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[MIKA27]

How China Will Track—and Kill—America’s Newest Stealth Jets

A gang of advanced missiles and a bleeding-edge radar unveiled at a Chinese air show could mean big trouble for the Pentagon’s best fighters.

Once, no magic act was complete without the magician’s revealingly dressed assistant. Her job was not merely to be sawn in half but to dominate the mostly male audience’s attention at moments when a focus on the whereabouts of the rabbit might blow the gaff.

That was a useful lesson to bear in mind at last month’s Zhuhai air show—China’s only domestic air and defense trade show, held once every other year.

If anything at Zhuhai was wearing fishnets and high heels, it was the Shenyang FC-31 stealth fighter, which resembles a twin-engine version of America’s newest stealth jet, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. But the real tricks lay in Beijing’s growing family of advanced missiles and radars.

The FC-31 prototype was hidden except when it was flying, and not much detail was available. But the display was notable for the eruptions of smoke from the engines, most likely Russian RD-93s.

That is important, because until China builds its own fighter engines it cannot build stealth fighters without approval from Vladimir Putin’s desk. That includes the Chengdu J-10B, China’s most modern, in-production fighter, or its bootleg versions of Russia’s Sukhoi Flanker fighter family.

China says it’s working on indigenous fighter and trainer engines, but the samples on show were exactly the same as those seen two years ago.

What was new and important on the Chinese military’s outdoor display line at Zhuhai was a mix of mature and new technology. And by “mature” I mean the 1950s-design Xian H-6M bomber, with something suspiciously like a World War II Norden bombsight visible through the windows of the bombardier station. But the bomber was surrounded by guided weapons, some seen for the first time in public. The same went for the somewhat more modern JH-7 light bomber.

Zhuhai was full of new missile hardware, from the 3 1/2-ton CX-1 ramjet-powered anti-ship and land-attack missile down to the QW-19 manportable air-defense system. (China’s military believes in these small air-defense missiles, both in their classic standalone form and integrated into small mobile systems.)

Not many of those missiles were individually surprising. The CX-1 is different in small details from the Russian-Indian BrahMos but very similar in specifications. Two-stage short-range surface-to-air missiles borrow the concept invented for Russia’s KBM Tunguska and Pantsyr systems, and so on.

What is impressive, however, is how many of the new Chinese missiles there are, and how they fit together.

One visible trend is the re-use of components to meet different mission needs. Since the CM-400AKG air-to-surface missile appeared at 2012’s edition of the Zhuhai show, it has gathered a lot of attention as a high-supersonic anti-ship weapon. This year, the exhibit strongly suggested that it shares its solid rocket motor and warhead with the surface-to-surface SY400 ballistic missile, and a passive radar seeker with the new B611MR semi-ballistic anti-radiation missile. The B611MR, in turn, has a common motor and controls to the 175-mile-range M20 GPS/inertially guided missile—China’s equivalent to Russia’s Iskander—and both are intended to use the same mobile launcher and command-and-control system as the CX-1. Lots of interchangeable parts: That is how China can roll out so many missile types so quickly.

A “system of systems” approach was evident in the biggest thinly coded message at Zhuhai. That was the People’s Liberation Army’s outdoor lineup of air-defense hardware, centered on the gigantic JH-27A VHF active electronically scanned array radar—the first of its type in service anywhere, if Chinese officials are telling the truth. Such radars are designed to track stealthy targets. The radar’s antenna, almost 100 feet tall, towered over the rest of the exhibits. Just to the left of it were smaller Aesas, one operating in UHF and the other in the centimetric S-band: that is, complementary sensors with progressively higher resolution, cued by the VHF radar to track stealthy targets, accurately enough to engage them with missiles.

At a conference in London the following week, a senior retired U.S. Air Force commander pooh-poohed counterstealth efforts. I don’t know where such confidence originates, because nothing like the JH-27A and its companion radars exists in the West, and so we know little of how they work.

Further down the line were three vehicles—a radar/command vehicle, a short-to-medium-range LY-60D/HQ-6D surface-to-air missile, and a Norinco LD-2000 seven-barrel 30-mm gun. Like some gun systems used by the West, the LD-2000 is basically a truck-mobile version of a gun system carried by ships to shoot down incoming missiles. But the West uses those systems to defend forward operating bases in Iraq and Afghanistan from rockets and mortars, and China doesn’t need the LD-2000 for that.

Instead, the PLA has made the gun part of a point-defense system against both attacking aircraft and weapons, such as precision-guided munitions. The system is truck-mounted and road-mobile, as are the big and conspicuous radars that stood next to it on display. It is most likely intended to protect those high-value relocatable assets from even a well-executed destruction of enemy air-defense operation. Will it be 100 percent effective? No. Does it make China’s air defenses much harder to kill? Assuredly.

Stealth fighters get the attention even though they smoke like Humphrey Bogart, but there is a lot of PLA money going into missiles and reconnaissance systems that can hold naval and other forces—the assets that the Chinese see as their primary threats—at risk from far beyond the horizon, and radars that are designed to detect, track. and target stealth aircraft. That’s the rabbit, and we take our eyes off it at our peril.

[MIKA27]

Suicide Squad: Aussies Margot Robbie + Jai Courtney Cast With Smith, Leto, Hardy

Of the insane superhero movie schedule now in development, 2016’s Suicide Squad stood out early by picking up gritty writer/director, David Ayer (Training Day, Fury) to explore villians forced to work government black ops for reduced sentences (and not having their brains detonated). Now we know Margot Robbie is Harley Quinn, Jai Courtney is Boomerang, Will Smith is Deadshot, Tom Hardy is Rick Flagg, Cara Delevingne is Enchantress… and the man with the world’s prettiest hair will reimagine the Joker. But you’ll never guess who might lead them all as Amanda Waller…

According to Variety, WB’s first choice would be Oprah Winfrey. That’d be a huge addition to an already star-studded line-up. Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer are also said to be on the shortlist.

Will Smith had been rumoured to play Bronze Tiger — maybe we’ll now see Michael Jai White’s Ben Turner from Arrow show up? Yeah, I doubt it, but I need more MJW in my life.

Meanwhile, I honestly had to look up who the hell London-born Cara Delevingne is. My bad. Aside from voicing Grand Theft Auto V’s Non-Stop-Pop FM radio station DJ, Delevingne is a well-known European model. There you go.

So what do you think about the casting? And what about the choice of squad?

If Harley is in, why no Deathstroke?

BURBANK, Calif.– An all-star roster of actors has joined Warner Bros. Pictures’ new action adventure “Suicide Squad,” bringing DC Comics’ super villain team to the big screen under the direction of David Ayer (“Fury”). The announcement was made today by Greg Silverman, President, Creative Development and Worldwide Production, Warner Bros. Pictures.

The film will star two-time Oscar nominee Will Smith (“The Pursuit of Happyness,” “Ali,” upcoming “Focus”) as Deadshot; Tom Hardy (“The Dark Knight Rises,” upcoming “Mad Max: Fury Road”) as Rick Flagg; Margot Robbie (“The Wolf of Wall Street,” upcoming “Focus,” the “Tarzan” movie) as Harley Quinn; Oscar winner Jared Leto (“Dallas Buyers Club,” “Alexander”) as the Joker; Jai Courtney (“Divergent,” upcoming “The Water Diviner”) as Boomerang; and Cara Delevingne (“Anna Karenina,” upcoming “Pan”) as Enchantress.

In making the announcement, Silverman said, “The Warner Bros. roots are deep on this one. David Ayer returns to the studio where he wrote ‘Training Day’ and brings his incredible ability to craft multidimensional villains to this iconic DC property with a cast of longtime Warner collaborators Will Smith and Tom Hardy, and other new and returning favorites: Margot, Jared, Jai and Cara. We look forward to seeing this terrific ensemble, under Ayer’s amazing guidance, give new meaning to what it means to be a villain and what it means to be a hero.”

Ayer is also writing the script for “Suicide Squad,” which is being produced by Charles Roven (“The Dark Knight” trilogy, upcoming “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”) and Richard Suckle (“American Hustle”). Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder, Colin Wilson and Geoff Johns are serving as executive producers.

The film is slated for release on August 5, 2016.

[MIKA27]

Next Version Of Bluetooth Will Directly Connect To The Internet

Bluetooth is kind of like Wi-Fi’s smart but misunderstood cousin. The word “Bluetooth” conjures images of finance bros yelling into those obnoxious little earpieces more than what the technology actually does, which is connect devices together over short distances. Well, Bluetooth’s upcoming 4.2 spec may prove too useful to ignore: This revamped version of the technology will directly connect to the internet.

This means people who want to use Internet of Things-style smart home devices and connect appliances and other gadgets to the internet will be able to do so using Bluetooth as a hub. Bluetooth has been called out for not supporting internet protocol IPv6 in the past, which is one of the reasons gadgets like the Nest thermostat uses wireless networking protocol Thread instead of Bluetooth. But this new version fixes that, and will help Bluetooth compete against Thread.

If you’re an Internet of Thingshead, don’t get too excited. While 4.2 spec is available now, it hasn’t rolled out its connectivity features yet, and you’ll need to wait until devices implement the updated version (and you buy those devices) to be able to use it.

[MIKA27]

Biologist Catches Monster 70-Year-Old Lobster

Biologist Forrest Galante was diving for lobsters off the coast of Anacapa Island, California, when he found this 70-year-old 5kg monster. Instead of grilling it right away with heaps of butter and lemon, he decided to keep it to show it to his family. Days later, he released it back into the ocean.

[MIKA27]

The US Navy Once Tried Using Nuclear-Powered Wetsuits To Keep Divers Warm

The ocean is an inhospitable place for soft, land-based human bodies. It’s dark, oxygenless, and, perhaps most intractable of all, really cold. At the pressure of certain depths, neoprene suits will compress and lose their insulating power. The air in tanks also gets cold, so divers become chillier with each breath. But in the ’60s the US Navy thought it had an ingenious solution to it all: nuclear power.

In a blog post on Medium, Steven Meintz, lays out the long, fraught history of the cold wetsuit, in which the most fascinating development is the radioisotope swimsuit heater. In the ’60s, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was trying very hard to prove that nuclear energy was good for more than killing people. It ended up helping the Navy create a wetsuit powered by plutonium-238.

Plutonium-238 is a byproduct of nuclear weapons production, but it also happens to be the ideal nuclear fuel for wetsuits — once you accept a nuclear-powered wetsuit is a good idea in the first place. It emits a lot of radiation, but only the kind that is easy to shield from. In this wetsuit design, almost a kilogram of plutonium-238 is placed inside a canister, where it radiates heat to a series of fluid-filled tubes lining the suit.

When the Navy actually tested the suit, it did not… work so well. “It is concluded that the system in its present state is incapable of maintaining thermal balance in a diver at depth, and its use under SEALAB III conditions would entail a grave risk of hypothermia,” Navy researchers wrote. As the Atomic Skies blog points out, this may be because the Navy couldn’t get enough plutonium-238.

Indeed, the radioactive isotope is hard to come by — and even harder to come by now that the US is no longer making nuclear weapons. Today, plutonium-238 is still used to power space probes like Voyager and Curiosity travelling in the cold, dark parts of our solar system (and beyond). Even NASA’s stockpile is rapidly running out, and they have just restarted a $US50 million program to make 1.5kg of plutonium-238 year. It would have been one expensive, warm wetsuit.

[MIKA27]

Birds Fitted With Suicide Vests Are The New IED

The Taliban reportedly has a new weapon in its crusade against the heretical West: remotely detonated birds. No, seriously, think birds wearing suicide vests. Why not just load explosives into a coconut and deliver them by swallow already?

NBC News reports that police in the restive Faryab province in northern Afghanistan made a surprising discovery Saturday morning: a large white bird — reportedly about the size of an eagle, though maybe closer to that of a pheasant based on the video below — walking along the roadway, sporting a long antenna protruding from a mass of explosives and electronics strapped to its belly. Unwilling to take the chance that it might be an aviary suicide bomber, officers shot the animal from a safe distance which then exploded, though there is no word on whether the bomb detonated from the gunfire or was indeed remotely activated.

http://youtu.be/n1F1GpX5-Ng

The police are still investigating the incident and will attempt to examine the device just as soon as they finish collecting and reassembling the pieces. “We are gathering all the stuff, but found parts of what looks to be GPS and a small camera,” General Abdul Nabi Ilham told NBC News. The bird, unfortunately, could not be reassembled and remains quite dead.

[MIKA27]

The Easy Politics of Defunding Nazis and Penis Pumps

Congress can't agree on bills to fund the government and extend key tax provisions, so it turned to less contentious matters first.

Congress has just a few weeks to avert a government shutdown and prevent the expiration of dozens of tax breaks important to businesses. So what has the House been up to this week? Stripping Social Security benefits from a handful of former Nazis and stopping Medicare from paying for penis pumps.

In the often frenetic final weeks of a congressional session, lawmakers are dispensing with the easy while dawdling on the difficult. After working in Washington for just a few weeks since the summer, they are scheduled to leave again for the holidays on December 11, the day that funding for most of the federal government expires. House Republican leaders are trying to persuade their members, and some Democrats, to support legislation that would fund all but one of the 12 federal departments through September. As a protest of President Obama's immigration action, the Department of Homeland Security would receive money only through March.

Meanwhile, the House on Tuesday evening approved a bunch of bills subject to much less controversy. The most notable among them was the No Social Security for Nazis Act, a rapid response measure—especially for Congress—to a report that suspected war criminals forced out of the U.S. had received, and in a few cases are continuing to receive, federal entitlement checks. The bill passed unanimously, 420-0, and seems likely to sail through the Senate as well. Even though the measure will probably only affect a few ex-Nazis still living in Europe, it may amount to the most significant cut in years to an entitlement program infamously referred to as "the third rail" of American politics.

On Wednesday, the House turned to penis pumps. Specifically, lawmakers debated a bipartisan bill called the ABLE Act that would allow disabled people to set up tax-advantaged accounts to pay for expenses like education and healthcare. As Roll Call first noted, the cost of the $2 billion measure would be offset, in part, by $450 million in savings from prohibiting Medicare payments for "vacuum erection systems," commonly known as penis pumps. While the new program for the disabled has wide support in both parties, the fact that the bill has taken so long to pass is a testament to the very few politically palatable ways to cut spending to pay for it, particularly in a popular area like Medicare.

As for the tax breaks, the story is a familiar failure: A major agreement to permanently extend provisions like the credit for research and development and deductions for small businesses and charitable giving fell through following a veto threat from the White House, which demanded a simultaneous extension of tax breaks benefiting the poor and working class. Lawmakers instead are likely to approve only short-term extensions, frustrating just about everyone. If Speaker John Boehner can persuade the House to pass the spending bill next week, Congress will achieve what amounts as its highest form of accomplishment these days: avoiding a crisis.

[MIKA27]

DUCATI 900SS BY OLD EMPIRE MOTORCYCLES

The Ducati 900SS is a motorcycle that’s rapidly becoming a bit of a modern classic, custom bike builders have been discovering the raw mechanical beauty that lies just beneath the original fairings but no one has quite showcased the 900SS as well as Old Empire Motorcycles with the example you see pictured here.

The bike started life as a 1995 900SS with its iconic Pantah-based 904cc air-cooled L-twin, each cylinder is fed by two Desmodue valves and the crankcase was a modified version of the one used on the Ducati 851. This engine has long been a favourite amongst the Ducatista and from a purely aesthetic standpoint it looks like it belongs in a modern art museum in between a Series I E-Type Jaguar and a Riva.

Ducati had introduced the 900SS in 1989 and although it was beautiful and highly capable, it frequently suffered from cracked swing-arms – so in 1991 Ducati introduced an upgraded model with a chrome-molybdenum steel trellis frame and bearings rather than bushings where the previously problematic swing-arm attached to the frame.

This new version was a revelation, it offered impressive reliability with tire melting performance and looks that would go on to influence motorcycle designers around the world. By the late ’90s the Ducati Monster had begun to steal some of the limelight from the 900SS due to its lower cost and more beginner-friendly handling, by 1998 a redesigned version was released with somewhat controversial styling – this has led to the popularity now seen around the 900SS from the model years 1991 to 1998.

As you can clearly tell, the Ducati you see here has undergone an intensive custom rebuild and many parts from the original bike are now in the parts bin. Looking at the design closely it gives an impression of what Ducati would have built if they were competing with Indian, Harley-Davidson and Cyclone on the board track circuits of the United States throughout the 1910s and 1920s.

Any regular visitor to Silodrome will be well aware that we have a significant soft spot for anything board track related and I have vague memories of writing an article a few years ago demanding that the frequently lethal sport be brought back with immediate effect. I’m reasonably sure I even offered to bring my own hammer to help build the wooden tracks.

With this in mind you can imagine how interested we were to receive a folder of images from the team at Old Empire Motorcycles containing the Ducati pictured here. The build project took them almost 2 years and unlike the other customs they build, this one wasn’t built for a client. It was a personal project for the team and the freedom afforded them by not having to keep a client happy allowed them to throw out the rule book and fire up the acetylene torch.

Perhaps the most immediately eye-catching element on the build is that Girder fork front end and brass headlight, when combined with the 21″ front wheel and quad leading shoe drum brake you’d never know that the bike was less than 20 years old. A single leading shoe drum is installed inside the 21″ rear wheel and the swing-arm has been entirely removed in favour of a solid rear – far more fitting on a motorcycle designed to race on a circuit made of two-by-fours.

The copper tubing and braided wiring around the engine are tasteful touches, as is the extensive use of brass and leather. The fuel tank is a hand-fabricated twin-tank with copper plugs and the seat is a similarly handmade unit – the guys at Old Empire tell me that the seat is perfect for blasting around British B-roads but is probably not entirely suitable for long distance motorcycle touring.

If you’d like to read more about this Ducati or see some of the other custom motorcycles to roll out of the Old Empire garage you can click here to visit their official website.

[MIKA27]

MOTOROLA KEYLINK

There’s no certainly no shortage of devices to help you find your lost keys, and the number of services designed to help you find your misplaced phone are nearly as abundant. Motorola has created a device that works in both ways. Introducing the Motorola Keylink.

The tiny device attaches to your keyring, and connects to your mobile device wirelessly using Bluetooth technology. If you ever misplace your phone, simply push the button, and it will show you exactly where you left your smartphone. Can’t find the keys? No problem. The accompanying app allows you to ping the actual Keylink device. It works up to 100 feet away (on both functions), and comes with a replaceable battery that lasts up to a year. The Keylink works with both Android and iOS powered devices, and at about $25, it’s a great stocking stuffer for anyone in the family. [Purchase]

[MIKA27]

FERRARI FXX-K

Just when you thought the Ferrari LaFerrari couldn’t get any better, the Italian auto maker unveiled the even more beastly Ferrari FXX-K.

Meant only for the tracks, this 2-door is sporting a 6.3-liter V12 engine that pumps out an Earth rattling 1,035 horsepower. The model is part of the brand’s ongoing track special series, which started with the Enzo-based Ferrari FXX and included our personal favorite – the Ferrari 599XX. The vehicle has been equipped with the same HY-KERS drivetrain system found in the LaFerrari, but has added new camshafts, the removal of the exhaust silencers, and improved intake manifolds for more power. Pirelli P-Zero Slik tires outfitted with embedded acceleration sensors reside on all 4 corners, and new aerodynamic features increase downforce by up to 50%, helping drivers stay glued to the track at high speeds. There are also four different driving modes to choose from including Qualify, Long Run, Fast Charge and Manual Boost. The vehicle is part of the brand’s “Client-Test Driver” program, which lets paying customers test out many of Ferrari’s new technologies. With that being said, you probably won’t be able to own one, but you could possibly end up driving one.

[MIKA27]

TENTSILE VISTA TREE TENT

If the phrase “Ladies, care to join me in my tree tent?” doesn’t get you that long-awaited ménage a trois, we don’t know what will. Get the ball rolling with the Tentsile Vista, a 3-person “portable treehouse” that gives you a flexible and fun way to hang out outdoors.

You’ll likely be the first to take your top off with the removable fly sheet roof. The Vista comes with its own poles and detachable full insect mesh for maximum ventilation and protection against unwanted critters, as well as giving you an option for storage or wet items that need to hang and dry out. The floor of the tree tent is a spacious triple hammock which can be accessed via a floor hatch in the center or on the sides, and once you graduate from the threesome, you can buy spare floors that turn the Vista into a multi-story camping solution with room for 9 adults or more. [Purchase]

[NJP]

Good looking bike by Old Empire but it would re introduce the meaning of "saddle Sore"

[MIKA27]

ORPHAN BARREL LOST PROPHET BOURBON

The fourth release in Diageo's Orphan Barrel line of premium bourbons is ready to hit store shelves, and might be the best of the bunch. Lost Prophet is a 22-year-old bourbon that was distilled in 1991 and bottled at 90 proof. This one-time release is an easy drinker and unlike other extra-aged releases, is not over-oaked. The beautiful packaging matches the contents of the bottle, making this one difficult to resist.

[Habana Mike]

Biologist Catches Monster 70-Year-Old Lobster

Biologist Forrest Galante was diving for lobsters off the coast of Anacapa Island, California, when he found this 70-year-old 5kg monster. Instead of grilling it right away with heaps of butter and lemon, he decided to keep it to show it to his family. Days later, he released it back into the ocean.

That's a big effing lobster! Probably feed a family of 4 for a week!

[MIKA27]

The Next James Bond Movie Is Called Spectre And Is Out 2015

In a live online announcement event, director Sam Mendes has revealed that the next James Bond move will be called Spectre and hit the screens in late 2015.

Mendes explained that Daniel Craig will still play Bond, and will be joined by Andrew Scott (Moriarty in BBC’s Sherlock, playing Denbigh), Dave Bautista, Monica Bellucci, Christoph Waltz (playing a character called Oberhauser) and Léa Seydoux. While the movie won’t be a direct sequel to Skyfall, it will “live in the same world” — which means that Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, and Ben Whishaw will also appear.

Bond will drive an Aston Martin DB10 in the film.

The film, which goes into production tomorrow, uses locations including Pinewood London, Mexico City, Rome, Tangier & Erfoud, Morocco, Sölden, Obertilliach and Lake Altausee, Austria.

Spectre will premiere in the US on November 6th 2015.

[MIKA27]

This Is The Largest Stone Block Ever Carved By Human Hands

This may look like a modern civil engineering marvel — but in fact you’re looking at the largest known stone block to be tirelessly carved by human hands.

Discovered in a stone quarry in Baalbek, Lebanon, by German archaeologists, the perfectly hewn chunk of stone measures 20m by 6m and is 5m tall. It’s estimated to weigh 1500 tonnes, making it — according to the researchers — the “biggest stone block from antiquity”. The German Archaeological Institute explains

“The level of smoothness indicate the block was meant to be transported and used without being cut… [but] it would have probably cracked during transportation.”

Indeed, other large stone blocks, all smaller than this one, were found nearby — notably one weighting about 1125 tonnes — some of which show signs of damage. That suggests that some were moved, but then the plan abandoned when it was discovered they were too big to transport in safety.

It’s believed the stones date back over 2000 years to at least 27 BC, and that they were due to be used in one of several major temples under construction at the time.

[MIKA27]

I'll Be Back: The First Trailer For Terminator Genisys Is Here

Paramount Pictures just released the first full trailer for the still awkwardly named Terminator Genisys, and it’s got all the explosions, time-travelling, robots and Arnold Schwarzenegger action you could ask for.

There’s actually quite a lot going on in this two-and-a-half minute spot. First off, we’ve either seriously messed with time or we’re in another universe, because we have an old gun-toting T-800 with the visage of one former California governor and an ass-kicking Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke), who really seems to be the one doing all the saving. There’s also a T-1000!

Terminator Genisys definitely feels like a reboot, and plays with a lot of the iconic characters from The Terminator and T2: Judgment Day. Take for instance, Schwarzenegger whipping out a pump-action and icing his naked nemesis from James Cameron’s original.

I need Doc Brown and a chalkboard in order to keep all of these time travel shenanigans in line, but whatever may be the case, Arnold Schwarzenegger is the Terminator once again. Get excited.

[tacosowner]

Damn, awesome thread, thank you

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MIKA27]

Pentagon Worries That Russia Can Now Outshoot U.S. Stealth Jets

American fighter planes are the fastest, most maneuverable jets in the world. But their weapons are becomingly increasingly obsolete—and that has some in the U.S. Air Force spooked.

High flying and fast, the F-22 Raptor stealth jet is by far the most lethal fighter America has ever built. But the Raptor—and indeed all U.S. fighters—have a potential Achilles’ heel, according to a half-dozen current and former Air Force officials. The F-22’s long-range air-to-air missiles might not be able to hit an enemy aircraft, thanks to new enemy radar-jamming techniques.

The issue has come to the fore as tensions continue to rise with Russia and a potential conflict between the great powers is once again a possibility—even if a remote one.

“We—the U.S. [Department of Defense]—haven’t been pursuing appropriate methods to counter EA [electronic attack] for years,” a senior Air Force official with extensive experience on the F-22 told The Daily Beast. “So, while we are stealthy, we will have a hard time working our way through the EA to target [an enemy aircraft such as a Russian-built Sukhoi] Su-35s and our missiles will have a hard time killing them.”

The problem is that many potential adversaries, such as the Chinese and the Russians, have developed advanced digital radio frequency memory (DRFM) jammers. These jammers, which effectively memorize an incoming radar signal and repeat it back to the sender, seriously hamper the performance of friendly radars.

Worse, these new jammers essentially blind the small radars found onboard air-to-air missiles like the Raytheon AIM-120 AMRAAM, which is the primary long-range weapon for all U.S. and most allied fighter planes.

That means it could take several missile shots to kill an enemy fighter, even for an advanced stealth aircraft like the Raptor. “While exact Pk [probability of kill] numbers are classified, let’s just say that I won’t be killing these guys one for one,” the senior Air Force official said. It’s the “same issue” for earlier American fighters like the F-15, F-16, or F/A-18.

Another Air Force official with experience on the stealthy new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter agreed. “AMRAAM’s had some great upgrades over the years, but at the end of the day, it’s old technology and wasn’t really designed with today’s significant EA in mind,” this official said.

Like boxers, every missile has a reach, a range, a limit to how far it can hit. In the not-too-distant future, the AMRAAM might also be out-ranged by new weapons that are being developed around the world. Particularly, Russia is known to be developing an extremely long-range weapon called the K-100 that has far better reach than anything currently in existence.

The problem is not a new one. Historically, the Pentagon has always prioritized the development of new fighters over the development new weapons—it’s a uniquely American blind spot. During the 1970s, the then brand new F-15A Eagle carried the same antiquated armament as the Vietnam-era F-4 Phantom II. It wasn’t until the 1990s that the F-15 received a weapon in the form of the AMRAAM that could take full advantage of its abilities. The same applies to short-range weapons—it wasn’t until the early 2000s with the introduction of the AIM-9X that the U.S. had a dogfighting weapon that could match or better the Russian R-73 Archer missile.

The Air Force officials all said that some of the American missiles would get through during a fight—there is no question of that—but it would take a lot more weapons than anyone ever expected. The problem is that fighter aircraft don’t carry that many missiles.

The Raptor carries six AMRAAMs and two shorter range AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles inside its weapons bays. At the moment, the F-35 carries only four AMRAAM missiles inside its weapons bays, but that might be expanded to six in the future. Older fighters like the Boeing F-15 Eagle carry no more than eight missiles—while the F-16 usually carries no more than six weapons.

That means that if a fighter has to fire—for instance—three missiles to kill a single enemy fighter, the Pentagon is facing a serious problem.

“Getting a first shot is one thing,” said a former Air Force fighter pilot with extensive experience with Russian weapons. “Needing another shot when you have expended your load is another when your force structure is limited in terms of the number of platforms available for a given operation.”

There are some potential solutions, but all of them mean spending more money to develop new missiles. former Air Force intelligence chief Lt. Gen. Dave Deptula said it’s “critical” that the U.S. and its allies move “air-to-air weapons into a future where they can effectively deal with adversary electronic attack.”

One relatively simple fix would be to develop a missile that picks out its targets using radars with a completely different frequency band. Current fighter radars and missiles operate on what is called the X-band, but they don’t necessarily have to. “Getting out of X band is on option,” said one senior Air Force official.

The Pentagon could also develop a new missile that combines multiple types of sensors such as infrared and radar into the same weapon—which has been attempted without much success in the past.

Right now, the Defense Department—led by the Navy—is working to increase the range of the AIM-9X version of the Sidewinder by 60 percent to give the Pentagon’s fighter fleet some sort of counter to the jamming problem. But even with the extended reach, the modified Sidewinder won’t have anywhere close to the range of an AMRAAM.

The other option is to stuff fighters like the F-22 and F-35 with more missiles that are smaller. Lockheed Martin, for example, is developing a small long-range air-to-air missile called the “Cuda” that could double or triple the number of weapons carried by either U.S. stealth fighter. “Look to a new generation of U.S. air-to-air missiles, like Cuda, to neutralize any potential numerical advantage,” one senior industry official said.

The industry official said that despite the small size, new weapons like the Cuda can offer extremely impressive range because it doesn’t have an explosive warhead—it just runs into the target and destroys it with sheer kinetic energy.

But the senior Air Force official expressed deep skepticism that such a weapon could be both small and far-reaching. “I doubt you can solve range and the need for a large magazine with the same missile,” he said.

This official added that future weapons would be far better at countering enemy jamming—so much so that future fighters will not need to have the sheer speed and maneuverability of an aircraft like the Raptor. “I think top end speed, super cruise, and acceleration will all decline in importance as weapons advance in range and speed,” he said.

For a military that’s committed hundreds of billions of dollars to such advanced fighters, such developments might not exactly be welcome news.

[MIKA27]

Damn, awesome thread, thank you

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You're welcome - Thank YOU

[MIKA27]

The Chinese Town Descended From Romans?

In a remote corner of China, one village tells a strange lineage tale. The story (and some DNA evidence) goes, the locals are the descendants of a band of Roman soldiers from 36 B.C.

In a tiny, remote Chinese village, an ancient Roman bloodline may live on. The town of Liqian sits on the edge of the Gobi desert, 200 miles from any metropolis, and 4,500 miles from Rome. But for half a century, scientists and archaeologistshave been trying to prove that the ruddy-skinned, light-eyed, and fair-haired residents of Liqian are lost relatives of a missing Roman battalion of mercenaries that fought against the Chinese long before Marco Polo started east.

The theory was first floated in the 1950s by Professor Homer Dubs of Oxford University. In a lecture to the China Society in London, he theorized that Liqian was connected to an ancient battle between the Huns and the Chinese that was fought, in part, by Roman mercenary soldiers in 36 B.C.

According to lore, 145 of these original soldiers of fortune either fled battle or were captured and settled in the area. Lending proof to this theory was a set of Chinese documents which show, 2,000 years ago, the city was renamed to mean “prisoners taken in storming a city.” Another legend claims the villagers descended from a 6,000-person army led by famed Roman General Marcus Crassus’s son that disappeared without a trace.

Dubs embarked on his investigation after discovering the name “Liqian” translated to the ancient Chinese word for Rome. His theory had little physical evidence until 1989, when archaeologists discovered ruins outside the town that prove a settlement existed at the time they suspected. Despite interest from international teams, further outside research was halted at the time due to political tensions in China following the Tiananmen Square massacres.

Years later, in 2005, scientists took advantage of a more open government to draw blood samples from 93 residents of Liqian. Testing yielded shocking results as to their genetic makeup: some villagers were found to have DNA that contained 56 percent Caucasian origins.

DNA proof isn’t enough for academics to link the townsfolk directly to a lost Roman army. Scholars argue that the Huns included Caucasians, Asians, and Mongols in their ranks, since the area was an international trading route.

“The county is on the Silk Road, so there were many chances for trans-national marriages,” said Yang Gongle, a professor at Beijing Normal University, to China Daily. “The ‘foreign’ origin of the Yongchang villagers, as proven by the DNA tests, does not necessarily mean they are of ancient Roman origin.”

Two years later, further tests were done, but this time to a disappointing conclusion. “[A] Roman mercenary origin could not be accepted as true according to paternal genetic variation,” the study’s authors wrote in the Journal of Human Genetics.

That hasn’t dissuaded scholars and scientists from what has become a heated debate. Soon after these results, China and Italy joined forces to open the Italian Studies Center at Lanzhou University with the intention of tracking lost Roman descendants in the region, where the 4,000-mile Silk Road once linked Asia and Europe.

“We hope to prove the legend by digging and discovering more evidence of China’s early contact with the Roman Empire,” Yuan Honggeng, head of the center, told China Daily.

One green-eyed man, nicknamed “Cai the Roman,” became an instant celebrity due to his decidedly Roman physical characteristics. He told the Telegraph that had been informed by his great-grandfather that there remained Roman tombs more than two days’ walk away. But so far, the lack of proven Roman artifacts or ruins in the town has raised suspicions.

“For it to be indisputable, one would need to find items such as Roman money or weapons that were typical of Roman legionnaires,” anthropologist Maurizio Bettini, of Siena University, told La Repubblica. “Without proof of this kind, the story of the lost legions is just a legend.”

But the legends are enough proof for the town of Liqian. Before the DNA testing even began, the villagers seized on the story of their possible roots and turned it into a tourism industry. A Roman-esque pillar was erected at the town’s entrance and some entrepreneurial townsfolk don armor and replica battle wear to entertain the visitors that have begun to trickle into the remote province. These tourists, many of whom are Italian, can even stay in a Roman-style hotel. If there weren’t Romans before in Liqian, there certainly are now.

[MIKA27]

PYRO FIREBALL SHOOTER

For far too long, the ability to shoot fireballs has been the domain of comic book characters and video game villains. Now, thanks to PYRO, it’s my... I mean, our turn.

This marvelously mischievous contraption attaches discreetly to your wrist and gets triggered by a remote held in your other hand. When you’re ready to wow the crowd, you can let off fireballs some 10 feet into the air. Each PYRO comes with four individually triggered barrels, meaning you can shoot off four flaming balls at Mr. Freeze or whoever your friend is pretending to be before a reload is required. The balls themselves are made of flash cotton and paper, and each pack contains enough ammo for more than 50 uses. Just keep this one away from the Christmas tree, mmkay? [Purchase]

MIKA: As a gimmick it's kind of cool, BUT theoretically, does the world need this kind of crap? Another concealed device for Pyromaniacs to use and cause bush fires and death.

[MIKA27]

CARBON FLYER

Carbon Flyer is the ultimate tech toy, it is the world´s first all carbon fiber personal drone, controlled by Bluetooth on your smartphone, with an on-board video camera! Built from highly resistant carbon fibre, this thing is practically indestructible, and with an ultra-low drag delta-wing design, it delivers high speeds and superior control. The Carbon Flyer is controlled via an app on your iPhone or Android device from up to 80 yards line of sight, you steer by tilting your smartphone left or right, and throttle by sliding your thumb up and down. The app also displays battery level, and signal strength. The perfect high tech toy for our inner child.

Carbon Flyer will retail for $149, but you can pre-order yours now from indiegogo for just $99

MIKA: I Like!

[MIKA27]

The Bizarre Rat Temple of India

The world is full of countless temples, churches, shrines, and other sacred places for the devoted to express their religious beliefs. Some of these places of worship are the world’s most beautiful creations, inspiring awe in all who look upon them, regardless of their personal denomination. Then there are others that might arouse a wholly different sensation in outsiders.

The 600 year old Karni Mata temple, located in Deshnoke, Rajasthan, India, may seem from a distance to be similar to many other Indian temples and in fact is quite beautiful to behold. The ornate temple, which was first constructed in the 15th century by Maharaja Ganga Singh, is decked out with marble floors and panels, as well as intricate sculptures and decorations of silver and gold featured throughout. Some of the doors of the temple are made of pure silver.

Karni Mata Temple

It is only as one gets closer to this shimmering, majestic structure that one might notice small, brown blurs crisscrossing the immaculate marble floors. Then as one enters the temple proper, one’s attention might be drawn to the writhing, undulating masses of brown bodies, tangled fur, and whirling tails carpeting many areas of the temple floors. The creatures are absolutely everywhere, scrabbling forth from crevices, scampering along the floor and over ledges, and even dangling from door handles and grills. Here, scurrying back and forth across the decorative, checkered floors and crawling under temple-goers’ legs and over feet are the temple’s estimated 20,000 rats that call this place home.

No, this isn’t a major rat infestation in need of an exterminator. You might see that the temple visitors stroll causally among the rats and that a groundskeeper may stand to the side calmly and dutifully cleaning up the droppings and leftover food scraps that have been left out for them. In fact, the droves of worshippers who come to the temple do not see the rats as vermin at all, but rather as sacred and holy animals known as kabbas, or “little children.” Not only are the rats here revered and respected, but they are also generously fed and protected from predators by various wires and grills designed to keep out animals such as cats and birds of prey. Great pains are taken not to harm the rats in any way. Visitors must remove their shoes when entering the grounds, mostly for the rats’ protection, and it is said that temple law dictates that if someone steps on and kills a rat they must replace it with one made of solid gold.

Rats at the temple

Hearing all of this, a common reaction from an outsider one might be to scratch their head and ask “Why?” The story of how the rats of Karni Mata temple came to be sacred, venerated animals takes many forms, but the most common version dates back to the 14th century with the worship of Karni Mata, a woman who was believed to be an incarnation of the Hindu goddess of power and victory, Maa Durga. Karni Mata was widely known as a mystic who was capable of working miracles and devoted her life to helping the impoverished and unfortunate. The legend goes that Karni Mata’s stepson, Lakshman, drowned while trying to drink water from a pond. The grieving mother begged for help from Yama, the god of death, to revive the boy. At first, Yama refused even after being continually implored by Karni Mata, but eventually he relented and proclaimed that Lakshman and indeed all of Karni Mata’s male children, future descendants, and in some versions of the story, all of her tribespeople would from then on be reincarnated as rats until they could be reborn back into her family of their clan.

The story has several permutations, sometimes mentioning the drowned boy as the son of a storyteller or even Karni Mata’s own youngest son, but all end with her future male descendants being reincarnated as rats. It is this belief that the rats of Karni Mata temple are the revered reincarnations of the matriarch mystic’s family that gives the animals their holy status.

Nothing like some rats to spruce up the decor of any temple

Other folkloric traditions offer other variations of the tale. Another legend behind the rats is the story of an army of 20,000 men who deserted a battle and retreated to Deshnoke to hide. Karni Mata was greatly angered by this, as desertion was seen as a dishonorable crime punishable by death. Luckily for the army, the goddess was merciful and decided not to execute them. Instead, it is said that she offered the soldiers the option of being turned into rats rather than face death. The soldiers agreed and were allowed to remain at their temple sanctuary. To repay the mercy bestowed upon them by Karni Mata, the rats vowed to continue worshipping and serving her, and so these 20,000 remain at the temple to this day in a continual cycle of being reincarnated as rats.

India has no particular predilection for revering rats. While normal rats of the surrounding area are seen as vermin much as they are everywhere else in the world, the rats of Karni Mata temple are treated like royalty. The temple puts out food and large saucers of milk for the creatures regularly, and in particular there are many such feeding areas situated in front of a large image of Karni Mata depicting her wearing a crown, and a garland of flowers and holding a trident in her hand. Visitors give out various food items as well. It is said that any food that is nibbled on by one of the many rats here has been blessed, so it is not uncommon to see worshippers here offer their food to a rat to take a bite out of before eating it themselves, or to even pick up the rat’s leftovers to eat.

Rats feeding at Karni Mata temple

While barefoot visitors carefully walk amongst the squirming masses of rats, some of the creatures will invariable skitter over feet. This would probably be enough to make most people recoil or even flee in disgust, but to the worshippers here it is seen as a blessing and it is welcomed to have rat scamper across one’s feet. An event seen as particularly auspicious is the sighting of one of the temple’s rare white rats. Among the 20,000 or so brown rats are said to be around five albino white rats that are believed to be the incarnation of Karni Mata herself and her four sons, and so spotting one is said to be one of the greatest honors a temple visitor can receive. Anyone who catches a glimpse of a white rat is said to be bestowed with a prosperous life. Some worshippers go through great efforts, such as using a sweet holy food known as prasad, to lure the white rats out of hiding in order to incur good fortune and health. Many newly married local couples make a visit here for the rats’ blessings, and to see a white rat on such an occasion is seen to surely signify a long and happy life together.

A rare white rats at Karni Mata temple

Karni Mata temple and its rats have other bizarre purported characteristics. It is said that the rats of the temple will not leave the temple gates and are more likely to congregate during temple rituals. The rats are also not known to ever bite or attack humans in any way. Another oddity is that although occasional outbreaks of disease and the unhealthy lifestyle of being pampered and fed sweets all day long take their toll on the rat population here, their numbers always manage to stay at around approximately 20,000, no more and no less. It is also believed that they and their matron Karni Mata protect the temple from misfortune. The rats are believed to have saved the temple from bombings in 1961, as well as from the damage from an oil tanker that overturned near the temple in 2007. The fact that in all of the temple’s existence there has never been a case of plague or other diseases transferred from the rats to humans is also seen as divine protection from Karni Mata.

Rats relaxing on a gate

The bizarre Karni Mata temple has become popular for tourists from around India and indeed the world, with many of them coming not out of any religious fervor but typically rather out of pure, morbid curiosity. For anyone willing to make the journey, the temple is readily accessible by bus or taxi from the nearby town of Bikaner, in Rajasthan, which lies around 30km to the north. Although the rats are considered to be mostly safe, the floor tends to be rather filthy and some foreign visitors have recommended that, while it is required to remove one’s shoes at the gate, it is probably a good idea to wear socks. Karni Mata certainly temple seems like a place worth visiting if you are interested in strange religious customs, you are not squeamish, and don’t mind a few thousand rats scurrying around you and over your feet as you take in the splendor of this beautiful and mysterious place.

[MIKA27]

Fierce Fighting in Grozny Raises Specter of ISIS Influence in Russia

Hours before Russian President Putin’s annual address to the nation, the Chechen capital saw the worst combat in years.

MOSCOW — The capital of Chechnya, Grozny, seemed to blow up around 1:00 a.m. on Thursday morning. News about hundreds of insurgents occupying schools, kindergartens and other state buildings and killing traffic policemen on the way into the city appeared on social networks and was passed from mouth to mouth. Artillery fire could be heard in Avtozavodsky district, on Chernyshevskogo and Putin avenues in downtown Grozny.

Inevitably, some of this may have been exaggerated in social media. But there is no question that a new battle has begun in an old war that Moscow—and many in Grozny—had hoped was over. Analysts also are raising the possibility that the so-called Islamic State, widely known as ISIS or ISIL, may have, at a minimum, ideological links to the attackers.

The editor-in-chief of the Caucasian Knot Internet site, Gregory Shvedov, told The Daily Beast on Thursday that the assault on Grozny was one more episode in series of terrorist incidents in Chechnya this year: “The underground intends to demonstrate that the existing security system is not effective,” Shvedov said. “We reported a split in the ‘Caucasus Emirate’ with some insurgents joining ISIS.” But it is not clear if the latest action is at the hands of that faction or another. “There is still a question who really was behind the current attacks,” said Shvedov.

Early this morning, Moscow’s key leader in Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, posted an Instagram photograph of a corpse. In the caption Kadyrov said that an anti-terror special operation was coming to the end and that six insurgents were killed at Dom Pechati, a government building in the city center: “Dogs die a dog’s death! Not a single bandit will be able to escape! I personally command this operation.” Kadyrov also asked locals not to leave their homes. Later in an Echo of Moscow interview Kadyrov said that the operation would be over in 20 minutes.

Hours passed, but the fighting continued. By noon, Russian officials reported four dead and dozens wounded. Dom Pechati looked burned out after the night of fighting. “I hear constant mortar, gun shots—this is the first such huge scale insurgency attack on Grozny since August 6, 1996,” Milana Mazayeva, on the scene, told The Daily Beast.

The attack came few hours before president Vladimir Putin was due to deliver his annual speech to the Federation Council, and the terrorists released their own video “Mujahideen address about the fighting in Jokhar” (the Islamist name for Chechnya). On it a young beardless man speaks Chechen and Arabic with a soft accent. He says that Amir Khamzat ordered “mujahideen of the Caucus Emirate ” to enter Grozny and that it was a “vendetta act” in response to non-believers humiliating Muslim women. Kadyrov had promised to detain Muslim women wearing veils that cover their faces.

“This is a shahid [martyrdom] operation and we are going to fight until we die,” the man in the video said. “We already have results: we destroyed many vehicles, military convoys, seized many trophies.”