bae

'Interim' firepower on the way for Marine Osprey

The Marine Corps may have found an "interim" solution to the one of the V-22 tilt-rotor Osprey's many operational quandaries: How to shoot back.

This August, the Marines are expected to take delivery of BAE's (British Aerospace and Marconi Electronic Systems) Remote Guardian System, a GAU-17 7.62-millimeter, mini-gun-equipped, remotely operated weapon that swivels to squirt out 360 degrees of accurate, sustained, suppressive fire "throughout the aircraft's entire flight envelope," according to BAE. This would be a vast improvement over the aircraft's current protection, an M240D 7.62-millimeter gun manned by a … Read more

Gadgettes 88: The 'scaring the bejesus out of us' episode

They're creepy, sometimes crawly, and some might classify them as ooky. Then there are people like Kelly who don't seem to be afraid of the dark like the rest of us. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 88

Robometer concept device promises to help you feel happy http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/ robometer-concept-device-promises-to-help-you-feel-happy/

BAE Systems working on spider-bots, other ways to scare you to death http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/ bae-systems-working-on-spider-bots-other-ways-to-scare-you-to-d/

Coffin sofa brings creepy furniture to new extremes http://dvice.com/archives/2008/04/coffin_sofa_bri.php

Push-kun, the cute robot with the … Read more

Rail gun uses kinetic energy to deliver Mach 5 wallop

The U.S. Navy is installing an electro-magnetic laboratory rail gun at its Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Va., bringing it one step closer to developing a ship-mounted version of this futuristic cannon.

The 32-megajoule weapon appears to be the largest rail gun ever built, according to defense contractor BAE Systems. A joule is what's needed to produce one watt of energy for one second.

It uses a magnetic "rail" instead of a chemical propellant like gunpowder to heave projectiles at Mach 7 for what could be up to 220 miles down range--that's 10 times farther … Read more

Protector all set to go against pirates

Pirates have grown mighty bold around the Horn of Africa of late--so bold that the Navy is reportedly considering the deployment of 30-foot, armed robo-boats to challenge the dusty buccaneers. Surely they'll mend their ways.

The Navy began testing the Israeli Protector unmanned surface vehicle (USV) last year. There is a civilian version of these rigid-hulled inflatables built by Rayglass Boats in New Zealand, a common enough sight around any harbor that's even used as the official chase boat for the America's Cup. But you'd hardly equate these with the unmanned version.

Extensively tweaked by defense … Read more

It's a car, it's a UAV, no - it's UUV

As we see here, there is absolutely no reason why your pool cleaner shouldn't match your car. Too bad British defence giant BAE Systems has other plans for the Talisman -like minesweeping.

Drawing on stealth, aerospace and race car design, BAE developed this unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) in hopes of following up on its success with the unmanned aerial variety. After years of wind tunnel and open-ocean testing the carbon fiber hulled Talisman M is ready for action in water up to 490 feet. "Vectorable" thruster pods allow it to hover and turn on a dime. It … Read more