Tag: military industrial complex

Chinese drone airdrops machine gun-wielding robot dog

Recent footage of a Chinese drone dropping off a dog-like robot with a machine gun strapped to its back has gone viral, providing a glimpse at the future of unmanned warfare.

Video clips, which were originally published by Chinese media earlier this month, showed large unmanned aircraft system with eight propellers hovering in to drop off a robot dog. The robot has its legs tucked in as it’s dropped off, but begins to unfold its legs and stand upright and walk.

As the robot dog begins to move, it is evident that it has some type of light-machine gun mounted on its back. The weapon appears to be a QBB-95 or QBB-97, which are both drum-magazine fed weapons used by Chinese forces.

Another video appears to show the same drone-based robot dog delivery from a different view.

The Drive reported the footage appeared earlier this month on an account on the Chinese social media app Weibo named “Kestrel Defense Blood Wing.” The Weibo-verified account appears to be affiliated with the Chinese armsmaker known as Kestrel Defense.

Another video went viral this summer showing a Chinese robot dog actually aiming and firing at targets on a range. In the video, the robot had to move its entire body and take several seconds to fine tune to aim the gun and it would reel back under the recoil of sustained automatic fire.

The U.S. military has also been developing dog robots. The U.S. robotmanufacturer Ghost Robotics has also showcased a dog robot equipped with a 6.5 mm rifle pod.

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US to modernize nuclear arsenal in Europe

The US has brought forward delivery of upgraded B61-12 air-dropped unguided nuclear bombs to NATO bases in Europe, Politico reported on Wednesday, citing a US diplomatic cable and two people familiar with the matter.

According to the report, the change originally planned for next spring is now scheduled for this December.

US officials were said to have relayed the news to NATO allies during a closed-door meeting in Brussels, Belgium this month.

In an emailed comment to Politico, Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder declined to discuss the details of the US nuclear arsenal, but said that the replacement of the older-generation B61 bombs for the B61-12 version is “part of a long-planned and scheduled modernization effort.” 

“It is in no way linked to current events in Ukraine and was not sped up in any way,” Ryder added.

The B61 is a family of nuclear bombs originally developed in the 1960s. The upgraded version is equipped with a modern tail kit for greater accuracy, according to the US Department of Energy. The weapon is designed to be carried by a number of Western aircraft, including B-2 and B-21 bombers, as well as F-15, F-16, F-35, and Tornado jet fighters.

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‘New territory’: America’s top aerospace sleuths join UFO hunt

America’s top aerospace engineers and scientists are joining forces to protect us from UFOs.

The country’s largest organization of government and private sector technical experts is launching a project to study “unidentified aerial phenomena,” after concluding that recent incursions by mysterious craft pose a safety hazard to military and commercial aircraft, according to people involved in the effort.

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, which includes among its members the country’s largest defense and NASA contractors, has established three committees to study the technology, how incursions affect pilot and passenger safety, and to coordinate with government agencies and international researchers also focused on the topic.

“We’re stepping in a new territory,” said Ryan Graves, a former Navy fighter pilot and defense contractor who is co-chairing AIAA’s Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena Community of Interest. He’s joined by Ravi Kopparapu, a planetary scientist at NASA who is studying the potential habitability of Earth-like planets.

“This topic is not for everyone,” added Graves, who came forward with his own experience with UFOs hovering over his F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet in 2014 and 2015. “It is not about forcing people to look into this if they are not ready yet. People have to come to terms with it.”

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Radioactive Waste Found at Missouri Elementary School

There is significant radioactive contamination at an elementary school in suburban St. Louis where nuclear weapons were produced during World War II, according to a new report by environmental investigation consultants.

The report by Boston Chemical Data Corp. confirmed fears about contamination at Jana Elementary School in the Hazelwood School District in Florissant raised by a previous Army Corps of Engineers study.

The new report is based on samples taken in August from the school, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Boston Chemical did not say who or what requested and funded the report.

“I was heartbroken,” said Ashley Bernaugh, president of the Jana parent-teacher association who has a son at the school. “It sounds so cliché, but it takes your breath from you.”

The school sits in the flood plain of Coldwater Creek, which was contaminated by nuclear waste from weapons production during World War II. The waste was dumped at sites near the St. Louis Lambert International Airport, next to the creek that flows to the Missouri River. The Corps has been cleaning up the creek for more than 20 years.

The Corps’ report also found contamination in the area but at much at lower levels, and it didn’t take any samples within 300 feet of the school. The most recent report included samples taken from Jana’s library, kitchen, classrooms, fields and playgrounds.

Levels of the radioactive isotope lead-210, polonium, radium and other toxins were “far in excess” of what Boston Chemical had expected. Dust samples taken inside the school were found to be contaminated.

Inhaling or ingesting these radioactive materials can cause significant injury, the report said.

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CIA, US Special Forces Presence Now “Far More Extensive” In Ukraine

US special operations forces are on the ground in Ukraine as part of a broad covert operation that includes CIA personnel, The Intercept reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed US intelligence and military officials.

The report said that the US withdrew its CIA and special operations assets from Ukraine shortly before Russia’s invasion, although one US official said the CIA “never completely left.”

The CIA initially predicted that Kyiv would fall quickly to Russia, but after it became clear that wouldn’t happen, the Biden administration sent its covert assets back into Ukraine.

The report said that US clandestine operations inside Ukraine “are now far more extensive than they were early in the war, when US intelligence officials were fearful that Russia would steamroll over the Ukrainian army.”

Several current and former intelligence officials said that there “is a much larger presence of both CIA and US special operations personnel and resources in Ukraine than there were at the time of the Russian invasion in February.”

Back in June, The New York Times reported that there was a CIA presence in Ukraine, but it made no mention of US special operations forces. The Times report did say that several US allies have special operations troops in Ukraine, including Britain, France, Canada, and Lithuania.

The Intercept report said the covert operations inside Ukraine are being conducted under a covert presidential finding that indicates President Biden has quietly notified Congress of a “broad program of clandestine operations inside the country.”

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US-China Space Wars & Moon-Mining

On May 30, two NASA astronauts were launched into space under the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, marking the return to a time when the United States transported its people into space without depending on foreign countries like Russia. U.S. private firms can now carry out launches to low-Earth orbits at competitive prices. Consequently, in addition to no longer being dependent on foreign countries for space assistance, NASA can now focus on its longer-term goal of launching Americans into deeper space.

In 2020, China’s Chang’e-5 moon mission discovered a new variant mineral now called Changesite-(Y). The crystal containing helium-3 could prove incredibly valuable as it may offer a new energy source. Scientists believe that the tiny crystals may be able to power nuclear reactors and are abundant on the moon. To put the power of helium-3 in perspective, about three tablespoons of helium-3 could replace 5,000 tons of coal.

Consequently, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) announced plans for three more moon missions over the next 10 years and the construction of a permanent lunar base.

The Chinese space agency frequently captures headlines heralding China’s achievements in space. Apart from Chang’e-5 landing on the moon, China managed to land a rover called Zhurong on Mars in 2021. However, China is slow in the space race. The United States sent its first uncrewed mission to the moon in 1962, followed by a human-crewed mission in 1969. Chinese unmanned craft reached Mars in 2020, a feat NASA had achieved with Mariner 4 in 1964, while the first U.S. craft to land on Mars was Viking 1 in 1975. Currently, with 2,944 satellites, the United States has nearly six times as many satellites orbiting the Earth as China with 499.

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Navy lied about fuel-laced water on US aircraft carrier

A US Navy whistleblower has reportedly accused his superiors on the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier of lying to crew members about the severity of a fuel leak into their drinking water and denying them medical treatment when they were sickened by the contaminated fluid.

“We were exposed to an unhealthy amount of JP-5,” a sailor on the carrier told Business Insider, referring to a common type of kerosene-based jet fuel. The media outlet, which posted its article on Saturday, said it didn’t identify the sailor out of concern that he might face retribution from the Navy for speaking out.

The incident occurred in mid-September, when members of the nearly 3,000-person crew noticed discoloration and a foul smell in the water that they use for drinking and showering. After initially advising the crew to drink only bottled water, the ship’s commanding officer and executive officer later announced that the Nimitz’s normal water supply was safe to use.

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