Can China's hypersonic drone carrier bring NASA's 'Scissor Wing' Dream to life?

Chinese engineers resurrect radical design for an aircraft that can fly at five times the speed of sound, releasing drones in its wake

South China Morning Post

7 hours ago

Science

Can China’s hypersonic drone carrier bring Nasa’s ‘scissor wing’ dream to life?

Chinese engineers resurrect radical design for an aircraft that can fly at five times the speed of sound, releasing drones in its wake. videocam

13

China’s Giant Drone Mothership Is Changing The Fate of War Forever

MQ-9 REAPER : The Most Deadly $30-Million Military Drones on Earth

MQ - 9A REAPER DRONE , T/N 13-4225,

The Reaper was lost in the Mediterranean and unable to be recovered, so investigators could not analyze the hardware to conclude definitively what went wrong. . .

COST DISCREPANCY: The sophisticated drones, built by General Atomics, cost about $30 million each, and generally fly at altitudes of more than 40,000 feet. 

Air Warfare

Broken propeller caused $13M military Reaper drone to crash into sea 

An MQ-9 Reaper drone crashed into the Mediterranean Sea last December after losing its propeller mid-flight, likely due to the failure of a ring necessary to secure the prop in place. (SrA Raya Feltner/Air Force)

 

By Stephen Losey

The MQ-9, which belonged to the 432nd Wing at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, likely suffered a mid-flight failure of a critical ring that kept the propeller functional, which led to the Dec. 16 crash.

The Reaper, which was operated remotely by a pilot and sensor operator from the 20th Attack Squadron at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, took off from an unidentified location in the U.S. European Command area of responsibility, according to the accident investigation board report released July 30.

Date:	Monday 16 December 2024
Time:	17:00 UTC
Type:	General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper

 

 

Accident investigation:

Investigating agency:  USAF AIB Report number:  Status: Investigation completed Duration: Download report: Final report

 

 

Business Insider

4 days ago

$13 Million US Military Reaper Drone Crashed After Propeller Fell Off

 

Air Force Times

Air Force investigation finds Reaper crashed after signal lost

 
Boosting Reaper’s Resilience in the Digital Age
The MQ-9A Reaper Drone Gets a Guardian Angel 

by SOFREP News Team May 12, 2024  

The skies over warzones are becoming increasingly congested with electronic threats.

To combat these dangers and ensure the continued effectiveness of its MQ-9A Reaper drone, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) recently announced a strategic partnership with Shift5.

This collaboration injects the Reaper with a potent dose of cybersecurity and advanced maintenance capabilities, directly benefiting the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC).

 

Air Force Times

Air Force Reapers are now flying ISR missions from Poland 

Displaced Palestinians in Gaza City battle hunger as Israeli ground oper...

 

Aug 17, 2025 #Palestine #Gaza #Israel

 

Displaced and desperate Palestinians are scrambling for scraps of food as they face bombardment from Israeli forces planning to seize Gaza City. 

• Attacks on Sunday have killed at least 11 people across the strip. 

• Thousands have been forced to flee the north, but many have nowhere else to go. 

And limited space is compounding Israel's man-made starvation crisis.

 

no comment

Daily Sabah

2 days ago

Trump told Norway's Stoltenberg he wants Nobel Peace Prize: Report

 

Jet Fuel Formula | THE ADVENTURES OF ROCKY & BULLWINKLE

Before Rick and Morty or The Simpsons, there was Rocky and Bullwinkle—the “dumbest smart show on television.” 

  

This classic cartoon wasn’t just silly slapstick. Hidden under the moose jokes and flying squirrel antics was Cold War satire, meta humor, and political commentary that went straight over kids’ heads—but spoke directly to adults.