PCB007 Magazine

PCB007-Sept2020

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46 PCB007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2020 New Technology These four new mil-aero technologies pro- vide a window into the future for any company that wants a piece of history. 1. Smart Bombs Moving to Thinking Bombs According to Kyle Mizokami, a writer from Popular Mechanics [2] : "Here's how Golden Horde would work: A pair of jet fighters might target a set of concrete aircraft shelters at an enemy airbase. The first fighter targets four shelters with four CSDB-1s, destroying two. The second fighter, flying right behind the first, releases its CSDB-1s while the first jet's weapons are already in the air. The second fighter's bombs receive data that two of the shelters are destroyed. The second flight of bombs, consulting Golden Horde's play- book, reassigns the bombs in flight to destroy the remaining shelters…In the past, weapons were called 'smart weapons' due to their use of onboard maps, lasers, or GPS data to find their targets. Golden Horde, however, takes things a step further by actually making decisions." 2. Self-Steering Bullets Richard Sammon, senior associate editor for Kiplinger [3] , explains how self-steering bullets could work. "Packed with tiny sensors, a 0.50-caliber bullet under development can change course rapidly in midair, potentially giving even a me- diocre shooter sniper-like accuracy, with the ability to hit moving targets with ease. Plus, while the cost of these advanced rounds is still unknown, they are sure to be cheaper than the rocket-propelled missiles whose role they could sometimes fill. DARPA, which is work- ing on the EXACTO project with military con- tractor Teledyne Technologies and ammuni- tion maker Orbital ATK, is keeping mum on exactly how the bullet changes its flight path. A competing effort from the Department of Energy's Sandia Labs uses a laser to indicate the target while small fins on the bullet (also 0.50-caliber) steer it in flight." 3. Laser Cannons In the same article [2] , Sammon details laser cannons: "The iconic science-fiction weapon is closer than ever to reality. The Navy's testing of its laser weapon system aboard the USS Ponce in the Persian Gulf went swimmingly, and the Na- vy expects to deploy even larger laser weapons aboard ships to protect them from threats such as small attack boats and drones. Meanwhile, on land, Boeing and the Army are working on a truck-mounted laser that can zap incoming threats such as mortar shells or drones. This program has the catchy name HEL MD, for High-Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator. Com- petitor Lockheed Martin is also looking for a piece of the Defense Department's ray gun business with its ATHENA system. One of the many benefits of lasers is that they can repeat- edly fire for minimal cost—just the diesel to power the truck-mounted generator that pro- vides the bursts of energy the laser concen- trates downrange." 4. Wearable Coronavirus Symptom Detectors Here is an invention the world could use. Matthew Cox, a defense reporter with Mili- tary.com [4] , details how "U.S. Army medical Source: DARPA

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