Important Innovations

California Startup Exosonic Developing Supersonic Air Force One                                                                           Source:  Exosonic Traveling Close to Twice the Speed of Sound California startup Exosonic is working with the US Air Force to develop a supersonic jet to carry the President of the United States.  It's a supersonic version of Air Force One.  Exosonic has secured a contract with the Presidential and Executive Airlift Directorate (PE) to develop its concept for a Mach 1.8 twin engine SST jet aircraft with a low sonic boom. Travelling at Speeds of 1,381 mph The Exosonic SST is a luxurious business jet for the President and his entourage.  It has 31 passenger seats, private suites for work and rest and leather, quartz and oak fittings.  The vehicle cruises at twice the speed of current aircraft or 1,381 mph. Brand New Technologies The SST Air Force One is a spinoff from Exosonic's 70 seat commercial SST concept.  The Presidential version is expec

  Hewlett Packard & Oak Ridge National Lab                                                                                               Source: NASA                                    One of the World's Most Advanced Weather Forecasting Systems With the back to back, forecast-defying storms we've been getting in North America and elsewhere in the world, the prospect of much more precise weather forecasting is of great appeal.  Hewlett Packard Enterprises just announced that it is helping the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Lab build and utilize a pair of extremely high performance supercomputers to model and forecast the weather with much greater precision.  The system is primarily for the US Air Force's Weather Service for global military operations. Supercomputer Weather Forecasts The supercomputers are operating at the Oak Ridge National Lab and are powered by HP's Cray EX technology.  They even have names "Miller" and "Fawbush&qu

  AI Breakthrough                              Source:  USAF Dragon Lady Spy Plane Historic Flight For the first time in history, a robot has co-piloted a US Military plane.  The robot fully shared control of the plane and the test mission with a human pilot.  The artificial intelligence algorithm, called ARTU from Star Wars fame, took charge of the navigation and sensors of a U-25 Dragon Lady spy plane.  The flight in mid December 2020 was successful, historic and a first.  The spy plane is based at the USAF 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base in California. ARTU The artificial intelligence system, ARTU, was developed by the Air Combat Command U-2 Federal Lab.  It was trained for the test flight to search for enemy missile launches during a simulated attack, while the human pilot searched for aircraft.  They used the same radar.  ARTU was in complete control for its part of the mission. For instance, the robot made final decisions on devoting radar to search for missile la

Air Force Kick Starts Flying Car Industry Source:  Sabrewing Rhaegal  Launches Agility Prime Open Competition The US Air Force is kick starting the flying car industry.  It wants thirty flying car vehicle models by 2030.  To achieve its goals, the Air Force is launching an open challenge to the flying car industry, called Agility Prime.  USAF Assistant Director Dr. Will Roper says there are multiple companies in a position to win the competition and deliver.  Specifically, the Air Force wants EVTOLs or electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles. Virtual Kickoff The Air Force launched the program with a virtual news conference announcement.  They want to innovate flying car vehicles for both the military and the driving/flying public.  Their approach is through collaboration with investors, the industry and "interagency" partners. Multiple Types and Designs Dr. Roper wants multiple designs such as large flying vehicles for cargo and sma

US Air Force's X-37B Spaceplane - Clouded in Mysteries & Missions Successfully Lands After Record Orbit The US Air Force announced that its top secret, experimental spaceplane - the X-37B - just successfully landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in FL after a record flight. The spaceplane has been more than two years - 780 days - in orbital flight.  This is its longest test mission for a group of military technologies.  The X-37B is an experimental, test spaceship.  It was built by Boeing, is operated by the US Air Force and was launched into its latest mission aboard a SpaceX rocket. Clandestine Missions This is the spaceplane's 5th mission.  What the missions have entailed are for the most part a mystery.  They are top secret missions.  But we do know the purpose is to demonstrate new technologies, such as propulsion systems, avionics and spacecraft reentry systems for what the Air Force hopes will be a "reliable, reusable, unmanned space test pl

Highly Advanced Spy Drone that has Russia Very Concerned Source:  USAF MQ-9 Reaper US Air Force's MQ-9 Reaper Drones Russia is very concerned about a US plan to deploy spy drones in Poland.  It's the MQ-9 Reaper drone which is an unmanned aerial vehicle that's capable of remote controlled or autonomous flight operations.  It was developed by General Atomics for the US Air Force.  It has a maximum speed of 300 mph and a range of 1,150 miles.  According to experts, this drone technology is very advanced and has greatly increased the US ability to monitor vast areas of Eastern Europe. MQ-9 Reaper Already There According to several reports, a squadron of MQ-9 drones are fully operational from an air base in Poland.  President Trump also plans to send 1000 US troops to Poland to deter any Russian aggression.  Today, a Russian Deputy Foreign Minister expressed Russia's deep concern about the drones, saying they demonstrate US "aggressive intentions

2 New Hypersonic Weapons Plans  Artist Concept of USAF Hypersonic Vehicle Star Wars As the photo shows, the USAF hypersonic system looks like Star Wars revisited. The US Airforce is jumpstarting 2, new hypersonic weapons programs.  A compelling reason: intense competitive pressure from Russia and China which have aggressive hypersonic programs of their own. Space Wars The USAF has awarded Lockheed Martin 2 contracts for hypersonic weapons in the past few months worth $1.4 billion.  The most recent, last week, is a $480 million contract to design the Air Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW).  Some call it the most dangerous space weapon ever. Hyper-Speeds Hypersonic weapon systems travel far faster than the speed of sound.  They do Mach 5 plus or 3,806 mph.  And a key differentiator is that they're highly maneuverable.  Right now, the US has no defense system capable of taking them down because of their hyper speeds and maneuverability.  That's why this research is