Car Wars Internet Newsletter
Vol. 13, No. 6
December 26, 2010
-------------------------------
THE GUNNERY CHAIR
Happy Holidays, autoduellists. This issue should give you warm you with
a little napalm this snow-filled December.
Klaus Breuer's Medical Status
Klaus Breuer is the German autoduellist who has built a powerful
vehicle design program for Car Wars. Klaus posted on the SJ Games Car
Wars Message Board in November he was diagnosed with a terminal brain
tumor. Klaus had surgery in November to attempt to remove the tumor.
Klaus has not posted an update on his status.
Can you send an e-mail to Klaus wishing him a successful recovery?
Receiving e-mails from over 100 Car Wars players around the world is
the mental and emotional support Klaus needs at this time while medical
experts treat him physically. Thanks.
Klaus Breuer
Munich, Germany
[E-mail Address Deleted]
http://www.breueronline.de/klaus/carwars/index.html
Gear Jammer Motor Works Going Offline
Disappointing news was posted on the Gear Jammer Web site this month.
Thanks to the SJ Games Car Wars Message Board for making me aware of
this development.
Gear Jammer Motor Works
http://www.gearjammers.us/mainpage/index.php
http://www.talesofadventure.net/carwars/mainpage/index.php
http://www.talesofadventure.net/carwars/index.php
Bad News! Gear Jammers will be closing on December 31st 2010. Please
make copies of any work you have online, for it will all be gone as of
2011.
Sorry for the inconvenience,
Rick H.
Presents for Car Wars Players on e23
Steve Jackson Games has published several Car Wars items on e23
including the Mini Car Wars set. Issues of The Space Gamer Magazine are
continuing to appear on e23. You will have to wait until next year for
legendary Volume 1, Number 58, the issue with "Massacre at Midville."
SWAT's Blog and Photo Gallery
This autumn I started a blog about Car Wars. I also created a photo
gallery on Flickr of the 3D arena SWAT member and MiB Austin Searles
built.
Weapons, Wheels and the Wasteland
http://owenmp.wordpress.com
owenmp's photosets
Flickr.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/47151912@N05/sets/
Drive Offensively in 2011,
MPO
------------------
WEB WATCH
4 post-apocalyptic games that should be remade today
geeksix
http://www.geeksix.com/2009/03/4-post-apocalyptic-games-that-should-be-remade-today
Auto Duel Photo Gallery
Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/groups/1377565@N20
Aaron Mulder's Car Wars Car Designer
http://carwarsdesigner.appspot.com
Klaus Breuer's Car Wars Vehicle Designer
http://www.breueronline.de/klaus/carwars/index.html
Batman Begins Tumbler
MOCpages.com
http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/13190
Car Wars
Wapedia
http://wapedia.mobi/en/Car_Wars
Car Wars for Go Play NW 2009
Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37996594214@N01/sets/72157618971390295/
Car Wars Resources
Consortium Games
http://launchfightersgame.com/cars
Car Wars Crash Flow Chart
Ctoan
http://www.godice.co.uk/ctoan_resources.html
http://www.godice.co.uk/resources/CW_Crash_Chart.pdf
Car Wars Adventure Gamebooks
Demian's Gamebook Web Page
http://www.gamebooks.org/cwlist.htm
http://www.gamebooks.org/show_series.php?name=Car+Wars+Adventure+Gamebooks
Car Warriors
Fantastic Fiction
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/series/car-warriors
Costa Rica Pirates
http://crpirates.info
http://aada.crpirates.info
http://crpirates.info/?p=24
Dark Future: The Game of Highway Warriors
Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=123814800362
Dark Future / Warlands Gallery
Displaced Miniatures
http://displacedminiatures.com/LeadAsbestos2010/gallery/2979
Last Derby Bowl: A Frag-Car Wars PBEM
http://derbybowl.angelfire.com/Home.htm
Death Race or Full Auto the movie?
Sarcastic Gamer
http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/index.php/2009/07/death-race-or-full-auto-the-movie.html
Doug's Car Wars Site
http://carwars.dougrpg.com/tiki-index.php
Fantasy Role Playing Games - What Is A Role Playing Game?
Squidoo
http://www.squidoo.com/Fantasy_Gamer
Frustrated Wargamers Organization
http://themclarens.org/bruce/fwo/fwo.html
http://themclarens.org/bruce/fwo
Gear Jammer Motor Works
http://www.gearjammers.us/mainpage/index.php
http://www.talesofadventure.net/carwars/mainpage/index.php
http://www.talesofadventure.net/carwars/index.php
GURPS Autoduel Second Edition Bibliography
Steve Jackson Games
http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/Autoduel/bibliography.html
Hertfordshire Autoduellists Association
Yahoo! Groups
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/hertsautoduel
Jim's Wargames Workbench
http://jimswargamesworkbench.blogspot.com
North Texas Autoduel Association
http://nortexada.blogspot.com
The RokLobster's Gallery
Picasa Web Albums
http://picasaweb.google.com/lokrobster
Scorched Earth: A post-apocalyptic driver seat adventure game
Fortress: Ameritrash
http://fortressat.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2046&Itemid=0
--------------------------------------
e23 CAR WARS PRODUCTS
The AADA Vehicle Guide
http://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=SJG30-7113
Car Wars City Blocks 2
http://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=SJG30-7137
Mini Car Wars
http://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=SJG30-1119
Space Gamer Vol. 1, No. 45
http://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=SJG30-2345
Space Gamer Vol. 1, No. 46
http://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=SJG30-2346
Space Gamer Vol. 1, No. 47
http://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=SJG30-2347
Space Gamer Vol. 1, No. 48
http://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=SJG30-2348
Space Gamer Vol. 1, No. 49
http://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=SJG30-2349
Space Gamer Vol. 1, No. 50
http://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=SJG30-2350
Space Gamer Vol. 1, No. 51
http://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=SJG30-2351
Space Gamer Vol. 1, No. 52
http://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=SJG30-2352
--------------------------------------
GAMES AND ACCESSORIES
Diagnostic Dice
Creative Dice
http://creativedice.com
Crash Track!
Shark Bone Games and DriveThruRPG
http://sharkbone.libsyn.com
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=86048
Extra Set #1: Vehicles
Paper Make iT !, DriveThruRPG and Wargame Vault
http://www.papermakeit.com
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=85038
http://www.wargamevault.com/product_info.php?products_id=85038
Hotz Matz Paved Felt Highways
Hotz ArtWorks
http://www.hotzmats.com/mat_1-paved_highways.html
Light Bikes: Rules for Racing Light-powered Cycles
Glory Games, DriveThruRPG and Wargame Vault
http://japenet.net/japenetgames.html
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=86941
http://www.wargamevault.com/product_info.php?products_id=86941
Vehicular Homicide 2nd Edition
Radioactive Press, RPG Now, DriveThruRPG and Wargame Vault
http://radioactive-press.weebly.com/index.html
http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=4491357
http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=86533
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=86533
http://www.wargamevault.com/product_info.php?products_id=86533
-------------------
MINIATURES
15mm Post Apoc Survivalists
Rebel Minis
http://rebelminis.com/15poapsu.html
Vehicles and Tridlins
Ramshackle Games
http://shop.ramshacklegames.co.uk
http://shop.ramshacklegames.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=6
http://shop.ramshacklegames.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=15
Wolfhound Jack's Designs
http://www.shapeways.com/shops/wolfhoundjack
----------------------------
COMPUTER GAMES
Post-Apocalyptic RTS 'Apox' Announced
http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/65501
Shack News
September 09, 2010
-------------------------
CONSOLE GAMES
Scrap Metal XBLA
http://blogs.capecodonline.com/cape-cod-gaming/2010/07/29/scrap-metal-xbla/
Game On: Cape Cod Gaming Blog
July 29, 2010
Twisted Metal for PlayStation 3
Official Sony PlayStation Web Site
http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/twisted-metal-ps3.html
---------------------------------------------
MESSAGE BOARD DISCUSSIONS
American Autoduelling Association Employment Notice
http://lakeland-rpg.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=655&sid=a0c18d302e7dd79a00006c19ae788067
Lakeland Role Playing Guild
December 19, 2009
Any love for Road Kill Rally?
http://fortressat.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&Itemid=712&func=view&catid=10&id=80530
Fortress Ameritrash
November 26, 2010
Autoduel
http://www.abandonia.com/vbullet/showthread.php?t=4902
Abandonia Forums
May 07, 2005
Automotive Combat
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/568581
BoardGameGeek
September 27, 2010
AutoWar 15mm Vehicles Pre-made or Roll your own
http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=216690
The Miniatures Page
December 22, 2010
Calling all old Car Wars fans
http://www.theoldergamers.com/forum/strategy-rpg-others/171320-calling-all-old-car-wars-fans.html
The Older Gamers Forums
May 14, 2008
Car Wars
http://damekshop.com/forum/index.php?topic=2054.0
Da Mek Shop
May 18, 2009
Car Wars
http://users.boardnation.com/~post-apocalypse/index.php?board=4;action=display;threadid=340
www.post-apocalypse.co.uk
August 30, 2007
Car Wars?
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1014036
AV Science Forum
March 31, 2008
Car Wars!
http://www.freeyabb.com/goblinoidgames/viewtopic.php?t=1648&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=&sid=26ae05351fa656d225ce3b1132b40424&mforum=goblinoidgames
Goblinoid Games Forums
December 01, 2009
Carwars basic rules
http://s12.invisionfree.com/BFTN/index.php?showtopic=168
Invision Power Board
October 19, 2005
Car Wars fans . . . check this out
http://www.reapermini.com/forum/index.php?/topic/9433-car-wars-fans
Reaper Miniatures Message Boards
August 11, 2004
CarWars kill stickers
http://bbs.stardestroyer.net/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=74118&start=0
StarDestroyer.Net Message Boards
July 27, 2005
The Car Wars Thread
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=79502
The Straight Dope Message Board
July 26, 2001
Custom Cars for Road Warriors of the Warlands
http://www.miniartofwar.net/smf/index.php?PHPSESSID=0643edbc98cc2fae2241fe5a4b50eeb3&topic=1190.0
Mini Art of War
March 09, 2009
D&D 3.5 for Post-Apocalyptic Games
http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/245421-d-d-3-5-post-apocalyptic-games.html
EN World
November 21, 2008
The Death Race RPG
https://armorgames.com/community/thread/6566237/the-death-race-rpg/page/1
Armor Games Forums
November 05, 2010
Good Old Games: Autoduel by Origin Systems, Inc.
http://www.quartertothree.com/game-talk/showthread.php?t=45694&page=116
http://www.quartertothree.com/game-talk/showthread.php?t=45694&page=117
Quarter to Three Forums
November 15, 2010
GURPS Autoduel
http://www.penandpapergames.com/forums/showthread.php/5019-GURPS-Autoduel
Pen and Paper Games
January 22, 2008
Help me fill in the Car Wars shaped hole in my heart
http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=553456
RPGnet Forums
December 24, 2010
Mad Max: difference between pursuit & interceptor?
http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=190541
The Miniatures Page Forums
February 05, 2010
Mad Max Grognard - Road War 2000
http://www.mozomedia.com/apple2/2008/12/mad-max-grognard-road-war-2000
Apple II Adventures
December 05, 2008
More Hot Wheels conversions
http://www.lead-adventure.de/index.php?topic=19157.0
Lead Adventure Forum
May 16, 2010
News: Accessories for your Hot Wheels
http://wyrd-games.net/forum/showthread.php?t=979
Wyrd Miniatures Forums
July 18, 2006
Our Car Wars game was fun
http://www.orlandogaming.org/smf/index.php?topic=188.0
OrlandoGaming.org
January 19, 2008
Pics of my Car Wars arena for "Autoduel in Akron"
http://www.carnagecon.com/forum/promote-your-game/pics-of-my-car-wars-arena-for-autoduel-in-akron/
Carnage in Wonderland Forum
September 12, 2010
Should Roadwar get a remake?
http://www.rpgcodex.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?p=976848&sid=2b7babc0bd287ded7269f1226b9105af
RPG Codex Forums
December 02, 2009
Thanks to gamers who played "Road Warriors" game at Fall-In!
http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=212361
The Miniatures Page
November 03, 2010
------------------
BLOG POSTS
Car Combat Games
http://blog.gamesparadise.com.au/car-combat-games
Gamers Paradise
Unlisted Date
Death Race
http://www.batrock.net/?p=460
Batrock
November 05, 2008
Hotz Mats Paved Felt Highways are now available
http://www.tabletopgamingnews.com/2010/06/10/36858
Tabletop Gaming News
June 10, 2010
Toll Roads for Legalized Car Wars
http://www.neatorama.com/2010/07/27/toll-roads-for-legalized-car-wars/
Neatorama
July 27, 2010
Warlands Black Bost Review
http://www.littleleadheroes.com/archives/cat_wargaming_resource.html
Little Lead Heroes
Andy's Mostly Miniature Wargaming Blog
April 23, 2009
---------------------------
E-MAIL MESSAGES
Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2010 21:28:45 -0700
From: owenmp@seanet.com
To: [E-mail Address Deleted]
Subject: Super-Scale Car Wars at StillCon 2010
Your Super-Scale Car Wars event at StillCon 2010 must have been a blast.
In 1998 I published a Super-Scale Car Wars article with notes from the
author in the Car Wars Internet Newsletter. The article was also
published in Shadis and Pyramid Online.
Super-Scale Car Wars
http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.cgi?250
Author: Loren Dean
Source: Pyramid Online
Super-Scale Car Wars
http://www.seanet.com/~owenmp/metal/supercw.html
Author: Loren Dean
Source: CWIN 1.03
Drive Offensively,
Michael P. Owen
Seattle Washington Autoduel Team
http://www.seanet.com/~owenmp/swathome.html
Subject: RE: Super-Scale Car Wars at StillCon 2010
Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 14:34:27 -0700
From: Loren Dean [E-mail Address Deleted]
To: Michael P. Owen [E-mail Address Deleted]
Sorry for the late reply here, but it was a blast. For reference, I
*am* Loren Dean, the author of the article you reference. I updated the
original article just a teeny bit and it can be found here.
TAGG - Super-Scale Car Wars
http://tagameguild.org/x/commdoc/sscw?nocache=yes
Someday I'll get some more pictures.
Thanks,
Loren
-----------------------------------
BLASTS FROM THE PAST
Goldring Miniatures, Inc. Catalog
Mega Minis
http://www.megaminis.com/MEGA/CATALOGS/DarkHorse-CATALOG-1987.pdf
Denis Loubet's Official Web Site
http://denisloubet.com
Irrational Designs: Official Web Site of Charles A. Oines
http://irrationaldesigns.com
Leslie Fish's Official Web Site
http://lesliefish.com
Leslie Fish
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Fish
-----------------------------------------
THE CRACKED WINDSHIELD
Full Frontal Nerdity: Combining Car Wars and Formula De
http://nodwick.humor.gamespy.com/ffn/strips/2010-06-23.jpg
Nodwick dot com
June 23, 2010
Hummers Are For Wussies
http://minx.cc/?post=71214
Ace of Spaces HQ Blog
March 13, 2005
Bear gets stuck in car, goes on brief ride
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/23/colorado.bear.car/index.html?hpt=T2
By Phil Gast
CNN.com
July 23, 2010
Story Highlights
* A bear spends more than two hours in a Colorado car
* The Toyota rolled down the driveway with the bear inside
* The animal trashes the vehicle's interior
* Deputies freed it by tying a rope to the door handle and pulling it
If you think you've heard it all, follow this tale of a hungry black
bear who went for a ride, literally.
Douglas County, Colorado, Sheriff's deputies early Friday got a call
about a honking car and a commotion inside. Perhaps it was teenagers or
a thief, they thought as they approached Ralph Story's 2008 Toyota
Corolla.
It turns out it was a thief, albeit the furry variety.
The deputies' first clue to something unusual was that the car was 125
feet below its normal parking spot in the driveway of the Storys'
Larkspur home, which sits on five acres.
Imagine their further surprise when they turned on their flashlights
and got a peek inside.
It was a full-grown black bear, also known as ursus americanus.
The deputies had earlier received a call from a neighbor. She had heard
honking and came up to the Story home, where the family was asleep.
"Our Toyota was making a heck of a racket and was rocking back and
forth," Story said.
The neighbor called deputies shortly after 3 a.m., according to
spokeswoman Michelle Rademacher of the sheriff's Department in the
community 45 miles south of Denver.
Story told CNN the bear was probably drawn to a peanut butter sandwich
left inside by his 17-year-old son Ben. He said the family didn't
realize what was going on until deputies arrived and the neighbor came
back and called them. By then the car was no longer in the driveway.
Incredulous, Story, his wife and three teen children -- who have lived
in Larkspur for 17 years -- rushed outside to see the red Toyota down
the hill and near a tree.
Somehow, the bear had either opened the unlocked back door or pushed a
window down to get inside. Understandably agitated, it bumped into the
horn repeatedly and eventually knocked the car's gear into neutral. The
Toyota rolled down the hill. The door added to the bear's indignity by
closing at some point during the ordeal.
A sergeant and two deputies who arrived on the scene "were stymied on
how to proceed," Story said.
They considered a tranquilizer or shooting the bear, whose gender is
unknown. "Public safety is our primary concern," Rademacher said.
Finally, the officers decided the best outcome for all would be to keep
everyone safe and let the bear live to see more adventures.
After taking pictures, one of them tied a long rope to a door handle
and pulled. After a few moments, Story said, the bear bounded out
around 5 a.m., at least two hours after it had gotten inside.
It left a foul-smelling "present" on the front seat.
The Toyota was trashed, with its air bags, seats and stereo torn to
shreds. It's a total loss.
Ben Story said he was scared when the family rushed outside to see the
car was gone. "My dad is going to kill me," he thought to himself. "My
car is gone. I didn't lock it. He said it was stolen."
Rademacher said deputies have enough experience not to be shocked
during a day's work. But this will make for a great memory.
Ralph Story admitted the incident was pretty comical. He's glad the
animal got away and no one was hurt.
"There's a bear in the car. Who are you gonna get mad at?"
Area man reminded on September calendar to "start hating Notre Dame"
blogtoplist.com
http://www.blogtoplist.com/rss/calendar.html
http://www.blogtoplist.com/sports/blogdetails-6699.html
September 03, 2010
"They don't have logos on their helmets. That just seems silly. It's
the same reason I hate the Cleveland Browns. You can't think of some
intricate drawing of an Irishman to put on the helmet? Just silliness.
Plus, where's the flyovers, smoke machines? Plus, they get their own
network? For what? Let me tell you something . . . we've got a channel
for cars (Speed Channel) and we get a channel for war battles (History
Channel) . . . However, we can't get a channel that shows carwars
and/or car battles? But we have a channel for Notre Dame? Tell me the
fairness in that? If ND gets their own station, then the least the
world can do for me is a channel where cars filled with machine guns go
to war against armed alien foreign cars. And I don't think that's
asking much. Not at all."
---------------------------------------------------------
AUTODUELLING TECHNOLOGY TODAY
Can-Am Spyder Roadster
http://www.can-am.brp.com
Ten Technological Advances Designed to Keep Our Soldiers Safer
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/09/16/ten-ways-keep-soldiers-safer/?test=faces
By John Brandon
FoxNews.com
September 16, 2010
10 Batman gadgets you can (almost) get today
http://dvice.com/archives/2008/07/believing-batma.php
By Kevin Hall
DVICE
July 17, 2008
Hack attacks mounted on car control systems
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/10119492.stm
BBC News
May 07, 2010
The computer systems used to control modern cars are very vulnerable to
attack, say experts.
An investigation by security researchers found the systems to be
"fragile" and easily subverted.
The researchers showed how to kill a car engine remotely, turn off the
brakes so the car would not stop and make instruments give false
readings.
Despite their success, the team said it would be hard for malicious
attackers to reproduce their work.
Locked in
The team of researchers, led by Professor Stefan Savage from the
University of California-San Diego, and Tadayoshi Kohno from the
University of Washington set out to see what resilience cars had to an
attack on their control systems.
"Our findings suggest that, unfortunately, the answer is 'little,'"
wrote the researchers from the Center for Automotive Embedded Systems
Security.
The researchers concentrated their attacks on the electronic control
units (ECUs) scattered throughout modern vehicles which oversee the
workings of many car components. It is thought that modern vehicles
have about 100 megabytes of binary code spread across up to 70 ECUs.
Individual control units typically oversee one sub-system but ECUs
communicate so that many different systems can be controlled as the
situation demands. For instance, in a crash seat belts may be
pre-tensioned, doors unlocked and air bags deployed.
The attackers created software called CarShark to monitor
communications between the ECUs and insert fake packets of data to
carry out attacks.
The team got at the ECUs via the communications ports fitted as
standard on most cars that enable mechanics to gather data about a
vehicle before they begin servicing or repair work.
The researchers mounted a series of attacks against a stationary and
moving vehicle to see how much of the car could fall under their
control.
Cars on dockside, PA All modern cars are fitted with computer control
systems
"We are able to forcibly and completely disengage the brakes while
driving, making it difficult for the driver to stop," wrote the
researchers. "Conversely, we are able to forcibly activate the brakes,
lurching the driver forward and causing the car to stop suddenly."
In one attack, the team transformed the instrument panel into a clock
that counted down to zero from 60 seconds. In the final seconds the
horn honks and as zero is reached the car engine shuts off and the
doors are locked.
They found that almost every system in the car, including engine,
brakes, heating and cooling, lights, instrument panel, radio and locks
was vulnerable.
The team concluded that the car control software was "fragile" and easy
to subvert. In some cases simply sending malformed packets of data,
rather than specific control code, was enough to trigger a response.
The team are presenting a paper on their results at the IEEE symposium
on Security and Privacy in California on 19 May.
"Cars benefit from the fact that they are (hopefully) not connected to
the internet (yet) and currently are not able to be remotely accessed,"
said Rik Fergson, a security analyst at Trend Micro. "So in order to
carry out a successful attack you would already need to have physical
access to the vehicle, as a break-in or as a mechanic, seem the two
most likely scenarios."
"As cars, and everything else in life up to and including even
pacemakers or fridges, become steadily more connected and externally
accessible, research such as this should be taken increasingly
seriously by manufacturers," he added.
"This represents an opportunity to head off a problem before it starts,
in the not-too-distant future it may represent a real risk to life."
German Military Braces For Peak Oil
http://news.slashdot.org/story/10/09/11/0057222/German-Military-Braces-For-Peak-Oil
Posted by timothy
Slashdot.org
September 11, 2010
myrdos2 writes "A study by a German military think tank leaked to the
Internet warns of the potential for a dire global economic crisis in as
little as 15 years as a result of a peak and an irreversible decline in
world oil supplies. The study states that there is 'some probability
that peak oil will occur around the year 2010 and that the impact on
security is expected to be felt 15 to 30 years later. ... In the medium
term the global economic system and every market-oriented national
economy would collapse.' The report closely matches one from the US
military earlier this year, which stated that surplus oil production
capacity could disappear within two years and there could be serious
shortages by 2015 with a significant economic and political impact."
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/09/study-warns-of-perilous-oil-crisis
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/apr/11/peak-oil-production-supply
Anti-aircraft laser unveiled at Farnborough Airshow
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10682693
By Daniel Emery, BBC Technology reporter
July 19, 2010
UAV shot down by anti-aircraft energy laser
US firm Raytheon has unveiled its anti-aircraft laser at the
Farnborough Airshow in Hampshire.
The Laser Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) can either be used on its own
or alongside a gunnery system.
In May, the laser was used to shoot down unmanned aerial vehicles
(UAVs) in a series of tests.
Raytheon said the solid state fibre laser produces a 50 kilowatt beam
and can be used against UAV, mortar, rockets and small surface ships.
The idea of using lasers as weapons has been around almost as long as
the laser itself, invented in 1960.
Initially, the systems were chemical lasers, which get their power from
a chemical reaction. They are very large pieces of equipment and are
very fuel hungry, requiring a significant quantity of chemicals to
drive them. The fuel is frequently toxic, requiring operators to don
protective clothing.
Solid state lasers, in contrast, consist of a glass or ceramic material
to generate a laser beam.
They are smaller, more compact and only require an energy input to
generate the beam, although the energy required is still significant.
However, until recently, solid state lasers were not able to reach the
same power levels as chemical lasers and so were not deemed suitable
for military use.
'Last defence'
Peter Felstead, editor of Jane's Defence Weekly, told BBC News that
CIWS was the start of real world applications for military solid state
lasers.
"OK, so a UAV isn't armoured, nor is it flying fast, but as you can see
from the video they shot it down in flames," he said.
"That's the very beginnings of what we can expect to see as firms
miniaturise their technology and make them more effective."
Speaking to BBC News, Raytheon Missile Systems' vice president, Mike
Booen, said that the tests, performed in a maritime environment, were a
big step forward for laser technology.
"We've tied this into Phalanx, the US Navy's anti-missile defence
system that links a multiple barrelled 20mm Gatling gun to a radar
guidance mechanism.
"This system is already installed in many ships, both in the US and
other Nato nations, such as the Royal Navy.
"It functions as the last line of defence, so if you can fit a laser
onto it, you have a longer reach and an unlimited magazine, cause it
keeps on throwing out photons," he added.
Two problems that have dogged laser weapon development for some time
are weather conditions and the target itself. Damp maritime air can
absorb the laser energy before it reaches the target and - as
developers discovered in the 1960s when trying to target Russian Mig
aircraft - a reflective surface can negate much of the laser's
effectiveness.
Mr Booen acknowledges this, but said that these problems could be
overcome.
"Every material reflects, but you can overcome this with power; once
you get over a certain threshold - measured in multiple kilowatts -
then the laser does what it is designed to do," he said.
Mr Booen said that once a material started getting hot, it affected the
reflective ability, making the target absorb more energy and eventually
leading to its destruction.
Land use
In May, the firm knocked out a number of UAVs at the US Navy test range
on San Nicolas Island off the coast of California.
Although Raytheon would not give details of the height, speed and range
of the UAVs, saying that data "sensitive", it did say that the Navy
wanted tests to be as realistic as possible, suggesting that the
aircraft were behaving in the way military planners would expect them
to.
"This is the first time a UAV threat has been targeted and neutralised
in a marine environment," said Mr Booen
"On a ship, the laser can be mounted inside a ship and the beam fed up
through fibre cables.
"It was a bad day for UAVs and a good one for laser technology," he
added.
The firm is also working on a sister land based system that can be used
to target mortar and rocket rounds.
"On land, it could be mounted in trailers so it has applications across
the globe," said Mr Booen.
Mr Felstead agreed, saying it could have "great capability" as a last
line of defence in many situations.
"There are numerous real world applications for a laser than can knock
out airborne threats, especially mortars and rockets.
"Airbases in Afghanistan, the Green Zone in Baghdad or the border with
Gaza and Israel could all potentially use something like this.
"We're still some way off being able to take out an [Intercontinental
Ballistic Missile] missile with laser technology, but we're on the path
to that," he added.
Chrysler's Gun-Toting Pickup Truck
http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2010/08/13/chryslers-gun-toting-pickup-truck
FoxNews.com
August 13, 2010
Chrysler's Ram truck division is taking direct aim at hunters with a
unique feature on its new line of Outdoorsman pickup trucks - a gun
closet.
Called the The Mopar RamBox Holster, its a rack that can hold two
rifles or shotguns inside one of the lockable, watertight compartments
located on either side of the pickup bed.
A $205 option - on top of the $1895 price of the RamBox feature itself
- the rack can be rotated to hold six fishing poles for those who
prefer quieter trips into the great outdoors.
The Outdoorsman starts at $28,350 and includes standard features like
scratch-resistant bumpers, puncture-resistant tires, and a towing
package. Buyers can order the trimline on most Ram models, including
heavy duty and long wheelbase versions.
Cyborg professor looks to future of bionic technology
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/09/21/vbs.cyborg/index.html
By Alex Pasternack, Motherboard Editor
CNN.com
September 21, 2010
Story Highlights
* Kevin Warwick had radio frequency ID chip implanted in his arm in 1998
* Implant allows him to turn on lights by snapping fingers, open doors
without touching them
* Warwick says he doesn't want to turn into a robot, he wants to be a
better human
Editor's note: The staff at CNN.com has recently been intrigued by the
journalism of VICE, an independent media company and website based in
Brooklyn, New York. VBS.TV is Vice's broadband television
network. The reports, which are produced solely by VICE, reflect a
transparent approach to journalism, where viewers are taken along on
every step of the reporting process. We believe this unique reporting
approach is worthy of sharing with our CNN.com readers.
Brooklyn, New York (VBS.TV) -- In 1998, Kevin Warwick became what some
people call "the world's first cyborg." To be exact, Warwick, a
professor of cybernetics at Reading University, had a radio frequency
ID chip implanted in his arm. Years before RFID chips became common,
this small implant allowed him to turn on lights by snapping his
fingers, or open doors without touching them.
Once, after connecting his nerves to an array of electrodes in 2002, he
let his wife use her brain waves to take control of his body. It was
the first time the nervous systems of two humans had communicated
electronically. "It was quite an intimate feeling," he says.
This isn't just for fun, Warwick tells Motherboard.tv, VBS' technology
channel. He is certain that without upgrading, we humans will someday
fall behind the advances of the robots we're building -- or worse.
"Someday we'll switch on that machine, and we won't be able to switch
it off," he says, sounding a note of alarm that clashes with the cheery
visions of futurists like Ray Kurzweil. That might explain why he has
very little technology at home, and counts "The Terminator" among his
biggest influences.
Warwick doesn't want to turn into a robot: He wants to be a better
human. Augmenting human ability, not turning into an automaton, is,
after all, the premise of the "cyborg." One of the term's earliest
uses, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, was in a 1960 New
York Times article: "A cyborg is essentially a man-machine system in
which the control mechanisms of the human portion are modified
externally by drugs or regulatory devices so that the being can live in
an environment different from the normal one."
See the rest of "The Cyborg" at VBS.TV
http://www.vbs.tv/cyborg
Today, the argument for cybernetics may seem more imperative than ever.
Already the latest bionic technologies are allowing deaf children to
hear and disabled war veterans to run again. Technologists, meanwhile,
see "augmented reality" applications for smartphones as doing something
similar for our brains, fortifying them for life in a world overflowing
with data.
For now, Warwick, who will be awarded the Ellison-Cliffe Medal from the
Royal Society of Medicine in 2011, is using his research into brain
interfaces and autonomous robots to provide better insight into how
memories are formed, and learn how to better treat brain diseases like
Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. "Technology, directly integrated with the
brain, can help overcome some problems people have," says Warwick.
Brain implants could keep people fit, making sure, for instance, "you
don't eat that chocolate cake that you want."
But the possibilities may also be stranger than we have yet imagined.
Someday, says Warwick, humans could become "a curiosity for the
machines."
" 'Look at that -- that's where we were in historical times,' they will
think to each other."
Electromagnetic Pulse Cannon has the Attention of the USAF
http://www.physorg.com/news183296601.html
By John Messina
PhysOrg.com
January 21, 2010
According to Flight International, a Canadian company will soon demo an
electromagnetic pulse (EMP) cannon that is capable of stopping a car at
a distance of 656 feet (200m).
The EMP cannon will only work on cars that have on board computers. The
disabling power relies on the car’s microprocessors and various other
electronics that controls the engine.
Flight International found a Request For Information (RFI) by the US
Air Force's Air Armament Center for a non-lethal weapon that can stop
cars.
The RFI is seeking information that could lead to development of an
air-delivered capability to disable moving ground vehicles while
minimizing harm to occupants. The USAF is looking for responses that
take advantage of existing infrastructure so that cost and development
time can be kept to a minimum.
Eureka Aerospace, which is being funded by the US Marine Corps and the
Office of the Secretary of Defense, will be demonstrating an improved
version of its car stopper next month for the Marines at Dahlgren naval
warfare center.
The device consists of a 1.2m-wide "flat screen-like" antenna weighting
about 50-55 lbs. With that aperture size, cars can be disabled up to
200m away by disrupting their electrical systems. One drawback to this
system is that it can’t be used on mid 1970’s or older cars because
they don’t have the necessary electronics.
This device can also prove to be a valuable weapon for law enforcement.
High speed car chases occur every day and usually end up in fatalities
of innocent people. By retrofitting this device to a police helicopter,
car chases can be greatly reduced.
More information:
http://www.eurekaaerospace.com
Double-Bladed Chopper Flies 300 MPH -- a World Record?
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/09/16/double-bladed-chopper-flies-mph-aims-world-record
FoxNews.com
September 16, 2010
A wild new design for helicopters is proving successful -- and may set
an official air speed record.
According to Sikorsky, which manufactured the futuristic X2 helicopter,
the chopper flew a blistering 250 knots during testing on Wednesday,
and reached 260 knots (or 300 mph) during a controlled dive.
"The aerospace industry today has a new horizon," said Sikorsky
President Jeffrey P. Pino. "The X2 Technology demonstrator continues to
prove its potential as a game-changer, and Sikorsky Aircraft is proud
to be advancing this innovative technology and to continue our
company's pioneering legacy."
The old rotary-wing air speed record of 249 miles per hour had been set
in 1986, and the new design clearly exceeds those speeds, having
already bested the quarter-century old record handily in early August
-- earning it the unofficial title of fastest helicopter on the planet.
But without a representative from the the National Aeronautic
Association on hand, the official record for a helicopter still belongs
to the British-made Westland Lynx ZB-500, flown by John Egginton in
1986, at a paltry 216 knots, or 249 mph.
"Our primary key performance parameter has been met," said Jim Kagdis,
Program Manager for Sikorsky Advanced Programs. "The 250-knot milestone
was established as the goal of the demonstrator from its inception.
It's exciting to imagine how our customers will use this capability."
How fast it will ultimately go still remains to be seen.
"The aircraft is doing a little better than predicted," the chief test
pilot said in a conference call with reporters, adding that the X2's
top speed could be 15 knots faster.
Ultra high speeds have traditionally posed problems for helicopters due
to the complex aerodynamics of moving rotor blades, such as those on
the tail that counter the torque of the main rotor. Sirkorsky has
addressed this issue with a six-blade, rear-facing propeller that
generates thrust in a manner similar to fixed-wing aircraft.
Most important, Sirkorsky has been able to integrate these speed
enhancements without compromising other flight qualities such as
hovering, handling, and smooth transitioning from low to high speeds.
Sirkorsky believes that there will be many relevant applications for a
well-rounded high speed chopper, such as high speed transport in remote
locations. But at this time there are still no plans for a production
version.
http://www.ctpost.com/default/article/Sikorsky-s-X2-speeds-to-259mph-593970.php
Navy's drone death ray takes out targets
http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/innovation/05/31/navy.death.ray.wired/index.html?hpt=Sbin
By Nathan Hodge, Wired
CNN.com
May 31, 2010
Story Highlights
* U.S. Navy is one step closer to a workable ray gun with the Laser
Weapon System
* LaWS has "successfully tracked, engaged, and destroyed" a drone in
flight
* LaWS is essentially a laser upgrade to the MK 15 Close In Weapon
System
For years, the U.S. Navy has been pursuing a workable ray
gun that could provide a leap ahead in ship self-defenses.
Now, with a series of tests of a system called the Laser Weapon System,
or LaWS), it may be one step closer to that goal.
Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), the service's technology
development arm, announced today that LaWS had "successfully tracked,
engaged, and destroyed" a drone in flight, during an over-the-water
engagement at San Nicholas Island, California.
It's certainly not the first time lasers have shot down an unmanned
aerial vehicle -- last year, the Air Force zapped several drones with
beam weapons in a series of tests at China Lake, California, -- but
this test brings an additional bit of realism -- and an extra technical
challenge.
Laser beams can lose strength as they move through the moist, salty sea
atmosphere above the sea, so the Navy needs directed-energy weapons
that can work effectively on ships.
The LaWS is essentially a laser upgrade to the MK 15 Close In Weapon
System (CIWS), a.k.a. the Phalanx gun, a radar-guided autocannon that
is already installed on Navy surface combatants.
According to NAVSEA, the system tested (shown here) fired a laser
through a beam director installed on a tracking mount, which in turn
was controlled by a Mk 15 CIWS. That's the basically same system that
controls the Phalanx.
It represents a possible next step for the Phalanx system, which is
currently limited by the range of its 20mm autocannon (Raytheon,
manufacturer of the Phalanx, is also marketing a missile system to
replace the gun).
The Phalanx is a last line of defense against sea-skimming anti-ship
missiles and hostile aircraft, but the laser wouldn't replace the gun
completely.
Theoretically, directed energy weapons would increase the range of the
system, but you would still have the gun as a backup if the laser fails
to do the job.
LaWS might also have other applications: land-based Phalanx guns have
been used to shoot down incoming rockets and mortars in Iraq and
Afghanistan, and a laser Phalanx could -- theoretically -- avoid the
problem of the "20mm shower" (unexploded rounds falling back to earth).
Air Force Eyeing Microwave 'E-Ray' for Stealth Drones?
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/11/air-force-eyeing-microwave-e-ray-for-stealth-drones
By David Axe
Wired.com
November 11, 2010
Taking down an enemy’s air defenses — his radars, missile launchers and
command centers — is a prerequisite for large-scale air campaigns.
Today, jet fighters packing radar-seeking missiles do the heavy-lifting
in the so-called “Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses” mission. In the
future, that dangerous task might fall on stealthy drones armed with
electronics-frying microwave weapons.
That is, if the Air Force can ever get the combination to work. The
drones are coming along just fine. The microwave weapons … not so much.
After years of research costing tens of millions of dollars, the
Pentagon doesn’t seem to be any closer to a working “e-bomb,”
“e-missile” or “e-ray.” This class of weapon has “seemingly intractable
cost, size, beam-control and power-generation requirements,” according
to Aviation Week. But with bad guys’ air defenses getting more lethal
by the year, the Air Force isn’t giving up.
In what appears to be at least the fifth Pentagon e-munition push in
recent years, last week the Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin a
$230,000 contract for microwave-weapon concept development, aiming to
begin defining a “high-power microwave energy weapon” that would
“destroy electronic equipment without endangering personnel.”
Some previous efforts tried packing a microwave emitter into a bomb or
missile. The latest try seems to emphasize a beam weapon. “The contract
also involves the development of … a concept of packaging the
high-power microwave source system into an aerial platform,” according
to Lockheed. The company has until next year to study the idea.
For starters, the platform could be Lockheed’s mysterious RQ-170
stealth drone, pictured. According to Bill Sweetman at Ares, the Air
Force might already have tapped the recently-unveiled RQ-170 for
defense-suppression missions using “electronic attack” systems. Unless
the Pentagon has some other radar-frying ray weapon up its sleeve — and
it just might — that means microwaves. Further along, the future MQ-X
drone could take on the defense-suppression mission, armed with the
same e-weapons.
In any case, don’t hold your breath. Those old cost, size, control and
power issues facing microwave munitions are probably still pretty
daunting. For now, RQ-170s will probably have to rely on other weapons
to suppress the enemy’s defenses. If the Air Force’s latest e-weapon
push works, a microwave ray might be ready for action around the time
the MQ-X enters service in the 2020s.
Navy Works to Laser-Proof Its Drones
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/08/navy-works-to-laser-proof-its-drones
By Noah Shachtman
Wired.com
August 02, 2010
In May and June, the U.S. Navy sent four drones crashing into the
Pacific Ocean, after blasting them with a prototype laser weapon. If
follow-up tests are successful, there’s a chance the ray gun might be
ready for deployment some time around 2016. Other countries’ energy
weapons will come years afterward — if they ever come at all. But the
Navy isn’t taking any chances. It’s pushing ahead with research to
laser-proof its drones, just in case anyone else has the bright idea of
using ray guns to down America’s robot planes.
“Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs) are an emerging weapon technology with
the ability to change the face of the battlefield…. As the technology
matures, other countries will undoubtedly pursue DEW development.
Therefore it is imperative that the United States develop
countermeasures to defend U.S. forces and assets against the DEW
threat,” the Navy recently noted, as it announced a pair of contracts
to start work on countering the blasters.
Irvine, California’s Adsys Controls, Inc. is starting work on an “early
threat detection mechanism that occurs prior to high-power engagement
and the ability to deploy novel countermeasures to disrupt the DEW
tracking mechanisms.”
Austin, Texas’ Nanohmics, Inc. will begin development of a laser
detector that can be mounted on drones, so the unmanned aircraft can
spot the ray guns before the ray guns zap them. The idea is to protect
the spy cameras and other sensors on board the robo-planes. The
“low-cost” system, to be “constructed from light and extremely low-cost
glass or injection-molded polymers,” would give the drone time to
“quickly take evasive action or engage optical sensor protection
systems.”
It’s not the first push by the American military to defend against this
still-hypothetical threat. The Navy announced last year that it wanted
to “counte[r] or negat[e]” ray guns’ effects on “troops or civilian
personnel.” Navy researchers are also looking into ways to laser-proof
its ships using “metamaterials” — the spooky substances that could one
day work as real-world invisibility cloaks.
The Air Force, for its part, is focusing on shielding U.S. bombs from
enemy energy weapons. American precision munitions rely on GPS
receivers and other electronics to direct them to the right place.
Bursts of high-powered radio frequency energy could fry those
electronics, turning those smart bombs dumb. So the Air Force is
looking for researchers to come up with “protection/mitigation
techniques,” including software changes and absorbent coatings.
In phase one of the program, researchers will build an ersatz bomb and
evaluate coatings to block the radio frequencies, according to an Air
Force request for proposals. In phase two, simulated circuits will be
added, “selected shielding and coatings applied, and their
effectiveness verified. Hardening of electronics will also be employed
as necessary to demonstrate survivability.” Phase three ends with an
“‘operational’ flight simulation,” complete with electromagnetic blasts.
$2,000 Car Up in Smoke? Tata Nanos Catching Fire
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,569627,00.html
The Times of London and FoxNews.com
October 26, 2009
Tata Motors, maker of the Nano, the world’s cheapest car, ruled out a
recall of the tiny runabout yesterday in spite of three incidents in
which fires started spontaneously in the steering column.
Tata, which sells the basic version of the Nano in India for 100,000
rupees ($2,000) plus taxes, said that a short circuit in the
combination switch that controls the headlights, windscreen wipers and
indicators was probably responsible for the incidents.
Sunil Kumar Panwanda, whose Nano caught fire in Delhi, said that his
daughter parked the car outside his home on Tuesday afternoon. Three
hours later it was “in flames and smoking”, he told The Times. “I had
bought the car for my children and they are now terrified of driving
it,” he said in an interview with a local news channel. “I want the
company to refund my money and take back the vehicle.”
Ravindra Bhagat, another Nano owner, whose car caught on fire in the
city of Ahmedabad, said: “I bought the car because Ratan Tata [the head
of Tata] drove and introduced it. I thought this small car will be
convenient for daily use in the city. Now, I feel it is better to drive
a big car. Even if I get a replacement, I will not accept it.”
Click here for the rest of this story from The Times of London
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/engineering/article6886071.ece#
Tata rules out Nano recall despite three reports of cars catching fire
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/engineering/article6886071.ece#
By Rhys Blakely in Mumbai
The Times of London
October 22, 2009
Tata Motors, maker of the Nano, the world’s cheapest car, ruled out a
recall of the tiny runabout yesterday in spite of three incidents in
which fires started spontaneously in the steering column.
Tata, which sells the basic version of the Nano in India for 100,000
rupees (£1,300) plus taxes, said that a short circuit in the
combination switch that controls the headlights, windscreen wipers and
indicators was probably responsible for the incidents.
Sunil Kumar Panwanda, whose Nano caught fire in Delhi, said that his
daughter parked the car outside his home on Tuesday afternoon. Three
hours later it was “in flames and smoking”, he told The Times. “I had
bought the car for my children and they are now terrified of driving
it,” he said in an interview with a local news channel. “I want the
company to refund my money and take back the vehicle.”
Ravindra Bhagat, another Nano owner, whose car caught on fire in the
city of Ahmedabad, said: “I bought the car because Ratan Tata [the head
of Tata] drove and introduced it. I thought this small car will be
convenient for daily use in the city. Now, I feel it is better to drive
a big car. Even if I get a replacement, I will not accept it.”
Another fire was reported in the city of Lucknow. There were no reports
of injuries in any of the incidents.
Tata denied that the cars had caught fire. The company said that there
had been “minor smoking ... and a localised melting of some of the
fire-retardant plastic parts”.
A spokesman for Tata Motors, which owns Jaguar and Land Rover in
Britain, said that the company was considering carrying out
“pre-emptive audit checks” on new Nanos to stamp out the fault. It may
also ask the owners of the 7,500 cars it has delivered to bring them in
to be inspected.
It denied, however, that the car, which it eventually plans to bring to
Britain, would have to be redesigned and said that a recall was not
planned. The spokesman said: “We do not believe this is a generic
fault.”
Analysts believe that the problem is probably due to a batch of faulty
parts supplied to Tata.
The malfunction is the latest in a series of glitches to have beset a
model that was heralded as ushering in a new era of super-thrifty
engineering and lauded as an emblem of India’s status as an emerging
economic power when first unveiled in Delhi last January.
In March this year the “people’s car” was launched commercially amid
great fanfare in Mumbai. However, Tata faced a big hurdle in its
mission to bring four-wheel motoring within the reach of India’s
motorcycle-riding middle classes: a relatively small production output
of only 50,000 units in its first year.
The paucity of supply was the result of a dispute over the land on
which Tata was building a factory to produce the Nano — a row that
became emblematic of the social tensions that India faces as it strives
to emulate the manufacturing might of China. Tata eventually abandoned
the site, at a cost of as much as $350 million.
Such has been the level of hype surrounding the Nano, however, that
industry watchers believe its problems are unlikely to put off buyers.
Darius Lam, of Autocar Professional, the Mumbai trade magazine, said
that the relatively small number of cars on the road would help the
company to contain the problem.
He said that Indian consumers were accustomed to new products requiring
“re-engineering” before they worked perfectly. “The excitement that
surrounds the Nano means any malfunction will make headlines, but I
don’t think any long-term stigma will stick.”
Shares in Tata Motors closed down almost 4 per cent in Mumbai.
'Nowhere to Hide': U.S. Army Testing New 'Smart' Weapons in Afghanistan
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/hide-us-army-testing-smart-weapons-afghanistan/story?id=12171365
The XM-25 Soon Will See Combat; Precision Rounds Can Be Programmed to
Explode Before Impact
By Sarah Netter
ABC News
November 18, 2010
Nine years into the war in Afghanistan, a handful of U.S. soldiers have
a new weapon in hand, a lethal combination of technology and explosives
that the Army has called a "game changer."
Looking like it came straight out of a sci-fi movie, the XM-25 fires
highly specialized rounds that can be programmed to explode at the
precise location where the enemy is hiding behind cover.
Consider it a beefed up take on the old adage "boys and their toys."
Five of the high-tech, semi-automatic weapons arrived in the war-torn
country this month and soon will be tested in combat.
"This weapon makes our forces more lethal, it makes them more effective
and it keeps them safer," said Lt. Col. Christopher Lehner, the project
manager for individual weapons at Program Executive Office Soldier,
which developed the XM-25. "This is the first time that we've put smart
technology in the weapons system for the individual soldier."
Though the XM-25 has tested well in the United States, military brass
will be watching the weapon's performance in real-life combat to assess
not only how well it performs, but also what weapons it might end up
replacing.
Soldiers currently up against insurgents ducking for cover behind
fortified walls have little choice but either to fire highly explosive
40mm grenades or mortar rounds, which are effective, but often
inaccurate, or to leave their own cover and maneuver to fire direct
shots, which puts American lives at risk.
Enter the XM-25.
"We're talking about seconds to neutralize the enemy, versus minutes,"
Lehner said.
Crouching behind his own cover, a U.S. soldier armed with the XM-25 can
point his weapon at the wall behind which the enemy is hiding to get
the precise distance. The rounds, which come four to a magazine plus
one in the chamber, can then be programmed to travel just a short
distance behind that to explode precisely where the insurgent is
believed to be hiding.
With the scope aimed at the top of the wall, the round will fire and
explode before impact, at the precise location programmed by the
soldier, raining a hail of explosives and fragments on to the enemy.
It all takes mere seconds -- five to program and fire, two for travel.
The rounds also take into account air pressure and temperature to
accurately hit their marks.
"Our soldiers can stay behind cover and shoot this weapon at the enemy
who's behind cover and we can take him out," Lehner said. "But they
can't take us out because we're behind cover and they don't have this
weapon."
Analyst Praises XM-25, but Questions Whether It's Enough
The precision also has the potential to go a long way to soothe
politics between the military and the Afghanistan government, which has
come down on U.S. forces for what it says is a high number of
unnecessary civilian casualties.
"With all the latest political pressures with the Afghanistan
government placing on our soldiers and our tactics we use ... this
helps them to eliminate the problems we're seeing down range," Lehner
said, citing airstrikes with a lot of collateral damage as a sore spot
for the Afghans.
The first five XM-25s arrived in Afghanistan earlier this month and
have been tested on a range there. The rounds arrived on Tuesday.
Lehner said the weapons will be in combat within days, before the end
of the month, though he declined to reveal exactly where they would be
used.
The U.S. military plans to order 12,500 XM-25s at a cost of $25,000 to
$35,000 each. The rounds, about the size of a roll of quarters, cost
between $25 and $35 each. Though the initial plan is to put an XM-25
with each squad and Special Forces team, the combat assessment, he
said, will help gauge whether the military needs to order more, which
will drive the price down.
Dan Goure, vice president of the Arlington, Va.- based think tank, the
Lexington Institute, said the XM-25 goes a long way toward correcting
what he sees as major deficiencies in military operations. But, he
said, the Army needs to reach a bit farther.
While the Department of Defense has sunk large sums of money into tanks
and vehicle-mounted weaponry, the "dismounted warrior" was left largely
exposed, a "huge" problem in a place like Afghanistan where soldiers
are charged with hiking into dense hillsides where no vehicle could
ever travel.
"What we had not spent a lot of time working on was the equipment,
personal equipment, guns and weapons for the dismounted soldiers," he
said.
The XM-25, he said, is a good upgrade, though he stopped short of
agreeing with Lehner's "game changer" assessment.
Goure, who served on the 2001 Department of Defense transition team,
praised the ability of the weapon to be useful both in urban settings
and caves.
"The nice thing about it is I don't have to carry two or three
different weapons or two or three different shells," Goure said. "It's
certainly an important step forward because it provides much heavier
firepower to the dismounted squad and that's hugely important."
But he questioned whether the rounds were high-powered enough, opining
that the small rounds may have limited explosive capacity.
"Is it going to be enough or do you need still a heavier duty" weapon?
he asked. "You'd like something that might be a bit longer-range, a bit
heavier in explosive power."
"Short of that," he said, "it is pretty good."
U.S. Army: Other Countries 'Years Behind' With Similar Technology
Development of the XM-25 has been about 10 years in the making. It
first was fired on a test range on Aug. 11, 2009.
The guns also have made an appearance in video simulators to train
soldiers and even online games for civilians, including "America's
Army."
Lehner, who penned an article on the weapon titled, "Nowhere to Hide,"
said he's confident it's the only weapon of its kind.
Through a lot of "war gaming," he said, the United States knows other
militaries are working on high explosive airburst technology, but are
"years behind."
"We have to stay ahead of the technology curve," he said. "If we don't,
someone's going to get ahead of us."
But eventually, they will catch up, Lehner acknowledged. And then the
Army will start all over again.
"You cannot prevent enemy forces from developing whatever they're going
to develop," he said. "Sooner or later, they're going to get it, so
maybe you should have it first."
6-Wheeled Sports Car Headed for Production
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/12/six-wheeled-sports-car-headed-for-production
Jalopnik and Wired.com
December 02, 2010
After 32 years of development, the Covini Engineering team claims this
is the production version of the six-wheeled C6W it finally is
unveiling this week. The future is now.
The unusual sports car takes its engineering inspiration from the
Tyrell P34 Formula 1 race car of 1976. The Tyrell had two pairs of
10-inch front wheels to improve downforce, increase traction and
provide a smaller frontal area to reduce drag.
Although the specific engineering behind the Tyrell P34 doesn’t
necessarily translate to the C6W, when we spoke to company founder
Ferruccio Covini two years ago he provided several reasons why he’s
creating his modern-day six-wheeler.
Covini says his unusual design provides:
* Less risk of front tires deflating.
* Less risk of aquaplaning.
* Better braking.
* Better grip.
* Better comfort.
* Better absorption of frontal impact.
Covini now tells us he’ll finally bring what he calls a “production
version” of the Covini C6W to the Racing Professional Motor Show in
Bologna this week. Power for this rear-wheel-drive, six-wheeled beast
comes from a 4.2-liter Audi channeling 433 horsepower and 346
pound-feet of torque through a six-speed manual gearbox. Top speed is
expected to be 185 mph.
But that’s not all. Covini also let slip that Covini Engineering will
prepare a new diesel supercar next year along with a new, as yet
unnamed project. Look for announcements from the show. And for the
moment, sate your thirst for six-wheeled awesomeness with this video of
a prototype C6W on the track:
Covini C6W on track
YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwcE8kwTIa8
We have to love the idea of any car that follows the maxim, “If two
wheels are bad and four wheels are good, then six wheels must be
awesome.” But as always, we’ll believe it when we see it in the
cold metal and six-wheeled flesh.
Editor's note: Two wheels are awesome, Ray. Always.
http://jalopnik.com/tag/covinic6w
KERS Comes to Cars as Jaguar Tests Flywheel Hybrid
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/10/flywheel-hybrid-system-for-premium-vehicles
By Chuck Squatriglia
Wired.com
October 28, 2010
Kinetic-energy recovery systems didn’t fare well in Formula 1, but a
bunch of British automotive companies bet the technology will catch on
with road cars.
A consortium led by a Jaguar Land Rover is developing a flywheel-hybrid
system that it says boosts performance by 60 kilowatts (about 80
horsepower) while improving fuel efficiency 20 percent. The consortium,
which includes automakers like Ford and engineering firms like
Prodrive, sees a market for flywheel hybrids among luxury automakers.
“We have investigated the base technology, built the prototype and will
be testing it in the next few months to see if it lives up to its
potential,” said Pete Richings, Jaguar Land Rover chief engineer.
Kinetic-energy recovery systems first gained widespread attention in
Formula 1, as teams like McLaren and Ferrari experimented with KERS
last year. The technology flopped, but Ferrari adopted in the 599
Hy-KERS concept car, and there’s speculation McLaren’s road car
division is exploring hybrid drivetrains.
Jaguar’s system uses a flywheel. During braking, a small continuously
variable transmission (CVT) mounted on the rear differential transfers
the kinetic energy to a flywheel. When the driver applies the
accelerator, the flywheel returns the energy through the CVT to the
wheels, providing a boost of 60 kilowatts for around 7 seconds. The
flywheel spins at up to 60,000 rpm.
Porsche is using an electromechanical flywheel hybrid system with
generator-motors in the 911 GT3-R Hybrid race car this season.
Jaguar is testing its purely mechanical flywheel system, which
reportedly weighs 143 pounds, in an XF sedan. Jaguar says it is
superior to battery-electric hybrid systems because flywheels are
smaller, cheaper and more efficient. Instead of converting kinetic
energy into electricity that is stored in a battery, the CVT transfers
the energy directly to the flywheel and then back to the wheels.
The Flywheel Hybrid System for Premium Vehicles consortium includes
Jaguar Land Rover, Ford, Prodrive, Torotrak, Xtrac, Flybrid Systems and
Ricardo.
Photo and graphics: Flywheel Hybrid System for Premium Vehicles. Top
photo shows the flywheel-hybrid system mounted to the rear differential.
Navy Launches Pilot With an Electromagnetic Shove [Updated]
By Spencer Ackerman
Wired.com
December 20, 2010
Steam-fired Navy planes are so passe. Over the weekend, the Navy used a
huge electric charge to catapult a manned flight into the air.
Naval aviation officials are tight-lipped about the test launch for now
and we don’t know if the test went according to plan. But Danger Room
has confirmed that the Navy’s experimental Electromagnetic Aviation
Launch System completed tests on Saturday and Sunday of the deck
catapult of the future from its test-bed home at Lakehurst, New Jersey.
That’s somewhat behind schedule from reports indicating EMALS was
supposed to provide a manned flight launch by the fall. We’re told to
await a full roll-out of the test results, possibly later today.
What’s the advantage of the so-called EMALS? If it works as
manufacturer General Atomics intends, the power provided through EMALS
is more easily adjustable than steam catapults, allowing it to launch
everything from fighter jets to small drones — steam isn’t good for
launching smaller aircraft — all with less wasted energy. Supposedly it
can recharge faster than steam, allowing more rapid launching. The
system will draw its power from the generators aboard its
next-generation Ford-class aircraft carrier, which the Navy wants
commissioned by September 2015 despite recent cost over-runs.
This isn’t EMALS’ first test: testing with dead weights began at
Lakehurst, launching the weights at speeds up to 180 knots. Aviation
Week’s Bill Sweetman reported in June, “So far, tests show no signs
that the powerful electrical surges cause electromagnetic interference
with aircraft, ammunition or ejection seats.”
We don’t yet know what kind of plane EMALS launched this weekend (an
F/A-18 Super Hornet, I presume?); how much energy was required and
generated; or what the generated speeds were. But if the test
succeeded, it’ll be some good news for a program that hit a snag in
January, when equipment failure caused a three-month test delay.
General Atomics has to deliver its electric catapult to the Newport
News shipyard by May 2011 in order to meet the U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford’s
production schedule, so the test helps determine the future of the
next-gen supercarrier.
Navy watchers are looking at EMALS closely, since outfitting the Ford
with steam catapults instead is estimated to cause a year-plus delay in
the carrier. The outgoing chairman of the House’s shipbuilding
subcommittee warned this summer that if EMALS fails, “the nation has
paid billions of dollars for an unusable ship.”
We’ll update you when we have more on this weekend’s EMALS test.
Update, 6:15 p.m.: Here’s the Navy’s official release heralding the
successful launch, using — yep — a Super Hornet. Christopher Cavas at
Navy Times has more, as does John Reed at DOD Buzz.
http://www.navair.navy.mil/NewsReleases/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.view&id=4468
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/12/navy-magnetic-launch-success-122010
Video: Navy’s Electromagnetic Plane Launch
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/12/video-navys-electromagnetic-plane-launch
By Spencer Ackerman
Wired.com
December 21, 2010
Has the era of the steam-powered airplane catapult ended? The Navy
released this video today to suggest that future of shipboard airplane
launch is all electromagnetic.
As Danger Room first reported yesterday, the Navy successfully got an
F/A-18E Super Hornet airborne using its new-model catapult, the
Electromagnetic Aviation Launch System, or EMALS. To call the Navy
stoked would be an understatement: not only is the new launch system
supposed to be more efficient than steam, it’s better capable to launch
small drones as well as big planes, giving aircraft carriers a broader
range of options. Any press release that begins “The Navy made history
Saturday…” isn’t playing around.
But the Navy wasn’t just excited, it was also relieved. Had the
previously-unproven EMALS failed, the next-generation Ford class
aircraft carrier, a core service priority, would have to be re-designed
to include steam catapults. In other words: screwed.
No matter now. Here’s a clip of EMALS launching its first manned flight
on Saturday at its Lakehurst, New Jersey test facility. Commented Lt.
Daniel Radocaj, the test pilot who made the first launch, “I got
excited once I was on the catapult but I went through the same
procedures as on a steam catapult. The catapult stroke felt similar to
a steam catapult and EMALS met all of the expectations I had.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euLsg_viWW0
Navy Uses Electromagnets to Launch Fighter Jet
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/12/24/navy-uses-railgun-launch-fighter-jets
FoxNews.com
December 24, 2010
A railgun is designed to fire bullets without using explosive charges,
relying on the repulsive force of electromagnetism instead. And the
Navy has found a way to use that power to propel jet planes, too.
In a test conducted December 18 at a test site in Lakehurst, N.J.,
Naval Air Systems Command launched an F/A-18E Super Hornet using the
power of electromagnets -- a technology the Navy hopes will eventually
replace the archaic-sounding steam power currently used to catapult
planes from the decks of aircraft carriers.
“I thought the launch went great,” said Lt. Daniel Radocaj, the test
pilot from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23 who piloted the first
plane propelled by the new technology, which the Navy has named
Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, or EMALS.
“I got excited once I was on the catapult, but I went through the same
procedures as on a steam catapult. The catapult stroke felt similar to
a steam catapult and EMALS met all of the expectations I had.”
Newer, heavier and faster aircraft will require more force to catapult
from the carrier decks than steam-powered systems can supply.
Electromagnets will be able to deliver, and allow for smooth
acceleration at both high and low speeds, increasing the carrier’s
ability to launch aircraft, the Navy said in a press release.
The technology was first tested out by the Navy in 2004 with a
full-scale, half-length prototype, where more than 1,500 launches were
conducted. The EMALS will be a key element on the next-generation
carrier U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford. Had this newest test failed, Wired's
Danger Room pointed out, the Ford would have to be re-designed to
include steam catapults.
The Navy made headlines at the beginning of the month by testing a new
weapon also based on railgun technology, which used electromagnetic
current to accelerate a non-explosive bullet at several times the speed
of sound. The conductive projectile zips along a set of electrically
charged parallel rails and out of the barrel at speeds up to Mach 7.
The result: a weapon that can hit a target 100 miles or more away
within minutes.
An electromagnetic railgun offers a velocity previously unattainable in
a conventional weapon, speeds that are incredibly powerful on their
own. In fact, since the projectile doesn't have any explosives itself,
it relies upon that kinetic energy to do damage. And at 11 a.m. today,
the Navy produced a 33-megajoule firing -- more than three times the
previous record set by the Navy in 2008.
The Secret Soviet Laser Tank
http://gizmodo.com/5715192/the-secret-soviet-laser-tank
By Jesus Diaz
Gizmodo.com
December 20, 2010
I don't know how much firepower this secret Soviet laser tank has, but
it sure looks like the kind of thing I'd like to have handy in case of
alien invasion.
It isn't nearly as deadly as the 33-megajoules Navy railgun, that's for
sure. In fact, the 1K17 tank—which used 66-pound synthetic ruby rods at
the heart of its laser system—wasn't designed to destroy enemy
fighters. Its objective was to blind pilots and weapons systems,
dazzling optical and electronic mechanisms even under the most severe
weather conditions. Or that's what they claim, anyway.
Recently uncovered in a military museum near Moscow, the laser tank was
the culmination of Stiletto, another laser vehicle that was accepted
for service but was never mass-produced. The 1K17 entered service in
1992. It had US intelligence a bit worried, but more because of the
secrecy surrounding it than for any knowledge of its actual
capabilities or destructive power. Shortly after the collapse of the
Soviet Union, the project was canceled because Boris Yeltsin preferred
vodka missiles over ruby pew pew. [Otvaga via English Russia]
Send an email to Jesus Diaz, the author of this post, at
jesus@gizmodo.com.