Page 4 - Small Diameter News Today

United States Senator and former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has introduced a resolution to block a $735m arms sale to Israel amid the close US ally’s continuing bombardment of the Gaza Strip. Sanders introduced the legislation on Thursday, in hopes of blocking the sale of Joint Direct Attack Munitions and Small Diameter Bombs. It comes a day after Democrats in the House of Representatives introduced similar legislation after being notified of the sale on May 5. “At a ...

Tobi Aworinde Published 2 May 2021Mere months from the highly anticipated arrival of the A-29 Super Tucano planes purchased by Nigeria to fight Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province, bandits, and other criminals in the country, the acquisition can be best described as a six-year-long battle in its own right.Back in 2015, the Federal Government sought permission from the United States Government under former President Barack Obama to buy...

Valkyrie: This Might Be the F-22 and F-35s New Best Fighting Friend Launching drones from the cockpit of a manned fifth-generation stealth jet, and conducting mini-drone attacks from Valkyrie drones themselves, introduces a new sphere of tactical possibilities. Man-machine synergies enabling manned-unmanned operational teaming is practically a reality, so the Pentagon and military services are taking new steps into the highly impactful yet less developed universe of unmanned-unmanned teaming...

The Iconic A-10 Thunderbolt: Americas Best Weapon of War? The A-10 has served in most of America’s post–Cold War conflicts, from the Balkans to Afghanistan. Heres What You Need to Know: The A-10 is one of the most successful weapons of the post–Cold War era. One of the most iconic airplanes in the U.S. Air Force’s flying inventory is the A-10 Thunderbolt, also affectionately known as the “Warthog.” Designed to mow down rows of invading Soviet tanks during an anticipated World War I...

Air Force officials say the stealthy-looking Valkyrie could be configured for both surveillance and attack missions. Heres What You Need To Remember: The aircraft already coordinate with drones to some extent - but the key difference is that, for the first time, they can be controlled through the aircraft itself, rather than relaying instructions through ground crews. The U.S. Air Force’s “loyal wingman” plan for piloted fighter jets to control nearby drones took a large step forward r...

Converting the Raptor into a bomber meant adjusting two key parameters: payload and range. Heres What You Need to Remember: Doubling down on a Raptor bomber would have saddled the Air Force with two long-term issues: the first is the Raptor’s dated 90s-era computer system and data link, which aren’t highly compatible with new and far superior networked combat systems. By the beginning of the twenty-first century, the United States had begun production of the F-22 Raptor, the world’s best...