Funny.

Purse thief gets owned!

*click the pic to see the action!

Fire Scout in Afghanistan

Large Unmanned Ground Vehicles about to make their combat debut...

via Lockheed Martin Press Release...

u.s. Army selects lockheed martin’S SMSS Autonomous vehicle for afghanistan deployment

 

DALLAS, July 28, 2011 – The U.S. Army Rapid Equipping Force, through the Robotics Technology Consortium, selected the Lockheed Martin [NYSE:LMT] Squad Mission Support System (SMSS) to deploy to Afghanistan for a first-of-its-kind military assessment.  SMSS will deploy as the winner of the Project Workhorse Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) competition sponsored by the Army.

 

The largest autonomous vehicle ever to be deployed with infantry, the 11-foot-long SMSS can carry more than half-a-ton of a squad’s equipment on rugged terrain, easing the individual soldier’s burden, which can often exceed 100 pounds.

 

“SMSS is the result of more than a decade of robotic technology development, and we welcome the opportunity to demonstrate this capability in theater, where it can have an immediate impact at the squad level,” said Scott Greene, vice president of ground vehicles in Lockheed Martin’s Missiles and Fire Control business.  “The Army has tested the system’s capabilities in three domestic user assessments, and SMSS has been deemed ready to deploy.”

 

As part of the three-month Military Utility Assessment (MUA), four vehicles and a field service representative will support light infantry in theater as the service evaluates how autonomous vehicles can support or ease the equipment burden for deployed troops.  A fifth vehicle and an engineering team will remain in the U.S. for analysis and additional support.  The Army plans to begin the Afghanistan assessment late this year, after a period of evaluations and training.

 

“An in-theater assessment is the next logical step in the process of informing the requirements for the Army’s future squad-sized UGV developments,” Greene said.

 

A fully-loaded SMSS is internally transportable on board CH-47 and CH-53 helicopters, providing new logistics capability to light and early-entry forces.  The SMSS Block I variant, which will be deployed, has a range of 125 miles and features three control options: supervised autonomy, tele-operation or manually driven.  The SMSS sensor suite allows it to lock on and follow any person by recognizing their digital 3-D profile (captured by the onboard sensors), and it can also navigate terrain on its own following a trail of GPS waypoints.

 

In addition to a month-long MUA at Fort Benning, Ga., in 2009, SMSS has been selected for further evaluation as part of the Army’s Expeditionary Warrior Experiment (AEWE) Spiral G in November this year.  While SMSS has already demonstrated its ability to reduce soldier loads and provide portable power, the November experiment will evaluate its ability to field a reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition mission equipment package.

 

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 126,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation’s 2010 sales from continuing operations were $45.8 billion.

So this is finally becoming reality.  I remember the studies that were done that indicated that systems like this that could play the mule for a platoon on patrol could be a life saver, but I never thought that it would make it to the field.

Glad I was wrong.

Instead of defense, lets talk economics.

Usually the focus is on defense here, but lets switch gears and talk economics.  You must read this story via the Survival Spot from the Business Insider.

Today, over half of all American families live paycheck to paycheck.  Unemployment is rampant and those that do actually have jobs are finding that their wages are rising much more slowly than prices are.

Read the whole thing and if you still "hope" that things will "change" for the better then please explain it to me.

F-35 cat launch vid.

Catapult launches F-35C for the first time

NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, LAKEHURST, N.J. -- Navy test pilot Lt. Christopher Tabert takes to the sky July 27 in an F-35C test aircraft launched by a steam catapult for the first time. CF-3 is the designated carrier suitability testing aircraft, and is in Lakehurst for catapult and jet blast deflector testing. The F-35C is the carrier variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and is distinct from the F-35A and F-35B variants. It has larger wing surfaces and reinforced landing gear for slower catapult launch and landing approach speeds and deck impacts associated with the demanding carrier take-off and landing environment. The F-35C is undergoing test and evaluation at NAS Patuxent River prior to eventual delivery to the fleet.

501st Parachute Infantry Regiment does water ops...

All photos by Justin Connaher

*Note*  I'm just being curious here and if any Airborne guys know then shoot me an e-mail.  What is the deployment sequence of the flotation gear when fully equipped? 

Paratroopers of the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 501st Infantry Regiment conduct a parachute training and water landing exercise at Big Lake, Alaska, July 22, 2011. Several hundred troopers from the battalion trained extensively in preparation for the maneuver, jumped from UH-60 helicopters, staged at a nearby airfield, into Big Lake and were brought safely to shore by rubber boats.

Paratroopers of the 1st Battalion (Airborne) 501st Infantry Regiment conduct a parachute training and water landing exercise at Big Lake, Alaska, July 22. Several hundred troopers from the battalion trained extensively in preparation for the maneuver, jumped from UH-60 helicopters, staged at a nearby airfield, into Big Lake and were brought safely to shore by rubber boats.

Soldiers recover a paratrooper of the 1st Battalion (Airborne) 501st Infantry Regiment after he conducted a parachute training and water landing exercise at Big Lake, Alaska, July 22. Several hundred troopers from the battalion trained extensively in preparation for the maneuver, jumped from UH-60 helicopters, staged at a nearby airfield, into Big Lake and were brought safely to shore by rubber boats.

Paratrooper Sgt. 1st Class Jeremy Clarno of Hillboro, Ore., of the 1st Battalion (Airborne) 501st Infantry Regiment, swims toward a rubber boat after conducting a parachute training and water landing exercise at Big Lake, Alaska, July 22. Several hundred troopers from the battalion trained extensively in preparation for the maneuver, jumped from UH-60 helicopters, staged at a nearby airfield, into Big Lake and were brought safely to shore by rubber boats.

Paratroopers of the 1st Battalion (Airborne) 501st Infantry Regiment conduct a parachute training and water landing exercise at Big Lake, Alaska, July 22. Several hundred troopers from the battalion trained extensively in preparation for the maneuver, jumped from UH-60 helicopters, staged at a nearby airfield, into Big Lake and were brought safely to shore by rubber boats.

Paratroopers of the 1st Battalion (Airborne) 501st Infantry Regiment conduct a parachute training and water landing exercise at Big Lake, Alaska, July 22, 2011. Several hundred troopers from the battalion trained extensively in preparation for the maneuver, jumped from UH-60 helicopters, staged at a nearby airfield, into Big Lake and were brought safely to shore by rubber boats.

Paratroopers of the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 501st Infantry Regiment conduct a parachute training and water landing exercise at Big Lake, Alaska, July 22, 2011. Several hundred troopers from the battalion trained extensively in preparation for the maneuver, jumped from UH-60 helicopters, staged at a nearby airfield, into Big Lake and were brought safely to shore by rubber boats.

Paratrooper Pfc. Robert Lenigan of Star, Idaho, pulls Specialist Christopher Tenore, left, of Jacksonville, Fla., of the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 501st Infantry Regiment from the water after he conducted a parachute training and water landing exercise at Big Lake, Alaska, July 22, 2011. Several hundred troopers from the battalion trained extensively in preparation for the maneuver, jumped from UH-60 helicopters, staged at a nearby airfield, into Big Lake and were brought safely to shore by rubber boats.

A Paratrooper of the 1st Battalion (Airborne) 501st Infantry Regiment conducts a parachute training and water landing exercise at Big Lake, Alaska, July 22. Several hundred troopers from the battalion trained extensively in preparation for the maneuver, jumped from UH-60 helicopters, staged at a nearby airfield, into Big Lake and were brought safely to shore by rubber boats.

A boat races to recover a paratrooper of the 1st Battalion (Airborne) 501st Infantry Regiment after he conducted a parachute training and water landing exercise at Big Lake, Alaska, July 22. Several hundred troopers from the battalion trained extensively in preparation for the maneuver, jumped from UH-60 helicopters, staged at a nearby airfield, into Big Lake and were brought safely to shore by rubber boats.