Department of Defense

Reaction Engines is beginning testing of its hypersonic propulsion technology with the US DoD, hoping to demonstrate its precooler can be integrated with existing jet engines to give them Mach 4 operating capabilities

Aircraft

Reaction begins testing Mach 4 jet engine upgrades for US Air Force

Reaction Engines has built a precooler for its SABRE engine that can chill a hypersonic airstream from 1,000 °C to -150 °C in 1/20th of a second. Now it's doing tests with the USAF and DoD to prove it can upgrade other existing jets to handle Mach 4.

A still of an unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAP) from a video recorded by US Navy fighter jets in 2015

Science

NASA program to investigate UFOs, with all data to be made public

UFOs have rarely been taken seriously by the scientific community. But following a recent hearing by the United States Congress into “unidentified aerial phenomena” (UAPs), NASA has now announced that it’s commissioning a team to investigate the mystery.

The US Department of Defense is funding the development of prototype nuclear microreactors

Energy

US DoD greenlights mobile nuclear microreactor pilot in Idaho

The US Department of Defense has announced that its Strategic Capabilities Office will go ahead with its plan to build and test a small nuclear reactor capable of being moved, and delivering between 1 - 5 MW of power for a minimum of three years.

Teledyne FLIR will develop a chemical sensor designed to be worn by individual US soldiers (not pictured)

Military

US Army to get first personal wearable chemical detector

Intelligent sensing technology company Teledyne FLIR has been awarded US$4 million in initial funding by the Pentagon to develop the "first mass-wearable chemical detector for U.S. troops."

Next year may see man vs machine in aerial dogfights for the first time

Military

Human fighter pilots set to take on AI drones in aerial dogfights in 2021

The first aerial showdown between a human fighter pilot and an autonomous aircraft is slated for July 2021, according to a fascinating interview with the outgoing Director of the US Department of Defense's Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC).

A common hypersonic glide body (C-HGB) launches from Pacific Missile Range Facility during a Defense Department flight experiment on March 19, 2020

Military

US Department of Defense successfully tests hypersonic glide body

Hypersonic missiles that travel at Mach 5 and above are potential game-changers for military planners. The US Department of Defense has completed a test of its Common Hypersonic Glide Body, which will be the basis for a future class of such weapons.

Military

US military pursues nuclear microreactors for rapid, remote deployment

The US Department of Defense (DOD) has awarded contracts to three companies to develop mobile nuclear microreactors for military applications under a Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO) initiative called Project Pele.

Concept sketch of the TRAuma Care In a Rucksack (TRACIR) system

Medical

DoD awards contracts to create robotic suit that autonomously delivers trauma care

The US Department of Defense has awarded contracts worth a total of US$7.2 million to develop an autonomous trauma care system called TRACIR that uses robotics, and artificial intelligence to autonomously treat battlefield casualties almost immediately.

The interceptor was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base

Military

US Missile Defense Agency intercepts first "hostile" ICBM target

The US Defense Department announced today that for the first time its Ground-based Midcourse Defense system has intercepted an ICBM dummy warhead somewhere over the Pacific Ocean in a demonstration of the system’s capability to detect, engage, and destroy targets while still in space.