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Halo: Reach getting matchmaking in its campaign mode
By Erik,
Halo: Reach getting matchmaking in its campaign mode
Destructoid -- 22 August 2010 by Matthew Razak
Here's some good news for all of you out there who hated the fact that you couldn't just hop into a game of Halo 3's campaign through a matchmaking system. Halo: Reach will indeed have matchmaking for its single-player. This means that instead of only being able to charge through the campaign with your friends you can charge through it with anyone.
My plan? Find someone ridiculously better than me at the game by doing matchmaking on Legendary as much as possible then ride his coattails to victory and glorious Achievements I don't actually deserve. Then I can roll up to places like I'm some sort of Halo OG and get mad props from my peeps.
My street cred aside, is there anyone who doesn't see this as a very welcome feature?
Halo: Reach will feature campaign matchmaking
That VideoGame Blog -- 21 August, 2020 by Eddie Makuch
Bungie has announced that when the hotly hyped Halo: Reach hits shelves next month, not only will the Firefight mode get matchmaking support, but the campaign will too.
Wait, what? Yes. When you pick up your copy of Reach on September 14, you’ll be able to enlist the help of a random soldier and fight across the game’s entire campaign.
For reference, Halo 3 didn’t include campaign matchmaking (much to my annoyance). You could hop into a game with an Xbox Live friend, but you couldn’t search for a buddy. Also, Halo games on Legendary difficulty are notoriously difficult and the decision to include matchmaking for campaign will make sure no one has to play alone.
Destructoid TVGB
SAAB Unveils Thai Air Defence Solutions
By Erik,
SAAB Unveils Thai Air Defence Solutions
Air Force News — By Saab on August 19, 2010 at 1:49 am
At a ceremony at Saab’s factory in Linköping today, Saab unveiled the Thai integrated air defence system for its Thai customer. The ceremony was held to celebrate the contract between Sweden and Thailand.
Many prominent guests attended the event including Commander in Chief, ACM Itthaporn Subhawong from the Royal Thai Air force, Gunnar Holmgen, General Director for the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) and Åke Svensson, CEO, for Saab.
The Royal Thai Air Force has procured an integrated air defence system with Gripen C/D, the ERIEYE airborne early warning system and a Command and Control C2 system including data link communication. In combination with bilateral Co-operation mainly focused on technology transfer, this will provide Thailand with the foundation for an advanced network based defence system.
The Royal Thai Air Force will receive six of the latest version Gripen C/D multirole fighter aircraft at the beginning of 2011. One ERIEYE Airborne Early Warning radar system aboard a Saab 340 aircraft and one additional Saab 340 aircraft will be delivered in December 2010. One Command and Control C2 system including equipment for three ground based Radio sites will be delivered in March 2011.
The first Thai Gripen aircraft made its maiden flight on 16 September 2009 and Thai pilots, technicians and aviation mechanics responsible for maintenance and support of the aircraft have started their training at the Armed Force Technical School (Air Force) in Halmstad and at F7 Såtenäs.
Air Force News
Intelligence experts analyse 'North Korean fighter jet crash'
By Erik,
An image posted on the internet by a Chinese citizen allegedly shows a North Korean aircraft that went down in Liaoning Province, China Photo: EPA
Intelligence experts analyse 'North Korean fighter jet crash'
By Peter Foster, Beijing
Intelligence experts are analysing reports that a North Korean fighter jet crash-landed in northern-eastern China on Tuesday afternoon, leading to speculation of a failed defection attempt by the plane’s pilot.
Photographs of the crash site posted on a microblog on China’s sina.com, one of the country’s leading web portals, appeared to show the remains of a MiG-21 fighter with distinctive North Korean air force markings on its fuselage.
China’s official news agency, Xinhua, partially confirmed the incident in a one-sentence report but stated only that an aircraft of “unidentified nationality” had crashed in Lagu county, Liaoning Province on August 17, and “the case was under investigation”.
However Mike Gething, aviation analyst with IHS Janes, the specialist defence publisher, confirmed to The Telegraph that the picture showed a North Korea jet. “It is a MiG-21 'Fishbed’ and from the markings, it is North Korean,” he said.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, citing intelligence sources, also said the aircraft appeared to be a North Korean fighter jet, adding that the pilot had been killed.
“The pilot died on the spot,” Yonhap quoted the intelligence source as saying, adding that the pilot was the only person aboard the craft.
The report quoted a second source as saying the plane may have lost its direction while attempting to fly to Russia to escape from North Korea.
China has a repatriation pact with North Korea and frequently hands economic refugees back to Pyongyang, which could explain why the pilot decided to choose Russia as a destination, the report added.
North Korea, reeling under the impact of international sanctions following a series of illegal missile and nuclear tests, is facing chronic food shortages that have started to affect even senior officials and army staff, according to reports.
Yonhap added that the North Korean soldiers defecting from the North has increased in recent months as food shortages deepen further.
Pictures from the crash site approximately 155 miles inside Chinese territory showed the plane, still largely intact, had ploughed into a field of maize, with villagers and rescue workers apparently looking on.
The incident provoked a wave of excitable speculation among the Chinese, asking why the plane was apparently allowed to get so far into Chinese airspace and wondering whether it had crashed or been shot down.
Comments on Tiexue.net — a popular military fans site that translates as 'ironblood.net’ traded possible explanations.
“It is OK if it was shot down to the ground,” said one member, “But if it crashed, what is our Air Force doing be noted the aircraft was already 250km into our territory” Another speculated further. “Definitely it was flown by a defector! Possibility 1: it was forced down due to lack of oil or machinery breaks; possibility 2: it refused our contact and was shot down by our Air Force”.
Defence experts estimate that North Korea possess up to 120 later-variant MiG-21s — a now-ageing aircraft known as “Fishbed” to Nato forces and produced in large numbers between 1959 and 1985, becoming the most produced combat aircraft since the end of the Korean War.
According to an assessment by Jane’s, North Korean air force pilots manage to fly only 15-25 hours per year because of a shortage of aviation fuel. A MiG-21 was reported to have crashed in North Korea in April last year while on a reconnaissance mission.
Telegraph.co.uk
First Flight of F-35 Electro-Optical Targeting System
By Erik,
F-35 Lightning II Electro-optical Targeting System (EOTS)
Lockheed Martin Conducts First Flight of F-35 Electro-Optical Targeting System on Cooperative Avionics Test Bed
ORLANDO, FL, August 16th, 2010 -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has successfully conducted the first flight of the F-35 Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS) on the Cooperative Avionics Test Bed (CATBird) platform. EOTS maturation on the CATBird is the final step prior to integration on the BF-4, the first mission systems-equipped F-35 test aircraft.
“The CATBird’s dynamic flight environment provides the first opportunity to test and evaluate how EOTS integrates into the F-35’s fused sensor architecture,” said Rich Hinkle, program director of F-35 EOTS at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “After three years of rigorous testing on the Sabreliner aircraft, EOTS is more than ready for CATBird integration and we’re excited to reach this important milestone.”
F-35 Lightning II EOTS High-Resolution Imagery
The CATBird, a modified 737 aircraft, contains an actual F-35 cockpit and test stations to perform real-time analysis as mission systems are evaluated. The CATBird also provides the capability to fuse sensor information, which mimics how the F-35’s fused sensor architecture will offer pilots higher quality, shared sensor information compared with legacy platforms’ federated sensor architectures. During the current Block 1.0 software system test, EOTS operated in an integrated mode and collected aircraft navigation data for sensor alignment.
The low drag, stealthy F-35 EOTS builds upon the success of Lockheed Martin’s Sniper® Advanced Targeting Pod to provide high-resolution imagery, automatic target tracking, infrared-search-and-track, laser designation and range finding, as well as laser spot tracking – all at greatly increased standoff ranges. Modular components allow the F-35 EOTS to be maintained on the flight line for true two-level maintenance.
Lockheed Martin
Design Reviews on Joint Air-To-Ground Missile
By Erik,
Lockheed Martin Team Completes Major Component Design Reviews on Joint Air-To-Ground Missile Program
ORLANDO, FL, August 16th, 2010 -- Lockheed Martin [LMT: NYSE] and teammates Marvin Engineering and Aerojet have completed successful component and system Preliminary Design Reviews (PDRs) on the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) Technology Development (TD) program, further demonstrating the missile’s technological maturity level.
The Lockheed Martin-led JAGM team has completed PDRs on the JAGM rocket motor, with test data supporting the single-motor solution, and on the U.S. Navy’s rotary- and fixed-wing launchers, with data supporting successful AH-1Z Viper (Cobra), MH-60R Seahawk and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet platform integration efforts.
“These successful PDRs are major milestones in the development of the JAGM missile and provide a high degree of confidence that JAGM will provide greater capabilities than existing weapons and will do so more affordably,” said Frank St. John, director of Close Combat Systems for Tactical Missiles/Combat Maneuver Systems at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “The PDRs confirmed the benefits of rigorous testing and the successful development path the team is taking to deliver this much needed precision, adverse weather, low-collateral-damage weapon.”
JAGM Rocket Motor PDR
Aerojet, a GenCorp [NYSE: GY] company, and Lockheed Martin have reported major strides in achieving the single-motor solution for JAGM through numerous tests and demonstrations.
“The Aerojet propulsion team has confirmed our JAGM single-motor solution,” said Aerojet’s vice president for Tactical Programs, John Myers. “Key to the outstanding propulsion characteristics of our design is Roxel UK’s minimum-smoke propellant grain technology solution, already well proven with other missiles in service.”
In addition to the successful PDR completion, two pre-flight readiness tests verified that the JAGM motor is certified for missile flight testing. The team continues to increase the severity of environmental testing to gain valuable reliability data for the current design in preparation for engineering manufacturing development.
JAGM Platform Integration PDR
Marvin Engineering and Lockheed Martin confirmed the successful development of prototype launcher hardware that meets Super Hornet, Viper and Seahawk platform integration requirements. The quad-rail Navy rotary-wing launcher will carry JAGM on the Viper and the Seahawk, and the triple-rail Navy fixed-wing launcher will carry JAGM on the Super Hornet.
“We are very pleased with the results of the PDR on the JAGM launchers,” said Jerry Friedman, CEO at Marvin Engineering. “We have extensive experience in the aircraft interface of launchers like those we are building for Lockheed Martin’s JAGM. This includes U.S. Army, Navy and Marine Corps aircraft, as well as the aircraft of many international customers. We have worked with and understand all the platforms that will be carrying JAGM.”
Threshold aviation platforms for JAGM include the U.S. Army’s AH-64D Apache attack helicopter and Extended Range Multi-Purpose Sky Warrior unmanned aerial system, the U.S. Marine Corps’ AH-1Z Cobra attack helicopter, and the U.S. Navy’s MH-60R Seahawk armed reconnaissance helicopter and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet jet fighter.
“During the JAGM TD program, we have enjoyed the opportunity to work cooperatively with NAVAIR and Boeing in the wind tunnel test program, integrating JAGM on the Super Hornet,” St. John added. “The same holds true for our longstanding working relationship with Boeing on the Apache and in our proven teamwork with Bell on the Kiowa and Viper, and with Sikorsky on the Seahawk. We are confident in our ability to integrate JAGM on all required platforms.”
Lockheed Martin
Gulf weapons sales reach $60b.
By Erik,
Gulf weapons sales reach $60b.
By YAAKOV KATZ
The United States has approved a long list of arms sales to friendly Arab countries in the Persian Gulf aimed at countering Iran’s growing influence in the region.
The unprecedented sales could reach over $60 billion in pending deals with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
The largest deal is the possible sale of 82 F-15 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia for $30 billion.
The deal has caused some concern within Israel which is reportedly in a dialogue with the Obama administration regarding its commitment to retain the IDF’s qualitative military edge in the region.
For another $30 billion, the Saudis are also interested in purchasing as many as 60 Apache attack helicopters.
Another deal, announced over the past week, is the possible sale of the latest Patriot missile defense system to Kuwait for $900 million. The proposed deal would include the sale of 209 missiles.
Kuwait is interested in the Patriot system in face of Iran’s growing influence in the region. In its statement to Congress regarding the deal, the Pentagon said: “Kuwait needs these missiles to meet current and future threats of enemy air-to-ground weapons. Kuwait will use the increased capability as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen its homeland defense.”
Israel is also looking to upgrade its Patriot systems and has held talks with the US about the possible sale of the latest version called the PAC-3.
The PAC-3 is believed to be capable of intercepting most of Syria’s missiles. It is an improved version of the PAC- 2 in terms of coverage and lethality. The PAC-3 has an interceptor missile that uses a hit-to-kill system rather than an exploding warhead used by the PAC-2.
The PAC-3 missile is also smaller and its launchers can fire 16 instead of just four missiles like the PAC-2.
The Pentagon also notified Congress earlier this month about the possible sale of 18 F- 16 fighter jets to Oman for an estimated $3.5 billion. Oman is one of the few countries in the Gulf which maintains strong ties with both Iran and the US. The Pentagon’s approval of the deal is seen as an effort to bolster American influence in the country.
Kuwait is also looking to improve its air force and has reportedly expressed interest in purchasing Boeing’s new stealthy F-15 Silent Eagle version. At the same time, Kuwait is also augmenting its mid-air refueling capability and is seeking around 10 new tanker aircraft from the US.
In his recent visit to Washington DC, Defense Minister Ehud Barak discussed the pending sale of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) to Israel as the first foreign customer.
Under the pending deal, which has yet to be finalized, Israel will receive approximately 20 of the stealth fighter jets starting in 2015 as a first batch based on the American configuration of the aircraft. Later sales will already include the integration of Israeli indigenous systems.
The Jerusalem Post
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