Errymath

Did J-20 stealth fighter unit just go operational?

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<img alt="J-20 Zhuhai 2016 China Stealth Fighter" class="full-width shareable unveil-processed full-visible" data-lgsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/images/2016/11/j-20.jpg?itok=xMczC1ld&fc=50,50" data-medsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/medium_1x_/public/images/2016/11/j-20.jpg?itok=QJbQNHUH&fc=50,50" data-smsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/small_1x_/public/images/2016/11/j-20.jpg?itok=-4V6HMbP&fc=50,50" data-src="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/images/2016/11/j-20.jpg?itok=xMczC1ld&fc=50,50" data-xlsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/xl_1x_/public/images/2016/11/j-20.jpg?itok=lcyE-HWI&fc=50,50" src="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/images/2016/11/j-20.jpg?itok=xMczC1ld&fc=50,50" /><a class="colorbox-button cboxElement linkTargets-processed" href="http://www.popsci.com/did-chinas-first-stealth-fighter-unit-j20-just-go-operational?dom=rss-default&src=syn"> </a>
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A Flight Seen Around the World<br />
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Mil.huanqiu.com says that according 
to Taiwan’s ettoday.net, J-20 stealth fighter jet was 
commissioned on December 12 and has now been deployed in Dingxin Test 
and Training Center, Gansu Province.<br />
As China keeps information of its J-20 strictly confidential, 
mil.huanqiu,com is used to reveal some secret information by quoting 
outside media’s reports.<br />
According to ettoday.net, J-20 is more advanced than F-22 and F-35 as
 its AESA radar has more than 2,000 T/R modules while F-22’s has a 
little less than 2,000 and F-35’s, less than 1,600.<br />
J-20’s front RCS, according to ettoday.net, is 0.1 square meter only a
 little larger than F-22’s, 0.065, but with stronger radar, it is not 
inferior to F-22 in terms of invisibility.<br />
Ettoday.net says that in air combat drill, J-20 beat third-generation
 fighter jets such as J-10, J-11 and Su-30 with the score of 10 to 0.</div>
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<img alt="China J-20 Dingxin CTFE" class="full-width shareable unveil-processed full-visible" data-lgsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/images/2016/12/j-20_dingxin.jpg?itok=MiZnu9lK&fc=50,50" data-medsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/medium_1x_/public/images/2016/12/j-20_dingxin.jpg?itok=Reqnb4rC&fc=50,50" data-smsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/small_1x_/public/images/2016/12/j-20_dingxin.jpg?itok=vn9k8aSQ&fc=50,50" data-src="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/images/2016/12/j-20_dingxin.jpg?itok=MiZnu9lK&fc=50,50" data-xlsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/xl_1x_/public/images/2016/12/j-20_dingxin.jpg?itok=8hD3xP9q&fc=50,50" src="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/images/2016/12/j-20_dingxin.jpg?itok=MiZnu9lK&fc=50,50" /><a class="colorbox-button cboxElement linkTargets-processed" href="http://www.popsci.com/did-chinas-first-stealth-fighter-unit-j20-just-go-operational?dom=rss-default&src=syn"> </a>
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Xinfengcao</div>
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Dingxin Base</div>
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This satellite image of the CTFE base in Dingxin, likely taken in
 November 2016, shows two CTFE J-20s parked next to Y-9 transport 
planes.<br />
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China is officially the second nation in the world (U.S. was the first) 
to have an operational fifth-generation fighter unit. The country's 
first J-20 stealth fighter unit is now operational in the 176th Brigade,
 a unit in the China Flight Test Establishment (CFTE). The public debut 
comes just under six years from its prototype flight, a speedy delivery 
by any measure.<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
— @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) <a href="https://twitter.com/RupprechtDeino/status/808567960520589312">December 13, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<img alt="J-20 China stealth fighter Chengdu" class="full-width shareable unveil-processed full-visible" data-lgsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/images/2016/12/j-20a_3x_at_cac_-_said_to_be_11.12.16.jpg?itok=bthoQJ8Y&fc=50,50" data-medsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/medium_1x_/public/images/2016/12/j-20a_3x_at_cac_-_said_to_be_11.12.16.jpg?itok=Kh2G-CaG&fc=50,50" data-smsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/small_1x_/public/images/2016/12/j-20a_3x_at_cac_-_said_to_be_11.12.16.jpg?itok=0jy_o3Q7&fc=50,50" data-src="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/images/2016/12/j-20a_3x_at_cac_-_said_to_be_11.12.16.jpg?itok=bthoQJ8Y&fc=50,50" data-xlsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/xl_1x_/public/images/2016/12/j-20a_3x_at_cac_-_said_to_be_11.12.16.jpg?itok=o8G7eUhT&fc=50,50" src="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/images/2016/12/j-20a_3x_at_cac_-_said_to_be_11.12.16.jpg?itok=bthoQJ8Y&fc=50,50" /><a class="colorbox-button cboxElement linkTargets-processed" href="http://www.popsci.com/did-chinas-first-stealth-fighter-unit-j20-just-go-operational?dom=rss-default&src=syn"> </a>
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Weibo</div>
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Fresh off the Factory Florr</div>
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This late 2016 photo at the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation factory shows three LRIP J-20s.<br />
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Judging 
from observed sightings of LRIP J-20s in the past year, there could be 
between eight to twelve J-20s now stationed at Dingxin airbase, enough 
to set up a squadron for combat operations.<br />
A variety of internet reports have covered the J-20s joining the 
unit: At least two J-20s were observed in a late November 2016 satellite
 photo of the Dingxin air base, a CFTE establishment.  December 2016 
photos on the Chinese Internet forums show J-20s with operational serial
 numbers painted on the vertical tailfins.<br />
Chinese aviation expert <a class="linkTargets-processed external" href="https://twitter.com/xinfengcao" target="_blank">Dafeng Cao</a>
 posted that the PLAAF received six J-20s on Dec. 12, which makes sense 
considering a photo surfaced earlier this month that showed three LRIP 
J-20s on the runway at the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation factory, 
possibly ready for that transfer.<br />
Previously, several LRIP J-20s were already produced starting in late
 2015, with four J-20s (production airframes 2101-2104) delivered by 
June 2016, and at least several more J-20s produced after that.<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
— @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) <a href="https://twitter.com/RupprechtDeino/status/808380626109927425">December 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<img alt="China J-20 stealth fighter 78274" class="full-width shareable unveil-processed full-visible" data-lgsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/images/2016/12/j-20a_78274_-_176._brigade_-_13.12.16_-_1.jpg?itok=18wQYXJE&fc=50,50" data-medsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/medium_1x_/public/images/2016/12/j-20a_78274_-_176._brigade_-_13.12.16_-_1.jpg?itok=viUBP7lE&fc=50,50" data-smsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/small_1x_/public/images/2016/12/j-20a_78274_-_176._brigade_-_13.12.16_-_1.jpg?itok=17k22j-F&fc=50,50" data-src="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/images/2016/12/j-20a_78274_-_176._brigade_-_13.12.16_-_1.jpg?itok=18wQYXJE&fc=50,50" data-xlsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/xl_1x_/public/images/2016/12/j-20a_78274_-_176._brigade_-_13.12.16_-_1.jpg?itok=M6V-a6vP&fc=50,50" src="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/images/2016/12/j-20a_78274_-_176._brigade_-_13.12.16_-_1.jpg?itok=18wQYXJE&fc=50,50" /><a class="colorbox-button cboxElement linkTargets-processed" href="http://www.popsci.com/did-chinas-first-stealth-fighter-unit-j20-just-go-operational?dom=rss-default&src=syn"> </a>
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Andreas Rupprecht</div>
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78274</div>
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"78274" is seen on the CAC factory tarmac. The J-20 stealth fighter is already beginning its first unit operations.<br />
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While 
intriguing to see J-20s operational, these will not be the final version
 of the J-20's design. While the plane currently uses advanced avionics 
including AESA radar and electro-optical distributed aperture system, it
 uses a high-performance variant of the Russian AL-31 turbofan engine.  
Once the supercruise-capable WS-15 engine enters service in 2019-2021, 
large-scale production of faster J-20s will commence. <i>Popular Science</i>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
— dafeng cao (@xinfengcao) <a href="https://twitter.com/xinfengcao/status/808626590045192192">December 13, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Did J-20 stealth fighter unit just go operational?

A Flight Seen Around the World Mil.huanqiu.com says that according to Taiwan’s ettoday.net, J-20 stealth fighter jet was commis...

China Claims Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough, No Specifics

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<img alt="Atom molecule in female hand (Shutterstock/ Sergey Nivens)" height="275" src="http://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/rsz_shutterstock_403184353-e1473442569402.jpg" title="Atom molecule in female hand (Shutterstock/ Sergey Nivens)" width="640" /><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Atom molecule in female hand (Shutterstock/ Sergey Nivens)</span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><a class="externalLink" href="http://dailycaller.com/author/andrew-follett/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ANDREW FOLLETT</a></i><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://dailycaller.com/2016/12/12/china-claims-nuclear-fusion-breakthrough-no-specifics/" target="_blank">Energy and Science Reporter</a> </span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">China’s state-controlled TV station claimed Sunday scientists made a major breakthrough in nuclear fusion research.<br />

Chinese researchers claim to have independently invented components to 
keep ionized gas burning steadily for twice the length of the previous 
record — an important step forward toward nuclear fusion, if true.<br />

The country allegedly created a component for a fusion reactor core that can withstand extremely high heat.<br />
<br />
“The component we invented is one of the first of its kind in the world 
that has passed the international cyclic heat test,” Cheng Jiming of 
China National Nuclear Corporation <a class="externalLink" href="http://english.cctv.com/2016/12/11/VIDEhckU10qimuaFeDvQwVRC161211.shtml" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">told CCTV</a>. “It really means a lot — it’s a great contribution to the international field of thermonuclear experimental reactors.”</span><br />
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<span class="image-caption-container image-caption-container-none" style="clear: none; display: inline-block; float: none; width: 465px;"><img class="caption lazyload-processed magic-processed loaded" data-ignore="true" data-original="http://www.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/660x385/public/images/methode/2016/12/08/a6e4f9e2-a622-11e6-a836-75a661626cad_660x385.jpg?itok=MPuPouDh" src="http://www.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/660x385/public/images/methode/2016/12/08/a6e4f9e2-a622-11e6-a836-75a661626cad_660x385.jpg?itok=MPuPouDh" title="The donut-shaped chamber at the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) in Hefei. Photo: Chinese Academy of Sciences" /><span class="image-caption hover-processed" style="display: block;"></span></span></div>
Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST).<br />
H-mode, in a donut-shaped chamber shielded by a extremely strong electromagnetic field.<br />
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CCTV wasn’t clear about what kind of breakthrough allegedly occurred, other than to say China is “<a class="externalLink" href="http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/2044428/how-chinas-leading-world-nuclear-fusion-research" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">leaving other nations in the dust</a>” and will pour more money into fusion research.<br />
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China’s component is supposed to be installed on the International 
Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in France. China provides 
about 10 percent of the financial support for ITER and has scientists 
directly involved in the project. It claims the new component <a class="externalLink" href="http://news.qq.com/a/20161211/004269.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">is about 20 percent more heat-resistant</a> than the reactor’s design requires.<br />
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<img alt="" class="lazyload-processed loaded" data-caption="The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) facility in Hefei, Anhui province. Photo: EyePress" data-enlarge="http://cdn1.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980w/public/images/methode/2016/12/08/6294efda-a61e-11e6-a836-75a661626cad_1280x720.jpg?itok=rtyQ28tG" data-ignore="true" data-original="http://cdn2.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980x551/public/images/methode/2016/12/08/6294efda-a61e-11e6-a836-75a661626cad_1280x720.jpg?itok=vJQ0h0P7" height="359" src="http://cdn2.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980x551/public/images/methode/2016/12/08/6294efda-a61e-11e6-a836-75a661626cad_1280x720.jpg?itok=vJQ0h0P7" title="The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) facility in Hefei, Anhui province. Photo: EyePress" width="640" />      
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Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) in Anhui’s provincial<br />
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<span class="image-caption-container image-caption-container-none" style="clear: none; display: inline-block; float: none; width: 465px;"><img class="caption lazyload-processed magic-processed loaded" data-ignore="true" data-original="http://www.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/660x385/public/images/methode/2016/12/08/2d27bea6-a61c-11e6-a836-75a661626cad_660x385.jpg?itok=v4GivXwt" src="http://www.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/660x385/public/images/methode/2016/12/08/2d27bea6-a61c-11e6-a836-75a661626cad_660x385.jpg?itok=v4GivXwt" title="Technicians build a radial plate for superconducting cables for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in a large workshop in La Seyne-Sur-Mer, southern France. Photo: AFP" /><span class="image-caption hover-processed" style="display: block;"></span></span></div>
International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in France <br />
ITER members – Japan, South Korea, China, Russia, the US, India and the European Union<br />
<br />
ITER was originally expected to cost <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.iter.org/faq#Do_we_really_know_how_much_ITER_will_cost" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">approximately $5.7 billion</a>. Cost overruns, design changes and rising raw material prices <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.iter.org/faq#Why_have_ITER_costs_risen" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">saw the amount almost triple to $ 14.9 billion</a>. The project could end up costing $20 billion. <br />
<br />
Scientists in Germany found fusion reactors are feasible <a class="externalLink" href="http://dailycaller.com/2016/12/06/did-germany-just-unlock-nuclear-fusion/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">earlier this month</a>
 by determining that an experimental reactor was generating the right 
kind of magnetic field to trap plasma for long enough for nuclear fusion
 to occur.<br />
<br />
German engineers from the Max Planck Institute <a class="externalLink" href="http://dailycaller.com/2015/12/17/germany-tests-fusion-reactor-but-will-abandon-nuclear-by-2022/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">successfully activated</a> the experimental nuclear fusion reactor used in the research last December and managed to <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN-German-fusion-reactor-achieves-first-plasma-1612154.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">suspend plasma for the first time</a>. The reactor <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.iflscience.com/technology/germany-just-successfully-fired-their-nuclear-fusion-reactor" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">took 19 years and $1.1 billion to build</a> and contains over 470 tons of superconducting magnets, all of which need to be cooled to absolute zero.<br />
<br />
Nuclear fusion is different from conventional nuclear reactors, as 
fusion causes atoms to join at extremely high temperatures and release 
huge amounts of energy. The process would generate essentially no 
hazardous waste and <a class="externalLink" href="http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/nucene/fusion.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">wouldn’t require hazardous fuel</a>.<br />
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Operational fusion power would put most other forms of electricity generation permanently out of business and <a class="externalLink" href="http://dailycaller.com/2015/12/17/germany-tests-fusion-reactor-but-will-abandon-nuclear-by-2022/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">could occur very soon</a>. Fusion power could be “<a class="externalLink" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=qBqbr8uV9c8C&pg=PA32&ots=X_NiY853vH&dq=strauss+son+cheap+meter&sig=NJRVHP66IqtX80mgp38UfttAIPc#v=onepage&q=strauss%20son%20cheap%20meter&f=false" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">too cheap to meter</a>,”
 meaning that the cost of generating new power would be below the cost 
of determining how much power an individual was using, effectively 
making electricity generation free.<br />
<br />
Other recent <a class="externalLink" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlYClniDFkM" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">breakthroughs in fusion</a> could restart the atomic age, an era when nuclear progress was lauded as a pinnacle of human achievement.<br />
<br />
Lockheed Martin Skunk Works <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.pppl.gov/events/colloquium-lockheed-martin-compact-fusion-reactor" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">is developing a compact fusion reactor</a> small enough to fit in a truck and would generate enough electricity to power 80,000 homes.<br />
<br />
An American research team in January discovered a way to initiate 
nuclear fusion reactions in a process called “fast ignition” using a 
high-intensity laser, <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/uoc--swe011416.php" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science</a>. Scientists believe that “fast ignition” <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.nature.com/nphys/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nphys3614.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">could allow a fusion reaction to be controlled</a>, because it requires less “start-up” energy than other methods.</div>
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China Claims Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough, No Specifics

Atom molecule in female hand (Shutterstock/ Sergey Nivens) ANDREW FOLLETT Energy and Science Reporter China’s state-controlled TV...

Will China’s scientists’ breakthrough sound death knell for world’s deadly viruses?

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<span style="font-size: small;"><br />Peking University research could help simplify development of <b><a href="http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/2050471/will-chinas-scientists-breakthrough-sound-death-knell-worlds-deadly" target="_blank">effective vaccines or cures for infections such as bird flu, Sars, Ebola and HIV within weeks of an outbreak</a></b><br /> <br /> Chinese scientists may have found the key to creating effective vaccines for the world’s deadly viruses – by breaking two taboos in traditional vaccinology.<br />  An experiment by a research team at Beijing’s Peking University was hailed as “revolutionary” in the field in a paper published in the latest issue of Sciencemagazine on Friday.<br />  The scientists broke two of the field’s taboos first by creating a vaccine using a live, fully infectious virus, and then by injecting the substance into infected animals dying of the same virus.<br /> </span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Now we have a new weapon ... that can mow down nearly any kind of virus and their mutations. It can shift the battle</span></i></div>
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<i>Zhou Demin, Peking University</i></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /> The animals were cured after receiving the injection, according to the paper.<br />  This breakthrough promises to simplify the process of producing vaccines, which may help scientists develop effective vaccines or even cures for various viruses – such bird flu, Sars, Ebola and HIV – within weeks of an outbreak.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />  The live virus used in the vaccine used by the researchers had its genetic code tweak to disable the viral strains’ self-replication mechanism. But it was kept fully infectious to allow the host animal cells to generate immunity.<br />  Using live viruses in their fully infectious form was considered taboo, as viruses spread rapidly. Vaccines sold and used widely today generally contain either dead or weakened forms of viruses.<br />  Live viruses used in vaccines approved for clinical use have typically had their physical structure altered to weaken them. But this has affected the vaccines’ effectiveness. Vaccines also do not exist for many of the world’s deadly viruses.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />  Zhou Demin, a professor at Peking University’s School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and the study’s lead scientist, said researchers had been facing a losing battle against viruses.<br />  “Now we have a new weapon ... that can mow down nearly any kind of virus and their mutations. It can shift the battle,” Zhou told the <a href="http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/2050471/will-chinas-scientists-breakthrough-sound-death-knell-worlds-deadly" target="_blank">South China Morning Post</a>.<br />  In the experiment reported in Science magazine, Zhou’s team made the vaccine using live bird flu virus.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />  They jabbed the vaccine into mice, guinea pigs and ferrets. The virus menginvasi host dan menciptakan kekacauan di sel, but they did not reproduce themselves.<br />  The immune system fought back and picked out the virus in each cell, one after another. By the end of the third day the last strain of the virus was gone, leaving no trace behind except a permanent memory in the host’s immune system, which provided immunity.<br />  The researchers then injected the vaccine into mice suffering from the flu. The animals recovered quickly and returned to full health.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />  Analysis showed that the man-made virus had recombined with the wild virus so that the combined virus was unable to reproduce, too.<br />  “The vaccine is not just a vaccine, but also a drug,” Zhou said.<br />  The bird flu virus in the vaccine had more than a 99 per cent similarity to its natural cousin.<br />  The researchers tweaked as few as three genome bases in the virus’ DNA. A typical virus has hundreds of thousands of such bases.<br />  A virus needs food and amino acids, the building blocks of proteins found in animals and plants, is one source of food. A wild virus will eat almost any amino acid, but the genetically tweaked virus in Zhou’s vaccine would accept only a special kind of man-made amino acid.<br />  The unnatural amino acid can be produced only in a laboratory: it does not exist in the body of animals or humans.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />  “So after you inject these viruses into the host they will not be able to reproduce themselves due to the lack of a [suitable] amino acid, and they will ‘starve’ to death in the end,” Zhou said.<br />  Zhou’s team produced the virus in a man-made cell line. The cells were filled with the unnatural amino acid. The virus would then find comfort in these man-made cells and reproduce in large numbers, like cars rolling off a production line.<br />  Zhou has envisioned a likely use for the vaccine technology in the near future, such as a time when a nation is hit by an outbreak of something like severe acute respiratory syndrome.<br />  Researchers would quickly isolate the unknown viral strain from patients and modify three genetic bases in the virus. The modified virus would then be used to vaccinate the general population. All this could be done within a few weeks.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />  The vaccine could also be injected into patients already suffering from the viral infection.<br />  “The side effect is so small that the recipient would hardly feel anything,” Zhou said.<br />  He said he believed the technology would benefit patients “soon”.<br />  The team had acquired international patents for the technology and they were in contact with some vaccine manufacturers so that trials in humans could be carried out, he said.<br />  In the past, vaccine development has been a long and complicated process, requiring researchers to know exactly the physical structures of a virus and its behaviour.<br />  However, that would not be necessary using the new method, which requires only the modification of a few genetic bases that exist in the DNA of almost any virus.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />  Professor Meng Songdong, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, said the work by Zhou’s team was a “new approach” and “something never thought of by others before”.<br />  Meng, who was not involved in the study, added: “It shed a new light on how to deal with the virus.”<br />  However, he raised concerns about whether the live virus vaccine could be used on humans in the near future.<br />  The man-made virus might undergo unexpected mutations that broke the link of control initially created by researchers, he said.<br />  And the recombination of a man-made virus with wild types might not always produce the good results that had been reported by Zhou’s team, Meng added.<br />  “The chances are the exchange of genetic information will make [the virus] even deadlier, even more productive,” Meng said.<br />  “I doubt health authorities in any country, especially China, will vaccinate the public with a live virus.”</span><br />
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Will China’s scientists’ breakthrough sound death knell for world’s deadly viruses?

Peking University research could help simplify development of effective vaccines or cures for infections such as bird flu, Sars, Ebola a...

CIA’s newly-declassified maps give rare insight into historic events (PHOTOS)

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© Central Intelligence Agency / Flickr <br />
President Roosevelt with one of the rare OSS-made globes<br />
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The <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ciagov/collections/72157674854602812/" target="_blank">CIA has declassified a number of its maps</a> dating from the 
1940s to the current decade.<br />
Until now, the maps, created by the 
agency’s <a href="https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2016-featured-story-archive/mapmakers-craft.html" target="_blank">Cartography Center</a>, were seen only by those within the 
intelligence community.

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The maps were released to celebrate the Cartography Center’s 75th anniversary. <i>“Geographers
 and cartographers amassed what would be the largest collection of maps 
in the world and produced strategic maps and 3D plaster terrain models 
in support of strategic studies and military operational plans,”</i> the CIA said in a statement.<br />
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The <a href="https://twitter.com/CIA">@CIA</a> declassified some of its maps <a href="https://t.co/VAfeyI4cJZ">https://t.co/VAfeyI4cJZ</a></div>
— Bat Man (@vonFalkenhorst) <a href="https://twitter.com/vonFalkenhorst/status/803515117711347712">November 29, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Fascinating how much of the digital world, including world digital cartography, has roots in military/intelligence <a href="https://t.co/2zRo8qYotx">https://t.co/2zRo8qYotx</a></div>
— Stuart Dunn (@StuartDunnCeRch) <a href="https://twitter.com/StuartDunnCeRch/status/803900185076264961">November 30, 2016</a></blockquote>
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The
 release includes a photograph taken on September, 29, 2001, shortly 
after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It shows George W Bush, chief of staff
 Andrew Card, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and Director of
 Central Intelligence George Tenet at Camp David, poring over a map of 
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The collection also features a
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from 2012 includes a full country profile, with geographic information 
and a timeline of various influential groups in the region, including 
the Taliban and military of the Soviet Union.<br />
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A 2003 map of Baghdad, Iraq shows strategic sites, including Saddam Hussein’s home.<br />
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Some of the much older maps 
include the Russian front’s progress during <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ciagov/sets/72157676359562335/" target="_blank">World War II</a> from 1941-1942,
 complete with a swastika to represent Germany and the hammer and sickle
 symbol to represent the Soviet Union.<br />
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A 1944 map shows central 
Germany’s population distribution, while another map from the same year 
depicts German concentration camps.<br />
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A map of Berlin from 1945 
shows how the city was divided by the allies following the end of World 
War II. The French, USSR, US and UK sectors are outlined.<br />
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A map of Cuba from 1962 shows surface to air missile sites on the island just before the Cuban Missile Crisis.<br />
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The collection features a photograph of President John F Kennedy next to a map of <i>“Communist rebel areas”</i> in Laos from March 22, 1961.<br />
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Another map from 2013 shows the West Bank in Palestine, with Israeli settlements in blue.<br />
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A map dated 1951 details the production and refinery capacities of Middle East oil for different countries in the region.<br />
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CIA’s newly-declassified maps give rare insight into historic events (PHOTOS)

J-16 strike fighter successfully test-fired a gigantic VLRAAM

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lt.cjdby.net</div>
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PL-XX.</div>
The J-16 carries two VLRAAM for a test firing. </div>
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In 
Nov 2016, a J-16 strike fighter test-fired a gigantic 
hypersonic missile, successfully destroying the target drone at a very 
long range.<br />
<br />
Looking at takeoff photos, we estimate the missile is about 28 
percent of the length of the J-16, which measures 22 meters (about 72 
feet). The puts the missile at about 19 feet, and roughly 13 inches in 
diameter. The missile appears to have four tailfins. Reports are that 
the size would put into the category of a very long range air to air 
missile (VLRAAM) with ranges exceeding 300 km (roughly 186 miles), 
likely max out between 250 and 310 miles. (As a point of comparison, the
 smaller 13.8-foot, 15-inch-diameter Russian R-37 missile has a 249-mile
 range).<br />
This is a big deal: this missile would easily outrange any American 
(or other NATO) air-to-air missile. Additionally, the VLRAAM's powerful 
rocket engine will push it to Mach 6 speeds, which will increase the no 
escape zone (NEZ), that is the area where a target cannot outrun the 
missile, against even supersonic targets like stealth fighters.<br />
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<img alt="China J-16 fighter missile long range" class="full-width shareable unveil-processed full-visible" data-lgsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/images/2016/11/vlraam_j-16_2.jpg?itok=s2w6NMNG&fc=50,50" data-medsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/medium_1x_/public/images/2016/11/vlraam_j-16_2.jpg?itok=c5DWwcLQ&fc=50,50" data-smsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/small_1x_/public/images/2016/11/vlraam_j-16_2.jpg?itok=lDrJd1Gk&fc=50,50" data-src="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/images/2016/11/vlraam_j-16_2.jpg?itok=s2w6NMNG&fc=50,50" data-xlsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/xl_1x_/public/images/2016/11/vlraam_j-16_2.jpg?itok=lSFYYF-3&fc=50,50" height="366" src="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/images/2016/11/vlraam_j-16_2.jpg?itok=s2w6NMNG&fc=50,50" width="640" /><a class="colorbox-button cboxElement linkTargets-processed" href="http://www.popsci.com/china-new-long-range-air-to-air-missile?dom=rss-default&src=syn"> </a><br />
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lt.cjdby.net</div>
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VLRAAM</div>
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The VLRAAM is one of the world's largest air to air missiles. Its
 other advanced features include an AESA radar, a 
infrared/electro-optical seeker (under the yellow-orange cover on the 
forward section above the nosecone), and satellite navigation midcourse 
correction. <i><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Popular Science</span></i>  <br />
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The new,
 larger missile's added value is not just in range. Another key feature:
 its large active electronically scanned (AESA) radar, which is used in 
the terminal phase of flight to lock onto the target. The AESA radar's 
large size—about 300-400% larger than that of most long range air-to-air
 missiles—and digital adaptability makes it highly effective against 
distant and stealthy targets, and resilient against electronic 
countermeasures like jamming and spoofing.<br />
The VLRAAM's backup sensor is a infrared/electro-optical seeker that 
can identify and hone in on high-value targets like aerial tankers and 
airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) radar aircraft. The 
VLRAAM also uses lateral thrusters built into the rear for improving its
 terminal phase maneuverability when engaging agile targets like 
fighters.<br />
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<img alt="China long range air to air missile" class="full-width shareable unveil-processed full-visible" data-lgsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/images/2016/11/vlraam_study.png?itok=3vDicCHE&fc=50,50" data-medsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/medium_1x_/public/images/2016/11/vlraam_study.png?itok=f1qr6ISI&fc=50,50" data-smsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/small_1x_/public/images/2016/11/vlraam_study.png?itok=C05sNy4o&fc=50,50" data-src="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/images/2016/11/vlraam_study.png?itok=3vDicCHE&fc=50,50" data-xlsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/xl_1x_/public/images/2016/11/vlraam_study.png?itok=zVNajXXx&fc=50,50" height="640" src="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/images/2016/11/vlraam_study.png?itok=3vDicCHE&fc=50,50" width="508" /><a class="colorbox-button cboxElement linkTargets-processed" href="http://www.popsci.com/china-new-long-range-air-to-air-missile?dom=rss-default&src=syn"> </a><br />
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J8 at cjdby.net via Hongjian</div>
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Glide</div>
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This 2015 study in a Chinese scientific journal discusses the 
flight path and performance of a VLRAAM, which flies 15 km upward of its
 launching fighter to a 30 km altitude, and is guided by a combination 
of long range radars (like Chinese AEWC planes) and satellite 
navigation, before divebombing at hypersonic speeds onto enemy aircraft,
 including stealth fighters, stealth bombers and AEWC aircraft.<br />
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Interestingly,
 the ability to glide may be a key feature as well. A 2016 research 
paper by Zhang Hongyuan, Zheng Yuejing, and Shi Xiaorong of Beijing 
Institute of Control and Electronics Technology linked to the VLRAAM 
development suggests that the midcourse portion of the VLRAAM's flight 
will occur at altitudes above 30 km (about 18.6 miles). Flying at such 
low pressure, low drag high altitudes would allow the VLRAAM to extend 
its range (similar to hypersonic gliders). The high altitude also makes 
it difficult for enemy aircraft and air defenses to shoot it down 
midflight. Finally, high altitude flight means that the VLRAAM would 
have a high angle of attack against lower flying targets, which reduces 
the response time for enemy evasive action.<br />
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<img class="progressiveMedia-image js-progressiveMedia-image" data-src="https://d262ilb51hltx0.cloudfront.net/max/1000/1*W_EyMsZgEz3ZAd1WD8QjHw.jpeg" height="266" src="https://d262ilb51hltx0.cloudfront.net/max/1000/1*W_EyMsZgEz3ZAd1WD8QjHw.jpeg" width="640" /> <br />
A U.S. F-35 fires an AIM-120. U.S. Navy photo<br />
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In any event, the weapon is much more substantial than is the U.S. 
military’s own longest-range air-to-air missile, the AIM-120 Advanced 
Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile. The AMRAAM is just 12 feet long and 
seven inches in diameter. The latest version of the American missile, 
the AIM-120D, reportedly boasts a maximum range in excess of 90 miles.<br />
<br />
VLRAAM Reportedly relies on a powerful rocket motor than can propel the 
munition at “hypersonic” speeds of up to Mach 6 — half-again faster than
 the AIM-120D’s own top speed.    <b> </b><br />
The AIM-120D makes do with an 
older-style, and less effective, mechanically-steered radar.<br />
While making huge strides when it comes to targeting, the U.S. military 
is falling behind in the advancement of air-launched munitions.  <br />
The Pentagon has not yet begun developing a new long-range air-to-air missile to eventually replace the AIM-120D.<br />
<br />
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="4a82" name="4a82">
Of course, a
 very-long-range missile is useless in the absence of good targeting. 
Unless you’re willing to destroy every airplane within reach — whether 
they’re enemy warplanes, civilian passenger jets or even friendly 
forces — you need to identify opposing planes before attacking them.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="33f2" name="33f2">
The
 identification problem prevented the U.S. Navy from successfully 
deploying its own AIM-54 Phoenix long-range air-to-air missile in 
combat. The Navy retired the munition in 2004 in favor of cheaper and 
more practical AMRAAMs.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="33f2" name="33f2">
<br /></div>
The Chinese military is apparently working on a solution to the 
identification problem, and has proposed building a targeting network 
around the high-flying Divine Eagle sensor drone. A Divine Eagle could 
pass targeting data to a VLRAAM-armed fighter — and potentially even to 
the missile itself, provided any operational version of the munition 
incorporates a datalink.</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="st-block image   ">
<div class="media media-element-container media-default full-width shareable">
<img alt="China UAV Drone Divine Eagle" class="full-width shareable unveil-processed full-visible" data-lgsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/divine_eagle_at_war.jpg?itok=F_LU511r" data-medsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/medium_1x_/public/divine_eagle_at_war.jpg?itok=WwWgq4XS" data-smsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/small_1x_/public/divine_eagle_at_war.jpg?itok=T7XNqSHT" data-src="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/divine_eagle_at_war.jpg?itok=F_LU511r" data-xlsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/xl_1x_/public/divine_eagle_at_war.jpg?itok=PEkWxdy_" height="416" src="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/divine_eagle_at_war.jpg?itok=F_LU511r" width="640" /><a class="colorbox-button cboxElement linkTargets-processed" href="http://www.popsci.com/china-new-long-range-air-to-air-missile?dom=rss-default&src=syn"> </a><br />
<div class="caption-wrapper indent">
<div class="field-credit">
Hongjian and henri K</div>
<div class="field-title">
Divine Eagle at War</div>
<div class="field-body">
The Divine Eagle is shown here in both offensive operations 
(providing targeting for smart bombs to strike enemy SAM, 
communications, bunkers and ballistic ICBMs) as well as defensive 
operations (detecting American stealth aircraft before they enter China 
airspace). This HALE drone, with radars optimized to detect stealth 
aircraft, would be part of a wider Chinese air defense network that 
would guide VLRAAMs against enemy stealth aircraft.<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="st-block markdown  text-left ">
Another 
researched VLRAAM function is datalinking; the papers called for the 
VLRAAM to be embedded within a highly integrated combat networks. It is 
envisioned as just part of a larger wave of networked solutions 
aggregated through multiple Chinese systems. For example, a J-20 stealth
 fighter wouldn't mount the missile (the VLRAAM is too large to fit in 
the J-20's weapons bay), but could use its low observable features to 
fly relatively close in order to detect enemy assets like AEW&C 
aircraft (which are vital to gather battlespace data for manned and 
unmanned assets, but subsonic in speed and less able to evade missiles).
 Then before breaking off contact, the J-20 would signal a J-16 400 km 
(249 miles) away (outside the range of most air to air missiles) 
providing it the data needed to launch the VLRAAM at the target. This 
would offer China a longer range version of present U.S. tactics that 
involve using the fifth generation F-22 as a sensor for 4th generation 
fighters as the "shooters."<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="st-block image   ">
<div class="media media-element-container media-default full-width shareable">
<img alt="China long range air to air missile" class="full-width shareable unveil-processed full-visible" data-lgsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/images/2016/11/vlraam_cg.jpg?itok=8YuhjKym&fc=50,50" data-medsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/medium_1x_/public/images/2016/11/vlraam_cg.jpg?itok=x2bG6zdw&fc=50,50" data-smsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/small_1x_/public/images/2016/11/vlraam_cg.jpg?itok=6xDjL5r2&fc=50,50" data-src="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/images/2016/11/vlraam_cg.jpg?itok=8YuhjKym&fc=50,50" data-xlsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/xl_1x_/public/images/2016/11/vlraam_cg.jpg?itok=8SXHFkqy&fc=50,50" height="188" src="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/images/2016/11/vlraam_cg.jpg?itok=8YuhjKym&fc=50,50" width="640" /><a class="colorbox-button cboxElement linkTargets-processed" href="http://www.popsci.com/china-new-long-range-air-to-air-missile?dom=rss-default&src=syn"> </a><br />
<div class="caption-wrapper indent">
<div class="field-credit">
Chinese Internet via WeChat</div>
<div class="field-title">
The Future is Here</div>
<div class="field-body">
In operation, the VLRAAM will provide J-20 stealth fighters with 
long range "aerial artillery" to even the odds against numerically 
superior air forces, while giving new life to J-11 and J-16 fighters. It
 can also give J-15 carrier fighters a long range interception 
capability<b>. </b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Popular Science</span></i> <b>             <i></i></b><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></i><br />
<div class="wocc" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span id="ext-gen149" style="font-weight: bold;">THE US AIRFORCE WANTS HYPERSONICS MISSILES IN JUST FOUR YEARS </span></span></div>
<div class="wocc" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<img alt="Experimental unmanned aircraft developed for the U.S. Air Force have already gone hypersonic during tests off the Southern California coast, flying at more than five times the speed of sound." class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" height="329" id="i-8263593f59e0d00c" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/11/23/19/148CFA64000005DC-3965440-Experimental_unmanned_aircraft_developed_for_the_U_S_Air_Force_h-m-16_1479928646820.jpg" style="display: block;" width="624" /><br />
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;"><span style="font-size: small;">X-51A WaveRider.</span> </span><span style="font-size: 1.2em;"><span style="font-size: 1.2em;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>dailymail.</i></span></span>    </span><br />
<div class="imageCaption">
Experimental
 unmanned aircraft developed for the U.S. Air Force have already gone 
hypersonic during tests off the Southern California coast, flying at 
more than five times the speed of sound.</div>
<div class="imageCaption">
<br /></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Experimental
 unmanned aircraft developed for the U.S. Air Force have already gone 
hypersonic during tests off the Southern California coast, flying at 
more than five times the speed of sound.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The
 Air Force said last year that the X-51A WaveRider flew for more than 
three minutes under power from its exotic scramjet engine and hit a 
speed of Mach 5.1.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The
 Advanced Hypersonic Weapon is part of a program to create a missile 
that will destroy targets anywhere on Earth within hours - travelling at
 speeds in excess of 3,500 miles-an-hour or Mach 5.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">It
 is being created alongside other demonstration projects being developed
 by DARPA, including the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept and the
 Tactical Boost Glide, both of which have test flights scheduled for 
2018 or 2019.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The same technology could also revolutionise air travel - although military bosses have their own goal.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">'We
 are the Air Force. What do we want to do with this technology? We want 
to weaponize it,' Ryan Helbach, an official with the Air Force Research 
Laboratory, said.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">'The
 follow-on program to this is the High Speed Strike Weapon effort. It's 
taking a lot of the lessons learned and the technology and moving to a 
weapons acquisition.'</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<i><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></i><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">RS-28 Sarmat missile</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The test flight comes just weeks after Vladimir Putin has launched a supersonic missile that could reach the UK in 13 minutes, according to Russian missile experts.</span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<div class="mol-para-with-font" id="ext-gen143">
<span style="font-size: small;">The Object 4202 rocket was
 fired thousands of miles from the Yasny Launch Base in Russia to the 
far-east peninsula of Kamchatka with Kremlin officials calling the test a
 'success'.<a class="" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/russia/index.html" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">  </a></span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: small;">It is all but invisible to US anti-missile systems and moves at such high speeds it is virtually impossible to intercept.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: small;">Boasting
 about their new weapon, Russia's Tactical Missiles Corporation claimed 
it would make the Hiroshima nuclear bombs look like 'popguns'.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
  </div>
<div class="artSplitter mol-img-group">
<div class="mol-img">
<div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;">
<img alt="Russia unveiled chilling pictures of its largest ever nuclear missile, capable of destroying an area the size of France last month. A contract for the weapons was signed in 2011, and they are expected to be ready in 2018" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" height="634" id="i-3eb8ae110b11b49d" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/10/25/10/39B1858B00000578-3870192-image-a-33_1477389204684.jpg" style="display: block;" width="634" /><br />
<div class="share-pictures-overlay" id="share-pictures-5">
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="imageCaption">
Russia unveiled chilling pictures of 
its largest ever nuclear missile, capable of destroying an area the size
 of France last month. A contract for the weapons was signed in 2011, 
and they are expected to be ready in 2018</div>
<div class="imageCaption">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
It could reach the west coast of the United States in 12 minutes.  </div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
The super weapon is being designed to sit atop Russia's largest ever nuclear missile, dubbed 'Satan 2'<a class="" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/russia/index.html" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank"> </a>by NATO.  </div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
The
 RS-28 Sarmat missile - which was unveiled last month - has a top speed 
of 4.3 miles (7km) per second and has been designed to outfox 
anti-missile shield systems.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
The new 
Sarmat missile could deliver warheads of 40 megatons - 2,000 times as 
powerful as the atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" id="ext-gen142">
The
 Russian President is reportedly planning to replace the country's older
 SS-18 Satan weapons with the new missiles amid a string of recent 
disagreements with the West</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
</div>
<img alt="" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" height="153" id="i-cbc847fc742e9b7" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/10/26/23/39B29DFE00000578-0-image-a-16_1477521970667.jpg" style="display: block;" width="624" /><br />
<div class="imageCaption">
Each 
missile contains 16 nuclear warheads, according to pictures revealed 
online from the Makeyev Rocket Design Bureau. It is also able to evade 
radar.</div>
<div class="imageCaption">
<br /></div>
<div class="imageCaption">
<img alt="If a Sarmat missile were fired at London it would wipe out most of Britain, as well as northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" height="420" id="i-9200482d105062e8" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/05/10/15/3402FF3200000578-3582907-image-a-35_1462890277728.jpg" style="display: block;" width="634" /></div>
<div class="share-pictures-overlay" id="share-pictures-7">
</div>
<div class="imageCaption">
If a Sarmat missile 
were fired at London it would wipe out most of Britain, as well as 
northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands. <span style="font-size: 1.2em;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>dailymail</i></span></span></div>
<div class="imageCaption">
</div>
<div class="imageCaption">
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: small;">The
 new Sarmat missile could deliver warheads of 40 megatons - 2,000 times 
as powerful as the atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: small;">Satan 2 super-nuke that is capable of wiping out England and Wales and 2,000 times as powerful as the Hiroshima bomb. </span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: small;">It is 
expected to have a range of 6,213 miles (10,000 km), which would allow 
Moscow to attack London and other European cities as well as reaching 
cities on America's west and east coasts.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: small;">Igor
 Sutyagin, an expert in Russian nuclear capability at the Royal United 
Services Institute in London, told MailOnline: 'The SS-18 is more than 
30 years old. It is past its sell-by date. </span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: small;">'So even if you had the warmest relations in the world with Nato you would want to update your missiles. </span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: small;">'But
 (President) Putin of course is happy for it to be portrayed as an 
aggressive move. He wants to stress his unpredictability and his 
importance.'</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: small;">Dr Sutyagin 
points out that the SS-18 missiles which the Russians currently rely on 
were designed in 1988 during the Soviet Union and were built at a 
factory in Dnipropetrovsk, in what is now the Ukraine.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: small;">He
 said the Russians cannot totally rely on the Ukraine-based maintenance 
engineers and he said Sarmat were designed and built by Russians at the 
Khrunichev plant just outside Moscow.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: small;">Dr
 Sutyagin said they would be no match for Nato systems like Aegis 
Ashore, the controversial missile defence shield which the US is 
deploying to Romania.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<div class="mol-para-with-font" id="ext-gen147">
<span style="font-size: small;">He said: 'Not only are they too fast but they have got rid of the predictable flight path. </span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: small;">'It manouevres all the way so it is terribly difficult for any missile defence system to shoot it down.'</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" id="ext-gen146">
<span style="font-size: small;">The Russian Defence Ministry plans to put the Sarmat into service in late 2018 and remove the last SS-18 by 2020. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: small;">Tensions 
between Russian and the West are at breaking point with Theresa May 
attacking Putin for 'undermining the West's efforts' to tackle the Syria
 crisis.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: small;">Russia
 has welcomed the election of controversial Donald Trump as president 
and Putin and 'The Donald' are set for talks on crucial issues such as 
ISIS, the Ukraine issue and the global terror threat.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;"><span style="font-size: small;">Trump
 has spoken of his admiration for Putin and there is concern in Europe 
the US could pull back from sanctions against the Kremlin aimed at 
preventing further military action on the country's borders after the 
seizure of Crimea.</span>  </span><span style="font-size: 1.2em;"><span style="font-size: 1.2em;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>dailymail.co.uk</i></span></span> </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="artSplitter mol-img-group">
<div class="mol-img">
<div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;">
<div class="overlay-icon mobile-gallery">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<b><br /></b>
</div>

J-16 strike fighter successfully test-fired a gigantic VLRAAM

lt.cjdby.net PL-XX. The J-16 carries two VLRAAM for a test firing. In Nov 2016, a J-16 strike fighter test-fired a gig...

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J-16 strike fighter successfully test-fired a gigantic VLRAAM

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