getting harder and harder to maintain in this day and age with the advent of smart phones and tablets that can go just about anywhere and do just about anything. With the Chinese cyber security threat becoming more prevalent every day, the need for a sandbox style operating system for the soldiers in the field is needed now more than ever.

    So now the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has assigned Invincea to fortify Android based phones and tablets so they are safe for soldiers to use without the fear that the innocent apps that use GPS data to find out where they are (Facebook, Yelp) will give away their position. The hope is that Invincea will be able to create virtual environment in which applications can run in a “sandbox” or virtual environment.

    “By separating untrusted apps and content we are preventing the compromise of the operating system,” said Anup Ghosh, a professor at George Mason University and the founder of Invincea. “Part of the problem is that soldiers often want to use their mobile devices to communicate with families back home, and to entertain themselves when possible.”

    Invincea’s next project is to make sure that malware does not get in through an application, and that sensitive data does not get out. “The risks can be unexpected. Soldiers playing games on an Army base in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, can easily and unknowingly transmit the names of their friends. A piece of malware can penetrate the operating system and suck out location information.”

    This does seem like pretty good technology which begs me to wonder, why doesn’t the military already have tech that can detect cell phone signals that come from phones? Like a metal detector. Can’t hide out in a cave with a cell signal now can you?

  • US Army Trying To Harness Weapons Grade Lightning

    Zeus may have had it right after all. The god of thunder uses lightning to strike his opponents down and now the United States Army is trying to harness the power of lightning for its own purposes. They are experimenting with laser-induced plasma channel that basically uses a laser as a pathway to shoot bolts of plasma down the stream to the target. The laser-guided lightning weapon could precisely hit targets such as enemy tanks or unexploded roadside bombs, because such targets represent better conductors for electricity than the ground.

    “We never got tired of the lightning bolts zapping our simulated (targets),” said George Fischer, lead scientist on the project at the U.S. Army’s Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center at Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey. “During the duration of the laser pulse, it can be putting out more power than a large city needs, but the pulse only lasts for two-trillionths of a second.” I bet it is enough to fry an enemy combatant though.


    Photo courtesy the US Army.

    Using directed energy weapons, while used in this scenario to disable tanks and IEDs, could theoretically be used one day to incapacitate an other human combatant and not just kill them.

    Army researchers used an “ultra-short-pulse laser of modest energy” that keeps the laser beam focused through its own intensity. In doing this the laser’s electro-magnetic field can harvest electrons from air molecules to create the plasma pathway for electricity to follow. These laser-induced plasma channels could also be used to shoot direct high-powered microwave pulses. These microwave pulses are already being used by the US Air Force. They put them in missiles and use them to burn out the electronic systems of air defense centers, military jets or drones.

    The future is bright for new military technology. This great lightning weapon could potentially join the US Navy’s railgun, and the US Army’s hypersonic weapons. If this weapon does come to the battlefield, look for it to be in 20-30 years. Now if I can only figure out how to shoot lightning out of my fingertips.

    Main photo courtesy of Lucas Arts

  • “Son of Concorde” To Fly Twice As Fast As Concorde

    Until the fatal 2000 crash that signaled the beginning of the end for the Concorde, it was widely considered the pinnacle of consumer based aviation. The Supersonic plane could fly from London to New York in half the time that a typical jet did it because it flew at supersonic speeds. The trip was not inexpensive though. Since the grounding and retirement of the great plane, the need and want for another commercial plane that travels faster than the speed of sound is both wanted and needed.

    Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Gulfstream and NASA are working on a collaborative effort called the “Son of Concorde” that has the potential to get from London to Sydney in 4 hours! The plane would obviously have to be a Scramjet hypersonic plane that NASA and the Air Force are currently working on and would have to be able to go into the low atmosphere.

    The biggest obstacle that the companies are facing is overcoming the sonic boom problem that planes face when they go faster than the speed of sound. According to the Daily Mail a Gulfstream engineer described the sound the new jet will make as “closer to a puff or plop.” The new aircraft Codenamed X-54, will ‘prove that an aircraft can be shaped for low sonic boom’

    The 12-seat planes are expected to cost $80 million each and are being marketed to European and Middle East buyers under the slogan, ‘To the USA and back in a working day.’ Look for the jets to be in use by 2020-2030 if they are ever in use at all!

    Picture comes courtesy of the Daily Mail and is an artists rendition

  • Super Secretive X-37B Space Plane To Land [Infographic]

    After the shuttle program ended, spaceflight dominance for the United States looked to be in jeopardy. Then came the X-37B. This mini space shuttle looks like it could be the future of what we can look forward to in the near future for military space aircraft. The X-37B is a reusable shuttle with a payload bay about the size of a pickup truck. The shuttle which is about to come back down is also unmanned and has been orbiting the earth for over a year.

    With this new highly secretive space plane, the Air Force has a highly reusable and very sturdy aircraft to help protect the interests of the United States. The exact mission the X-37B was on is a mystery, but according to General William Shelton, commander of Air Force Space Command it was a success saying this: “Although I can’t talk about mission specifics, suffice it to say this mission has been a spectacular success.”

    At this time it is not exactly sure how exactly the X-37B will be used, or how often it will be used. All we do know is that it keeps America at the top of the Earth based space food chain.

    The X37-B is the latest in a fairly long line of space vehicles. Check out this informative infographic on the subject:

  • SpaceX Signs Deal To Launch Satellites

    SpaceX Signs Deal To Launch Satellites

    On the heels of what could be a turning point in the history of space flight for humans, SpaceX has signed a deal with Intelsat to launch a satellite once their new Falcon Heavy rocket is complete. The Falcon Heavy will be responsible for taking Intelsat’s satellite up to a into geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO).

    “SpaceX is very proud to have the confidence of Intelsat, a leader in the satellite communication services industry,” said Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer. “The Falcon Heavy has more than twice the power of the next largest rocket in the world. With this new vehicle, SpaceX launch systems now cover the entire spectrum of the launch needs for commercial, civil and national security customers.”

    Once the Falcon Heavy is ready it will be the most powerful Rocket in the world and the second most powerful rocket of all time behing the Saturn V rockets that transported the Apollo astronauts. The Falcon Heavy will meet NASA’s human rating standards as well as the stringent U.S. Air Force requirements for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. The Heavy is capable of lifting 53 metric tons (117,000 pounds) to low Earth orbit and over 12 metric tons (26,000 pounds) to GTO, Falcon Heavy will provide more than twice the performance to low Earth orbit of any other launch vehicle. This will allow SpaceX to launch the largest satellites ever flown and will enable new missions.

    “Timely access to space is an essential element of our commercial supply chain,” said Thierry Guillemin, Intelsat CTO. “As a global leader in the satellite sector, our support of successful new entrants to the commercial launch industry reduces risk in our business model. Intelsat has exacting technical standards and requirements for proven flight heritage for our satellite launches. We will work closely with SpaceX as the Falcon Heavy completes rigorous flight tests prior to our future launch requirements.

    SpaceX really seems to be moving full steam ahead and as of right now it is by far the best option for space travel and the US government and NASA need to seriously consider letting SpaceX focus on this stuff and stick to putting people in space and on the on the moon.

  • Facebook Starts Suicide Prevention For Veterans


    Courtesy of good.is

    In the light of increasing suicides by veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, Facebook today announced new military crisis content, developed in partnership with Blue Star Families and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
    . Because Facebook is so widely used, it is in the unique position to help Veterans. A survey conducted by Blue Star Families found that nearly 8% of veterans and 10% of military family members have contemplated suicide and of those 8%, 86% use Facebook on a daily basis.

    Face book already features a suicide tool. All you have to do is report a post, File a report, then choose why you are filing a report. If it is about violent content with suicidal behavior, then it will take you to a page that lets you either contact the person directly, or it gives you a list of suicide numbers based on what country the person lives in.

    Now, the system has the ability to identify military personnel and their families and direct their friends to information from the Veterans Crisis Line when they report content as harmful or suicidal.

    Now that we can more actively combat suicide, we need to try to find out why so many veterans want to commit suicide. “If you think you know the one thing that causes people to commit suicide, please let us know,” Army Vice Chief of Staff General Peter Chiarelli told the Army Timesin 2011, “because we don’t know what it is.”

    Cover photo courtesy of the US Army Facebook page

  • NASA To Feed Jet Engine Crayons… For Science

    Recently NASA engineers at the Dryden Flight Research Center, feed crayons and cereal to a jet engine. No, the engine tests aren’t to see how well the Pratt & Whitney F117 turbofan engines hold up against a toddler. The tests are actually to test new sensors to help with managing the health of the engines while in flight.

    “The point of tossing cereal and crayons into the engine is to trigger some small change for the sensors to detect, without harming the engine,” said Dave Berger, a leader of the Vehicle Integrated Propulsion (VIPR) test series. “Once the sensitivity of the sensors is established, we will end with a real-world scenario by introducing volcanic ash, which really can – and does – tear up an engine.”


    Photos courtesy of NASA.

    The need for such an experiment and new sensors came to the forefront during the 2009 Icelandic volcano eruptions that disrupted air traffic worldwide for weeks. The overall tests on the engine will eventually lead to the introduction to volcanic ash which will destroy the engine.

    “Being able to take an overhauled engine and run it all the way to the end of its life through research experiments is a unique opportunity,” said Berger.

    In true NASA fashion, they also had to design and build two support structures for the experiment. The first was a 24-foot diameter water platform designed to sit below and in front of the research engine during ground testing, the second was a piece of support equipment that is an emission sensor rig designed to sit just behind the engine and sweep across the engine’s exhaust path in order to collect exhaust gases for emissions data.

    Based at Dryden, VIPR is funded by NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, which manages the Aviation Safety Program.

  • NASA and ESA Confirm Unknowns Hack

    NASA and ESA Confirm Unknowns Hack

    Both the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, and the European Space Agency (ESA) have confirmed that their systems were indeed penetrated by the new hacker group known as the Unknowns. The systems that were breached have already been patched, which is what the Unknowns said was their goal in the first place.

    The Unknowns successfully attacked 10 websites: NASA – Glenn Research Center, U.S. military, U.S. Air Force, European Space Agency, Thai Royal Navy, Harvard University, Renault, French ministry of Defense, Bahrain Ministry of Defense, Jordanian Yellow Pages. they also posted screenshots showing they gained accessed to each and every one. The group even put together 250MB worth of military documents from their hacks and uploaded the collection to MediaFire.

    “NASA security officials detected an intrusion into the site on April 20 and took it offline,” a NASA spokesperson said in a statement. “The agency takes the issue of IT security very seriously and at no point was sensitive or controlled information compromised. NASA has made significant progress to better protect the agency’s IT systems and is in the process of mitigating any remaining vulnerabilities that could allow intrusions in the future.”

    ESA security office manager Stefano Zatti told ZDNet UK that “The group used SQL injection… The use of SQL injection is an admitted vulnerability. this needs to be addressed at a coding level.”

    More and more companies are coming under foreign attacks from the likes of China and Iran. These guys’ heart is in the right place, I just wish there was an easier way to get people’s attention than breaking the law. But if we are safer because of this, how can I complain?

    The Unknowns released a statement:

    “We are a new hacker group, we have never been in any hacking team before. We are not Anonymous Version 2 and we are not against the US Government. We can’t call ourselves White Hat Hackers but we’re not Black Hat Hackers either… Now, we decided to hack these sites for a reason… These Websites are important, we understand that we harmed the victims and we’re sorry for that – we’re soon going to email them all the information they need to know about the penetrations we did. We still think that what we did helped them, because right now they know that their Security is weak and that it should be fixed.

    We wanted to gain the trust of others, people now trust us, we’re getting lots of emails from people we never knew, asking us to check their website’s security and that’s what we want to do. Our goal was never to harm anyone, we want to make this whole internet world more secured because, simply, it’s not at all and we want to help. We don’t want revolutions, we don’t want chaos, we just want to protect the people out there. Websites are not secured, people are not secured, computers are not secured, nothing is…We’re here to help and we’re asking nothing in exchange.”

  • First F-35 For The Netherlands Rolls Off The Line

    F-35

    The Joint Strike Fighter has had a rather tumultuous journey from the start. It was an undertaking by the United States, The United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, Canada, Netherlands, Norway, Turkey, Israel, and Japan to make a stealthy aircraft that could perform a series of events to replace aging land and carrier based aircraft.

    F-35 specs

    The counties all had certain requirements that they needed the planes to have. The requirement is for: USAF F-35A air-to-ground strike aircraft, replacing F-16 and A-10, complementing F-22 (1763); USMC F-35B – STOVL strike fighter to replace F/A-18B/C and AV-8B (480); UK RN F-35C – STOVL strike fighter to replace Sea Harriers (60); US Navy F-35C – first-day-of-war strike fighter to replace F/A-18B/C and A-6, complementing the F/A-18E/F (480 aircraft). So 3 variants were designed. The F-35A, F-35B, and the F-35C. A is designed to take off of an airstrip, B is a STOVL aircraft, and C is designed for Carrier takeoffs and landings.

    F-35 Variants

    The most interesting of the 3 is the STOVL variant, the F-35B. STOVL (short take off and vertical landing) planes have been around for a little while. the most famous being the AV-8B Harrier Jump Jet. The Harrier had a technology called thrust vectoring nozzles which were basically 4 nozzles that could swivel to produce thrust in any direction. The F-35B has a central compartment that changes and twist the engine producing massive amounts of down-thrust. The plus side of this is that because the engine used on the B varient is exactly the same as the A and C variants, it can still go supersonic! This is huge since it will be used in an air superiority role as well as an attack aircraft for the United Staes Marine Corps.

    F-35B

    Still in testing, the first F-35 that has been designated AN-1 will head to the flight line where it will undergo functional fuel system checks before being transported to the flight line for ground and flight tests in the coming weeks. This F-35A is heading to the Netherlands as they are one of the partners in the JSF program.

    Also in F-35 news, recently it had it’s very first successful in flight refueling at night. Check out the video below: