—By Adam Weinstein | Thu Jan. 26, 2012 8:45 AM PST .. 11
On Thursday, the Pentagon's top leaders are expected to release new details on how they'll scale back military programs to meet President Obama's goal of $487 billion in defense cuts .. http://motherjones.com/politics/2012/01/obama-military-budget-cuts .. over the next decade. But Republicans in the House and Senate are already plotting how to blunt the impact of the proposed cuts.
Still, it's Capitol Hill conservatives who are hopping mad over the cuts, despite agreeing to them in principle during last year's debt crisis, when they approved a "sequestration" bill to trigger automatic federal spending reductions. Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), .. http://motherjones.com/contributor/2011/08/hasc-chairman-debt-bill-will-cause-war .. the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and a longtime defender of military pork, .. http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/03/gop-house-panel-halts-gear-troops .. told Politico he was concerned how quickly the military could ramp up troops and programs if another war broke out. "How do they reverse the shelving of ships and aircraft that we just don't buy?" he asked. "When we cut 100,000 troops out of the Army and Marine Corps, how do you get the experience back overnight?" That threat of war, he added, was far more imminent than President Obama acknowledged: "It's like we live in a peaceful world in his mind."
But although Republicans agree they hate the defense cuts, they disagree on how to fight them. McCain said McKeon's bill was "not good," and the GOP House leadership has yet to get behind any of the plans. Conservatives have told the American public that cost-cutting is key, and they're battling a president whose State of the Union address reminded a war-fatigued populace that the Iraq war is over and the war in Afghanistan is winding down. For once, it might be possible that Republicans don't have the stomach .. http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/06/republicans-pentagon-budget-cuts .. for a fight over military spending.
Adam Weinstein is Mother Jones' national security reporter. For more of his stories, click here or follow him on Twitter. RSS | Twitter
Liberals see the world as a unity. Republicans see political and economic conflict as a zero sum game, even though black and white ideologically concreted approaches in the face of policy differences suck.
Watch: Record-breaking swarm of 50 quadrocopters puts on show
Image Credit: rubra/Ars Electronica
By Kevin Hall 6:49PM on Sep 4, 2012
Residents of Linz, Austria recently saw lights in the sky. 50 of them, actually, as that's the number of quadrotors [ http://dvice.com/archives/2012/06/meet-your-quad.php ] that took to the air to perform a synchronized light show.
Called "The Cloud in the Web," the show featured 50 AscTec Hummingbird quadrocopters all communicating via radio, programmed by a team formed from Ars Electronica Futurelab and Ascending Technologies GmbH. 50 is apparently the highest number of quadrotors that have synchronized with one another all at once, and it's definitely the highest number we've ever seen.
The little 'copters move around from just looking pretty to creating shapes and the aerial positioning of the swarm [ http://dvice.com/archives/2012/02/video-20-nano-q.php ] is notable in that it doesn't appear to be affected by the wind. Even on a still day, if you go high enough you'll catch a gust, and these 'copters look pretty high to us.
U.S. Navy Sailors assist with the onload of the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman on Nov. 26, 2012. CREDIT: U.S. Navy | Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Lorenzo J. Burleson
TechNewsDaily Staff Date: 28 November 2012 Time: 01:02 PM ET
A robotic drone the size of a fighter jet has deployed aboard a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier for the first time in history.
The Navy's X-47B robot warplane [ http://www.technewsdaily.com/5466-navy-robot-warplane-tests-brains-midair-refueling.html ] is leading a revolution in robotic warfare that could replace many of the U.S. military's manned aircraft in coming decades. The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman took the drone aboard on Nov. 26 to prepare for its first flight tests at sea — a crucial step toward ensuring that robotic aircraft can take off and land as part of normal carrier operations.
"We've been testing the aircraft for the last several years and to finally put it on a ship is so exciting," said Cmdr. Kevin Watkins, flight test director for the Navy Unmanned Combat Air System program. "If these tests are successful, they will prove that the future for unmanned aircraft is wide open."
X-47B has a stealthy "flying wing" shape resembling a flying saucer [ http://www.lifeslittlemysteries.com/2575-military-ufo.html ] from the side and a wingspan of more than 62 feet (19 meters) — wider than that of the F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets that commonly operate from U.S. Navy carriers.
The U.S. Navy's X-47B drone is hoisted aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in preparation for flight testing at sea. CREDIT: U.S. Navy courtesy of Northrop Grumman | Alan Radecki
The USS Harry S. Truman has the honor of becoming the first modern aircraft carrier to play home to testing for such an unmanned aircraft. Testing over a three-week period is scheduled to take place while the carrier is both sitting in port and under way at sea. [Could the Navy Ever Build a Flying Aircraft Carrier? [ http://www.technewsdaily.com/5728-navy-flying-aircraft-carrier.html ]]
"It means a lot to our crew to be part of naval history," said Lt. Cmdr. Larry Tarver, aircraft handling officer on the USS Harry S. Truman. "We have sailors who received additional training to safely move the X-47B and they are excited to play a part in its testing."
Past flight tests for the X-47B include taking off and landing from a Navy air base and testing the drone's software "brains" that would allow it to conduct midair refueling on its own. The drone is also expected to have the ability to take off and land from a carrier without direct human control.
Still, a human drone operator would still stand by even if he or she is not controlling the drone directly. The operator also has an arm-worn joystick controller that can guide the X-47B drone as it taxis on the deck of an aircraft carrier.
No weapon testing has taken place with the X-47B so far. But the Navy undoubtedly wants a fighter-size drone that could one day carry either guns or missiles with a license to kill.
News 
Market Data 
Discover 
