DF-16 LaunchMy Military Photos via Photobucket
The DF-16 is one of China's most accurate missiles, with enough
accuracy to hit slowly moving targets. But it'll be a while until the
DF-16 replaces all 1,000 of the older DF-11 and DF-15.
DF-16Weibo A DF-16
TEL vehicle travels on the highway (like most other countries, Chinese
military vehicles regularly use highways alongside civilian traffic),
likely to the parade preparation ground to rehearse for the 70th
anniversary of VJ Day in Beijing.
Internet buzz suggests that the DF-16 missile will make a public
debut at the August 2015 Victory Day parade in Beijing on the 70th
anniversary of World War II's end, as suggested by this photo of the
missile being transported to northern China.
China is quickly upgrading its formidable missile forces to match
advances in defense technologies. While existing Chinese forces make use
of anti-air and ballistic to deny access around large portions of
airspace, ocean and land bordering China, newer missiles will be more
effective against elements of America's Air Sea Battle concept, like
stealthy drones, and mobile enemy targets like anti-ship missile
launchers.
DF-16 Launcher飞扬军事 中国军迷原创第一站 - via sinodefence.com
The DF-16 began development in the mid 2000s, where it was initially
identified as the DF-11C, a two stage variant of the DF-11. The second
stage has manuevering fins at the base of the second (upper) stage
allows the DF-16 to make flight corrections to hit targets more
accurately.
The DF-16 short ranged ballistic missile (SRBM) is an improvement over
the DF-11 and DF-15 SRBMs fielded by the PLA and Second Artillery.
Currently, China has deployed over 1,000 of the two older missiles,
which have ranges of about 500km-700km and an accuracy of about 30
meters, opposite of Taiwan. According to the Project 2019 Institute, a
think tank, the DF-16 is currently deployed to a Second Artillery
regiment in Guangdong Province, a suitable location for targeting either
Taiwan or Vietnam.
DF-16 TELChinese Internet
To accommodate the larger two stage DF-16 missile, the TEL vehicle has
ten wheels instead of the DF-11's eight wheels. With cross country
capability, the DF-16's TEL vehicle could go off road to dodge enemy
aircraft, and launch the solid fueled DF-16 in under a minute.
The DF-16 is larger, as evidenced by its use of a five axis transport
erector launch (TEL) vehicle, versus the older missile's four axle TEL.
With an estimated range of around 1,000km and a 5-10 meter accuracy, the
DF-16 also flies higher and faster, making it more difficult for
missile defense systems to intercept it. The DF-16's high accuracy,
rapid flight time and its large 500kg-1000kg warhead would allow it to
target moving enemy targets, such as ships, missile TEL vehicles and
leadership convoys.
Top secret X-37B space plane will fly next month using an 'experimental propulsion system', reveals the US Air Force
X-37B space drone will take off on its fourth secret mission on May 20
Theories ranged from it being a space bomber to destroying satellites
The flight will test a system that makes satellites easy to manoeuvre
This is probably a small part of the vehicle's true mission, say experts
By
Ellie Zolfagharifard For Dailymail
The mystery of the top-secret X-37B space drone has baffled military experts for decades.
Theories have ranged from it being a space bomber ready to attack, to a secret probe on a mission to 'take out' spy satellites.
Now,
in an unprecedented disclosure, the Department of Defense has revealed
details about the X-37B latest mission, which is due to take off on May
20.
In an unprecedented
disclosure, the Department of Defense has revealed details about the
X-37B latest mission, which is due to take off on May 20. '[We] are
investigating an experimental propulsion system on the X-37B on Mission
4,' Captain Chris Hoyler, an Air Force spokesman said
X-37B'S MYSTERY MISSIONS
The U.S. Air Force's unmanned X-37B space plane has flown three secret missions to date.
Each time it has carried a mystery payload on long-duration flights in Earth orbit.
The
spacecraft looks similar to Nasa's space shuttle but is much smaller.
The X-37B is about 29ft (8.8m) long and 9.5ft (2.9 m) tall.
It has a wingspan of just less than 15ft (4.6 m). At launch, it weighs 11,000lbs (4,990kg).
The craft is taken into orbit on a rocket but lands like the space shuttle by gliding down to Earth.
'[We]
are investigating an experimental propulsion system on the X-37B on
Mission 4,' Captain Chris Hoyler, an Air Force spokesman, told Space.com.
'The
Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office will also host a number of advance
materials onboard the X-37B for Nasa to study the durability of various
materials in the space environment,' Hoyler added.
Spaceflightnow.com revealed more details of the flight, which is described as a 'hall thruster electric propulsion test.'
It
is intended to improve performance of the units onboard Advanced
Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) military communications spacecraft,
officials said today.
AEHF
satellites' Hall thrusters are 4.5-kilowatt units that use electricity
and xenon to produce thrust for moving satellites in space.
The benefit of using electric propulsion is that its xenon fuel weighs much less than traditional hydrazine.
This technology could help in the development of technologies to control satellites with better accuracy.
However,
experts claim that refining an advanced manoeuvring thruster is
probably just a small part of the vehicle's true mission set.
One
leading secrecy expert previously told DailyMail.com that the drone is
'very likely' be used to test technologies that will increase spying
capabilities of the US.
Like a shuttle, X-37B is blasted into
orbit by a rocket. However, it lands using a runway like a normal
aircraft. The X-37B is too small to carry people onboard, but does have a
cargo bay similar to that of a pickup truck, which is just large enough
to carry a small satellite
An infrared view of the X-37B unmanned
spacecraft landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base.
The purpose of the
U.S. military's space plane is classified
TOP FOUR CONSPIRACY THEORIES
The space plane is a spy plane: The leading theory appears to be that the unmanned space plane is a shuttle-shaped surveillance vehicle.
It could be a space bomber: This
is the least likely theory, according tot Seven Aftergood, a secrecy
expert at the Federation of American Scientists. He claims the US
doesn't need this capability.
It is on a mission is to 'take out' satellites: This activity would be easily traceable, making it unlikely to stay a secret.
The X-37B deploys spy satellites: Instead
of destroying them, the theory suggests that the space plane's orbit
matches up to where deployed satellites would work best for spying on
other countries.
'The
US government has a bottomless appetite for sensitive information,'
said Steven Aftergood, a secrecy expert at the Federation of American
Scientists.
'As
powerful as our intelligence satellites may be, they also have their
limitations - most notably the limitations imposed by their orbital
parameters.
'It's conceivable that a spy plane would introduce new versatility into overhead reconnaissance.'
The
X-37B space drone, otherwise known as the Orbital Test Vehicle, is
blasted into orbit by a rocket. However, it lands using a runway like a
normal aircraft.
The
X-37B is too small to carry people onboard, but does have a cargo bay
similar to that of a pickup truck, which is just large enough to carry a
small satellite.
One secrecy expert has told DailyMail.com that the drone (artist's impression ) is 'likely' to be a spy plane
The X-program has bounced between several federal agencies, Nasa among them, since 1999.
The plane has been in space for a total of 674 days, far more than its two previous flights which lasted 225 and 469 days.
The program's first mission launched in April 2010 and landed in December that year.
The second space plane took off on March 2011 and came back to Earth in June 2012.
According
to X-37B manufacturer Boeing, the space plane operates in low-earth
orbit, between 110 (177km) and 500 miles (800km) above earth.
By comparison, the International Space Station orbits at about 220 miles (350km).
This December 3, 2010, image by the
Vandenberg Air Force Base shows technicians examining the X-37B unmanned
spaceplane shortly after landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base,
California
A recovery team processes the U.S. Air Force's X-37B space plane after the robotic spacecraft's successful landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Oct. 17, 2014. The touchdown marked the end of the X-37B’s third space mission. Credit: Boeing
The US Army has revealed testing of a revolutionary self guided bullet is at an advanced stage..
The latest trials of the Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance, known as EXACTO, program have shown even first time users can hit a moving target.
The bullets have a real-time guidance system to track targets, and can change their course if needed.
The bullets have a real-time guidance system to track target, and can change their course if needed. The video shows EXACTO rounds manoeuvring in flight to hit targets that are moving and accelerating.
The system combines a maneuverable bullet and a real-time guidance system to track and deliver the projectile to the target, allowing the bullet to change path during flight to compensate for any unexpected factors that may drive it off course.
An experienced shooter using the technology demonstration system repeatedly hit moving and evading targets in the latest trials.
Additionally, a novice shooter using the system for the first time hit a moving target.
The video shows EXACTO rounds manoeuvring in flight to hit targets that are moving and accelerating.
EXACTO's specially designed ammunition and real-time optical guidance system help track and direct projectiles to their targets by compensating for weather, wind, target movement and other factors that can impede successful hits.
'True to DARPA's mission, EXACTO has demonstrated what was once thought impossible: the continuous guidance of a small-caliber bullet to target,' said Jerome Dunn, DARPA program manager.
'This live-fire demonstration from a standard rifle showed that EXACTO is able to hit moving and evading targets with extreme accuracy at sniper ranges unachievable with traditional rounds.
'Fitting EXACTO's guidance capabilities into a small .50-caliber size is a major breakthrough and opens the door to what could be possible in future guided projectiles across all calibers.'
'It is critical that snipers be able to engage targets faster, and with better accuracy, since any shot that doesn't hit a target also risks the safety of troops by indicating their presence and potentially exposing their location.
The system combines a maneuverable bullet and a real-time guidance system to track and deliver the projectile to the target, allowing the bullet to change path during flight to compensate for any unexpected factors that may drive it off course.
United States military shows off it's self guided bullet in video
The military says its technology could led anyhit hit targets with the accuracy of a highly trained sniper.
According to the video, EXACTO is being developed by Teledyne Scientific & Imaging, with funding from DARPA. Teledyne is a research and development firm based in Thousand Oaks, California.
Teledyne wasawarded a contractworth $25 million in 2010 to develop EXACTO.
According to DARPA's release, 'EXACTO's specially designed ammunition and real-time optical guidance system help track and direct projectiles to their targets by compensating for weather, wind, target movement and other factors that could impede successful hits.'
DARPA says that the bullet created by the project will improve the range of snipers, and improve troop safety as they will be able to shoot and neutralize a target from further away.
Currently, US Snipers are expected to be able to hit a target 600 meters away, 90 per cent of the time. With the advent of EXACTO, an increased range to 2,000 meters is promised.
DARPA's prototype model of EXACTO, which will increased the distance away from a target snipers can successful shoot
Despite DARPA's claim that EXACTO is the first bullet of it's kind, in 2012, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin named Sandia National Laboratories, which does research and development with the US Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, claimed to be developing their own self-guided bullet.
Snipers will now be able to hit their targets without interference from unfavorable weather conditions
Sandia's bullet uses lasers for guidance, as opposed to EXACTO's onboard computer system (the specific working of EXACTO are classified.)
According toSandia's website, additional development is needed before a full prototype or test can be performed. However, unlike EXACTO, Sandia plans to make their bullets available to law enforcement in addition to the military.
According to DARPA, the next phase of the development of EXACTO is to refine the accuracy and performance of the technology.
Earth's newest supercontinent is taking shape: Land masses are already drifting together to form 'Amasia'
Peter Spinks from the Sydney Morning Herald reported on Amasia
Within 200 million years, he said the new supercontinent will form
One researcher recently travelled to Nepal to gather further information
He spotted that India, Eurasia and other plates are slowly moving together
By
Jonathan O'Callaghan for MailOnline
The
earthquake disaster in Nepal has highlighted how Earth's land masses are
already in the process of forming a new supercontinent.
That's according to one researcher who travelled to the country to study how the Indian and Eurasian plates are moving together.
And
using new techniques, researchers can now start examining the changes
due to take place over the next tens of millions of years like never
before.
Earth's continents are slowly moving
together (left), and in 50 to 200 million years they are expected to
form a new supercontinent called Amasia (right). In 2012 a study
suggested this may be centered on the North Pole. Recent evidence is
revealing how this will compare to the ancient supercontinents Rodinia
and Pangaea
The idea that Earth is set to form a new supercontinent - dubbed Amasia - is not new.
But, as reported by Peter Spinks from the Sydney Morning Herald, Curtin University geologist Dr Zheng-Xiang Li travelled to Nepal to study the collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates.
WHAT IS AMASIA?
The idea that Earth is set to form a new supercontinent - dubbed Amasia - is not new.
But new techniques are allowing experts to study the changes in unprececdented ways.
Where exactly this supercontinent will form, however, has been the cause of some debate.
While
some had suspected it would be centered around Africa, a study by Yale
University in 2012 suggested that the North Pole would actually be the
centre point.
North
and South America will crunch together, with the Caribbean Sea and
Arctic Ocean disappearing, while Asia will join the Americas, according
to the study.
They said the changes would occur in 50 to 200 million years.
Despite
already being attached to Eurasia, the Indian plate is continuing to
move North at a few centimetres per year - causing tectonic activity.
But other continents are also moving towards each other.
The
Pacific Ocean is narrowing at a few centimetres per year, which will
ultimately cause America to collide with Eurasia, while Australia is
also moving towards Asia by 2.8 inches (7cm) a year and will join
Amasia.
‘It
would take at least tens of millions more years - perhaps several
hundred million years - before the new supercontinent is fully formed,’
Dr Li told the SMH.
Using
new techniques - namely high-resolution seismic tomography,
geographical information systems and increased computing power -
scientists are able to track these changes in unprecedented ways.
For
example, they can compare them to previous supercontinents Rodinia and
Pangaea, which formed one billion and 300 million years ago
respectively.
‘These
advances have allowed us to link present-day plate tectonics on Earth's
surface to dynamic processes deep in the mantle - and to link these to
ancient records of geology,’ Dr Li said.
Many of Earth's land masses are
continuing to move into each other. The Pacific Ocean is narrowing at a
few centimetres per year, which will ultimately cause America to collide
with Eurasia, while Australia is also moving towards Asia by 2.8 inches
(7cm) a year and will join Amasia
This map shows how Nepal is situated
near the border of India and Asia, where two tectonic plates are moving
into one another. The Indian plate is continuing to move North at a few
centimetres per year - causing tectonic activity, which in turn can lead
to tremors and devastating earthquakes
NEPAL QUAKE: EIGHT MILLION COULD BE AFFECTED
The
UN says 8 million people have been affected by the weekend earthquake
in Nepal that killed nearly 4,400 people and 1.4 million people are in
need of food assistance.
Jamie
McGoldrick, UN resident coordinator in Kathmandu, told reporters that
of those affected two million people are in the 11 worst-hit districts.
The challenge of supplying to small villages at high altitudes and in rough terrain "is quite significant, he said.
After
flying by helicopter over Dhulikhel town, on the north side of the
Kathmandu valley, he estimated about 40% of the houses were damaged, but
destruction was erratic.
Where exactly this supercontinent will form, however, has been the cause of some debate.
While
some had suspected it would be centered around Africa, a study by Yale
University in 2012 suggested that the North Pole would actually be the
centre point.
North
and South America will crunch together, with the Caribbean Sea and
Arctic Ocean disappearing, while Asia will join the Americas, according
to the study.
They said the changes would occur in 50 to 200 million years.
The
most recent supercontinent, Pangea (which is Greek for ‘All Lands’),
formed about 300 million years ago with Africa at its centre.
It began breaking apart into the seven continents of today with the birth of the Atlantic Ocean about 100 million years later.
Researchers said the earthquake in
Nepal highlighted how dangerous shifting tectonic plates can be.
Pictured, Nepalese people walk among the debris of houses after the
quake in Bhaktapur. The death toll in Nepal following the 7.8-magnitude
earthquake is continuing to rise and could hit 10,000
This series of graphics shows how our
land masses have separated from Pangaea into the distinct continents we
have today. Using new techniques - namely high-resolution seismic
tomography, geographical information systems and increased computing
power - scientists are tracking the changes in better detail
Researchers believe Pangea is the third or fourth supercontinent in Earth’s history.
Its
immediate predecessors were Rodinia - which formed around 1 billion
years ago - and Nuna, which formed 1.8 billion years ago.
The
idea of continental drift was introduced by German scientist Alfred
Wegener in 1912 to explain how the shape of Earth’s countries looked
suspiciously like jigsaw pieces that would fit together.
The
Earth’s surface is formed from seven major and several minor tectonic
plates that wander around at speeds varying from a few millimetres to
two centimetres a year, the same pace that a human nail grows.
It’s the friction caused by plates grinding against each other that causes earthquakes.
Is there an “Alien Base” on the Dark Side of the Moon?
LUNA: The Alien base on the far side of the Moon.
It was seen and filmed by the Apollo astronauts. A base, a mining operation using very large machines, and the very large alien craft described in sighting reports as mother ships exist there. -Milton Cooper
The
highly-publicized yet classified weapon Carter was referring to is the
Massive Ordnance Penetrator — a behemoth, 30,000-pound bunker bomb
introduced specifically to destroy Iran’s underground uranium enrichment
facilities.
In January, we
told you the Pentagon was modifying and testing the bomb as the
diplomatic push for a nuclear settlement with the pariah state
intensified. But of course, that’s not all the U.S. military has been up
to in the background.
The
Air Force, which leads the development of air-delivered bunker bombs, is
preparing to go shopping for a new “family” of weapons to kill
fortified targets — and it’s compiling that shopping list right now.
This
list is likely to include a new rocket-rammed High Speed Strike Weapon
for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, plus a new class of inexpensive,
mid-weight penetrating bombs.
And as a last resort, the U.S. government is holding onto its only earth-penetrating nuclear bomb, the B61–11, even as it reduces its nuclear stockpile to comply with an arms reduction treaty with Russia.
The Air Force definitely wants to make more improvements to the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, since a third and fourth “enhanced threat reduction”
modification program is included in its 2016 budget plans. The service
is also about to scale up production of a smart, void-sensing fuze that
counts bunker layers and detonates at the correct level.
An Air Combat Command review
of the flying branch’s so-called hard-target munitions inventory
recently wrapped up, and that study is circulating among senior leaders
within the department and the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
The
classified study assessed what the Air Force currently has, and what it
might need in the future as nations like Iran and North Korea find new
ways to harden their military installations against attack from the
West.
The Air Force won’t
say much about the study officially, but senior service officials have
been dropping hints as Congress seeks assurances about the military’s
ability to destroy Iran’s nuclear sites should diplomacy fail.
The
service’s chief scientist told House lawmakers in March that a research
program to develop a 2,000-pound hard-target killer for the F-35 and
other modern fighters and bombers is ready to transfer to an acquisition
program.
The Air Force needs a smaller, more compact weapon to destroy hard and deeply buried targets, Walker said at the hearing.
“The
High Velocity Penetrating Weapon was a program that we put together to
do this,” he continued. “[It has] been very successful and now it’s
transitioned that technology into the follow-on program that Air Combat
Command is now looking at in their analysis of alternatives.”
There
has been surprisingly little discussion about the weapon program since
2011, when the Air Force paid military contractors Lockheed Martin and
Raytheon to design prototypes, which were due to undergo sled-testing
last year.
According to an Air Force presentation from 2011,
the bomb would fit inside the F-35’s internal weapons bay for stealth.
To overcome the size and weight constraints, a rocket motor would ram
the hardened, high-explosive warhead into the target.
The
Massive Ordnance Penetrator is a gigantic bomb with plenty of punching
power because of its sheer size. But it only fits on the Air Force’s B-2
and B-52 bombers, whereas the High Velocity Penetrating Weapon would be
compatible with more aircraft types — and overcome its relatively small
size with speed.
According
to Maj. Gen. Scott Jansson, the Air Force’s top weapons-buyer, the
flying branch probably won’t ever produce MOP in large numbers.
“We’re
looking at less-expensive weapons than MOP that we can build in greater
quantities, but MOP was considered in that analysis as well,” Jansson
said. “[It] might be part of a family of capabilities that can hold
certain targets at risk.”
One
program Jansson is about to approve for production is Orbital ATK’s
Hard Target Void Sensing Fuze. The company completed development of the
smart fuze last month, and the Air Force and Navy plan to purchase 5,500
of them over the next few years to replace the existing time-delayed
fuzes on older penetrating warheads.
“It’s
a big deal,” Jansson said in a March interview. “It’s a significantly
improved fuze over anything that we have today. If we have the
intelligence that says we want to target the third floor down in an
underground bunker, we will program the fuze to ignite in that layer.”
If
all conventional means fail to destroy a target, there’s the B61–11
nuclear option. The National Nuclear Security Administration is reducing
its five B61 nuclear bomb variants to one, the B61–12 — except for the
bunker-busting variant that debuted in the 1990s.
“I
see an enduring role for the ability of the U.S. Air Force to be able
to take out deeply-buried, hardened targets,” Maj. Gen. Garrett
Harencak, Air Force assistant chief of staff for strategic deterrence,
said in an April 20 interview. “We will do that for the nation, and in
order to do that we have an array of assets and weapons to do that in a
credible manner, and not just nuclear weapons.
“We
don’t have a set retirement date yet for the B61–11. It was actually
more recently introduced into the stockpile, but it will continue for a
while.”
The
Russian Ministry of Defense officially revealed the country's most
advanced battle tank, the T-14 Armata Main Battle Tank (MBT), arguably
the world's deadliest armored fighting vehicle, a couple of weeks ahead
of the grand 2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade.
The new T-14 and the rest of Russia's new armored vehicles show a
huge technological leap from the old Soviet-era military hardware.
"The new vehicles are principally clean-slate designs and represent
the biggest change in Russia's armored fighting vehicle families
since the 1960s and 1970s," HIS Jane's 360 Defense Weekly reported.
The key feature of the new tank is its unmanned remotely-controlled
turret, with crew members seated in an armored capsule at the front
of the tank's hull.
The T-14 is armed with a 125 mm smoothbore
cannon that can fire high-powered munitions, including armor-piercing
discarding sabot projectiles, guided missiles, shaped-charges and other
types of munitions. The muzzle energy of the tank's cannon is greater
than that of the German Leopard-2 Rheinmetall 120 mm gun, according
to the Diplomat.
It is speculated that the Armata tank might also come with a 152 mm
gun. If this is true, the tank will have the most powerful cannon ever
mounted on a main battle tank. The T-14 will also carry a 30-mm
sub-caliber gun to shoot down low-flying aerial targets, including
planes and helicopters. To defend against incoming anti-tank missiles,
the T-14 will have a 12.5 mm turret-mounted heavy machine gun, RT said.
The Armata is literally a one tank army. The
T-14 can defend itself from pretty much anything. Even the most modern
Apache helicopter would not have a 100 percent chance of destroying the
tank with its missiles, the US Foreign Military Studies Office (FSMO)
said.
To finish all of that, the tank has fully automated ammunition
loading and computerized targeting systems. Despite all the guns and
computerized technology built into the armored vehicle, the menacing
tank only needs two servicemen to operate it.
The Armata tank is set to undergo state trials in 2016,
Uralvagonzavod is expected to supply over 2,300 of the new tanks to the
Russian military by 2020. The Armata tanks will replace the older T-72
and T-90 tanks.
![[IMG]](http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/df16_my_mil_photos.jpg?itok=3PWjG9GY)
![[IMG]](http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/df-16_road.jpg?itok=5uO2XRDc)
![[IMG]](http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/df-16-15c.jpg?itok=S1yKziOn)
![[IMG]](http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/df-16_cmr.jpg?itok=NK-1V2zV)
![In an unprecedented disclosure, the Department of Defense has revealed details about the X-37B latest mission, which is due to take off on May 20. '[We] are investigating an experimental propulsion system on the X-37B on Mission 4,' Captain Chris Hoyler, an Air Force spokesman said](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/10/13/1413189873436_Image_galleryImage_The_Boeing_built_X_37B_th.JPG)
![[IMG]](http://img.cjdby.com/data/attachment/forum/201504/23/202056i6rzcrg5nuqqnqhm.jpg)
