Terminator Times #34

UAVs (drones):

The US Army is looking at unmanned medevac & resupply.

DARPA and AFRL are taking aim at drones with lasers.

A USAF Reaper drone was shot down over Yemen (video).

The US Navy has released its final RFP for the MQ-25A Stingray tanker.  (GA released some details on its entry).

The US Navy is also buying more Blackwing UAVs.

The US Navy turned its Fire Scout VTOL UAVs into mine hunters (IOC was declared).

Was an unmanned Lockheed hypersonic testbed (the so-called SR-72) seen in Texas last July?

Australia has begun deploying its VIDAR equipped ScanEagles to operational roles.

Australia is also test deploying S-100 VTOL UAVs.

Australia is buying an undisclosed number of Blackhornet 2 micro UAVs for its platoons.

A Belgian UAV crashed in Portugal.

The British awarded small contracts to develop UAVs.

France is looking for UAVs to be used in urban operations.

Israeli UAV manufacturers now face tougher export rules.

Japan awarded Northrop a contract for its Global Hawks.

Libya has acquired Iranian UAVs from somewhere.

Russia may be buying its UCAV tech from...Iran.

Russia's most dangerous drone weapons are its jammers and other electronic warfare assets.

Russia is finding it needs to accelerate development of unmanned systems due to its involvement in the Syrian war.

South Korea is making progress on its unmanned variant of the Little Bird helicopter.

Ukraine unveiled a new combat UAV system.

AeroVironment has upgraded its Puma UAV for a heavier payload.

Boeing bought Aurora Flight Sciences and tapped one of Aurora's execs to head of Boeing's Phantom Works.

General Atomics has transitioned its Gray Eagle production to the ER variant.

IAI & Brazil is attempting to sell their Heron derivative to civilians.

IAI is also demonstrating its Air Hopper VTOL for casualty evacuation.

IAI is testing an enhanced version of its Panther VTOL UAV for South Korea.

UGVs (Bolos, Ogres & Terminators):

The US Army awarded a UGV contract.

The US Army will also release RFPs for two UGV systems next year.

The US Army is about to send UGVs out for its Squad Maneuver Equipment Transport tests.

Finland's Patria bought a stake in Estonia's Milrem.

Ukraine unveiled its second generation UGCV, the RSVK-M2.

Meet RoMan.

GM's SURUS builds on its work for the US Army with the ZH2 Colorado.

Polaris' little trucks can be converted into self driving vehicles.

Qinetiq's Titan SMET entry was developed from its smaller MAARS.

Stratom has entered the UGV market with its XR-P.

USVs (robo ships):

Liquid Robotics' Wave Glider gets a profile at War is Boring.

UUV (Robot Subs):

The US Navy just stood up its first UUV squadron.

The US Navy awarded contracts to Boeing and Lockheed for the XLUUV.

META:

NATO in general is pushing for more autonomous mine hunting.

China's new Cruiser may be Comparable to the US Navy's Ticonderoga Class

Chinese state television has broadcast the first clear, overhead view of the Chinese navy’s first Type 055 cruiser. The image confirms what foreign analysts have expected since the new cruiser began taking shape in 2014.

The Type 055 carries no fewer than 122 missiles in vertical cells — any mix of anti-air, anti-ship and land-attack models. That matches the weapons-loadout of the U.S. Navy’s Ticonderoga-class cruisers … and exceeds the armament of every other surface warship in the Pacific region.

The new cruiser could enter service as early as 2018.

The Type 055 — which is an estimate 590 feet long and displaces at least 10,000 tons — represents a new class of warship for the Chinese navy. When Beijing launched its naval rearmament program in the 1990s, it focused on building large numbers of small- and medium-size corvettes, frigates and destroyers.

link.

Paleolithic Papers #16

Genus Homo:

H. sapiens (modern humanity):

Humans are still evolving.

Did modern humans leave Africa to attempt to escape a drying climate?

Facial phenotypes support a multiple dispersal for modern humans.

Modern human spit contains some surprises about our hominin ancestry.

It appears settling down and abandoning, or at least reducing the nomadic life style, allowed technology to start developing faster 64,000 years ago.

Some of the mutations associated with white skin have an African origin.

Did Paleolithic humans realize the dangers of inbreeding and have breeding networks?

A child from 2,000 years ago in south africa gives hints that modern humans originated 300k years ago.

Rock art in Australia appears to show the extinct giant bird Genyornis.

H. neanderthalensis (Neandertals):

DNA analysis of different Neandertal populations advances our understanding of hominin evolution.  (psst, the Altai Neandertals were the hillbillies of their world).

DNA analysis also suggests a higher percentage of Neandertal DNA survives in modern populations.

Neandertals appeared to grow at a similar rate as modern humans.

How thick was the enamel of the Neandertal canine teeth?

Were Neandertals distilling and using tar?

Neandertal City aka Gibraltar, gets profiled.

Rethinking the Upper Paleolithic Transition in Grotte Mandrin.

What was the mechanism that caused the Neandertals to go extinct and be replaced by modern humans?

What traits are tied to the introgression of Neandertal genes into the modern Human line?

H. georgicus:

The Georgian hominins from Dzudzuana and Satsurblia caves are described.

H. erectus:

A trackway from H. erectus in Kenya is studied.

Genus Paranthropus:

P. bosei:

The probable source of herpes has been claimed: Paranthropus bosei.  Yes, friends, one human ancestor couldn't keep it zipped.  I'm looking at you, H. erectus.  Like we REALLY believe the watering hole story, Upright Man.

Genus Australopithecus:

A. anamensis:

Where did A. anamensis live?  What sort of environment was it?

META:

The fossils trackways from the Greek hominin from 5.7 million years ago are in danger.

How facial features have evolved in hominins through time.

Chimps can learn to use tools without being taught.

Savannah living chimps don't seem to eat more meat than their forest cousins.

The rest of their dietary comparison is here.

Tool using macaques are wiping out shellfish populations.

Was bipedality in hominins a by-product of developmental processes?

The differences in loading on the 3rd metacarpal heads in humans and chimpanzees.

Bigelow, United Launch Alliance Plan Lunar Orbiting Space Station in 2022

Bigelow Aerospace and United Launch Alliance said Oct. 17 that they are cooperating on the development of a habitat orbiting the moon that they hope to build in a public-private partnership with NASA.

The companies said they are working together on a concept for a “lunar depot” using an expandable module provided by Bigelow and launched by a next-generation ULA rocket that could support both NASA and commercial uses as soon as 2022.

Under the concept, a ULA Vulcan 562 rocket would launch the Bigelow B330 module into low Earth orbit. The module would remain in Earth orbit for up to a year to undergo tests and be visited by crews.

ULA would then launch two more Vulcan rockets, each placing an Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage (ACES) upper stage in orbit. One of the ACES would refuel the other, which would then dock with the B330 and send the module into a low lunar orbit.

link.

Future is Arriving in Dubai: Police Hoverbikes

Russian Experimental Nuclear Warheads Were Deployed in Parallel

It appears that we have an answer to the question of what kind of "experimental warheads" were tested in the September 12 Yars launch. And a confirmation of a guess made on Twitter by @artjomh shortly after the test. The image above is from that post - it's from a textbook they use at the Bauman University. According to The Diplomat's Ankit Panda, Russia tested "an independent post-boost vehicle (IPBV) configuration for a three-warhead version [of the Yars ICBM]." The Bauman textbook calls it "an RV with independent (parallel) deployment." As can be seen from the image, each RV is sitting on top of its own mini-bus, which is different from a more common configuration, when one bus deploys RVs one after another.

link.

Pondering the Precambrian #6

Proterozoic:

NeoProterozoic:

There is evidence of a potential blacksmoker vent from the NeoProterozoic.

Ocean subduction evidence has been found in China.

Comb Jellies appear to have be the oldest divergent, yet still living, branch of animals.

Ediacaran:

An Ediacaran protist fossil seems to show how those organisms' reproduction in action.

Evidence of the opening of the Iapetus Sea in Russia during the Ediacaran has been uncovered.

The submerged Batavian Knoll is a microcontinent with evidence of the assembly of Gondwana.

Biostratigraphical evidence is coming together for the Ediacaran from China.

The nuclei and nucleoli in the embryos found in Ediacaran China's Weng'an Biota.

Understanding the Ediacaran paleoecologies.

Should the extinction of Cloudina lucianoi mark the Ediacaran/Cambrian boundary?

Could Ediacaran rangeomorphs actually burrow?

Cryogenian:

It appears the Sturtian Snowball Earth episode began circa 717 million years ago.

Tonian:

The Tonian/Cryogenian boundary has been proposed for specific spots in Scotland.

A vase shaped microfossil has been found in the Tonian deposits around the world.

There appears to have been a mass extinction during the Tonian prior to the Snowball Earth episodes.

Mesoproterozoic:

There is evidence Archean granites were reworked and uranium deposited during the Calymmian in the Olympic Dam Breccia in Australia.

Eukaryote fossils were found in Calymmian deposits in China.

Are some fossils that are normally thought to be NeoProterozoic (Tonian/Cryogenian) found in the MesoProterozoic deposits of Russia?

At the dawn of the Mesoproterozoic, at the Statherian/Calymmian boundary, Australia made contact with northwestern Laurentia and began a long slide along its margin.

Paleoproterozoic:

Evidence of an island arc from the Paleoproterozoic came from West Africa.

There may have been two island arcs in Finland during the PaleoProterozoic.

How the Francevillian formation formed in the Rhyacian.

The microfossils of the Francevillian Biota get examined.

Evidence from India for proto continents in the Rhyacian.

Archean:

Findings from the NeoArchean from the North American Craton support local evidence of plate tectonics.

Did the development of carbonate platforms in the NeoArchean pave the way for the Great Oxygenation Event?

Is there evidence of biogenic atmospheric oxygen during the MesoArchean?

The emergence of the continents may have happened over multiple differentiation events.

Evidence of life was found in EoArchean sediments from Labrador, Canada.

Hadean:

Caution should be taken when examining Hadean zircons.

Did life form in warm little pools?

Commercial Crew Launches Schedule Slip

The next generation of American spacecraft and rockets that will launch astronauts to the International Space Station are nearing the final stages of development and evaluation. NASA’s Commercial Crew Program will return human spaceflight launches to U.S. soil, providing reliable and cost-effective access to low-Earth orbit on systems that meet our safety and mission requirements.

[...]

Targeted Test Flight Dates:

Boeing Orbital Flight Test: August 2018

Boeing Crew Flight Test: November 2018

SpaceX Demonstration Mission 1: April 2018

SpaceX Demonstration Mission 2 (crewed): August 2018

Editor’s Note: Note the careful wording of this latest press release: “most recent publicly releasable dates.” So, how far are the latest slips? Here is where they were in July.

Previous Targeted Test Flight & Milestone Dates (July 20, 2017):

Boeing Orbital Flight Test: June 2018

Boeing Crew Flight Test: August 2018

Boeing Operational Readiness Review: September 2018

Certification Review: October 2018

SpaceX Demonstration Mission 1: February 2018

SpaceX Demonstration Mission 2 (crewed): June 2018

SpaceX Operational Readiness Review: August 2018

Certification Review: September 2018

link.

Russia's Central Bank Will Block Websites Using Cryptocurrencies

President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday crypto-currencies were risky and used for crime, as Russia’s central bank said it would block websites selling bitcoin and its rivals - a change of tone from a month-old promise to legalize the market.

link.

China's Land Based Carrier Mockup is Changing

A recently published image of modifications made to China’s land-based aircraft carrier development facility at Wuhan reflects the ongoing work supporting the development of the country’s third aircraft carrier, commonly known as the Type 002.

Published in Chinese online forums in early September, the image shows that the height of the island's forward upper superstructure on the carrier mock-up has been increased to facilitate faring in the array panels of the phased array radar.

link.

Stealth Saga #66

AMCA:

The Indians have a lot of work before they have their own stealth fighters.

J-20:

The J-20 is now officially in military service for China (here, too).

The J-20 outclasses its regional rivals.

A J-20 has been spotted with the WS-10 engine (G variant?  maybe?).

Su-57 (PAK-FA):

Some are calling the Su-57 underpowered.

The 9th Su-57 was delivered to the Russian air force and it shows progress with the design.

Some are still saying the Su-57 is underpowered.

PAK-DA:

KRET is designing new electronic warfare equipment for the PAK-DA.

KF-X:

The fraud probe into KAI has cast a pall on the KF-X program and found circumstantial evidence of corruption in the program.  The former head of KAI has been arrested.  A VP has committed suicide.

6th Generation Fighters:

Lockheed teased a concept again for its 6th gen fighter that reminds everyone of the F-23.

The US sixth gen fighter could be revolutionary.

BAe is optimistic on the use of lasers by fighters.

BAe has a stealthy UAV concept.

Will China outfit its own sixth generation fighter with a new type of radar?

B-21:

The USAF is keeping costs in check for the developing B-21.

How many bombers the US needs vs what the budget realities are.

F-117:

The F-117 might be officially retired, but its still flying.

F-22:

The F-22 appears to still be the best air superiority fighter out there so far.

The F-22 is being used as an aerial scout in Syria.

The first F-22 flew 20 years ago.

F-35:

Some are complaining that Congress is giving the F-35 a pass for its problems.  Those problems are claimed to be being worked on.

The USAF expects OBOGS testing on the F-35 through the end of 2017.

F-35 ejection seats are still problematic.

The F-35 was to join the F-22 in South Korea's ADEX.

Silicon Valley style software development might be coming for the F-35 (and F-22).

Some F-35As may not be combat coded and stick with the 2b software.

USMC F-35Bs (with radar reflectors) participated in exercises with South Korea and Japan.

The F-35B might be placed in rotational deployment to South Korea (along with the F-22).

USMC's VMFA-121 practiced hot loading the AIM-120s onto F-35Bs.

USAF airmen are helping with the F-35C aviator carrier quals.

The USS Abraham Lincoln is testing the F-35C at sea.

Australia has ordered the Small Diameter Bomb II for its F-35As and the US approved the order.

The British have outlined their plans for the F-35 IOC.

The Brits consider both their CVs necessary for the F-35 trials.

Two more F-35s were delivered to the Israelis.

The Japanese assembled F-35As are falling behind schedule.

Japan wants to start integrating locally made parts into their F-35s starting in 2018.

Pratt & Whitney finished testing the adaptive fan for the F135 engine and is offering depot upgrades for the F-35 (but not with the new engine yet).

META:

A crash by a classified plane and death of its pilot (Lt Col Eric Schultz) has people wondering what aircraft had been flying.  

Musk's Grand Plans for Space

Musk unveiled the BFR architecture to get people to the Moon, Mars, etc.

Some criticism and skepticism is coming over the architecture.

Some are already calling the BFR the 'son of the shuttle.'

South Korea has Banned Initial Coin Offerings

South Korea’s financial regulator on Friday said it will ban raising money through all forms of virtual currencies, a move that follows similar restrictions in China on initial coin offerings.

The Financial Services Commission said all kinds of initial coin offerings (ICO) will be banned as trading of virtual currencies needs to be tightly controlled and monitored.

“Raising funds through ICOs seem to be on the rise globally, and our assessment is that ICOs are increasing in South Korea as well,” the regulator said in a statement after a meeting with the finance ministry, the Bank of Korea and the National Tax Service.

link.

Russia is Apparently Testing 'Experimental' Nuclear Warheads

On September 12, 2017 the Strategic Rocket Forces performed a successful launch of a silo-based Yars ICBM from Plesetsk to the Kura test site in Kamchatka. According to the official release by the Ministry of Defense, quoted in the media, the goal of the launch was to "confirm reliability of a party of missiles of this class." The statement also said that "experimental warheads successfully reached their targets."

link.

and again on September 26th.