Less Soldiers, More Robots for the Millitary

 

The pentagon's Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel's proposed budget would, according to the proposal, shrink the Army to 450k or to levels that existed just before the United States entered into ww2.

The plan is to fill the void with hi-tech devices that have proven themselves reliable but for the most part, more of these devices can be fielded with far fewer personnel.

Weapon platforms are not exempt either. The U2 and A10 are well known weapon and surveillance systems, but rising costs of manufacture and maintenance plus the need for a human in the seat throughout the mission.

Naval systems like the Littoral Combat Ship, a new modular naval vessel capable of light combat, anti submarine / mines etc, all with a modular design and an equally small crew, possibly as few as 88. Another example is the new Zumwalt destroyer. This vessel can go to sea with a crew of apx. 150 where the aging Ashleigh-Burke fields 300 with almost no automation. The Popular Science article is very good and informative. You Can Read The Whole Article Here

Navy Tests Ship Based Laser System

Below is a short video of the Laser Weapon System which the Navy temporarily installed aboard an Arleigh Burke-class Aegis guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey built by Ingalls Shipbuilding..

 The laser is a technology demonstrator built by the Naval Sea Systems Command from commercial fiber solid state lasers. The unit is aimed by the MK 15 Phalanx Close-In Weapon system of which the Aegis system is famous for.

The LaWS Close-In Weapon system uses the Solid State Laser (SSL) which can provide a ship with a quick reaction capability for defense against small boats and planes.

The LaWS weapon is still in its' prototype stage, however it is already showing its' merit as. This capability provides Navy ships a method for Sailors to easily defeat small boat threats and aerial targets without using bullets. (U.S. Navy video by Office of Naval Research/ Released)

The Office of Naval Research announced that they plan to deploy the system next year.

 From the Boing Boing article:

• "Our conservative data tells us a shot of directed energy costs under $1," Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder said. "Compare that to the hundreds of thousands of dollars it costs to fire a missile, and you can begin to see the merits of this capability."

Navy's New Electromagnetic Catapult in Action

The Navy is phasing out its steam based catapult aircraft launching system and will be replacing it with an electromagnetic catapult launching system. Plans are to install the new system on the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier now in production.

Here we have a short film of a land based test platform launching a F-35C test aircraft.