August 14, 2019 | International, Aerospace

What could a military do with this flying saucer?

By: Kelsey D. Atherton

This may be a flying saucer, but don't call it a UFO. Carefully named, the All DIrections Flying Object, or ADIFO, is instead a saucer-like contraption, a flying prototype built at exploring the aerodynamic potential of an alien craft. It is, at its core, an omnidirectional flying wing built around a quadcopter with jets attached. Its designers see a future for the airframe as an unmanned combat aerial vehicle.

In a video posted July 1, a narrator discusses the design process and aerodynamics of the craft. Like many VTOL tools built on a quadcopter frame, ducted fans provide initial lift and mobility at low altitudes and low speeds. The addition of vectored jets on the rear of the craft, combined with four vertical vents and four side-facing vents, promising greater maneuverability at high speeds.

The ADIFO is the invention of Romanian engineer Razan Sabie in conjunction with Iosif Taposu, a scientist with a long career in aerospace research for the Romanian government.

“The aerodynamics behind this aircraft is the result of more than two decades of work and is very well reasoned in hundreds of pages and confirmed by computer simulations and wind tunnel tests,” Sabie told Vice, in the pair's first American interview. That story explores both the specific nature of the ADIFO, and the long and mostly failed history of flying saucer design.

Like many other ideas for the first decades of aviation, the possibility of operating the craft without a human on board opens up greater potential in what an airframe can actually do. Human pilots are subject to the limitations of a body and perception, and a flying disk changing directions suddenly at high speed is not the ideal place for a human to be.

Uncrewed craft can take on novel forms, and execute turns and twists beyond those human limits. While maneuverability is likely the primary selling point for a future role as combat aircraft, the smooth and fin-free form could easily have stealth characteristics built in, and could be further adapted by a dedicated team to fully realizing that stealth flight.

What might a military planner or designer do with such a machine? The proof-of-concept offers little in the way of information about storage space or sensors. With wide enough lenses, a handful of cameras could match the circular symmetry of the vehicle and provide and omnidirectional surveillance presence. The high speeds and potentially low radar profile suggest a role akin to earlier, Cold War spy planes, taking specific pictures in contested space and returning before anti-air systems can act.

And as with any aircraft, the potential is likely there for it to release an explosive payload, taking the flying saucer from an extraterrestrial fear to a terrestrial threat.

ADIFO might not be the future of anything. The project's home page says the team is still attracting partners, and aviation history is littered with proofs-of-concept that failed to materialize in a meaningful way.

Yet there is something to the idea of a flying saucer working the moment it no longer has to transport a human. It is an old aviation frontier that likely warrants further exploration.

https://www.c4isrnet.com/unmanned/2019/08/12/what-might-a-military-want-with-a-romanian-flying-saucer/

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January 27, 2021 | International, Naval

Australia invests in advanced maritime weapons, minehunters
By: Nigel Pittaway MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia's defense minister announced initiatives Monday that will fund early development work on a range of advanced guided weapons and new mine countermeasures/hydrographic ships for the Royal Australian Navy. The guided weapons program, to be developed under Project Sea 1300, is part of a 20-year, AU$24 billion (U.S. $19 billion) investment in maritime weapons that will deliver long-range anti-ship missiles, extended-range surface-to-air missiles, advanced lightweight torpedoes and maritime land-strike capabilities to the Navy. Under Project Sea 1300, the Australian government will continue to invest in the international development program for the Evolved Seasparrow Block 2 surface-to-air missile. Funds will also be used to further develop the SM-2 Block IIIC and SM-6 Block I missiles. The weapons upgrades will be integrated into the Navy's current and future major surface combatant fleet, beginning with the eight Anzac-class frigates, which are undergoing a series of upgrades via a midlife capability assurance program. “All of these new weapons will enhance the protection of our maritime resources and also our nation's border. They will also hold potential adversaries out to much greater distances — up to 1,500 kilometers [932 miles],” Defence Minister Linda Reynolds said. Reynolds added that the investment is in line with the recent Defence Strategic Update, which noted that “a number of nations” in the Asia-Pacific region are developing maritime capabilities, including sophisticated long-range strike weapons. “These announcements are not about any one nation in particular. They are about ensuring Australia has the sovereign capability in the maritime, land and air domains to protect our nation from any potential threats,” she said. Reynolds also announced that the government will acquire eight new, role-adaptable ships for mine countermeasures and hydrographic missions under Project Sea 1905. The new ships will be a variant of the Arafura-class offshore patrol vessels currently under construction for the Navy and will be built at Henderson in Western Australia. The government previously promised to build three vessels for the mine countermeasure and hydrographic roles; the new commitment for five more ships will attract an additional investment of AU$5 billion. “[The Department of] Defence has also released an invitation for Australian industry to provide us with a toolbox of robotic and autonomous systems for these eight new vessels,” the minister said. “And I would encourage all Australian companies — and we have many companies who are at the leading edge of autonomous systems, vehicles and vessels — to have a look at this and to work with Navy to develop options,” she said. https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2021/01/26/australia-invests-in-advanced-maritime-weapons-minehunters/
July 7, 2023 | International, Naval

Navy holds first-of-its-kind command, control, communication exercise
The exercise provided the warfare centers with a “wealth of actionable data” ahead of the Pacific Fleet's biannual Talisman Sabre exercise with Australia.
December 13, 2021 | International, Aerospace

Un drone aux capacités d'emport record dévoilé par General Atomics
General Atomics vient de dévoiler le Mojave, un nouveau drone multi-missions à décollage court capable d'opérer sans piste de décollage préparée. Le Mojave possède une charge utile record pour un appareil STOL (short take of and landing, décollage et atterrissage court), et son autonomie est portée à huit heures lors des missions d'observation. Développé sur la base des caractéristiques du MQ-9 Reaper et du MQ-1C Gray Eagle-ER, le drone Mojave peut emporter jusqu'à 1600 kg de carburant, pour des missions d'attaque au sol ou d'ISR, la flexibilité du système devant permettre une configuration simple et rapide de la machine. Les premiers vols du prototype du Mojave ont eu lieu pendant l'été 2021. Le nouvel appareil n'a pour l'instant reçu aucune commande, mais de potentiels utilisateurs seraient intéressés à l'export. Air & Cosmos du 10 décembre

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What could a military do with this flying saucer?

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Navy holds first-of-its-kind command, control, communication exercise The exercise provided the warfare centers with a “wealth of actionable data” ahead of the Pacific Fleet's biannual Talisman Sabre exercise with Australia.

Navy holds first-of-its-kind command, control, communication exercise
The exercise provided the warfare centers with a “wealth of actionable data” ahead of the Pacific Fleet's biannual Talisman Sabre exercise with Australia.