“We are working toward a new set of firsts for the X-47B,” said Matt Funk, X-47B lead test engineer. “We’ll test the new capabilities of the X-47B wing-fold and tailhook retract system, and will demonstrate compatibility with a carrier jet-blast deflector on the flight deck for the first time.”Interesting.
The proven use of these functions will allow the air vehicle to take off, land, and hold in the same pattern as manned aircraft, the next step toward UAS operations aboard aircraft carriers without disruption to normal carrier flight deck operations, he said.
“This at-sea period will mark the first time manned aircraft and the X-47B will operate together on the flight deck,” Duarte said. The goal is to clear the deck within 90 seconds after landing and demonstrate deck handling on par with manned aircraft.
The Navy will conduct X-47B flight operations over the next year to mature technologies for the future Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike system and refine the concept of operations to demonstrate the integration of unmanned carrier-based aircraft within the carrier environment, Duarte said.
Almost 15 years ago, on June 3, 1999, Clayton Lockett, 23, Shawn Mathis, 26, and Alfonzo LaRon Veasey Lockett, 17, planned on robbing Bobby Lee Bornt, 23, at his house in Perry, Okla.Read the whole thing here.
They tied up Bornt and beat him. Bornt’s nine-month-old son was present.
Stephanie Neiman, 18, was dropping off her friend Summer Bradshaw at that house, and Lockett and his accomplices tried to take the keys to her new Chevy truck. Neiman, who graduated from high school only two weeks earlier, fought back, and the men covered her mouth with duct tape and beat and sexually assualted her. They also covered her 18-year-old friend’s mouth with duct tape, and beat and sexually assaulted her. Both were abducted, along with Bornt and his son. Lockett and his accomplices drove the four people they kidnapped west of Ponca City. Lockett asked Neiman if she planned to call the police. She would not say no, and Mathis spent 20 minutes digging a grave over which Lockett shot Neiman twice with a sawed-off 12-gauge shotgun, the three other victims later told authorities.
Manila - Heavy clashes have broken out between Philippine troops and Muslim militants trying to regain control of a captured camp in southern Sulu province, leaving 14 Abu Sayyaf rebels and one marine dead, officials said on Wednesday.Read the whole thing here.
Military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala said fighting that began late on Tuesday continued until early morning on Wednesday, with the militants attempting to regain control of an Abu Sayyaf training and storage camp and in Patikul township that was captured by government troops.
Marine representative Captain Ryan Lacuesta, citing intelligence reports, said the clashes left 14 rebels dead, while one marine was killed and 19 were wounded.
Zagala said troops are securing the rebel camp they captured on Monday.
Militants from the group of Abu Sayyaf leader Radullan Sahiron are expected to launch more attacks and the military will continue to use mortars, howitzers and attack helicopters to protect it troops there, he said.
The Abu Sayyaf had links to international militant networks, including al-Qaeda, but a US-backed Philippine military crackdown has weakened it considerably in recent years.
The S-400 itself is likely to significantly enhance Chinese military power in a number of different contingencies. No country will be more affected by China’s S-400 missile systems, which—with a range of 400 kilometers—experts suggest will allow Beijing to achieve air dominance over the Taiwanese strait. York Chen, a former member of Taiwan’s National Security Council, told Defense News last year: “When S-400s work together with Chinese land- and sea-based fighters, the Chinese will have more confidence in sustaining airspace dominance over the Taiwan theater, thus depriving any organized resistance by the Taiwan Air Force and deterring the American intervention.”Read the entire article but what should be of concern is that the USMC is basing its entire forcible entry capability around vertical assault.
While Taiwan is likely to be the most affected by China’s deployment of S-400s, it will not be alone in having to deal with this new capability. Japan also will have to contend with China’s S-400, which are expected to cover the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands. The impact the S-400 system will have on Japan’s ability to project power against China will be mitigated somewhat by Tokyo’s procurement of F-35 fighter jet. The joint strike fighters are built with enough stealth to operate in environments with advanced air defense systems.
DALLAS -- Mavericks owner Mark Cuban thinks the NBA would be a better league without Donald Sterling in it, but Cuban called the potential scenario of forcing the Los Angeles Clippers owner to sell the team in wake of the racist comments allegedly made by him "a slippery slope."Read the whole thing here.
Cuban was one of several NBA owners to make strong comments about Sterling on Monday, a day before commissioner Adam Silver was scheduled to hold a news conference in New York to announce the league's investigation into the issue.
However, Cuban was the only one to express concern about the precedent that could be set by forcing Sterling to leave the league.
"I think there's a [league] constitution for a reason, right?" Cuban said before Game 4 of the Mavericks-San Antonio Spurs series. "Because this is a very slippery slope. What Donald said was wrong. It was abhorrent. There's no place for racism in the NBA, any business I'm associated with, and I don't want to be associated with people who have that position.
"But at the same time, that's a decision I make. I think you've got to be very, very careful when you start making blanket statements about what people say and think, as opposed to what they do. It's a very, very slippery slope.
The Brazilian Armed Forces were forced to accept his job at the Mare Complex under the direction of the Secretary of Security, due to political marketing that could put public opinion against the Forces. " The need for action in missions Guarantee Law and Order (GLO), in the World Cup, and second several military commands like "ambush" aimed at creating situations critical fact that the military would have to perform in adverse conditions. "1Read the entire article here.
The Brazilian Armed Forces served as a shill for the police and authorities (Government and Public Safety) state conduct their political propaganda.
"Now, the focus has returned to light infantry operations and jungle warfare" ---Command Sgt. Maj. Ray DevensThe 25th Infantry Division "Jungle Fighters" are back.
