Brazil taps Zentech for aircraft carrier hull inspection
Houston (UPI) May 5, 2015 -
The Brazilian Navy has contracted Zentech Incorporated to conduct a comprehensive inspection and evaluation of the hull of the aircraft carrier SÃPounds o Paulo.
The Texas-headquartered engineering company said the work is part of the Brazilian Navy's upgrade of the carrier and that it will use its asset integrity management solution, ZAIMS, to help in the assessment of hull's seaworthi ...
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OCCAR takes over management of Italian shipbuilding project
Brussels (UPI) May 5, 2015 -
The European Union agency that manages multinational armament procurement has added two Italian maritime programs to its portfolio.
Formally integrated into the Organization for Joint Armament Cooperation, or OCCAR, are Italy's Multipurpose Combat Ship Program and its Logistic Support Ship Program, bringing the number of European programs in its portfolio to 12.
OCCAR said that t ...
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US targets IS leaders with multi-million-dollar bounties
Washington (AFP) May 5, 2015 -
The United States ratcheted up pressure on the leaders of the Islamic State jihadist group on Tuesday, adding four names to those targeted by multi-million-dollar bounties.
The IS group has seized a wide stretch of eastern Syria and northern Iraq and declared it a "caliphate," within which it has enslaved female captives, carried out sectarian massacres and murdered hostages.
Iraqi and K ...
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International troops suit up for Jordan war games
Amman (AFP) May 5, 2015 -
Thousands of soldiers from 18 countries took part Tuesday in military drills in Jordan jointly overseen by the US army, officials said.
Around 10,000 troops are participating in Jordan's fifth "Eager Lion" annual war games, which will last for two weeks.
The aerial, ground and naval exercises come as a US-led coalition battles the Islamic State (IS) group in neighbouring Iraq and Syria. ...
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Obama picks Marine general as top military advisor
Washington (AFP) May 5, 2015 -
President Barack Obama nominated Marine General Joseph Dunford as chairman of the joint chiefs Tuesday, choosing an officer with battlefield experience in Iraq and Afghanistan for the military's top job.
Describing Dunford as "one of the most admired officers in our military," Obama hailed the Boston native as a top-notch strategic thinker.
"I know Joe. I trust him," Obama said in a Whit ...
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Iran nuclear talks to resume May 12 in Vienna: EU
Brussels (AFP) May 5, 2015 -
Negotiations seeking a definitive accord on Iran's nuclear programme will resume on May 12 in Vienna, the European Union and Tehran said Tuesday.
EU negotiator Helga Schmid and her Iranian counterparts Abbas Araghchi and Majid Takht Ravanchi "will resume their work on 12 May in Vienna," the EU diplomatic service said in a statement.
The political leaders of the other world powers involve ...
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'Abandoned' Hong Kong veterans go into battle with Britain
Hong Kong (AFP) May 5, 2015 -
Hong Kong military veterans who served in the British armed forces are going into battle against their former colonial ruler over their right to live in Britain.
With some locals increasingly anxious about Beijing's encroaching influence in Hong Kong, the veterans have become the latest group to put pressure on Britain to provide an escape route.
Three Hong Kong military veterans who say ...
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Germany's Schaeuble insists Greece war payments settled
Berlin (AFP) May 5, 2015 -
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Tuesday that the issue of whether Germany should pay reparations to Greece for the Nazi occupation during World War II had been settled, while not denying the country's moral responsibility.
Athens' new radical leftist government has stepped up pressure on Berlin over the emotional and controversial issue of war payments.
As tempers flare ...
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Army orders integrated night vision/thermal targeting system for soldiers
Arlington, Va. (UPI) May 5, 2015 -
A system that integrates night vision capability and thermal targeting sights onto the goggles of dismounted troops has been ordered by the U.S. Army.
The vision system from BAE Systems is called ENVG III/FWS-I and will enhance the capability of soldiers to rapidly and covertly acquire targets in all weather and lighting conditions.
"Supplying the U.S. Army with this new rapid ta ...
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NATO to briefly move southern Europe HQ to Romania
Bucharest (AFP) May 5, 2015 -
NATO will temporarily move its southern European headquarters to Romania in June as part of a major military exercise, an American official said Tuesday.
The Allied Joint Force Command based in Naples, Italy is to transfer to central Romania for two weeks of manoeuvres, its commander Admiral Mark Ferguson said during a visit to Bucharest.
"This deployment will be the first time a NATO ...
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India's Modi to make first visit to rival giant China
New Delhi (AFP) May 5, 2015 -
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make his first visit to China next week, seeking to overcome strains between the nuclear-armed rivals over a border dispute and Beijing's growing regional clout.
Modi will meet with China's leaders during the three-day visit as part of an Asian tour that will also take him to South Korea and Mongolia, the Indian government said Tuesday. China confirme ...
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Iran's Rouhani denounces boasting over arms deals
Tehran (AFP) May 5, 2015 -
Iran's president denounced western countries for taking pride in arms sales Tuesday, after France signed a warplanes deal with Qatar, saying weapons agreements add to Middle East instability.
Although he did not name France, Hassan Rouhani's comments came after it agreed a 6.3-billion-euro ($7-billion) contract with Qatari defence officials in Doha.
French President Francois Hollande was ...
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Robots to drive Polaris off-road vehicles in DARPA challenge
Minneapolis (UPI) May 5, 2015 -
A U.S. military robotics challenge next month will feature robots driving customized off-road vehicles in simulated disaster roadway conditions.
Polaris Industries Inc., a leading manufacturer of off-road vehicles, said the robots will drive its Limited Edition DARPA Polaris Ranger 900 EPS in the DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals to be held June 5-6 in Pomona, Calif., weaving their way ar ...
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EU, China stress scope for stepped up security, climate cooperation
Beijing (AFP) May 5, 2015 -
The European Union and China on Tuesday expressed a desire to deepen cooperation on international security, diplomacy and climate change, though human rights appeared to remain a sensitive issue.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and China's top foreign policy official Yang Jiechi held talks as part of a regular strategic dialogue in which the two sides exchange views and develop po ...
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China Develops Fourth-Generation Nuclear Sub
Beijing (Sputnik) May 06, 2015 -
China completed the development of its fourth-generation nuclear submarine, media reports said late last week. At a recent meeting in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, Tan Zuojun, vice governor of Liaoning Province and former general manager of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, said that development of China's fourth-generation nuclear submarines and other high-tech weapons had been completed.
Ac ...
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Most Advanced GPS Satellite Comes Together
Denver CO (SPX) May 05, 2015 -
Using a 10-ton crane, Lockheed Martin engineers and technicians gently lowered the system module of the U.S. Air Force's first next generation GPS III satellite into place over its propulsion core, successfully integrating the two into one space vehicle.
GPS III space vehicle one (SV 01) is the first of a new, advanced GPS satellite design block for the Air Force. GPS III will deliver thre ...
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North Korea Unveils New Satellite Control Center
Moscow (Sputnik) May 05, 2015 -
North Korea will continue developing space technology despite international sanctions, the country's leader Kim Jong-un said when visiting a newly-built satellite command and control center earlier this week.
"Peaceful space development is an option taken by our Party and people and a legitimate right of [this country]," Kim said while touring the center of the National Aerospace Developme ...
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Game theory elucidates the collective behavior of bosons
Munich, Germany (SPX) May 01, 2015 -
Quantum particles behave in strange ways and are often difficult to study experimentally. Using mathematical methods drawn from game theory, physicists of Ludwig-Maximilias-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich have shown how bosons, which like to enter the same state, can form multiple groups.
When scientists explore the mysterious behavior of quantum particles, they soon reach the limits of prese ...
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Eta Aquarid meteor shower to hit its peak, debris from Halley's Comet viewable worldwide
Washington (UPI) May 5, 2015 -
Every year, the Eta Aquarid meteor shower lights up the sky as Earth spirals through the debris from Halley's Comet. This year's peak occurs on Tuesday at about 9 a.m. EDT, according to NASA.
The meteors will come into view at a rate of 30 space rocks per hour near the shower's peak at speeds reaching 148,000 mph.
The best viewing is said to be before dawn on May 5, but the showe ...
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Synthesis of silicon oxides opens 'new world in a grain of sand'
Athens GA (SPX) May 03, 2015 -
In an effort that reaches back to the 19th-century laboratories of Europe, a discovery by University of Georgia chemistry researchers establishes new research possibilities for silicon chemistry and the semiconductor industry. The study, published in the journal Nature Chemistry, gives details on the first time chemists have been able to trap molecular species of silicon oxides.
Using a te ...
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Students develop electricity-producing leg brace
Houston (UPI) May 1, 2015 -
Phone need charging? Whose doesn't? With the energy-generating leg brace developed by researchers at Rice University, a power boost is only a walk around the block.
Engineering students at Rice have designed and built a leg brace with a power-producing motor attached a the joint. The movement of walking with the brace on spins the motor, and the generated power is funneled into a small ...
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Northwestern scientists develop first liquid nanolaser
Chicago IL (SPX) May 03, 2015 -
Northwestern University scientists have developed the first liquid nanoscale laser. And it's tunable in real time, meaning you can quickly and simply produce different colors, a unique and useful feature. The laser technology could lead to practical applications, such as a new form of a "lab on a chip" for medical diagnostics.
To understand the concept, imagine a laser pointer whose color ...
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Two-dimensional semiconductor comes clean
New York NY (SPX) May 03, 2015 -
In 2013 James Hone, Wang Fong-Jen Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Columbia Engineering, and colleagues at Columbia demonstrated that they could dramatically improve the performance of graphene--highly conducting two-dimensional (2D) carbon--by encapsulating it in boron nitride (BN), an insulating material with a similar layered structure.
In work published this week in the Advance O ...
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Tesla unveils battery to 'transform energy infrastructure'
Los Angeles (AFP) May 1, 2015 -
Electric car pioneer Tesla unveiled a "home battery" Thursday which its founder Elon Musk said would help change the "entire energy infrastructure of the world."
The Tesla Powerwall can store power from solar panels, from the electricity grid at night when it is typically cheaper, and provide a secure backup in the case of a power outage.
In theory the device, which typically would fit o ...
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ILS And Dauria announce Proton/Angara dual launch services agreement
Reston, VA (SPX) May 05, 2015, -
International Launch Services (ILS) and Dauria Aerospace (Dauria), of Moscow, Russia, have signed an agreement to collaborate on opportunities to launch spacecraft utilizing an ILS Proton or Angara launch vehicle beginning in the 2017 timeframe.
The agreement, signed by ILS President, Phil Slack and Dauria CEO, Sergey Ivanov, states that both companies will mutually cooperate on identifyin ...
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