April 11, 2024 | International, Land
From an eclipse that yanked attendees to the waterfront to a surprise appearance by Lance Cpl. Chesty XVI, here’s what you may have missed.
August 9, 2023 | International, Security
Shortages of Pratt & Whitney engines for Airbus A220 passenger jets have eased but it will take around 18 months before disruption is lifted altogether, the head of the airplane's second-largest operator, airBaltic, told Reuters.
May 1, 2024 | International, Aerospace
Frank Calvelli told lawmakers that while the Contractor Responsibility Watch List is a helpful tool, he'd like to see its authorities expanded.
January 12, 2021 | International, Naval
Jan. 11 (UPI) -- A long-awaited seaborne defensive laser weapon system known as HELIOS was delivered to the U.S. Navy for testing, builder Lockheed Martin announced on Monday. The Navy is scheduled to test the 60kw High Energy Laser with Integrated Optical-dazzler and Surveillance, or HELIOS later this year, and will go to sea aboard an unnamed guided missile destroyer assigned to the Pacific Fleet. HELIOS, designed in a $150 million contract with Lockheed Martin, is designed to "burn the boats," or unmanned drones, with a high-energy laser beam. It follows a 2019 demonstration of laser power, although with half the wattage of the device announced on Monday, aboard the amphibious transport dock USS Ponce. The scalable laser design architecture combines multiple kilowatt fiber lasers to attain high beam quality at various power levels, according to Lockheed officials. HELIOS was designed as a weapon capable of burning small speed boats, notably of the type the Iranian military deploys in armed groups, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles. It can also merely "dazzle" a UAV's electro-optical sensors, damaging them and preventing them from performing their missions. The system can be used as an alternative to firing missiles or other projectiles at enemy craft, and can theoretically fire an unlimited number of laser blasts at targets. HELIOS is one of a number of laser weapons the Navy is currently working to develop. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2021/01/11/Lockheed-Martin-delivers-HELIOS-laser-weapon-to-US-Navy/2291610385689/