USA military developments

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W.G.Ewald

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... the GSSAP "gives us an ability "¦ to look at literal images of objects in geosynchronous orbit "¦ A picture is worth a thousand inferences because we can see literally what that [foreign] satellite looks like, and you can effectively reverse-engineer and understand what the capabilities are "¦ to a much greater extent than you can today," Shelton said.
I would have thought that the emissions of the foreign satellite would have more useful information, but SPACECOM must know what it's doing. Also, if you can get close enough to take a picture of a satellite, can't it just be knocked down?
 

cobra commando

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I would have thought that the emissions of the foreign satellite would have more useful information, but SPACECOM must know what it's doing. Also, if you can get close enough to take a picture of a satellite, can't it just be knocked down?

"Eggsbert" hat on/

Why knock it down Saar, :dude: who'll take care of the Space Junk:
Sir. + When your spy sats(who are on a mission to spy on the spying satellites :lol: ) and
the like of
X-37B who can do the job without having to worry about retaliation or "K.O" enemy sats from it's orbit. :truestory: "Eggsbert" hat off/
 

Ajeesh Kumar S

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[video=facebook;10152576697269394]https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152576697269394&set=vb.72026774393&type=2&theater[/video]
 

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Experimental US Hypersonic Weapon Explodes During Flight Test


[A rendering of the HTV-2 hypersonic aircraft, which is part of the Conventional Prompt Global Strike technology.]

A new hypersonic weapon developed by the U.S. military exploded shortly after liftoff from an Alaska test facility during a long-awaited flight test early Monday, the Pentagon said. No one was injured in the incident, which occurred shortly after 4 a.m. ET at the Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska, said Maureen Schumann, spokeswoman for the U.S. Defense Department. "The weapon exploded during takeoff and fell back down the range complex," Schumann said. The weapon was developed by Sandia National Laboratory and the U.S. Army, as part of the military's "Conventional Prompt Global Strike" technology development program, which is seeking to build a weapon that can destroy targets anywhere on earth within an hour of getting data and permission to launch. Schumann said officials from the program, the U.S. Army, Navy, and Missile Defense Agency were conducting an extensive investigation to determine the cause of the accident.

Experimental US Hypersonic Weapon Explodes During Flight Test | Business Insider India
 

cobra commando

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US Aircraft Carrier 'Ike' Leaves Drydock


The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) (Ike) has left dry dock and moved from Dry Dock 8 to pier 42/43 at Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) in Portsmouth, Va. informs USN. USS Dwight D. Eisenhower has been in dry dock since September 2013, conducting a scheduled docking planned incremental availability (DPIA) period. "Without the excellent work of the ship's team leaders and zone managers, the ship wouldn't have been ready when it was," said Lt. Cmdr. Jeremy James, Ike's maintenance manager. James said the ship's force and NNSY personnel worked well together, completing approximately 12,500 jobs prior to flooding the dock. Brian Bennett, the Ike DPIA project supervisor, said the undocking is the first of many major key events to come for the Ike project team. "Putting water on the hull and floating the ship is truly a monumental task," he said. Capt. Mark Bridenstine, the commanding officer of Norfolk Naval Shipyard, said it was the commitment and dedication of Bennett, deputy project superintendents John Tuthill and Steve Hein, and the entire Ike team that enabled the ship to reach this milestone. "Having Ike back in the water is a major milestone as we progress through this maintenance period," said Capt. Stephen T. Koehler, Ike's commanding officer. "Not only does it allow us to do maintenance that had to wait until we were waterborne, but it gives the crew and the shipyard a very big morale boost to achieve this event." The next major milestone during Ike's DPIA will be crew move aboard, which is scheduled to commence in less than a month.
US Aircraft Carrier 'Ike' Leaves Drydock
 

HMS Astute

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Can you provide me some details as to the technical differences between Predator and Reaper. I can't seem to find any.
MQ-1 Predator

Introduction: July 1995

General characteristics

Crew: none on-board
Length: 27 ft (8.22 m)
Wingspan: 48.7 ft (14.8 m); MQ-1B Block 10/15: 55.25 ft (16.84 m))
Height: 6.9 ft (2.1 m)
Wing area: 123.3 sq ft(11.5 m²)
Empty weight: 1,130 lb (512 kg)
Loaded weight: 2,250 lb (1,020 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 2,250 lb (1,020 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Rotax 914F turbocharged four-cylinder engine, 115 hp (86 kW)


MQ-9 Reaper

Introduction: 1 May 2007

General characteristics

Crew: 0 onboard, 2 in ground station
Length: 36 ft 1 in (11 m)
Wingspan: 65 ft 7 in (20 m)
Height: 12 ft 6 in (3.81 m)
Empty weight: 4,901 lb (2,223 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 10,494 lb (4,760 kg)
Fuel capacity: 4,000 lb (1,800 kg)
Payload: 3,800 lb (1,700 kg)
Internal: 800 lb (360 kg)
External: 3,000 lb (1,400 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Honeywell TPE331-10 turboprop, 900 hp (671 kW) with Digital Electronic Engine Control (DEEC)






MQ-1 Predator

Performance

Maximum speed: 135 mph (117 knots, 217 km/h)
Cruise speed: 81–103 mph (70–90 knots, 130–165 km/h)
Stall speed: 62 mph (54 knots, 100 km/h) (dependent on aircraft weight)
Range: 675 nmi (675 mi or 1,100 km)
Endurance: 24 hours
Service ceiling: 25,000 ft (7,620 m)


MQ-9 Reaper

Performance

Maximum speed: 300 mph; 260 kn (482 km/h)
Cruising speed: 194 mph; 169 kn (313 km/h)
Range: 1,151 mi; 1,852 km (1,000 nmi)
Endurance: 14 hours fully loaded
Service ceiling: 50,000 ft (15,240 m)
Operational altitude: 25,000 ft (7.5 km)






MQ-1 Predator

Armament

2 hardpoints

2 × AGM-114 Hellfire (MQ-1B)
2 × AIM-92 Stinger (MQ-1B)
4 × AIM-92 Stinger (MQ-1B)
6 × Griffin air-to-surface missiles[106]

Avionics

ASIP-1C
AN/AAS-52 Multi-Spectral Targeting System
AN/ZPQ-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (early airframes only)



MQ-9 Reaper

Armament

7 hardpoints
Up to 1,500 lb (680 kg) on the two inboard weapons stations
Up to 750 lb (340 kg) on the two middle stations
Up to 150 lb (68 kg) on the outboard stations
Center station not used
Up to 4 AGM-114 Hellfire air to ground missiles can be carried or four Hellfire missiles and two 500 lb (230 kg) GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bombs. The 500 lb (230 kg) GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) can also be carried. Testing is underway to support the operation of the AIM-92 Stinger air-to-air missile.

Avionics

AN/APY-8 Lynx II radar
Raytheon SeaVue Marine Search Radar, on the Guardian variants
AN/DAS-1 MTS-B Multi-Spectral Targeting System


MQ-9 Reaper > MQ-1 Predator

UK has been operating MQ-9 Reaper since 2007 when it was launched.

They currently carry Hellfire missiles and Paveway II laser guided bombs, but the entire fleet will be fitted with Brimstone II "Fire and Forget" missiles.
 
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