But how do you prevent the thick gel or water from evaporating or drying up in summer months ?
BTW thanks for the reply
International Aerospace Discussion
Re: International Aerospace Discussion
borewell or tanker saar 
thats how most indic cities survive. I am sure some means like a glasshouse or plastic sheet house over the tank can stop evaporation. can also rear fish to feed the crew. khan has been spending considerable cycles on this issue and seems to think only a small nuclear device is best
http://harpers.org/archive/2004/12/0080324
A bunker-busting weapon is one that will, in principle, penetrate its target and explode only afterward. This is accomplished, again in principle, with fuses that delay detonation until a predetermined point after impact. All current bunker busters, including the nuclear B61-11 and the conventional GBU-37, are “gravity bombs,” meaning that they have no propulsion system. They rely instead on the natural acceleration of gravity, as well as on their javelin-like construction: the B61-11, for example, is roughly twelve feet in length but only thirteen inches in diameter, and is capped with a pointed nosecone. Such a design is supposed to allow bunker busters to destroy targets several hundred feet down.
In real-world conditions, though, it has been difficult to make the weapons perform as advertised. Dropped from moving airplanes, gravity bombs often strike the earth at a considerable angle, which increases the tendency of their trajectory, while underground, to bend back up toward the surface. If the angle of attack is particularly shallow, a penetrator will actually come back up out of the ground, skipping along the battlefield. And even when they do strike at a useful angle, they cannot be made to penetrate deeply enough to destroy any but the shallowest of bunkers. The Defense Department's Nuclear Posture Review for 2001 laments that the B61-11 “cannot survive penetration into many types of terrain in which hardened underground facilities are located.” This is a generous analysis: the “terrain” referred to is the hard rock under which valuable targets are almost always buried. When dropped from a height of 40,000 feet, the B61-11 was able to penetrate three meters at most into the Alaskan tundra, and not at all into hard rock (that is, without self-destructing).
The inadequacy of the B61-11 is due not to a particularly poor construction but rather to the basic limitations of bomb-making steel. In the test drops performed in Alaska, the B61-11 reached roughly 300 meters per second at impact. In order to penetrate reinforced concrete, it would need to be traveling at approximately 500 meters per second. At around 900 meters per second, the shock wave generated by the missile's slamming into the ground will deform it severely; at 1,200 meters per second, the missile will in most cases break into pieces. To penetrate granite—ubiquitous in mountainous bunkers, and believed to be common above any truly valuable bunker—a penetrator would have to attain upward of 3,000 meters per second, at which speed it would certainly be crushed. Robert Nelson of Princeton University has demonstrated that because of the limitations imposed by the yield strength of the steel used in casings, no bunker buster can ever go fast enough to penetrate reinforced concrete deeper than five times its length without destroying itself in the process; and even this number is too high for any real-world scenario. What is more, the length of the bomb cannot be increased much, for two reasons: there are no aircraft capable of carrying a weapon much longer than the ones that are currently deployed; and as length increases, so does the tendency of the bomb to snap in two on impact.
Raymond Jeanloz, a member of the National Academy of Sciences committee advising Congress on earth penetrators, expresses frustration at the defense community's obliviousness to existing research. “A lot of the information is already in house,” Jeanloz said in an interview. “Why don't [they] come back to Congress with a really good plan that has a good chance of working, rather than asking for a bunch of money where it's not even clear [they've] reviewed the information [they] already have?” The answer lies, no doubt, in the seductiveness of the bunker-buster idea, whereby a bomb, after being dropped from the safety of 40,000 feet, eliminates in a clean, swift, and invisible blast the most intractable problem facing the U.S. military. This seems to be a fantasy too powerful to abandon.
The most stubborn part of the fantasy is that a “low-yield” bunker buster could be employed as a “clean” nuclear weapon, whose explosion and fallout would be contained underground. This aspiration is most explicitly laid out in a report from the Defense Department Science Board entitled “Future Strategic Strike Forces,” which imagines that “[p]enetration [by a nuclear bunker-buster] to a depth of 50 to 55 meters would enable disablement of 100-meter-deep underground facilities by contained 400-ton explosions.” Let us, for the moment, forget the fact that 50 meters is more than twice the depth it is physically possible for any penetrator, real or idealized, to burrow into rock. According to the government's own guidelines, drawn up during the decades in which it tested nuclear weapons under the Nevada desert, a 400-ton explosion would have to occur a full 600 meters underground in order to be “contained.” These guidelines also stipulate a carefully sealed burial shaft to contain the blast, not a maw. Even the B61-11, at its current, inadequate impact speeds, does not burrow a clean rabbit-hole in the ground but rather kicks up a crater like a meteorite; any faster-moving penetrator would do so to a still greater degree.
Even supposing that the missile's point of entry were miraculously neat, a nuclear blast at the depths a real missile could attain would invariably breach the surface of the earth, expelling a hot fallout cloud in what is known as a “base surge.” Base surges are more dangerous than traditional fallout clouds because they are more toxic, containing irradiated particles of dirt and rock. They also spread more quickly, sweeping across the surface of the earth in every direction, outward rather than upward. Bunkers are usually built in urban areas, so many thousands of deaths would be a virtual certainty. Even a 1-kiloton bunker buster—a relative firecracker, with a tiny fraction of the explosive power of the high-yield RNEP—detonated at fifty feet underground could eject about 1,000,000 cubic meters of radioactive soil.
Finally, it is entirely unclear whether even such a catastrophic blast would, as the Science Board claims, “enable disablement” of an installation. A well-designed granite bunker could withstand four times the shock produced by such an explosion. If the bunker housed weapons of mass destruction, studies have shown that a canister of, say, mustard gas could be insulated from the heat of the blast by a few meters of earth, and thereby escape being vaporized. Cushioning the canister from the shock wave is more difficult, and in the likely event that a canister is ruptured but not destroyed, the chemical agent would escape the shattered container into the earth; a split second later it would be blasted up into the air, carried away in the fallout cloud.
thats how most indic cities survive. I am sure some means like a glasshouse or plastic sheet house over the tank can stop evaporation. can also rear fish to feed the crew. khan has been spending considerable cycles on this issue and seems to think only a small nuclear device is besthttp://harpers.org/archive/2004/12/0080324
A bunker-busting weapon is one that will, in principle, penetrate its target and explode only afterward. This is accomplished, again in principle, with fuses that delay detonation until a predetermined point after impact. All current bunker busters, including the nuclear B61-11 and the conventional GBU-37, are “gravity bombs,” meaning that they have no propulsion system. They rely instead on the natural acceleration of gravity, as well as on their javelin-like construction: the B61-11, for example, is roughly twelve feet in length but only thirteen inches in diameter, and is capped with a pointed nosecone. Such a design is supposed to allow bunker busters to destroy targets several hundred feet down.
In real-world conditions, though, it has been difficult to make the weapons perform as advertised. Dropped from moving airplanes, gravity bombs often strike the earth at a considerable angle, which increases the tendency of their trajectory, while underground, to bend back up toward the surface. If the angle of attack is particularly shallow, a penetrator will actually come back up out of the ground, skipping along the battlefield. And even when they do strike at a useful angle, they cannot be made to penetrate deeply enough to destroy any but the shallowest of bunkers. The Defense Department's Nuclear Posture Review for 2001 laments that the B61-11 “cannot survive penetration into many types of terrain in which hardened underground facilities are located.” This is a generous analysis: the “terrain” referred to is the hard rock under which valuable targets are almost always buried. When dropped from a height of 40,000 feet, the B61-11 was able to penetrate three meters at most into the Alaskan tundra, and not at all into hard rock (that is, without self-destructing).
The inadequacy of the B61-11 is due not to a particularly poor construction but rather to the basic limitations of bomb-making steel. In the test drops performed in Alaska, the B61-11 reached roughly 300 meters per second at impact. In order to penetrate reinforced concrete, it would need to be traveling at approximately 500 meters per second. At around 900 meters per second, the shock wave generated by the missile's slamming into the ground will deform it severely; at 1,200 meters per second, the missile will in most cases break into pieces. To penetrate granite—ubiquitous in mountainous bunkers, and believed to be common above any truly valuable bunker—a penetrator would have to attain upward of 3,000 meters per second, at which speed it would certainly be crushed. Robert Nelson of Princeton University has demonstrated that because of the limitations imposed by the yield strength of the steel used in casings, no bunker buster can ever go fast enough to penetrate reinforced concrete deeper than five times its length without destroying itself in the process; and even this number is too high for any real-world scenario. What is more, the length of the bomb cannot be increased much, for two reasons: there are no aircraft capable of carrying a weapon much longer than the ones that are currently deployed; and as length increases, so does the tendency of the bomb to snap in two on impact.
Raymond Jeanloz, a member of the National Academy of Sciences committee advising Congress on earth penetrators, expresses frustration at the defense community's obliviousness to existing research. “A lot of the information is already in house,” Jeanloz said in an interview. “Why don't [they] come back to Congress with a really good plan that has a good chance of working, rather than asking for a bunch of money where it's not even clear [they've] reviewed the information [they] already have?” The answer lies, no doubt, in the seductiveness of the bunker-buster idea, whereby a bomb, after being dropped from the safety of 40,000 feet, eliminates in a clean, swift, and invisible blast the most intractable problem facing the U.S. military. This seems to be a fantasy too powerful to abandon.
The most stubborn part of the fantasy is that a “low-yield” bunker buster could be employed as a “clean” nuclear weapon, whose explosion and fallout would be contained underground. This aspiration is most explicitly laid out in a report from the Defense Department Science Board entitled “Future Strategic Strike Forces,” which imagines that “[p]enetration [by a nuclear bunker-buster] to a depth of 50 to 55 meters would enable disablement of 100-meter-deep underground facilities by contained 400-ton explosions.” Let us, for the moment, forget the fact that 50 meters is more than twice the depth it is physically possible for any penetrator, real or idealized, to burrow into rock. According to the government's own guidelines, drawn up during the decades in which it tested nuclear weapons under the Nevada desert, a 400-ton explosion would have to occur a full 600 meters underground in order to be “contained.” These guidelines also stipulate a carefully sealed burial shaft to contain the blast, not a maw. Even the B61-11, at its current, inadequate impact speeds, does not burrow a clean rabbit-hole in the ground but rather kicks up a crater like a meteorite; any faster-moving penetrator would do so to a still greater degree.
Even supposing that the missile's point of entry were miraculously neat, a nuclear blast at the depths a real missile could attain would invariably breach the surface of the earth, expelling a hot fallout cloud in what is known as a “base surge.” Base surges are more dangerous than traditional fallout clouds because they are more toxic, containing irradiated particles of dirt and rock. They also spread more quickly, sweeping across the surface of the earth in every direction, outward rather than upward. Bunkers are usually built in urban areas, so many thousands of deaths would be a virtual certainty. Even a 1-kiloton bunker buster—a relative firecracker, with a tiny fraction of the explosive power of the high-yield RNEP—detonated at fifty feet underground could eject about 1,000,000 cubic meters of radioactive soil.
Finally, it is entirely unclear whether even such a catastrophic blast would, as the Science Board claims, “enable disablement” of an installation. A well-designed granite bunker could withstand four times the shock produced by such an explosion. If the bunker housed weapons of mass destruction, studies have shown that a canister of, say, mustard gas could be insulated from the heat of the blast by a few meters of earth, and thereby escape being vaporized. Cushioning the canister from the shock wave is more difficult, and in the likely event that a canister is ruptured but not destroyed, the chemical agent would escape the shattered container into the earth; a split second later it would be blasted up into the air, carried away in the fallout cloud.
Re: International Aerospace Discussion
bottomline seems to be natural rocks like granite are a far tougher nut to crack (literally) than any form of manmade concrete steel mesh slab meter for meter.
Re: International Aerospace Discussion
If they can cut through deep layer of granite, lets dig the oil wells in right in the middle of India and achieve the energy independence.
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chackojoseph
- BRF Oldie
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- Joined: 01 Mar 2010 22:42
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Re: International Aerospace Discussion
Why can't you set up a mass of charged wires above the bunkers and keep it "live" as running with electricity so when the bomb comes through, it would prematurely set off the bomb or fuse, rendering it as ineffective?
Re: International Aerospace Discussion
Aren't externally carried bombs rated for lightning strikes like the aircraft itself?Hitesh wrote:Why can't you set up a mass of charged wires above the bunkers and keep it "live" as running with electricity so when the bomb comes through, it would prematurely set off the bomb or fuse, rendering it as ineffective?
Re: International Aerospace Discussion
but in the air there is no grounding..that might render it less potent.
the british have been playing around with light IFV armour that holds some massive electrical capacitor type charge...when a RPG/ATGM hits this charge is supposed to ignite or burn the projectile...just as you said.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_ar ... ged_armour
Electrically charged armour is a recent development in the United Kingdom by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. A vehicle is fitted with two thin shells, separated by insulating material. The outer shell holds an enormous electrical charge, while the inner shell is at ground. If an incoming HEAT jet penetrates the outer shell and forms a bridge between the shells, the electrical energy discharges through the jet, disrupting it. Trials have so far been extremely promising, and it is hoped that improved systems could protect against KE penetrators. Developers of the Future Rapid Effect System (FRES) series of armoured vehicles are considering this technology
the british have been playing around with light IFV armour that holds some massive electrical capacitor type charge...when a RPG/ATGM hits this charge is supposed to ignite or burn the projectile...just as you said.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_ar ... ged_armour
Electrically charged armour is a recent development in the United Kingdom by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. A vehicle is fitted with two thin shells, separated by insulating material. The outer shell holds an enormous electrical charge, while the inner shell is at ground. If an incoming HEAT jet penetrates the outer shell and forms a bridge between the shells, the electrical energy discharges through the jet, disrupting it. Trials have so far been extremely promising, and it is hoped that improved systems could protect against KE penetrators. Developers of the Future Rapid Effect System (FRES) series of armoured vehicles are considering this technology
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member_20617
- BRFite
- Posts: 194
- Joined: 11 Aug 2016 06:14
Re: International Aerospace Discussion
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17370150
Pentagon considers on-demand disposable satellites
Darpa says each SeeMe satellite needs to be able to provide data about a location within 90 minutes
Squads of disposable mini-satellites able to provide reconnaissance to soldiers at the "press of a button" are being considered by the US military.
The Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) says the machines could provide tactical information at times when existing satellites were not in position.
Darpa has invited manufacturers to discuss the project.
It says the satellites should cost $500,000 (£318,500) apiece.
"We envision a constellation of small satellites, at a fraction of the cost of airborne systems, that would allow deployed warfighters to hit 'see me' on existing handheld devices and in less than 90 minutes receive a satellite image of their precise location to aid in mission planning," the agency says in a statement.
It adds that each constellation should consist of about 24 satellites able to stay in low-Earth orbit for 60-90 days before burning up on re-entry.
Beyond drones
Darpa says that contractors will probably have to make use of rapid manufacturing techniques more commonly associated with the smartphone industry to meet its price target.
It adds that they will also need to "develop advanced technologies for optics, power, propulsion and communications to keep size and weight down".
The US Army already has access to drone aircraft to provide intelligence from the skies. Last year it announced new helicopter-style machines equipped with 1.8 gigapixel cameras were due to go into service in Afghanistan.
However, Darpa says such unmanned aircraft cannot cover extended territory without frequent refuelling.
"With a SeeMe constellation, we hope to directly support warfighters in multiple deployed overseas locations simultaneously with no logistics or maintenance costs beyond the warfighters' handhelds," said Dave Barnhart, the programme's manager.
Cost challenge
Elizabeth Quintana from the Royal United Services Institute defence think tank told the BBC that the challenge would be keeping the new technology to budget.
"Currently UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] and other airborne ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] assets are very popular with ground troops but the criticism is that there is never enough and that bandwidth demands make it difficult to get imagery products forward to the front line," she said.
"UAVs were adopted with affordability and disposability in mind but the most popular platforms are too expensive to use in this way. The trick will be to keep the costs low enough that the system will be cheaper than existing airborne programmes and can be truly disposable."
Darpa has organised a "Proposers' Day" to discuss the project further on 27 March.
The announcement coincides with news that the organisation's director is leaving to work for Google.
Wired revealed that Regina Dugan is expected to leave "sometime in the next few weeks". Google told the BBC that it was not yet ready to disclose what role she would assume.
Pentagon considers on-demand disposable satellites
Darpa says each SeeMe satellite needs to be able to provide data about a location within 90 minutes
Squads of disposable mini-satellites able to provide reconnaissance to soldiers at the "press of a button" are being considered by the US military.
The Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) says the machines could provide tactical information at times when existing satellites were not in position.
Darpa has invited manufacturers to discuss the project.
It says the satellites should cost $500,000 (£318,500) apiece.
"We envision a constellation of small satellites, at a fraction of the cost of airborne systems, that would allow deployed warfighters to hit 'see me' on existing handheld devices and in less than 90 minutes receive a satellite image of their precise location to aid in mission planning," the agency says in a statement.
It adds that each constellation should consist of about 24 satellites able to stay in low-Earth orbit for 60-90 days before burning up on re-entry.
Beyond drones
Darpa says that contractors will probably have to make use of rapid manufacturing techniques more commonly associated with the smartphone industry to meet its price target.
It adds that they will also need to "develop advanced technologies for optics, power, propulsion and communications to keep size and weight down".
The US Army already has access to drone aircraft to provide intelligence from the skies. Last year it announced new helicopter-style machines equipped with 1.8 gigapixel cameras were due to go into service in Afghanistan.
However, Darpa says such unmanned aircraft cannot cover extended territory without frequent refuelling.
"With a SeeMe constellation, we hope to directly support warfighters in multiple deployed overseas locations simultaneously with no logistics or maintenance costs beyond the warfighters' handhelds," said Dave Barnhart, the programme's manager.
Cost challenge
Elizabeth Quintana from the Royal United Services Institute defence think tank told the BBC that the challenge would be keeping the new technology to budget.
"Currently UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] and other airborne ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] assets are very popular with ground troops but the criticism is that there is never enough and that bandwidth demands make it difficult to get imagery products forward to the front line," she said.
"UAVs were adopted with affordability and disposability in mind but the most popular platforms are too expensive to use in this way. The trick will be to keep the costs low enough that the system will be cheaper than existing airborne programmes and can be truly disposable."
Darpa has organised a "Proposers' Day" to discuss the project further on 27 March.
The announcement coincides with news that the organisation's director is leaving to work for Google.
Wired revealed that Regina Dugan is expected to leave "sometime in the next few weeks". Google told the BBC that it was not yet ready to disclose what role she would assume.
-
member_20617
- BRFite
- Posts: 194
- Joined: 11 Aug 2016 06:14
Re: International Aerospace Discussion
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16358851
US Army unveils 1.8 gigapixel camera helicopter drone
The drone aircraft can hover and do not need a runway to be able to take-off or land
New helicopter-style drones with 1.8 gigapixel colour cameras are being developed by the US Army.
The army said the technology promised "an unprecedented capability to track and monitor activity on the ground".
A statement added that three of the sensor-equipped drones were due to go into service in Afghanistan in either May or June.
Boeing built the first drones, but other firms can bid to manufacture others.
"These aircraft will deploy for up to one full year as a way to harness lessons learned and funnel them into a program of record," said Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Munster, product manager at the US Army's Unmanned Aerial System Modernization unit.
Big eyes
The A160 Hummingbird systems are capable of vertical take-off, meaning access to a runway is not necessary.
The army also confirmed that they have hovering capabilities - something its existing unmanned aircraft lack.
Test flights will be carried out in Arizona at the start of the year before they are shipped to the Middle East.
The drones will take advantage of the Autonomous Real-time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance-Imaging System first deployed earlier this year.
The Argus-IS's acronym was chosen to recall Argus Panoptes - the one-hundred-eyed-giant of Greek mythology.
The technology is based on a 1.8 gigapixel camera - the largest video sensor used in tactical missions.
The Argus-IS system offers the army wider fields of view than had been possible using earlier equipment
It offers 900 times the number of pixels of a 2 megapixel camera found in some mobile phones. The system can provide real-time video streams at the rate of 10 frames a second.
The army said that was enough to track people and vehicles from altitudes above 20,000 feet (6.1km) across almost 65 square miles (168 sq km).
In addition, operators on the ground can select up to 65 steerable "windows" following separate targets to be "stared at". Vehicles, people and other objects can be tracked even if they move in different directions.
"If you have a bunch of people leaving a place at the same time, they no longer have to say, 'Do I follow vehicle one, two, three or four,'" said program manager Brian Leninger ahead of the system's launch.
"They can say: 'I will follow all of them, simultaneously and automatically.'"
The equipment has had new antennas attached to it to optimise its performance on the new aircraft.
Once the one-year trial is completed, the army said it planned to hold a "full and open" competition for defence companies to bid to build second generation vertical-take-off drones.
Night sensors
The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is also working with the UK-based defence contractor BAE Systems to develop a more advanced version of the Argus-IS sensor that will offer night vision.
It said the infrared imaging sensors would be sensitive enough to follow "dismounted personnel at night".
In addition, the upgrade promises to be able to follow up to 130 "windows" at the same time.
The system's first test flight has been scheduled to take place by June 2012.
Flightglobal's website has also reported that the trials will include the use of stub wings "intended for carrying weapons".
While the army discusses the advantages of unmanned drones offering valuable intelligence to troops on the ground, the programme has run into controversy.
Pakistan has criticised drone strikes which killed 24 of its troops in November on the Afghan border. Previous attacks killed children.
Iranian officials have also shown off a captured surveillance aircraft which they have refused to return to the US, demanding an apology for the "invasion" of their airspace.
US Army unveils 1.8 gigapixel camera helicopter drone
The drone aircraft can hover and do not need a runway to be able to take-off or land
New helicopter-style drones with 1.8 gigapixel colour cameras are being developed by the US Army.
The army said the technology promised "an unprecedented capability to track and monitor activity on the ground".
A statement added that three of the sensor-equipped drones were due to go into service in Afghanistan in either May or June.
Boeing built the first drones, but other firms can bid to manufacture others.
"These aircraft will deploy for up to one full year as a way to harness lessons learned and funnel them into a program of record," said Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Munster, product manager at the US Army's Unmanned Aerial System Modernization unit.
Big eyes
The A160 Hummingbird systems are capable of vertical take-off, meaning access to a runway is not necessary.
The army also confirmed that they have hovering capabilities - something its existing unmanned aircraft lack.
Test flights will be carried out in Arizona at the start of the year before they are shipped to the Middle East.
The drones will take advantage of the Autonomous Real-time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance-Imaging System first deployed earlier this year.
The Argus-IS's acronym was chosen to recall Argus Panoptes - the one-hundred-eyed-giant of Greek mythology.
The technology is based on a 1.8 gigapixel camera - the largest video sensor used in tactical missions.
The Argus-IS system offers the army wider fields of view than had been possible using earlier equipment
It offers 900 times the number of pixels of a 2 megapixel camera found in some mobile phones. The system can provide real-time video streams at the rate of 10 frames a second.
The army said that was enough to track people and vehicles from altitudes above 20,000 feet (6.1km) across almost 65 square miles (168 sq km).
In addition, operators on the ground can select up to 65 steerable "windows" following separate targets to be "stared at". Vehicles, people and other objects can be tracked even if they move in different directions.
"If you have a bunch of people leaving a place at the same time, they no longer have to say, 'Do I follow vehicle one, two, three or four,'" said program manager Brian Leninger ahead of the system's launch.
"They can say: 'I will follow all of them, simultaneously and automatically.'"
The equipment has had new antennas attached to it to optimise its performance on the new aircraft.
Once the one-year trial is completed, the army said it planned to hold a "full and open" competition for defence companies to bid to build second generation vertical-take-off drones.
Night sensors
The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is also working with the UK-based defence contractor BAE Systems to develop a more advanced version of the Argus-IS sensor that will offer night vision.
It said the infrared imaging sensors would be sensitive enough to follow "dismounted personnel at night".
In addition, the upgrade promises to be able to follow up to 130 "windows" at the same time.
The system's first test flight has been scheduled to take place by June 2012.
Flightglobal's website has also reported that the trials will include the use of stub wings "intended for carrying weapons".
While the army discusses the advantages of unmanned drones offering valuable intelligence to troops on the ground, the programme has run into controversy.
Pakistan has criticised drone strikes which killed 24 of its troops in November on the Afghan border. Previous attacks killed children.
Iranian officials have also shown off a captured surveillance aircraft which they have refused to return to the US, demanding an apology for the "invasion" of their airspace.
-
member_20617
- BRFite
- Posts: 194
- Joined: 11 Aug 2016 06:14
Re: International Aerospace Discussion
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16223533
Soyuz launches sharp-eyed Pleiades satellite
By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC News
A Russian Soyuz rocket has launched from French Guiana - only the second such vehicle to fly out of the territory's new Sinnamary spaceport.
The Soyuz put six satellites in orbit, including France's new Pleiades-1 high-resolution imaging spacecraft.
This satellite is designed to produce pictures that resolve features on the ground as small as 50cm across.
The capability will put it on a par with the leading US commercial systems operated by GeoEye and DigitalGlobe.
Lift-off occurred on schedule at 23:03 local time, Friday (02:03 GMT, Saturday), with Pleiades-1 being dropped off in its 700km-high polar orbit some 55 minutes later.
The 970kg satellite is the result of a near-decade-long programme in the French space agency (Cnes) to develop one of the most powerful Earth observation systems in the world.
Pleiades-1 will be followed by Pleiades-2 in the coming year
The spacecraft's sensor actually has a resolution of 70cm, but image processing will recover detail that is around the half-metre mark.
Pleiades carries gyroscopes that allow it to swivel its telescope in quick time, enabling it to acquire a strip, or mosaic, of images around its target in a single pass overhead.
The Pleiades spacecraft has been assembled by Astrium, Europe's largest space company, with its instrument supplied by Thales Alenia Space (France).
It will have both a civilian and military role, and a number of European countries (Austria, Belgium, Spain and Sweden) have part-funded the project to get access to its pictures.
Pleiades-1 will be followed by Pleiades-2 on a separate Soyuz launch in 2013.
"The fact that we will have two, twin satellites operating in a phased orbit separated by 180 degrees will give us something very powerful - a daily re-visit capacity. It means we will be able to gather information every day on any part of the globe," explained Charlotte Gabriel Robez, Pleiades project manager with Astrium Geo-information Services.
"This is key because it allows us to tackle applications such as rescue or crisis management, in the aftermath of an earthquake for example," she told BBC News.
The Pleiades programme has been in development for almost a decade
The commercial market for very high resolution imagery has become dominated in recent years by the American companies GeoEye and DigitalGlobe, which benefit from multi-billion-dollar contracts with the US intelligence agencies.
Astrium Geo-information Services is hoping these agencies' voracious appetite for pictures will leave a productive hole in the market for Pleiades' products.
The Soyuz rocket flew its inaugural mission from Europe's Sinnamary spaceport in October. A dedicated new launch pad has been constructed in the Guianese jungle for the Russian vehicle.
By operating closer to the equator, the rocket receives a bigger boost from the Earth's rotation, meaning it can lift nearly double the mass of a comparable payload at its traditional home in Baikonur, Kazakhstan.
The Soyuz' five other "passengers" included a high-resolution imaging satellite for the Chilean military called SSOT; and four radar eavesdropping spacecraft developed for the French military. All six satellites were manufactured by Astrium.
Soyuz launches sharp-eyed Pleiades satellite
By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC News
A Russian Soyuz rocket has launched from French Guiana - only the second such vehicle to fly out of the territory's new Sinnamary spaceport.
The Soyuz put six satellites in orbit, including France's new Pleiades-1 high-resolution imaging spacecraft.
This satellite is designed to produce pictures that resolve features on the ground as small as 50cm across.
The capability will put it on a par with the leading US commercial systems operated by GeoEye and DigitalGlobe.
Lift-off occurred on schedule at 23:03 local time, Friday (02:03 GMT, Saturday), with Pleiades-1 being dropped off in its 700km-high polar orbit some 55 minutes later.
The 970kg satellite is the result of a near-decade-long programme in the French space agency (Cnes) to develop one of the most powerful Earth observation systems in the world.
Pleiades-1 will be followed by Pleiades-2 in the coming year
The spacecraft's sensor actually has a resolution of 70cm, but image processing will recover detail that is around the half-metre mark.
Pleiades carries gyroscopes that allow it to swivel its telescope in quick time, enabling it to acquire a strip, or mosaic, of images around its target in a single pass overhead.
The Pleiades spacecraft has been assembled by Astrium, Europe's largest space company, with its instrument supplied by Thales Alenia Space (France).
It will have both a civilian and military role, and a number of European countries (Austria, Belgium, Spain and Sweden) have part-funded the project to get access to its pictures.
Pleiades-1 will be followed by Pleiades-2 on a separate Soyuz launch in 2013.
"The fact that we will have two, twin satellites operating in a phased orbit separated by 180 degrees will give us something very powerful - a daily re-visit capacity. It means we will be able to gather information every day on any part of the globe," explained Charlotte Gabriel Robez, Pleiades project manager with Astrium Geo-information Services.
"This is key because it allows us to tackle applications such as rescue or crisis management, in the aftermath of an earthquake for example," she told BBC News.
The Pleiades programme has been in development for almost a decade
The commercial market for very high resolution imagery has become dominated in recent years by the American companies GeoEye and DigitalGlobe, which benefit from multi-billion-dollar contracts with the US intelligence agencies.
Astrium Geo-information Services is hoping these agencies' voracious appetite for pictures will leave a productive hole in the market for Pleiades' products.
The Soyuz rocket flew its inaugural mission from Europe's Sinnamary spaceport in October. A dedicated new launch pad has been constructed in the Guianese jungle for the Russian vehicle.
By operating closer to the equator, the rocket receives a bigger boost from the Earth's rotation, meaning it can lift nearly double the mass of a comparable payload at its traditional home in Baikonur, Kazakhstan.
The Soyuz' five other "passengers" included a high-resolution imaging satellite for the Chilean military called SSOT; and four radar eavesdropping spacecraft developed for the French military. All six satellites were manufactured by Astrium.
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chackojoseph
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Re: International Aerospace Discussion
Mighty MIG31 in RUAF service and its future
http://www.mediafire.com/?ngid62ayc4pl2hx
Article on KA52 Alligator in AFM
http://www.mediafire.com/?ntn8wauf2u9t5z1
JSF Unaffordable?
http://www.mediafire.com/?biuclcama86a89a
Op Harmattan FrAF details
http://www.mediafire.com/?mg96ap9p53gdios
http://www.mediafire.com/?ngid62ayc4pl2hx
Article on KA52 Alligator in AFM
http://www.mediafire.com/?ntn8wauf2u9t5z1
JSF Unaffordable?
http://www.mediafire.com/?biuclcama86a89a
Op Harmattan FrAF details
http://www.mediafire.com/?mg96ap9p53gdios
Last edited by andy B on 18 Mar 2012 13:16, edited 1 time in total.
Re: International Aerospace Discussion
Andy ,Thanks for putting that up.
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member_19969
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Re: International Aerospace Discussion
Thanks a ton for putting this up Andy, but unfortunately the Mig 31 link does not seem to lead to the relevant file.
Re: International Aerospace Discussion
^Thanks for letting me know its been fixed give it a shot now.
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member_19969
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Re: International Aerospace Discussion
cool. it works. thanks again.
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keshavchandra
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Re: International Aerospace Discussion
Japan considers shooting down North Korean rocket, if it flies near Japan
Link
Link
Believing that North Korea is highly likely to launch a “satellite” as previously announced, the government has started considering intercepting the rocket if it flies toward Japan, according to government officials.
If this were to occur, the government would be expected to issue a shootdown order to the Self-Defense Forces based on the Self-Defense Forces Law.
North Korea said Friday that it will launch a “rocket” mounted with an earth observation satellite in mid-April.
The government plans to demand North Korea cancel the satellite launch plan, in cooperation with the United States, South Korea and China, concluding that the launch would violate a U.N. Security Council resolution.
“We’ll strongly seek self-restraint” from North Korea, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said during his meeting Friday with Laos Prime Minister Thogsing Thammavong.
Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba also told reporters the same day at the Foreign Ministry that Japan had held talks with the United States, South Korea and China on the issue.
“We share the common goal [of seeking North Korea's self-restraint],” he said.
The timing of North Korea’s announcement came as a “surprise” to the Japanese government, one government official said.
Many government officials had believed North Korea would not take provocative actions for the time being, given that the country had agreed with the United States in February to implement a moratorium on its uranium-enrichment activities and long-range missile launches in exchange for U.S. food aid, according to sources.
At an emergency meeting of senior officials Friday evening, the Defense Ministry acknowledged it would cooperate with U.S. forces to carefully analyze the launchpad and keep a close eye on activities around the expected launch site through satellites and other means.
“I instructed [ministry officials] to thoroughly conduct information gathering and surveillance activities,” Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka said at the House of Representatives Security Committee.
When North Korea launched a ballistic missile in April 2009, it informed the International Maritime Organization in advance that it would set danger zones in the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean.
At that time, the Japanese and U.S. governments prepared themselves for the launch with the U.S. forces’ early warning satellites and the Defense Ministry’s warning and control radars. They also deployed Aegis-equipped destroyers in the Sea of Japan and the Air Self-Defense Force’s early-warning aircraft.
This time, the Japanese and U.S. governments are expected to prepare in a similar manner, according to officials.
North Korea announced the “satellite” will be launched southward from a launching station in Cholsan County, likely over open waters of the Yellow Sea and not into the Sea of Japan.
The Japanese government will nevertheless consider issuing the shootdown order as a precautionary measure.
“We never know whether the satellite will really fly toward the Yellow Sea. In addition, some of Japan’s remote islands are in the area,” a Defense Ministry official said.
Last edited by keshavchandra on 19 Mar 2012 15:50, edited 1 time in total.
Re: International Aerospace Discussion
^^^^
keshav,
Even though you have provided the link at the end, please mention the source at the begining as you are quoting in full.
Plus use the "Quote" when quoting in full. else it looks like you are the one who is writing this and not the original author.
keshav,
Even though you have provided the link at the end, please mention the source at the begining as you are quoting in full.
Plus use the "Quote" when quoting in full. else it looks like you are the one who is writing this and not the original author.
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keshavchandra
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Re: International Aerospace Discussion
I get The point. Timely notify with timely rectify.chiragAS wrote:^^^^
keshav,
Even though you have provided the link at the end, please mention the source at the begining as you are quoting in full.
Plus use the "Quote" when quoting in full. else it looks like you are the one who is writing this and not the original author.
Thanks chiragAS.
Re: International Aerospace Discussion
So the 60 odd UAE Mirage-2000-9s as well as the 12 Qatari Mirage-2000-5s may end up in Libya..I still hope that India snaps up a few two seaters to replace those 2 lost in the recent accidents.
Libya may get ex UAE Mirages
Libya may get ex UAE Mirages
Re: International Aerospace Discussion
^^^
I doubt Libya has that much money (around $5 billion+ @$50 million/plane), in the near future, to buy 80 Mirage-2000s from UAE and Qatar. I can see maybe around 20 to 40 aircrafts (around $1 billion to $2 billion @$50 million/plane) being bought at most and that too with some discounts/bartering.
They still have Mirage F1s in service and might acquire retired F1s from FrAF. This will be a lot cheaper option for Libya, which after the liberation don't have "enemies" anymore; NATO will protect them during their transition and rebuilding efforts.
I doubt Libya has that much money (around $5 billion+ @$50 million/plane), in the near future, to buy 80 Mirage-2000s from UAE and Qatar. I can see maybe around 20 to 40 aircrafts (around $1 billion to $2 billion @$50 million/plane) being bought at most and that too with some discounts/bartering.
They still have Mirage F1s in service and might acquire retired F1s from FrAF. This will be a lot cheaper option for Libya, which after the liberation don't have "enemies" anymore; NATO will protect them during their transition and rebuilding efforts.
Re: International Aerospace Discussion
I say we grab some of those Mirages and the related spares.With the Mirage production line closed these might prove like a lifeline to India.
Re: International Aerospace Discussion
Russia Orders 30 Su-30SM multirole fighters
The Su-30SM is a two-seat derivative of the earlier Su-27UB and the MKI variant supplied to India, and is capable of air-to-air and air-to-ground missions with a wide variety of precision-guided munitions.
Re: International Aerospace Discussion
Awaiting the alien spaceships!
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 84492.html
Hippies head for Noah’s Ark: Queue here for rescue aboard alien spaceship
Thousands of New Agers descend on mountain they see as haven from December's apocalypse
Xcpt:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 84492.html
Hippies head for Noah’s Ark: Queue here for rescue aboard alien spaceship
Thousands of New Agers descend on mountain they see as haven from December's apocalypse
Xcpt:
A mountain looming over a French commune with a population of just 200 is being touted as a modern Noah's Ark when doomsday arrives – supposedly less than nine months from now.
A rapidly increasing stream of New Age believers – or esoterics, as locals call them – have descended in their camper van-loads on the usually picturesque and tranquil Pyrenean village of Bugarach. They believe that when apocalypse strikes on 21 December this year, the aliens waiting in their spacecraft inside Pic de Bugarach will save all the humans near by and beam them off to the next age.
As the cataclysmic date – which, according to eschatological beliefs and predicted astrological alignments, concludes a 5,125-year cycle in the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar – nears, the goings-on around the peak have become more bizarre and ritualistic.
For decades, there has been a belief that Pic de Bugarach, which, at 1,230 metres, is the highest in the Corbières mountain range, possesses an eery power. Often called the "upside-down mountain" – geologists think that it exploded after its formation and the top landed the wrong way up – it is thought to have inspired Jules Verne's Journey to the Centre of the Earth and Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Since the 1960s, it has attracted New Agers, who insist that it emits special magnetic waves.
Further, rumours persist that the country's late president François Mitterrand was transported by helicopter on to the peak, while the Nazis, and, later, Israel's Mossad, performed mysterious digs there. Now the nearby village is awash with New Agers, who have boosted the local economy, though their naked group climbs up to the peak have raised concerns as well as eyebrows. Among other oddities, some hikers have been spotted scaling the mountain carrying a ball with a golden ring, strung together by a single thread.
A grizzled man wearing a white linen smock, who calls himself Jean, set up a yurt in the forest a couple of years ago to prepare for the earth's demise. "The apocalypse we believe in is the end of a certain world and the beginning of another," he offers. "A new spiritual world. The year 2012 is the end of a cycle of suffering. Bugarach is one of the major chakras of the earth, a place devoted to welcoming the energies of tomorrow."
Upwards of 100,000 people are thought to be planning a trip to the mountain, 30 miles west of Perpignan, in time for 21 December, and opportunistic entrepreneurs are shamelessly cashing in on the phenomenon. While American travel agents have been offering special, one-way deals to witness the end of the world, a neighbouring village, Saint-Paul de Fenouillet, has produced a wine to celebrate the occasion.
Jean-Pierre Delord, the perplexed mayor of Bugarach, has flagged up the situation to the French authorities, requesting they scramble the army to the tiny village for fear of a mass suicide. It has also caught the attention of France's sect watchdog, Miviludes.
A genial sexagenarian, Mr Delord says: "We've seen a huge rise in visitors. Already this year more than 20,000 people have climbed right to the top, and last year we had 10,000 hikers, which was a significant rise on the previous 12 months. They think Pic de Bugarach is 'un garage à ovnis' [an alien garage]. The villagers are exasperated: the exaggerated importance of something which they see as completely removed from reality is bewildering. After 21 December, this will surely return to normal."
Masking his fears of what might happen on 21 December, Mr Delord jokes that he will throw a party and supply vin chaud and cheese. "I'm sure we'll have a little fete to celebrate that we're still alive," he smiles. "I suppose it's up to each of us to find our own way."
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chackojoseph
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chackojoseph
- BRF Oldie
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Re: International Aerospace Discussion
Finally they seem to learn lesson on use of Civil Fleet from NATO
Russian Military to Use Civilian Planes
Russian Military to Use Civilian Planes
Russia's military-transport aviation will use civilian An-124 Ruslan Condor heavy-lift transport aircraft owned by large carriers, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Monday.
“Orders will be placed for dozens of aircraft - 60-70 Ruslans,” he said.
It was not immediately clear whether the military will pay for the use of cargo aircraft or simply commandeer them in the interest of “national defense.”
“If necessary, these machines can also work for the benefit of Russia’s security,” Rogozin said without elaborating.
In the future at least 10 Ruslans will be built for the Armed Forces by 2020, Rogozin said.
Re: International Aerospace Discussion
Russian Commander Explains Air Force Acquisition Plan
Russian Air Force commander Gen. Alexander Zelin has elaborated further about aircraft acquisition plans under the country’s Weapons Program 2011-2020. His comments addressed the Sukhoi series of combat aircraft, as well as airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft, airlifters and the Yak-130 jet trainer.
Zelin said that the air force will acquire about 60 Sukhoi PAKFA (T-50) fifth-generation fighters by 2020. “The T-50 is intended for air-superiority missions...and will be flown by first-class pilots only,” he said.
Zelin also said that the grand total of Sukhoi Su-30SM two-seat and Su-35 single-seat fighters to be acquired would be about 100. On March 22, Russian defense minister Anatoly Serdyukov and Irkut president Alexey Fedorov signed a contact for 30 Sukhoi Su-30SMs for delivery in 2013-2015. This is the domestic version of the Su-30MK already exported to Algeria, India and Malaysia. State acceptance trials are slated for next year. As for the Su-35, a total of 48 have been ordered so far.
Zelin said that the Russian air force will acquire a total of 140 Su-34s. To date, 124 have been placed under contract. The Su-34s will allow for a substantial increase in the national nuclear deterrent force, and also be used for launching long-range missiles at maritime, land and aerial targets, he added.
The commander also called for additional Yakovlev Yak-130 advanced jet trainers to be used for preparation of Su-34 and Su-35 fighter pilots. The airplane was also selected as a platform for development of a light strike aircraft.
The A-100 AWACS aircraft that was announced last year will include additional functions such as maritime target identification and the control of UAVs, Zelin said.
The Russian air force wants “not less than 300 airlifters in different payload capabilities,” Zelin said. The restart of Ruslan heavylifter production is still being pursued, specifically the more advanced An-124-300 version. In parallel, the air force will be getting the re-engined Il-76MD-90A, which will also be used for special missions and aerial refueling.
Regarding the long-delayed Antonov An-70 joint project with Ukraine, Zelin said, “We have eliminated the discrepancies taking place before.” Antonov will deliver to the Russian air force for evaluation an improved prototype now being assembled. If ever approved for production, Russian An-70s will be assembled in Voronezh, from kits produced at the Antonov plants in Kiev and Kharkov.
Zelin said the service has selected the An-140-100 as a temporary solution for a light tactical transport. The commander also confirmed plans to acquire 100 Multirole Transport Aircraft (MTAs), being jointly developed by Russia and India.
Re: International Aerospace Discussion
Don't know where to post but a good video on what it's like to be in a Heli crash.......you could hear the engines even after the crash
[youtube]XZvf9d5aqRk&feature=g-logo&context=G2a024cdFOAAAAAAAAAA[/youtube]
[youtube]XZvf9d5aqRk&feature=g-logo&context=G2a024cdFOAAAAAAAAAA[/youtube]
Re: International Aerospace Discussion
Here is a great video on Mi-28NE:Austin wrote:Mi-28N tested with new rotor mounted radar
http://vpk.name/file/img/Mi-28N_36_Yellow.jpg
On Part-2, check out the escape systems - parachute option as well as a small compartment for rescued pilots.
Re: International Aerospace Discussion
My ever favourite Black Widow emerges from the shadows...GD this thing came straight from something you would have wished for...
Re: International Aerospace Discussion
Good video on the Soviet/Russian fighter development:
Re: International Aerospace Discussion
drool slurp black widow....I luv those diamond wings...way better than the craptor.