Krossblade Aerospace Systems in Arizona envisions a hybrid 5-seat transformer aircraft which can also double as a road vehicle, coming with switchblade wings, six rotors and the ability to work as a VTOL aircraft. Continue reading
Category Archives: Technology
Boeing’s New Laser Knocks Out UAS In Rough Weather
Boeing and the U.S. Army have proven the capabilities of the High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator (HEL MD) in maritime conditions, successfully targeting a variety of aerial targets at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. Continue reading
Northrop Grumman Developing XS-1 Experimental Spaceplane Design for DARPA
Northrop Grumman Corporation with Scaled Composites and Virgin Galactic is developing a preliminary design and flight demonstration plan for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Experimental Spaceplane XS-1 programme.
BAE Develops Smart Skin Technology to Detect Damage on Aircraft
Work is underway at BAE Systems to give aircraft human-like ‘skin’, enabling the detection of injury or damage and the ability to ‘feel’ the world around them. Engineers at BAE’s Advanced Technology Centre are investigating a ‘smart skin’ concept which could be embedded with tens of thousands of micro-sensors. When applied to an aircraft, this will enable it to sense wind speed, temperature, physical strain and movement, far more accurately than current sensor technology allows.
Malloy Aeronautics Hoverbike on Kickstarter
An interesting Kickstarter project aims to jump-start sales of a drone version of a fully-functional hover bike. The quadcopter drone acts as a proof of concept for the full-sized manned vehicle, with proceeds from the crowdfunding effort intended to fuel the continued development of the final vehicle. With more than a week remaining before the Kickstarter campaign concludes, its funding goal has been exceeded and development is moving forward at pace. Though the manned Hoverbike is what tends to garner the most attention, the one third scale drones are actually the focus of the Kickstarter effort.
New “Dual Carbon” Battery Charges 20 Times Faster than Li-ion
Japanese company Power Japan Plus has announced the development and planned mass-production of “Ryden,” a disruptive carbon battery that can be charged 20 times faster than an ordinary lithium-ion cell. The battery, which is cheap to manufacture, safe, and environmentally friendly, could be ideal to improve the range and charging times of electric cars. Continue reading
US Navy to Test Mobile Laser Weapon Against UAS
The US Navy Office of Naval Research has awarded Raytheon US$11 million adapt a tactical laser weapon systems to a vehicle-based laser device, capable of defeating low-flying threats such as enemy drones. For the field demonstration planned by ONR Raytheon will integrate a short-range laser weapon system on a HMMWV.
Sikorsky, Boeing Selected to Build Technology Demonstrator for Future Vertical Lift
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. and Boeing have been selected to build a helicopter for the U.S. Army’s Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator Phase 1 programme (JMR TD), paving the way for the next generation of vertical lift aircraft.