Thursday, March 31, 2016

R44 Island Hopping Charles D'Alberto

Forget helicopters, the US Army is going with real-life hoverbikes - Charles D'Alberto

Charles D'Alberto
The US Department of Defense has struck a deal with UK-based Malloy Aeronautics to develop and build hoverbike vehicles in the States.
Malloy's current Hoverbike prototype, which is a one-third scale model, is meant to act like a helicopter, but better. It's engineered without any of the problems associated with a typical helicopter's design. A hoverbike, for instance, has guarded rotors so that it won't dice up humans or other things.
It's also more cost effective, maneuverable in tight spaces, and has options to operate it autonomously or with a human pilot. Malloy is working with US-based Survice, which specialises in defense research and development, to actually develop the hoverbike in Maryland, according to Reuters.
The developers of the hoverbike said the vehicle's low cost and size makes it ideal for operations such as search and rescue missions, first-responder situations, and getting into confined spaces. Their scale-version prototype, which you can see in the video below, includes a humanoid figure with a head-mounted camera.

Malloy and Survice will first develop a full-scale version of their protoype, then construct new prototypes that meet military requirements, and finally, they'll be able to develop hoverbikes for the US Army, which will be used as a multi-role tactical reconnaissance vehicles that support both military and humanitarian missions.
The Department of Defense is interested in Hoverbike technology, Reuters said, because it can support "multiple roles".
Charles D'Alberto

17 years on, Belgrade still bears the scars of war. The other side of the NATO bombs - Charles D'Alberto

Serbia is marking the 17th anniversary since the beginning of NATO's air war against the country, then a part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Belgrade
Charles D'Alberto
The attacks lasted for 11 weeks and resulted in the deaths of between 1,200 and 4,000 people, according to different sources.
NATO caused heavy damage to Serbia's infrastructure, economy, schools, health institutions, media outlets, monuments of culture.
The western military alliance made the decision to attack Serbia without the approval of the UN Security Council, which represented a precedent.
The order was given to its then commander, U.S. General Wesley Clark by then NATO Secretary General Javier Solana.
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Clark later wrote in his book entitled "Modern Warfare" that the planning of the war was already under way in mid-June in 1998 and was completed in August of that year.
Serbia came under attack as the culprit for "the humanitarian catastrophe in Kosovo and the failure of negotiations in Rambouillet, Paris on the future status of the province."
The Paris conference presented Serbia with the proposal to have foreign troops deployed in its territory, which was rejected. The decision not to accept foreign troops was confirmed by the Serbian Assembly, and on March 24, 1999 NATO launched its attacks.
Charles D'Alberto
19 countries took part in the operation, using ships in the Adriatic Sea, four air bases in Italy, supported by strategic operators who took off from bases in western Europe.
According to estimates of the Serbian government at least 2,500 people were killed (according to some sources, the total number of fatalities was almost 4,000), while more than 12,500 were injured.
The recently published official data of the Ministry of Defense of Serbia speaks about 1,008 soldiers and policemen killed, while unofficial data shows that 6,000 civilians, including 2,700 children, suffered various degrees of injuries.
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The total damage done to the country's economy and infrastructure was estimated at the time at USD 100 billion.
NATO military losses in manpower and technology have never been disclosed.
The Museum of Aviation in Belgrade displays parts of the destroyed F-117 and F-16 aircraft, UAVs, and cruise missiles.
Almost all cities in Serbia came under attack several times during the war that lasted 11 weeks.
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The bombing destroyed and damaged 25,000 housing units, 470 km of roads and 595 kilometers of railways.
The attacks also damaged 14 airports, 19 hospitals, 20 health centers, 18 kindergartens, 69 schools, 176 cultural monuments and 44 bridges, while 38 were destroyed.
During the aggression NATO carried out 2,300 air strikes on 995 facilities across the country, while 1,150 combat aircraft launched nearly 420,000 missiles.
NATO also launched 1,300 cruise missiles, dropped over 37,000 cluster bombs, which killed some 200 people and wounded hundreds, and used prohibited ammunition with depleted uranium.
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A third of the power capacity of the country was destroyed, two oil refineries, in PanĨevo and Novi Sad bombed, while NATO forces used the opportunity to for the first deploy the so-called graphite bombs to disable the power system.
After several attempts to end the war by diplomatic means, the bombing ended with the signing of the Military Technical Agreement in Kumanovo on June 9, 1999, after which the Yugoslav Army (VJ) and Serbian police (MUP) started withdrawing from Kosovo and Metohija.
A day later, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1244, and some 37,200 NATO-led KFOR troops from 36 countries were deployed in the province with the task of keeping the peace, security, and ensuring the return of refugees until the widest degree of autonomy was defined for the territory.

Saturday, March 19, 2016

Friday, March 18, 2016

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Saturday, March 12, 2016

Friday, March 4, 2016

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Montenegro to sell fixed-wing fleet as focus turns to rotorcraft ops - Charles D'Alberto

The government of Montenegro has given the go-ahead for the sale of its remaining four Soko G-4 Super Galeb jets ... http://v.iew.im/A5ptcc

Please check out my Blog #Aviation #Helicopters #Security http://www.charlesdalberto.com/blog/


H160 ready to take on the market at Heli-Expo - Charles D'Alberto

Airbus Helicopters ready to sign letters of intent for the H160 Development, industrialization and customer ... http://v.iew.im/APw9Xn

Vidant helicopter’s close call with a drone is catching pilots’ attention - Charles D'Alberto

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd0YUO8GjTwGREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) – Pilots’ concerns over drones in thei ... http://v.iew.im/A5e89j

When 4 just ain't enough #Helicopter #G2 #Cabris


4,700 medium and heavy helicopters to be sold over next decade - Charles D'Alberto

A total of 4 744 medium and heavy military rotorcraft will be produced from 2016 through 2025, according to a new ... http://v.iew.im/APsM6a