The Flybot, a new robotic reconnaissance fly may help keep a more soldiers, and others out of harms way.

Scientists at Harvard have invented a robotic fly to send on reconnaissance missions in areas too dangerous for humans, such as those contaminated by chemical or biological weapons.

It can also be used to find hidden bombs and in search missions.

The “flybot”, which can fit on a fingertip, is made of lightweight carbon and weighs less than a pin.

Researchers, led by Professor Robert Wood, spent seven years on the project with the backing of the US military.

“The real benefit of the fly is…

Testing has Begun on the New (BA) X-45b which is sure to be the next generation of UAV technology. Development is under way for systems that will help the Boeing Phantom Works unmanned aerial vehicle acquire and track targets on its own. This truly is an awesome looking machine and sure to be the Future of unmanned Aeriel technology.

Global Security has a great article with a detailed review of this aircraft that is said to be “generations ahead of its time”.

The US has announced military aid worth more than $43bn to Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states in an effort to boost its Middle East allies against Iran. Egypt will receive $13bn in aid over 10 years while $30bn will go to Israel over the same period, Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, said on Monday.

She also said that an unspecified defence aid package was allocated for Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states.

The Saudi package is expected to upgrade the country’s missile defences and air force and increase its naval capabilities, a defence official said on Saturday.

Saudi…

The MQ9 Reaper
Manufacturer: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems

–An altitude, endurance, and long-range upgrade to the original Predator UAV

Imagine coming home from a hard day’s work, relaxing on the couch, and busting out your XBOX 360. Instead of playing a video game, you decide it would be nice to unwind while thinking to yourself…”ten seconds to impact”, then witnessing the full-color obliteration of an opportunistic target in Iraq. While this situation is not entirely accurate, it is very close to what US Air Force pilots of tomorrow will be doing on a daily basis as they command the new squadron of…

So basically the Transformers movie is pretty bad ass, and it also is like a 2.5 hour commercial for the US Military. Not like there’s anything wrong with that, but the media has, since even before the release of the movie, been debating the pros and cons of the heavily laden promotional content paid for by either US defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT], General Dynamics [NYSE: GD], Boeing Co. [NYSE: BA], and Force Protection Inc. [NYSE: FRPT] or even simply the US Armed Forces themselves. I believe that there is one very notable point…

Metal Storm
Introducing Metal Storm, a breakthrough technology developed by a company whose namesake bestows the western world with a capability never seen before on the battlefield. Developed by Metal Storm Limited in Australia, the flagship idea of the Metal Storm array of weapons is the concept of stacked projectiles, which eliminate the moving parts of traditional guns. In fact, Metal Storm could be poised to eliminate the classic monicker of “machine gun” because this technology eliminates the moving parts necessary for traditional firing mechanisms. Likewise, the absense of moving parts is exactly what allows the Metal Storm…

When armor just isn’t strong enough and munitions keep evolving such as the armor pier cing tandem rpg 27 (two shape charges), “active protection systems” are called upon. Currently in development for the Striker and the Israeli Merkava main battle tank is the TROPHY active protection system which promises to revolutionize military vehicle and armor defense. The U.S is not currently partaking in RAFAEL’s TROPHY weapon system as it has contracted a favorite , Raytheon, to build an equivalent system for its vehicles.

TROPHY is being produced by RAPHAEL and maintains a 360 degree field of view with its radar….

Reactive armor is an incredible battlefield technology protecting our troops on the battlefield. Reactive armor shields a vehicle from incoming projectiles and is known for being most effective against shape charges and long rod penetrators. Multiple types of reactive armor are being used on tanks and other armored vehicles in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan today. Reactive armor has been used in vehicles since the 1980’s by the Russians and throughout Europe, although leaps and bounds are being made in this armor technology. The image below shows an “up-armored” M3A3 Bradley fighting vehicle fitted with reactive armor in a…

At Future Firepower we always keep the latest breaking news on the newest weaponry available to the United States Military and its allies. On top of following the technological advancements in weapons systems of the US, we also like to introduce the military capabilities of nations throughout the world. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China has some very advanced weapons systems. Ballistic missiles and missile defense programs are paramount in Chinese military planning with the PLA carrying a number of advanced bombs and missiles. Everything from mobile artillery howitzers, to high-tech tanks such as the Type-99 and the lighter…

Accuracy International AS50
This awesome weapons represents the British attempt at designing the worlds greatest sniper rifle. Similar in design and features to the Barrett M107 .50 caliber sniper rifle, the Accuracy International AS50 certainly exhibits the pinnacle of futuristic sniper rifle engineering. The greatest difficulty to overcome when designing a rifle of such high caliber is how to effectively and efficiently disperse the recoil, and the AS50 employs a free-floating barrel with a dual chamber muzzle brake to accomplish this feat. One important thing to note about this rifle though, is that it is truly designed…