Defense News ,Technology and Updates & Space Program Updates

US Air Force plans to induct 145 B-21 Raider stealth bombers manufactured by Northrop Grumman

2021-06-08T09:12:00.002-07:00

US Air Force is planning to induct 145 B-21 raider to replace B-2 spirit and B-1B bombers in the near future

Frank Kendall the US president Joe Biden's nominee to be the next secretary of the air force in regards to the 145 B-21 figure said- "I think that is a reasonable number, at this point."

The comments were made recently on May 25th at the at the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The B-21 raider is a stealth heavy bomber being designed and developed by Northrop Grumman with intention of replacing its predecessor B-2 spirit and ageing fleet of B-1Bs.

B-21 raider is the part of Long range strike bomber program . In 2016 the bomber was named B-21 signifying the aircraft as the 21st century's first bomber.

The aircraft is expected to be an stealth intercontinental strategic bomber for the US air force with very long range and heavy payload capability.

The bomber will be capable of delivering both conventional and thermonuclear weapons.

B-21 Raider

Like its predecessor B-2 the B-21 raider will also be an flying wing design. But the B-21 raider is considered to be smaller in size and weigh less than the B-2 spirit.

The B-21 is being designed with an open system architecture and will be powered by F-135 engine.

Since the same engine powers the F-35 lighting II the cost of the F-135 engine is set to decrease which will in turn benefit the US air force.

The production of the two units have already began at the United States Air Force Plant 42 near Palmdale, California . It is the same base where the production of B-2 was carried out .

Edwards Air Force Base in California will lead testing and evaluation while the Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma will carry out the maintenance and sustainment of the B-21.

B-21 Raider design

A fleet of 145 B-21 bombers will help US in bringing down the project cost significantly and will also give a strong message to its adversaries like China and Russia.

Stealth bombers can easily fly undetected and enter enemy territory and can suppress the enemy air defense systems or missile launch sites or target the supply chain of the opponent.

Once the enemy defenses are down it will make way for other aircrafts for completing their respective missions.

A stealth bomber has many advantages over conventional bombers since suppression of enemy air defense usually known as SEAD is not required all the time. Also a conventional bomber requires intelligence gathering before any mission so that it can find a possible less vulnerable route towards the target site. A strong fleet of 145 B-21 will help US enforce its power over any aggressive move by the opponent especially far away from the US mainland.

Although the radar technology for detecting a stealth aircraft is improving it won't be that simple to locate and identify an aircraft like B-21 right in time to ward off any strike mission. Also it is known that the B-2 spirit has electronic warfare capability of its own which will be definitely enhanced in the up coming B-21 raider. Due to the long range of the bomber there is no need for mid air refueling which might end up giving the secrecy of the entire mission if the tanker is being detected by the enemy radars. In addition to that US has also already demonstrated its stealthy mid air refueling tanker which can come handy if needed.

B-21 Raider mid air refueling

China and Russia are also building their own stealth bomber . The point to be noted is that only US is able to develop and operate a true fifth generation or stealth aircraft. Both Russia and China is not yet capable of producing a true stealth flying design of a fighter jet let alone a stealth bomber which is much larger in proportion to that of a fighter jet.

Many experts believe China and Russia is yet to conceive an proper idea of true next generation technology when it comes to stealth.

So with the induction of B-21 in the near future ; the bomber fleet of the US will prove to be an headache for the adversaries for many decades to come.

US Air Force plans to retire its F-22 raptor fleet by 2030 -But why? Is it too early ?

2021-05-25T08:48:00.002-07:00

What will replace the USAF's retiring F-22 raptors ?

F 22 is the air superiority fighter of the US air force.

It's combination of stealth, aerodynamic performance, and avionics systems gives the fighter jet an unprecedented air combat capabilities.

Initially it was planned that the service would induct 750 of these fighters. But due to its high cost, ban on export of the latest technology made the decision makers to think on the actual number of fighters to be inducted.

Also the F22 did not have a true competitor from the Russian side or the Chinese side due to their delayed fifth generation fighter program.

So the F-22 did not have any clear air to air missions. Also the planned development of the much versatile F-35 fighter jet along with its export potential reduced the number of f22 fighter jets being inducted in to the US air force.

In 2009, it was decided that only 187 air crafts would be produced for operational purposes.

USAF F-22 Raptor

With the advent of the new decade things have change. In 2021 the geopolitical situation is very much different than that compared to early 2000s.

Russia has fielded its new Su-57 fighters and China has operationalized its J-20 fleet. With its growing economy and expansionist idea China is posing a much similar threat to US along with Russia.

The top officials of the US air force are now convinced that the F22 raptor lacks the magazine depth and range which is needed to carry out the necessary missions in the event of an conflict in the next decade.

By 2030 the F22 platform and most of its technology would have completed 40 years .

As the US official stated the f22 with its limited weapons carrying capacity in its internal bay and limited range will be ineffective in protecting US friendly nations like Taiwan, Japan and Philippines from the Chinese threat that keeps on growing and growing.

The plan to retire the F 22 fleet after 2030 will depend upon how fast the US air force can put its sixth generation fighter jet into production.

Sixth generation fighter program is also commonly described as Next Generation Air Dominance program.

The new gen fighter will also be a air superiority fighter once inducted is planned to replace the F22.

Sixth generation fighter jet (NGAD program) Concept

US air force currently operates seven types of fighter jets the F-22 Raptor, F-15 C or D Eagle, F-15E Strike Eagle, F-15 EX Super Eagle, F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, F-16 Fighting Falcon, and A-10 Thunderbolt.

The air force wants to cut down the fighter fleet up to four types of aircraft which will reduce the maintenance cost and increase the ease of training personals and maintenance crew.

The retirement of the F-22 purely depends on when the service can push the six gen fighter program from its developmental phase to its production phase.

The sixth gen fighter program is highly classified and very few details are known about the fighter jet till now.

Last year in September former Air Force acquisition executive Will Roper had announced that the full scale Next Generation Air Dominance demonstrator has taken its inaugural flight.

Currently it is expected that the sixth gen fighter will be manned, unmanned or optionally manned.

Once the next gen fighter comes in it is all set to replace the F-22 raptor and latest version of F-15 eagle which is the F 15 E X set to replace all version of the existing F-15 versions in the US fleet.

The close support fighter A-10 will be available for a little while.

When the sixth gen fighter is inducted it will fly alongside F-35, F15 E X and F-16 fighting falcons. Also unmanned combat drones will also be a common site.

Of course the F-16 fleet is ageing but instead of upgrading further the Air force plans to buy new F-16 fighter models or a new clean sheet design instead of buying more f 35 to replace the F-16.

Till 2030 the F-22 raptor will still rule the skies with its unprecedented capabilities and there is a on going plan to upgrade the sensor package to latest standard on the F-22.

But since much up gradation cannot be done to its air frame which would be an major limitation in future combat situations. The F-22's limitations are not much different from the F-35 which is that it can carry only six AIM-120C AMRAAM and two AIM-9 missiles internally for air-to-air missions, while the F-35 can carry only four AMRAAMs inside its weapons bay in stealthy configuration.

F-22 Raptor internal weapons bay

If the plan of inducting sixth gen fighter jet goes well and successfully it will replace the F-22 or else the F-22 will have to be used in service much beyond that.

Sikorsky-Boeing Unveil 'Defiant X' Helicopter which is all set to replace Black Hawk helicopters in the near future

2021-02-27T22:21:00.001-08:00

Sikorsky-Boeing Unveil 'Defiant X' Helicopter which is all set to replace Black Hawk helicopters in the near future

The next gen helicopter designed and developed by Sikorsky and Boeing will have twice the range of Black Hawk and expected to fly at twice the speed of helicopter it will replace.
Defiant X has a coaxial rotor system and pusher propeller.
The next gen helicopter is designed in such a way that it can be handled at high speeds as same way as it would have been handled in low speeds in Black Hawk's.
In addition to that the new design incorporates tricycle style landing gears to facilitate soft landings in harsh terrians.

Image- Sikorsky-Boeing Defiant X

The US army is expected to publish a request for proposal for the future helicopters later this year in 2021.

And the contract for the futurisitc helicopters is expected to be awarded to the winner by 2022.

Along with Defiant X other teams like Bell - Textron is building the V-280 Valor for the contract of FLRAA for the US army.

India comes one step closer to developing Hypersonic weapons and fourth country to do so

2020-09-07T10:32:00.000-07:00

India comes one step closer to developing Hypersonic weapons and fourth country to do so

India today successfully tested its Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) .

The scramjet powered vehicle achieved the speed of Mach 6 and an altitude of 30 km in just 22 seconds according to government officials. The HSTDV is designed and developed by India's state owned organisation DRDO and it aims to successfully develop its first hypersonic weapon or missile by 2025.

Image-HSTDV

Image-HSTDV model

A typical scramjet engine requires a particular altitude and speed to function and in case of this test boosters from India 's own Agni missile program was used to take the HSTDV to desired speed and altitude.

DRDO also aims to use this technology for civilian purposes like launching satellites at low cost.

Hypersonic weapons when fully developed will be an challenge to the enemy country and will find it difficult to restrain the missile from attacking its designated targets. Due to its high speed most modern radars won't be able to detect it quick enough to intercept the incoming missiles using modern air defense systems.

With the successful testing India now joins the table with elite group of three other countries including USA,Russia,China with successful and promising hypersonic weapon technology.

Image-Indian hypersonic technology test

Recently USA have successfully completed the design and testing phase of the scramjet powered hypersonic missile.

Japan is also developing hypersonic anti ship missile technology and is in its early design phase.

Another important aspect of hypersonic weapon technology is hypersonic glide vehicle which will be highly maneuverable. Hypersonic glide vehicle is an priority for all the above mentioned countries and all of them are known to work on them.

You can read about the recent development of US hyerpsonic weapons program here-https://defensespace.blogspot.com/2020/09/race-for-hypersonic-missile-technology.html

Race for Hypersonic missile technology is on for the global powers

2020-09-04T04:33:00.002-07:00

Race for Hypersonic missile technology is on for the global powers

On 1st September it was announced that U.S. Air Force and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have completed the captive carry tests of two hypersonic weapon variants. It is also expected that first free-flight tests will be carried out later this year

Image -Hypersonic weapon design

Lockheed Martin and Raytheon are known to develop the design of scramjet-powered hypersonic missiles as part of the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) program run by the Air Force and DARPA. Separate air vehicle designs have been tested by both the companies and an speed of more than 5 Mach was achieved during the trials.
Successful completion of captive carry tests makes US air force one step closer to fielding their hypersonic missiles.
Both the companies are confident in the their design and wind tunnel testing has provided the testing team with an result which was anticipated by the research and development team.
Apart from US India and Japan are also developing their own hypersonic weapons. Russia and China have already claimed to have successfully developed an hypersonic missile.

US B2 Bomber arrives in Diego Garcia base in Indian Ocean -Beijing within striking range-A strong message to China

2020-08-25T22:35:00.001-07:00

US B2 Bomber arrives in Diego Garcia base in Indian Ocean -Beijing within striking range-A strong message to China

Introduction

China lately have been aggressive in nature towards its neighbors India and Taiwan. China is also seen continuously taking aggressive military actions in the South China sea to counter other countries claim in the region. Repeated threats from China towards Taiwan to conquer Taiwan and make it its own territory as per the One china policy has lead to rise in tension in the region.

On the other hand china's military have been involved in an dispute with Indian army in Galwan valley in the north eastern border region of India. China also keeps on questioning the US's presence in the South china sea and wants the US navy to stop patrolling the seas which is international waters as per the united nations. China have already claimed that South china sea belongs to the Chinese since and it is an strategic waterway since one third of global shipment goes through the South china sea.

Image-B-2 Bomber

B2 Spirit bomber

Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit bomber is an state of the art heavy strategic bomber with stealth technology designed for penetrating areas with equipped with anti-aircraft defense systems.

B-2 spirit is designed and developed to carry both conventional and thermonuclear bombs. It's first flight took place on 17th July 1989 and about 21 of these were built for the US air force. Each B2 can carry up to eighty 500-pound class Mk 82 JDAM Global Positioning System-guided bombs, or sixteen 2,400-pound B 83 nuclear bombs.

Each unit of B-2 spirit costs around $737 million. B-2 can reach an altitude of about 50,000 feet and has an range of 6,000 nautical miles. The range of the bomber can be extended up to 10,000 nautical miles by mid air refueling.

B-2 spirit has already proved its capability in the Kosovo war in 1999 and later served for the US in Iraq,Afghanistan and Libya. The stealth technology of the airplane is so advanced that no plane has been yet lost in any combat situation.

As of now 20 B-2 are in service and the US air force will operate these until 2032 and it will be replaced by Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider.

Image-B-2 bomber dropping bombs

Implication of B-2 bomber in Indian ocean

Amidst the rising tensions with China in the south china sea and threat to both Taiwan and neighboring islands ; US had already deployed two aircraft carriers namely Ronald Reagan and the Nimitz in South China sea to ensure safety of Taiwan and in support of free and open Indo-Pacific region. On the other hand dispute between China and India is far from over and repeated talks have failed and china is not willing to withdraw its troops across the border with India.

Reports have come in that China has deployed its fifth generation J-20 stealth fighter on its forward bases. China is also keeping an close eye on India's air bases and have moved its ballistic missiles like DF 26 towards the Indo-China border.

Recently China have been seen preparing its radar and air defense systems to prevent the attack by Indian Agni series missiles which are nuclear capable inter continental ballistic missiles.

United states of America have moved three of its B-2 bomber from home base in Missouri to Diego Garcia one of its major geostrategic and logistics support base in the Indian Ocean. The bases also holds special hangers meant to keep B-2 stealth bombers as per the requirements for a prolonged period of time without damaging the stealth coating of the bomber.

Image-Diego Garcia base in Indian Ocean

In addition to these bombers US have also stationed 200 US air force personnel's in the air base.

The base is located right in the heart of Indian ocean and is strategically a choke point for US adversaries in the area since this base is located merely 4,293 miles or 6 909 km from Chinese capital city Beijing.

Also it is very close to India and is located around 2,494 miles or 4 014 km from Indian capital New Delhi or any of Indian forward air bases.

In any event of emergency US can quickly deploy B2- spirit and prevent any act of aggression from Chinese side. US air force commander colonel Christopher Conant said that we have come to an important place like Diego Garcia. We are ready to help our friends in the Indian ocean and are intensifying our ability to attack.

To worsen the situation Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy is expected to stage a series of exercises that are likely intended to simulate the storming of Taiwanese islands in the region and presence of B2 bombers in the area will potentially make china think twice before taking any action. There is also speculations that the B-2 will take part in Malabar joint naval exercise between US and India later this year.

Why Su-57 is not an good option for Indian Air force's fifth generation fighter requirement ?

2020-08-23T14:02:00.000-07:00

Why Su-57 is not an good option for Indian Air force's fifth generation fighter requirement?

Introduction

Stealthy air frame and low radar cross section is supposed to be the important futuristic capability of an fifth generation fighter jet.

For example an American F16 falcon and Russian Su-35 is an fourth generation fighter aircraft whereas american F-22 raptor and F-35 are considered to be true fifth generation fighter aircraft.

There are many other features which make an fifth generation fighter jet superior to fourth gen fighters like an advanced radar for example active electronically scanned array radar, new generation engines and network centric warfare capability along with sensor fusion and digitally automated control system.

So let's look at the certain reasons why SU-57 will not be a good option for India.

1. Design

As stated earlier Stealth is an important feature in modern day war fares and new generation fighter aircrafts.

The design of the Su -57 is very attractive and does appeal an stealthy look to its air frame. But there is something more when it comes to making the fighter aircraft smaller than its real dimensions on the radar.

Image-Sukhoi SU-57

For example the surface of the fighter must be such that it must not reflect the radar beams back to its sources. Also the body of the aircraft must be smooth and must not

contain gaps or uneven surfaces on its body. Presence of such surfaces might lead in giving up the aircraft's stealthy features.

Manufacturing and developing an smooth body surface makes it extremely difficult in case of an aircraft and it requires modern machining process to achieve an seamless design.

Russian Su-57 though considered stealthy is not as per the standards of American engineering or technology as we see it in F35 or F22 raptor.

Image-Su-57 Under view

Also the inlet design of Su-57 through which the air is supposed to enter the engines is also very important since they are an very easy giveaway for the radar

and bounce back a severe amount of radar waves. The engine inlet on the Su-57 is almost aligned perfectly to the engines and this is an big disadvantage according to military experts.

Also Indian experts have also stated that the Su-57 design did not meet the Indian requirements and it is nearly impossible to increase the stealthiness of Su-57 even after major upgrades.

2. Engines

Engine technology is very sophisticated when it comes to fighter jets and in an fifth gen fighter the engines must have the capability to super cruise without the after burners.

When the after burners are deployed the engine consumes fuel at an faster rate which proves to be highly efficient.

Russia is having problems with the engines used in SU-57 with respect to supercruise.

Sukhoi had initially planned to use the Saturn Al-41 engines which is an upgraded version of the Al-31 engines used in the Su-27 flanker family.

Image-Saturn Al-41 engine

The Al-41 produces 93.1 kN of dry thrust and 147.1 kN with after burners and weigh around 1600 kg. Also Su-57 has 3d thrust vectoring capability which even the F-22 or F35 fighter jets doesn't posses.

In 2011 Moscow air show the Al-41 engine stalled and the Su-57 had to abort the take off.

Image- Al-41 engine stall on Su-57

And in 2014 India had expressed concerns over the enigne with regards to its performance and super cruise capabilities.

However in the new production models Russia is claiming to integrate more advanced Izdeliye 30 engines with more dry thrust and efficiency.The new engine will be capable of producing 107 kN of dry thrust and 176 kN in afterburners.

But India is skeptical as this is an new engine and its performance will only be validated once Russia completely inducts Su-57 in large numbers in to its air force.

3. Serviceability issue

India already operates a large number of Russian made Sukhoi Su-30 fighter along with Mig -29 and Mig 21 bison.

And apparently Indian Air force is not happy with the serviceability of these air crafts and availability of the spare parts.

Reports have surfaced where the number of Sukhoi Su -30 jets in available in service were almost 50 percent of the number of jets acquired in the Indian inventory.

India also operates the Mig 29 K the naval version of Mig-29 and have also seem to have problems with its engines.

Image-Indian Navy Mig-29 K

So it is viable for India to step back and observe the developments happening in the Su -57 program and study before going into any deal with Russia.

4. China

Although Russia is an old friend and very close to India China has an more deep military and strategic relationship with Russia than India. the military equipment export of China From Russia is

also considerably high when compared to India. Also India is now looking to buy some western made platforms like Rafale and MH 60 R submarine hunting helicopters.

As the defense ties with USA is increasing China seems to be having more stronger ties with Russia.

And viewers must note that China has been the first customer for Russian Su35 fighter jets and S-400 Air defense systems.

Even though China has claimed that its J-20 is an fifth generation fighter jet many aviation experts don't believe so and China had acquired Su 35 in limited number in spite of J -20 in Chinese air force. Also India have claimed that the J-20 is not an stealthy aircraft since the Sukhoi- Su 30 MKI of India detected Chinese air crafts from a much longer distance.

Image-Chinese J-20 fighter jet

So there is an very good possibility of china acquiring these fighter jets from Russia and Russia selling to them since Su-57 program is facing economic crisis after India walked out of the program in late 2018.

5. Indigenous fifth generation fighter jets.

India is looking to increase its capability to locally design and produce military weapons and equipment. And since 2018 India has started to focus immensely on its fifth generation fighter air craft.

The program is known as AMCA or advanced medium combat aircraft.It is show cased as an 5.5 generation aircraft.

It is now know that the design phase is complete and India is in development of key sensors and technology for the fifth generation fighter.

Image-HAL AMCA design

India is looking to use General Electric engines or might develop an indigenous engine for Mk 2 version of AMCA along with Rolls Royce and India will have the intellectual property rights to the same.

The first flight of the prototype is expected to take place in 2026.

And it will go into serial production by 2030.

In addition to that last year Indian Air force chief said that India is not looking to acquire any foreign fifth generation fighter jets and will build one indigenously.

Weekly Defense Updates- Minuteman 3 ICBM test,Taiwan F-16, US-Turkey Arms deal cancelled,Tejas on Indo-Pak Border, US will share space technical data with UK

2020-08-23T13:11:00.001-07:00

Weekly Defense Updates- Minuteman 3 ICBM test,Taiwan F-16, US-Turkey Arms deal cancelled,Tejas on Indo-Pak Border, US will share space technical data with UK

Weekly Defense Updates are as follows-

1. USA successfully tests Minuteman 3 ICBM with three re entry vehicles.

The US air force has conducted test launch of minuteman 3 ICBM from Vandenberg air force base located in California. The test took place in early August 2020.

The inter continental ballistic missile was equipped with three unarmed re entry vehicles.

Image-Minuteman 3 ICBM shoots out of missile silo

Air Force Colonel Omar Colbert said that the test was initiated by the military personnel's onboard E 6 B mercury airborne command post.

E 6B mercury is considered as an back up option for launching these missiles in case any command and control centers on ground are taken out by an military operation by the adversaries in an event of war.

Image- E6B Mercury (command post)

Minuteman 3 is expected to have an operational range of 8,100 miles or 13,000 km. ICBM has 3 stage solid fuel rocket engines with pin point accuracy.

A multiple independently target able reentry vehicle (MIRV ) is a ballistic missile payload containing several warheads, capable of hitting different targets.

Image-multiple independently target able reentry vehicle (MIRV )

MIRV allows a country to launch nuclear weapons towards multiple site and it drastically increases the lethality of the ICBMs.

Minuteman 3 was the true MIRV capable missile of its kind. It can carry 3 warheads and be targeted to 3 independent locations.

Minuteman 3 can carry W78 or W87 warheads. W 78 thermonuclear warhead can carry up to 335 to 350 kilotons of TNT. the W 87 is an improvement over W 78 and includes all modern features. W 87 can carry 475 kilotons of TNT.

Image-W87 Thermonuclear warhead

2. The US congress has now blocked the arms deal with turkey for the time period of 2 years

The relations between the two NATO allies have already been degrading since Turkey signed the deal with Russia for the S 400 air defense systems and was removed out of the F 35 joint strike fighter program.

As of now there are no exact details of how many deals are withdrawn but two major deals are struck down. These deals include the modernization and structural upgrades of the Turkish f-16 fleet, along with the export license of U S made engines that Turkey needs to complete a $1.5 billion sale of attack helicopters to Pakistan.

Image-Turkish T-129 attack helicopter

3. Taiwan will buy 66 american made F16 from Lockheed martin amidst the tension with China.

The deal was approved formally last year by the US congress and the deal is expected to be worth around

US $ 62 billion. F-16 is an very capable single engine all weather multirole fighter jet. F-16 can be armed with wide range of missiles including air to air and air to ground missiles along with anti-ship missiles.

Taiwan is already operating the older versions of F16 in large numbers and is very well optimized with the fighter jet.

Taiwan has also successfully integrated the US made harpoon anti-ship missile on its F-16 fleet amidst the rising tension with china.

China is not happy with the deal and considers Taiwan as its own territory as per its One China policy.

Image-F-16 Fighting falcon

4. The U.S. Space Force will begin sharing valuable space situational awareness data with the United Kingdom as part of Operation Olympic Defender.

On august 14th it was announced by the Washington that under the special agreement signed with UK's ministry of Defense ; US Space Force will share it’s Standardized Astrodynamics Algorithm Library or shortly called S A A L .

S A A L is a collection of the Space Force’s understanding of orbital physics and algorithms that helps the service predict the trajectories of objects on orbit.

Sharing this important data with its allies will help US and its friendly countries to deter hostile actions in space, strengthen deterrence against hostile actors and address the growing issue of orbital debris.

Operation Olympic Defender was officially taken over by U.S. Space Command in May and is located at the Combined Space Operations Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

Image- US Space Force

5. India puts its home developed Tejas fighter jets along its western border

The standoff between India and China has been going on for quite some time now. And China is not showing any signs of complete withdrawal of its armed forces among the Line of Actual control.

India on the other hand has to deal with both hostile neighbors China and Pakistan. India has now stationed its 4.5 generation indigenous fighter in its forward bases along the border with Pakistan.

Tejas is single seat single engine multipurpose fighter jet with delta wing design and is a very capable fighter. It is the smallest fighter of its category with respect to size.

Tejas is capable of carrying out missions both in day and night conditions. Tejas can be equipped with any missiles be it western or Russian made thanks to its Indian made open source architecture.

As per the latest reports 18 Tejas fighters have been deployed alongside border with Pakistan.

Image-HAL Tejas

NASA successfully launched one the most unique rover named Perseverance to Mars

2020-07-30T08:07:00.000-07:00

NASA successfully launched Perseverance rover to Mars

NASA successfully launched its new Mars rover named Perseverance into space which will reach Mars within six months.

The successful launch took place using a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Kennedy Space Center located in Florida.

Image-Perseverance rover

Perseverance -New age rover

The new age rover's mission will be NASA's fifth Mars rover to land on Mars if the mission is successful.

Perseverance is very unique and first of its kind due to several reasons.

The reasons which makes Perseverance so special is as follows -

1.Its enormous size - almost the size of a modern day car.

2. Capability of taking autonomous decision -The rover will be like an self driving car.

3. The first rover to feature a microphone which will be capable of capturing sounds when the rover will descent to the surface.

4. It will be first rover to contain a camera with zoom functionality.

5. The rover is the first one to be powered by American plutonium.

6.The most unique feature of all is that the rover will carry an super lightweight helicopter which will be first extraterrestrial aircraft.

Image-Perseverance components

Image- Super light weight helicopter in Perseverance rover

Image-Perseverance rover testing

Mission of Perseverance rover

The primary mission of the rover will be to collect Mars dirt samples to study possible signs of ancient life hidden in Mars soil.

The rover will use different kinds of laser to blast Mars rock. If it notices anything promising it will use coring drill and collect sample and store it in the rover. The soil samples collected by thee rover will be taken back to Earth by other robotic mission in the future and is expected to take place within this decade.

Apart from that it will also test the first space suit samples meant to be used on another planet environment which is quite different from Earth's environment.

Image-Model of orbiting container for collecting samples

Aeroshell

The rover will stay safe in an white envelope which has a design similar to that of a UFO.

Lockheed Martin built the aeroshell. The company's aeroshell design has a history of taking all of NASA's rover's to Mars safely. The aeroshell will be made of two main parts or shell heat shield and back shell.

Image-Lockheed Martin Aeroshell

Image-Aeroshell-heat shield (yellow) and back shell (white)

The Landing

Landing of aeroshell on Mars surface is the most tough part of the mission since the rover will enter the Martian atmosphere at a speed of 10,000 miles per hour and it will be exposed to temperatures up to 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Once the rover capsule is about 7 miles from the Mars surface a parachute will be deployed which will decrease the speed of the descending payload.

After the clearing of heat shield on the spacecraft rover will detach itself and will free fall onto Mars surface.

After reaching a desired altitude the rover will slow itself by the deployment of a hovercraft on which it is rested.

Image-Parachute used in rover landing

Image-Rover landing step wise representation

Last Mars mission of the summer

Apart form this ambitious mission to Mars there were other two Mars missions one from China and from UAE.

UAE's space mission

As per the officials these mission was carried out to take the advantage of less distance between earth and Mars which takes place once every 26 months.

Perseverance rover mission was the last of its kind in this summer season.

South Korea gets a free hand to use and develop Solid fuel rocket engine from USA

2020-07-29T15:15:00.001-07:00

South Korea now free to use and develop solid fuel rocket technology

Background

A solid fueled rocket uses an engine with solid propellants.

Meaning the engine uses solid fuel or oxidizers like zinc sulfur propellants or high energy composite propellants for propelling.

Solid fuel rockets are more viable as compared to liquid propellant rockets since rate of degradation of these solid fuel rockets is less as compared to liquid fuel rockets.

When compared to liquid fueled rockets solid fueled rockets are more reliable during launching. But liquid fueled rockets are more efficient and more maneuverable.

Solid fuel rockets is an old technology when compared to liquid fueled rocket technology.

Due to its more reliability and stability solid fuel rocket systems are used in most military missiles and space rockets.

Image-Inter continental ballistic missile with solid fuel rocket engine

Nowadays due to its lower performance but greater stability solid fueled rockets are still used in militarizes around the world as well as in space rockets in the form of strap on boosters which are detachable in order to increase the payload capacity of the space shuttle.

These solid fuel rockets are also used to lunch light vehicles for low earth orbit payloads which weighs under 2 tonnes.

Using a liquid fueled rocket for launching low earth payloads or light probes is highly inefficient and costly since liquid propellant are used for launching large to medium payload.

Image-Spacecraft with strap on solid fuel rocket boosters

Solid fuel rocket technology for South Korea

The conflict between North Korea and South Korea is well known to every one by now.

Due to this Washington had imposed strict restrictions on South Korea over solid fueled rocket technology because if given an free hand in using this technology South Korea could develop bigger missiles and would lead to an arms race in the area.

But in spite of these restrictions and avoiding escalations North Korea still developed its nuclear capable Inter continental ballistic missiles

And in 2017 alone North Korea carried out testing of Nuclear capable intercontinental ballistic missiles three times with a goal of developing a missile

which could reach the American mainland.

Now South Korea has been successful in convincing USA and has won US consent to use solid fuel rocket technology to develop space launch vehicles and develop

missiles with bigger range and strike capability.

Image-Solid fuel rocket engine

Implications

Due to restrictions on South Korea it lags behind the North Korea in field of missile technology and strike capability.

After the removal of restrictions South Korea can now develop its own space launch vehicles and launch satellites for surveillance purposes.

Satellites enable a country to keep and 24 hr unblinking eye on its adversary and proves to be very helpful in the event of an war.

Till now South Korea had launched only one observational satellite into the orbit form its own spacecraft which was built with the help of Russia.

South Korean experts states that South Korea needs at least two to three low earth orbiting satellites to monitor North Korea.

It is a well known fact that the technology used in building rocket fueled spacecrafts is very much similar to missile body and engine technology.

Along with increased South Korea’s intelligence and reconnaissance capability it will also help South Korea to develop missiles that can fly longer with bigger warheads.

Image-Ballistic missiles rocket engine

But there is one restriction still in effect on South Korea that is it cannot develop missiles with a range more than 800 km or 500 miles.

For now South Korea doesn't have to think much on that since major cities and commercial areas of the North Korea is located within the range of 800 km form South Korea's capital Seoul .

India's first batch of 5 Rafale fighters to reach India On 29th July 2020 in Ambala air base

2020-07-27T13:27:00.002-07:00

5 Rafales head to India in boost to its air power

India's first batch of 5 Rafale fighters to reach India On 29th July 2020 in Ambala air base .

As per the inter governmental deal signed in 2016 between India and France for 36 Rafales ,first batch of these state of the art 4.5 generation fighter jets will arrive in India on 29th July.

As of now 5 Rafale jets are expected to arrive.
Out of these 5 jets 3 fighters are twin seat version while 2 are standard single seat versions.
These Rafales have taken off from France this morning and will land in UAE along its path to India.
In the first leg of travel these fighters will be re-fueled in the air by French Air Force's tanker. 

Also the fighter planes are flown by Indian Air Force pilots as they were undergoing training in France for sometime now.

India's Rafale comes with 13 India Specific Enhancements.
India have already signed the deal for  Meteor air to air missile along with air to surface SCALP missile.
The shipments for these missiles have already arrived in India.

Apart from that India have also asked France for hammer missiles which are ground attack precision ammunition under emergency purchase.

This will make Indian Rafales a formidable fighter jet in the region. With help of these missiles India will be able to fully operationalise Rafale fighter very quickly in it's northern frontier along side China.
The fighter jets will first join 17th squadron of Indian Air Force "Golden Arrows " in Ambala air force base in Haryana.

Image-Rafale fighter jet

Image- SCALP missile 

Image-Hammer missiles

Image-Meteor air to air missile

France successfully tests M51 SLBM from its Triomphant class nuclear submarines (SSBN)

2020-07-27T12:08:00.002-07:00

France successfully tests M51 SLBM from its Triomphant class nuclear submarines (SSBN)

Background

In today's world nuclear weapons or weapons of mass destruction have become an parameter of identifying a superpower or an strong global military power.

As of now nine countries are expected to have nuclear weapons including France.

France successfully carried out its first nuclear test on February 13th 1960 , and the operation was code named Blue Desert Rat.

Nuclear weapons can be launched from air,water or ground depending upon the range of the weapon and the type of action required for a particular mission or objective.

The ballistic missiles which can be launched from submarines are called as submarine launched ballistic missile or SLBM.

And modern ballistic missiles are capable of striking multiple targets.This is if the missile has MIRV capability.

MIRV is multiple independently target able reentry vehicles.

M51 SLBM

M51 SLBM is considered as the successor to M45 SLBM and which will be replaced by the same.

It is designed and manufactured by ArianeGroup with the project cost estimated to be 4 billion euro .

The weight of this SLBM is around 11,4640 pounds or 52,000 kilograms. It has a length of 12.0 m and a diameter of 2.3 m.

Each M51 SLBM is capable of carrying six to ten TN 75 thermonuclear warheads which can hit multiple targets independently.

M51 uses a three stage solid-fuel rocket engine which uses ammonium percholate composite as propellant. The missile has an operational range of 8,000-10,000 km and

can achieve an maximum speed of Mach 25. And the ballistic missile uses Astro-inertial guidance system for striking its target.

Image- M51 SLBM (representative image)

Triomphant class submarines-M51 launch platform

M51 SLBM uses Triomphant class submarines as the launching platform which are nuclear-powered submarine (SSBN). Each of these submarines are equipped with 16 SLBM launching tubes. It has a top speed of 25 kn (46 km/h). Each of these submarines can stay active in service for up to 25 years without the need of replenishment or swapping of the nuclear reactors

Apart from these the submarines can carry torpedoes and anti-ship missiles. The French administrations confirmed that the French Navy carried out the test of M51 on June 12th 2020.

Image-Triomphant class submarine

M51 SLBM launch test

The test which took place on June 12th 2020 was carried out in operational conditions but the missile is not supposed to be carrying a nuclear warhead.The missile was launched of the coast of Brittany

which is located in western France.

The results of the test were fully analysed by looking into the flight path of the missile with the help of radars along with instrumentation ship of the French Navy

named Monge (A601).

The test zone or the fallout zone of the missile was at least several hundred kilometres away from nearby coast of any country or region.

The official statements stated that the tests was to demonstrate the capability of the Triomphant class submarines and excellence of the French industries in this area.

It also stated that the tests fell in line with all France's international commitment.

Arab world's first interplanetary mission takes off from Japan's rocket

2020-07-27T12:01:00.003-07:00

Arab world's first interplanetary mission takes off from Japan's rocket

UAE became the Arab world's first country to launch an interplanetary mission on Monday. The mission is aimed at studying the atmosphere, climate and temperature changes happening in the environment of Mars.

The unmanned probe carrying spacecraft named Hope was launched from Japan's Tanegashima space center.

If all things go well the orbiter will enter Mars atmosphere in the month on February in 2021. The orbiter is made in such way that it will be able to circle around the Mars for two years to gather much valuable data.

The probe will be able to study climate change and upper atmosphere of the Mars with the instruments loaded in it.

The missions from China and USA are also headed towards Mars as they all wanted to take the advantage of the proximity of the Red planet to Earth in the month of October.

NASA had stated that the Mars will be much closer to Earth due to planetary motions as compared to other times when the distance is more. T

The Red planet is expected to be 38.6 million miles or 62.07 million kilometres closer to Earth in the month of October which will be very beneficial to the Mars mission.

The UAE mission will not have a lander which will land on Mars as the USA or China is planning to carry out but it is aimed at taking high resolution pictures and study the atmosphere of Mars for a complete martian year which consists of 687 days.

Image-Hope Scientific mission announcement event

Image- Mars Orbiter

Fire on USS Bonhomme Richard caused extensive damage says US Navy chief

2020-07-27T12:00:00.002-07:00

Fire on USS Bonhomme Richard caused extensive damage says US Navy chief

The cause of the fire is still unknown but Navy officials believe that the fire had broken out in the cargo hold of the ship.

About 160 sailors were on the ship at the time of fire and around 38 sailors and 23 civilians suffered minor injuries. The hard work of the sailors and other people involved in extinguishing the fire helped in preventing the fire from spreading to fuel supply of the ship.

22 year old US amphibious ship named USS Bonhomme Richard has extensive structural, electrical and mechanical damage.

US Navy chief said after observing the ship and studying about the incident that the fate of the ship is uncertain and extensive damage has been caused to the ship.

If the ship cannot be repaired then it would take around 4 billion US dollars to

replace it with a new one according to defense analyst.

The amphibious ships under certain conditions can act as an mini aircraft carrier.

It is now know that the USS Bonhomme Richard was undergoing an upgrade costing around 250 million dollars.

Also the up-gradation was going on for about 2 years and the ship was about to complete it's up-gradation process.

The US Navy is investigating the incident and taking a closer look on to what was the reason which caused the major fire on the navy ship.

Image-Fire on bard USS Bonhomme Richard

Image- USS Bonhomme during its mission days

US to sell World's most feared Reaper MQ-9/Predator B drones to India

2020-07-27T08:21:00.054-07:00

US to sell World's most feared Reaper MQ-9/Predator B drones to India

Image- MQ-9 Reaper Drone

Background

After the fatal clash between the armies of the two nuclear powered states at the Galwan valley across the LAC in the northern sector of India, tension between the two neighbors is once again high after the Dhoklam issue.

Although talks between the Indian army officials and People's liberation army have been carried out the de-escalation process is not taking place at an speed which was expected.

The high mountainous areas along the LAC makes combined with rough weather makes it hard for the armies to patrol the area.

Indian army has been using Israeli unarmed Heron drones in eastern Ladakh. But it has also been looking for an armed version of UAV to carry out surveillance, reconnaissance and having the capacity to attack the targets with high amount of precision.

Also India has been in talks with the United States for quite some time now for the procurement of armed drones.

Image- Galwan valley-site of India China clash

Need for armed drone

Right now the current situations along the LAC are said to be stable but the risk of a two front war with China and its Allie Pakistan is always an danger to Indian sovereignty.

China has its own version of armed drone called Wing Loong which is Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance UAV.

Apart from that china has also been known to supply Pakistan with four such armed drones for the purpose of protecting its ambitious projects in Pakistan like China-Pakistan economic corridor and Gwador port. These drones are capable of carrying air to surface missiles and bombs weighing up-to 1000 kilograms.

Image-Chinese Wing Loong Drone

US re -tweaks MTCR policy

Missile Technology Control Regime UAS clause restricted US from selling predator B drones or any other armed drones to it strategic allies like India and its allies in the middle east. As per the news changes to MTCR policy sales of armed drones flying under the speed of 800 kph won't be restricted.

Now after the new rules US will be able to supports its allies and also expand its business in the UAV market. Since both China and Pakistan is not a member of MTCR, selling of drones to Pakistan was not a big deal for Chinese firms.

Also due its low price as compared to other models in the market Chinese drones became operational in various armed forces around the world.

Bangladesh,Egypt,Nigeria to name a few.

General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper or Predator B drone

MQ-9 reaper drone is an high altitude surveillance and long range drone.

The reaper drone has a 950-shaft-horsepower 712 kW turboprop engine.

In an military operation the drone is handled or operated by a crew of three people which namely consists of pilot, sensor operator, and Mission Intelligence Coordinator.

It has a capability of reaching a top speed of 300 mph or 480 kph. With a large wingspan of 66 ft it can carry a payload of up-to 1700 kg. The ammunition of the

deadly predator include hell fire missiles and laser guided missile bombs.

The drone can last for a time period of 23 hrs in a combat mission while carrying full load of weaponry under its wings.

The range of MQ-9 is quoted at 1,150 miles along with a service ceiling of 50,000 ft.

It is the long range endurance of this drone which makes it an ideal choice for India in high altitude borders with China and Pakistan.

Image-General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper drone

Image-Predator drone firing its laser guided weapons

Image-Drone command and control center

US India Deal

Initial deal for the drones were expected to be around 30 including the surveillance and armed versions. But due to the high cost of around 15.9 million dollars in fly away condition for armed versions along with an emergency situation has lead to the decrease in the number of drones .

India is now ready to procure six predator B drones by fast tracking the procedures under emergency purchase.

Although the deal for more drones is set to follow as the Indian navy has been showing much interests in operating these drones.