Tech Radar

            What accounts for the B-52’s longevity? Here are five reasons why the B-52 bomber is destined to outlive all of the engineers who designed it, and most of the pilots who flew it.   Video Credit:  Out Of Your Mind 1. Relevancy .            The design of the B-52 gradually evolved during its early design phase into a swept-wing aircraft with eight jet engines that could fly many thousands of miles without refueling. Its range today is stated at 8,800 miles when cruising at 525 miles per hour with a 35ton bomb load, but it can be refueled in the air to fly much farther. Equipped with cruise missiles and other standoff munitions, it can attack targets anywhere in the world quickly from bases in the U.S. That’s what makes long-range bombers different from any other combat system in the joint force. 2. Versatility             The B-52 doesn’t just have long legs and a...

          Designed for the Marine Corps, the F-35B variant would do what no other plane had ever done: accelerate past the speed of sound in flight, then make vertical landings on the smallest of landing footprints, much like a helicopter. Video Credit:  Out Of Your Mind           The quest to create a fighter capable of taking off and landing in confined spaces has been a decades-long pursuit on both sides of the Atlantic. As early as 1954, Lockheed Martin was busy designing experimental “vertical rising” fighters, which soon paved the way for vertical-landing aircraft like the British Harrier. But unlike the Harrier, the F-35B and its Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) system offers both vertical landing and long-range supersonic speed in one unit, creating a stealthy, lightning-fast fighter capable of carrying advanced weaponry.           Using energy generated by the F-35’s single...

          Paladin was first fielded in 1994. The widely used M109 carries a 155-mm howitzer and is the principal self-propelled artillery support for U.S. Army divisions. It is a large tracked vehicle with a fully traversable turret and prominent bustle. Early variants had a short, 23-caliber barrel. Later versions, including the M109A6 Paladin, have a 39-caliber barrel.     Video Credit:  Out Of Your Mind        The Paladin can operate independently, from on the move, it can receive a fire mission, compute firing data, select and take up its firing position, automatically unlock and point its cannon, fire and move out - all with no external technical assistance. Firing the first round from the move in under 60 seconds, a "shoot and scoot" capability protects the crew from counterbattery fire. The M109A6 Paladin is capable of firing up to four rounds per minute to ranges of 30 kilometers.