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not-so-furry discussion => general non-furry discussion => Topic started by: Kay Alett on August 12, 2011, 02:12:58 am

Title: Military's new plane launched and lost.
Post by: Kay Alett on August 12, 2011, 02:12:58 am
I just saw this on AOL news.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/11/us-air-force-hypersonic-glider-_n_924445.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Caim%7Cdl3%7Csec1_lnk1%7C85781

Maybe it cracked the warp barrier and vanished! :D
Title: Re: Military's new plane launched and lost.
Post by: WhiteStorm on August 14, 2011, 06:56:38 pm
Sounds like its options were:

All is well. Fly for a while and crash into the ocean.

Something went wrong. Crash into the ocean.
Title: Re: Military's new plane launched and lost.
Post by: Tyrannus The Demon on October 11, 2011, 03:55:29 pm
wow.

the military should more carefuly make their planes
Title: Re: Military's new plane launched and lost.
Post by: Metalhead_Mockingbird on October 11, 2011, 05:08:00 pm
wow.

DARPA should more carefuly make their planes.

Done' fixed dat fo' you.
Title: Re: Military's new plane launched and lost.
Post by: Tyrannus The Demon on October 11, 2011, 05:38:47 pm
lol thanks,i always use military XD
Title: Re: Military's new plane launched and lost.
Post by: Gearbox on October 11, 2011, 06:12:10 pm
Military bases all over the world, and we still need more "research into airstrikes"?
Title: Re: Military's new plane launched and lost.
Post by: Metalhead_Mockingbird on October 11, 2011, 06:14:19 pm
Military bases all over the world, and we still need more "research into airstrikes"?
Well, airstrikes at upwards of Mach 20, along with the Directed Energy weapons, which reportedly, should have prototypes out in 20-30 years for mounting onto the latest aircraft.
Title: Re: Military's new plane launched and lost.
Post by: Tyrannus The Demon on October 11, 2011, 07:03:53 pm
god when are they just gonna take a heavy assault airship (AC-130 for short ;))

and just blast those guys int ooblivion!?
Title: Re: Military's new plane launched and lost.
Post by: Gearbox on October 11, 2011, 09:56:35 pm
Military bases all over the world, and we still need more "research into airstrikes"?
Well, airstrikes at upwards of Mach 20, along with the Directed Energy weapons, which reportedly, should have prototypes out in 20-30 years for mounting onto the latest aircraft.
I guess there's no kill like overkill.
Title: Re: Military's new plane launched and lost.
Post by: Metalhead_Mockingbird on October 12, 2011, 07:42:06 am
god when are they just gonna take a heavy assault airship (AC-130 for short ;))

and just blast those guys int ooblivion!?
Well, the AC130, when it takes off is at its maximum gross takeoff weight. Add to that, some of the aircraft are upwards of 20 years old, and like some of the older F-15's, falling apart. Besides, the AC-130 is support for special operations teams going after HVT's, or High Value Targets. An Apache is much easier to operate for infantry support.
Military bases all over the world, and we still need more "research into airstrikes"?
Well, airstrikes at upwards of Mach 20, along with the Directed Energy weapons, which reportedly, should have prototypes out in 20-30 years for mounting onto the latest aircraft.
I guess there's no kill like overkill.
Exactly!
Title: Re: Military's new plane launched and lost.
Post by: Old Rabbit on October 12, 2011, 11:57:33 am
The reasons for the military use aside, it's a technology that is coming. Nasa had
a successful test on a hypersonic craft ..  Just takes time to work out the bugs, and
at those speeds there is little if any room for mistakes.

 
Title: Re: Military's new plane launched and lost.
Post by: Tyrannus The Demon on October 12, 2011, 04:30:29 pm
HA!
4 letters: N U K E
Title: Re: Military's new plane launched and lost.
Post by: Hoagiebot on October 13, 2011, 07:18:41 am
The reasons for the military use aside, it's a technology that is coming. Nasa had
a successful test on a hypersonic craft ..  Just takes time to work out the bugs, and
at those speeds there is little if any room for mistakes.

I am more concerned at how much of the hypersonic and spaceplane research that was originally being done by NASA have been taken over by various U.S. Military and Department of Defense organizations after NASA's budget was reduced and could no longer support the programs.  A case in point was NASA's X-37B unmanned robotic vertical-takeoff, horizontal-landing (VTHL) spaceplane (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-37).  NASA started this project back in 1999, and after a few years NASA was having a hard time keeping it funded and the project was promptly taken over by DARPA in 2004 and made classified.  For all I know, technology and experience from the X-37B program may have been used to help develop the Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle-2 robotic drone attack craft that DARPA just tested.

That's the sad thing when NASA loses projects-- When NASA develops a technology, it is made available to the public and industry so that everyone can benefit from it.  That is how the public benefited from everything from advancements in integrated circuit chips to memory foam mattresses to Tang that all resulted from research done for the U.S. space program in the 1960's.  But once DARPA or the U.S. Air Force takes over one of NASA's projects all of those technological developments become off-limits to the public and made secret.  So while I am very glad to hear that we are continuing to make advancements in hypersonic and spaceplane technology because that kind of stuff is absolutely awesome, I wish that it was NASA that was still largely leading that kind of research instead of the Department of Defense so that we could all benefit from the results of that research much sooner.