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Next-gen US fighter plane

The retired Gen. James M. Holmes, formerly of Air Combat Command, said the service might procure two iterations of the NGAD fighter: one with a longer range and payload for the Indo-Pacific theater, and another version optimized for shorter distances in the European theater.

NGAD will replace the F-22 Raptor sometime in the 2030s. The Air Force describes it as a family of flying platforms—both crewed and uncrewed—all working together to shoot down enemy planes. The service turned heads last year when it revealed it had designed, built, and flown the centerpiece of the program, the NGAD manned fighter, in just one year's time.

Popular Mechanics

The new look of war technology

Talk of artificial intelligence, quantum technology, hypersonic missiles, cyber weapons and other “undersea capabilities” may have been missed in the fanfare (and shock) of Australia’s plan to build its first fleet of nuclear submarines, but such things are also listed as part of the new technology-sharing AUKUS pact between Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom. The fields are not new, and not just the domain of the AUKUS trio; many also appear in China’s latest five-year plan, for example. But experts say some of these technologies could disrupt the traditional battlefield before Australia’s nuclear submarine fleet is even online.

Brisbane Times

Quantum sensing

 

Sea drones

 

Hypersonic missiles

Autonomous combat tank

The Marker unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) is being developed by Russia’s equivalent of DARPA, the Foundation for Advanced Studies (FPI). It is armed with a 7.62mm machine gun and a pair of guided anti-tank missiles, and has been involved in several development projects.

According to the report, the tests were carried out in the Chelyabinsk region with two wheeled vehicles and one tracked. The longest journey was 100 kilometers which took over five hours, including on-road and off-road elements. The operator only needed to select the start and end points; the robot found its own route, creating a map as it went using cameras and other sensors. It automatically avoided obstacles while sticking to the fastest route.

Forbes

 

 

The future, connected war

War, as the Army knows it now, is already connected. Spotters on the ground can point laser target markers at enemy tanks, guiding the bombs dropped from jet fighters closer to the target. The spotters communicate by radio, and the guided bombs read GPS coordinates for more accurate strikes. This kind of attack involves military tools on land, air, and in space, as well as communication across the electromagnetic spectrum. Looking at all of these areas, or domains, together helps understand how each individual tool can be used in a broader war, by the US or by other nations.

To talk about this connectedness, the military uses the phrase “multi-domain operations,” which is another way to talk about tools connected to each other even when they aren’t physically attached. In addition to domains like sea, air, land, and space, or harder-to-see domains like cyberspace and the electromagnetic spectrum, these operations also take place in time, of course. Plus, communications connections are themselves a potential place for error.

Popular Science

 

Combat armor designed for females

From helmets to accommodate a hair bun to maternity flight suits, gear designed for women is being developed and issued, changing the way the previously one-male-size-fits-all military outfits troops.

The Air Force has the highest percentage of women service members at 21% of its active-duty force. The Navy is next at 20.2% followed by the Army at 15.4% and the Marine Corps at 9.1%, according to Pentagon figure. The services combine efforts at times to develop equipment, such as a new combat flight suit for women in the Army, Air Force and Navy, according to Army Lt. Col. Naim Lee, a project manager for Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment. It is scheduled to be delivered to aviators in Oct. 2021.

USA Today

This video gives you an idea into all the combat jobs opened up to ladies 5 years ago

The US Space Force

Military systems in space provide crucial information to the troops. For example, GPS satellites help the military hit targets precisely. Satellites gather intelligence, detecting things like missile launches. They're also used for communication and collect data on the weather.

It's worth pointing out a few things the Space Force will not do.

"It's not about putting military service members in space, it has nothing to do with NASA, it's not about protecting Earth from asteroids or aliens," said Harrison.

Joan Johnson-Freese, a space security expert at the U.S. Naval War College, said the kind of information gathered by U.S. space systems is crucial in warfare today. "Whoever has the best information and can get it the fastest wins – and space provides a lot of that information."

NPR

Here are some of the space related careers the US Air Force lists on its site

 

The Multi-domain Battle concept

The Multi-Domain Battle: Combined Arms for the 21st Century white paper describes an approach for ground combat operations against a sophisticated peer enemy threat in the 2025- 2040 timeframe. Adversary developments, as outlined below, necessitate a reexamination of the method for operating against a peer adversary. The Multi-Domain Battle white paper is intended to promote thought and discussion concerning the methods and capabilities required to address these developments. It offers specific hypotheses to inform further concept development, wargaming, experimentation, and capability development. This paper encompasses the views of the Army and Marine Corps regarding an endeavor that involves the entire Joint Force. It is therefore published with the expectation that the ideas in the Multi-Domain Battle white paper will, in concert with the other Services, be refined and expanded into appropriate concepts.

Photo Credit

Aboard an aircraft carrier

From Bill Wohl

LHD-3 was my “home” for most of one amazing morning, at the invitation of the US Navy to join a variety of VIPs to experience the New York City Fleet Week processional parade from the waters off Long Island, into New York Harbor and all the way to docking on Manhattan’s West Side on the Hudson River.

I was with the men and women crew of the USS Kearsarge for about seven hours.  During that time period, I saw first-hand how they live their motto – no doubt I experienced their pride during my visit. Yes, I sensed I was in good hands (they were totally trustworthy), and I’ve never seen a Navy man or woman that wasn’t bold in the true sense of the word.

Read more on his blog. Also, this report by Jason Blessing on his visit to the USS John C. Stennis two years ago.