Tag: Lockheed C-130 Hercules

US Missiles Made For, Aimed at China

Ms. Cat

The United States is working toward fielding a number of new weapon systems including the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), the “Typhon” Mid-Range Capability missile launcher, and the “Dark Eagle” Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon, all designed from the ground up almost entirely to fight China in a future war the US envisions it can wage to prevent the East Asian nation from surpassing it militarily and economically both within the Indo-Pacific region, and globally.

US Missiles Made For, Aimed at China (archived)

Call of Duty is a Government Psyop: These Documents Prove It

Ms. Cat

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II has been available for less than three weeks, but it is already making waves. Breaking records, within ten days, the first-person military shooter video game earned more than $1 billion in revenue. Yet it has also been shrouded in controversy, not least because missions include assassinating an Iranian general clearly based on Qassem Soleimani, a statesman and military leader slain by the Trump administration in 2020, and a level where players must shoot “drug traffickers” attempting to cross the U.S./Mexico border.

Call of Duty is a Government Psyop: These Documents Prove It

Related:

Spies Infiltrate a Fantasy Realm of Online Games (behind a paywall)

Just some notes, for myself:

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RISE OF THE MACHINES: AI to the Rescue as the Military Continues to Struggle With Pilot Shortage

Ms. Cat

AI to the Rescue as the Military Continues to Struggle With Pilot Shortage

Only further causing headache this year was the fact that the Air Force had to temporarily ground nearly 300 trainer aircraft over concerns that their ejection seats would not fire correctly in an emergency. The problem, which also impacted the entire Air Force’sF-35A Lightning II fleet, was also discovered in 203 T-38 Talons and 76 T-6 Texans IIs.

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There are now various efforts underway to use advanced technology to address the pilot shortage gap. The United States Air Force and Merlin Labs are now developing software that could allow the Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules to fly with just a single pilot, whereby artificial intelligence (AI) would act as the second pilot. The C-130, built at Lockheed Martin’s facilities in Marietta, Georgia, now holds the record for the longest continuous production run of any military aircraft – first entering service in 1954.

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The software will be able to follow verbal instructions* from air traffic control, while the goal is for it to respond much like a human pilot. It is just one of several efforts currently underway to explore how AI can fill the pilot shortage.

The U.S. Army is also looking at how AI could be employed in its aircraft. Earlier this year, a Sikorsky UH-60A successfully conducted a 30-minute flight over Fort Campbell, Kentucky. It had no pilot or aircrew. The test was conducted as part of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) program.

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“All modern combat jets are inherently instable, which makes them more maneuverable, and only fly due to the help of a computer,” explained technology industry analyst Roger Entner of Recon Analytics.

Hope that it’s better than Apple’s Voice Control.

Hundreds of Key U.S. Warplanes Aren’t Ready for Combat, Government Report Finds

Ms. Cat1 Comment

Hundreds of Key U.S. Warplanes Aren’t Ready for Combat, Government Report Finds

The GAO says the Department of Defense “generally concurred” with its recommendations to “prioritize and complete required sustainment reviews” faster in order to develop plans to fix the availability shortfalls. “The Navy,” the GAO states, “did not agree to complete sustainment reviews in a timelier manner, citing resource limitations.” Just to be clear, the Navy’s budget in 2021 was $161 billion, and yet it claimed it did not have enough resources to figure out the depth of the problems that are grounding half of its fighter jets.

Advertisement for more funds for the Navy?! 🤷🏼‍♀️