Latest news with #SpecialOperationsForcesWeek
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Head-turning footage captures next-gen flying machine as it takes to the skies: 'The first step toward 'The Jetsons''
A company named Pivotal demonstrated its electric flying car during Special Operations Forces Week in Tampa, Florida. As Fox 13 Tampa Bay reported, Pivotal created an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. The eVTOL has a one-person capacity, lifts off like a helicopter, and cruises like an airplane. Interestingly, you don't need a pilot's license to operate the eVTOL because it falls into the ultralight aircraft category. After 13 years of development and numerous testing phases, the eVTOL design operates smoothly, efficiently, and quietly in the air. "It really is the first step toward 'The Jetsons,'" said Pivotal CEO Ken Karklin. This electric flying vehicle is a significant development because it provides a new option for clean energy transportation. Meanwhile, other innovative companies are creating next-gen airplanes that are powered by hydrogen and solar energy to reduce pollution in our skies. Futuristic aircraft designs are changing the way we think about air travel, and flying cars are a significant part of this sustainability shift. Although widespread public adoption of eVTOLs is likely still a ways off, it could offer many of the same benefits as electric vehicles on our roads. Compared to a traditional aircraft, an eVTOL could help owners save money on routine maintenance and low power costs while operating a quiet vehicle with no tailpipe pollution. Karklin said the civilian version of the eVTOL costs about $190,000. Meanwhile, the company is pursuing opportunities in the defense and public safety sectors to address security concerns and emergency rescue needs. Future eVTOL owners could potentially save even more money by installing solar panels to charge their flying vehicles. Charging vehicles at home is cheaper than using public charging stations and more sustainable than relying on the grid. Flying vehicle owners can compare solar quotes through EnergySage to find the best installation deals from trusted local professionals. Pivotal is launching a production version of the eVTOL in December and plans to be operational in two sites by the end of the year. Would you trust a self-driving car to take you to work every day? For sure Maybe someday I'm not sure Never in a million years Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
More data, comms, countermeasures needed for Special Ops aircraft
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways TAMPA, Fla. – Special operators are looking to industry for a suite of upgrades to their fixed-wing aircraft, such as radio frequency countermeasures, new methods for aerial refueling and improved networking. At the annual Global SOF Foundation Special Operations Forces Week, Special Operations Command officials who develop aircraft shared these and other updates that are needed from its largest to smallest platforms. For one key platform program, the MC-130J Combat Talon III, operators envision the aircraft as a nexus in the battlefield, connecting the lowest-level operator on the ground with space, air and even commands in the homeland. To do that, the MC-130J will need some new capabilities. They are currently testing terrain following and avoidance technology that includes dynamic retasking. They'll also need networked data from the aircraft systems to work with satellite communications, radio signals, data links and data fusion across multiple platforms. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the aircraft requires upgraded radio frequency countermeasures and considerably more processing power for all of the data streaming in. Next steps include a capability release that will include tactical mission route replanner technology, along with tactical flight management and defensive countermeasures, as well as embedded training systems to simulate more complex missions. Beyond those capabilities, operators are looking to extend the range and reach of the aircraft, improve its communication systems, advance its defensive systems, increase its payload capacity for diverse mission sets and precision airdrop and landing capabilities, said Lt. Col. Andrew Sturgeon, head of mobility for Program Executive Office-Fixed Wing. The recently named OA-1K Skyraider II is also on the upgrade list, as SOCOM wants modular sensor payloads and weapons enhancements for the propeller-driven airplane, said Lt. Col. Shawna Matthys, who heads the integrated strike program. For both the Skyraider and the AC-130J Ghostrider, officials are looking for longer-ranging weapons systems for contested environments, air-launched loiter munitions and collaborative weapons options, Matthys said. Across the entire strike portfolio, which touches nearly every fixed-wing platform, Matthys said those munitions need increased automation and autonomy, advanced navigation and sensing and secure, resilient communications, along with modular payload effects. That gives operators more options for targeting and destroying targets on various missions. For its drones, such as the MQ-9A and the MQ-1C, special operators seek hardened data links and communications, 'easily adaptable autonomous behavior profiles,' the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to reduce data link bandwidth requirements and the use of autonomy for the entire kill chain, said Brandi Evans, head of airborne Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance for PEO-Fixed Wing. Beginning this month, the office's adaptive airborne enterprise program will look to give operators multi-aircraft control interface software, increase survivability and integrate autonomy onto existing systems, Evans said. For manned ISR platforms, such as the U-28 and DHC-8 (STAMP), officials are looking to improve sensors, integrate all-weather capabilities and automate aspects of aircraft operation to reduce crew workload, as well as edge data processing.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
See the new warplane shown off during Special Operations Forces Week
The Brief The Sky Warden Skyraider 2 is a relatively small, single-wing airplane that's armed to the teeth to meet any threat. It's one of many battlefield technologies being shown off at Special Operations Forces Week. The plane is built with the engine and other systems that have been previously used for years on its crop-dusting cousin, but with special avionics and weapons systems installed. TAMPA, Fla. - L3 Harris test pilot Clint Logwood lives in St. Petersburg. He's showing off his company's new warplane close to home, in Tampa, during SOF Week: The Sky Warden Skyraider 2. It's a relatively small, single-wing airplane that's armed to the teeth to meet any threat. It can also land and take-off in a cow pasture. READ: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at Special Operations Forces Week event in Tampa "I'm qualified in 88 different aircraft, and this is by far the most fun," smiled Logwood. Big picture view It's one of many battlefield technologies being shown off at Special Operations Forces Week. A prime audience for the event is U.S. Special Operations Command, headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base. Nimble and new battlefield technology is top on their wish list. That's what L3Harris has installed in the Skyraider 2. Follow FOX 13 on YouTube "The sensors, the technology is amazing," said Logwood. "We can see from 25,000 feet and read your name tag anywhere in the world." Dig deeper The plane is built with the engine and other systems that have been previously used for years on its crop-dusting cousin, but with special avionics and weapons systems installed. L3 Harris' Systems President Jon Rambeau said it's perfect for close-in air support and reconnaissance missions and specifically designed for missions faced by special operators. MORE:Palm Harbor WWII veteran finds comfort in new mission at 100 years old: 'Life is golden' Rambeau said it's far less expensive than a jet fighter and can be easily stowed in a transport plane to be delivered for missions around the globe. He said SOCOM could have 12 of the planes by this time next year. Rambeau said the Skyraider 2 could also be purchased by U.S. allies. The cost per plane was not announced. The Source The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13's Lloyd Sowers. WATCH FOX 13 NEWS: STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA:
Sky News AU
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
‘Done with that s**t': Pete Hegseth's brutal goodbye to military DEI and ‘wokeness'
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has sent a brutal message to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion hires in the military. The message came at Secretary Hegseth's Keynote Address at Special Operations Forces Week. During the keynote address, Hegseth declared the military and Trump administration were now leaving 'wokeness and weakness' behind. Hegseth proudly declared there will be 'no more pronouns' or climate change obsession, 'no more vaccine mandates' or 'dudes in dresses'. 'We're done with that shit,' Hegseth said. Hegseth's remark follows the Supreme Court's ruling that allows the Trump administration to enforce a ban on transgender people in the military. The executive order was previously issued in January, as soon as US President Donald Trump took office, aiming to remove transgender troops from military ranks.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
States move to outlaw popular ‘Glock switches' that make some guns fully automatic
A row of handguns are displayed at the Glock Inc. booth at the 2024 Special Operations Forces Week conference in Tampa, Fla. The company has become the target of mounting lawsuits from cities and states accusing it of failing to prevent illegal modifications of its firearms. () More states are enacting bans on 'Glock switches,' small devices about the size of a U.S. quarter that can turn semiautomatic firearms into fully automatic weapons capable of firing up to 1,200 rounds per minute. Gun conversion devices have become a rare point of bipartisan agreement on gun policy. Although firearm regulations often face pushback in Republican-led states, growing support from local law enforcement officials has helped these bans gain traction. Last month, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, signed into law a bill that made Alabama the 26th state to outlaw gun conversion devices, also known as auto sears. A sear is the part of the gun that holds the hammer or firing pin back until the trigger is pulled. 'While there is a federal ban on these gun conversion devices, we needed a way to empower our own law enforcement here in Alabama to get these illegal and extremely dangerous Glock switches off our streets,' Ivey said in a statement after signing the bill into law. These devices, which can be 3D printed or bought online for as little as $20, have become closely associated with Glock handguns, which are often cited as some of the easiest to modify. Youth gun deaths in the US have surged 50% since 2019 Georgia-based Glock Inc. doesn't manufacture, market or sell the devices, but the brand has become synonymous with them, fueled in part by frequent use of the term 'Glock switch' in some genres of music and on social media platforms. The growing use of these devices in crimes — including mass shootings — has prompted lawsuits from several cities and states accusing Glock of failing to prevent illegal modifications and contributing to public safety risks. The company did not respond to Stateline's multiple requests for comment. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, signed an auto sear ban into law in February as part of a broader public safety package. New Jersey could become the 27th state to enact a ban, after its General Assembly approved the measure in late March. Other states — including Virginia and deeply conservative Mississippi — also have recently enacted bans. In GOP-led Tennessee, lawmakers are considering a similar measure, but the bill is still in committee and is unlikely to pass before the legislature adjourns on April 25. 'It's a big deal to talk about places like Alabama, Mississippi, Virginia, Indiana putting these laws on their books,' Monisha Henley, the senior vice president for governmental affairs at the gun control advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety, told Stateline. 'There is a general consensus that we don't want a switch or device or auto sear to be able to attach to a firearm and turn into a weapon or war.' The bans on auto sears are a response to a sharp nationwide increase in the number of modified firearms being recovered at crime scenes. In 2023, law enforcement agencies recovered 4,530 machine gun conversion devices, or auto sears, at crime scenes across the country, according to the latest annual data from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, commonly known as the ATF. The number of these devices recovered and traced by the bureau, a process that involves tracking a firearm or device back to its first point of sale or distribution, rose from 658 in 2019 to 5,816 in 2023 — a 784% increase, according to a recent report. That total includes recoveries from all 50 states as well as U.S. territories, including Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Between 2019 and 2023, conversion devices made up nearly 13% of all privately made firearms recovered by police and traced by the bureau — 11,088 out of 88,425 total. Machine guns and conversion devices have been heavily restricted under federal law since 1934. While civilians can legally own machine guns made before 1986, those firearms must be registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. Newer machine guns and conversion devices are generally illegal. There are exceptions for licensed dealers and manufacturers producing them for military or law enforcement use. Possession of an unregistered device carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and/or a $250,000 fine. The White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, created by former President Joe Biden in 2023, quietly disappeared from the web on Jan. 21. Its website now returns a 404 error. Just days before President Donald Trump's inauguration, a task force within the office delivered a list of strategies aimed at cracking down on machine gun conversion devices. Trump, who campaigned on loosening gun regulations, signed an executive order in February directing the U.S. Department of Justice to review all federal rules and guidance for potential infringements on Second Amendment rights, including those issued by the shuttered Office of Gun Violence Prevention. More law enforcement agencies reconsider use of popular Sig Sauer P320 handgun In early April, U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi announced the creation of the Second Amendment Enforcement Task Force within the Justice Department. The announcement came soon after the rollback of the ATF's 'zero tolerance' policy, which previously required the agency to revoke the licenses of firearms dealers found to have willfully committed serious violations, such as selling guns without background checks or falsifying sales records. Under the Biden administration, the Justice Department also established a separate task force, known as the ANTI-MCD Committee, to coordinate efforts and provide guidance on reducing the spread of machine gun conversion devices. Federal restrictions on machine guns and gun conversion devices remain in effect for now, but could change under the Trump administration. Some gun rights groups argue state-level auto sear bans are unnecessary because the devices are already illegal under federal law. 'The overwhelming majority of gun owners are law-abiding citizens and are not just going to illegally produce or purchase auto sears,' Chris Stone, the director of state affairs for Gun Owners of America, told Stateline. 'When you make it doubly illegal, it's not stopping any criminals who are purchasing auto sears on the black market.' Alabama's ban on auto sears comes in the wake of a mass shooting in Birmingham last September in which the devices were used. The shooting left four people dead, and 17 others injured. The new law, which was sponsored in the Senate by Republican state Sen. Will Barfoot, makes it a felony to possess or sell any combination of parts intended to create an auto sear. Violators could face up to 10 years in prison and a $15,000 fine. 'This wasn't about infringing on people's gun rights. This was about making our community safer for everyone,' Democratic state Rep. Phil Ensler, who collaborated with Barfoot on the bill, told Stateline. Ensler also pushed for an auto sear ban during the past two legislative sessions. The legislation exempts law enforcement and individuals who register their firearms with the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. This wasn't about infringing on people's gun rights. This was about making our community safer for everyone. – Democratic Alabama state Rep. Phil Ensler According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 1,292 gun-related deaths in Alabama in 2023 — the latest year for which data is available. Alabama had the fourth-highest gun death rate in the nation at 25.3 deaths per 100,000 residents. The District of Columbia, Mississippi and Louisiana had higher rates that year. New Mexico saw 530 gun deaths in 2023, placing it just behind Alabama with the fifth-highest gun death rate at 25.1 deaths per 100,000 residents. Las Cruces, New Mexico, Police Chief Jeremy Story has expressed strong support for the new auto sear ban, which makes possession of a conversion device punishable by up to three years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Story also raised concern over the rise in juvenile crime, particularly the increasing use of gun conversion devices by teenagers. Supporters in both Alabama and New Mexico argue that making possession of the devices a state offense allows local authorities to prosecute cases without relying on the limited resources of the federal court system. Red flag laws are increasingly being used to protect gun owners in crisis 'If this were not a state law … it's completely unenforceable,' Ben Baker, the senior public safety adviser in the New Mexico governor's office, told Stateline. 'The federal government simply doesn't have the resources, nor do they generally prosecute juvenile offenders,' said Baker, who has nearly 30 years of law enforcement experience. Several states and cities across the United States are taking legal and legislative action against Glock. Lawsuits filed by Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey and the cities of Baltimore and Chicago argue that Glock has long known about the widespread use of illegal auto sears but has failed to redesign its firearms to prevent these modifications. In a court filing requesting the dismissal of Chicago's lawsuit, Glock argued it should not be held responsible for illegal modifications made by third parties. Beyond the courtroom, some states are weighing measures to prohibit the sale of firearms that can be easily modified with auto sears. In California, such a bill has already passed out of the Assembly Judiciary Committee. A similar bill in New York has stalled in a Senate committee since January. Both states' legislatures remain in session until September and June, respectively, leaving time for the proposals to advance further. Maryland lawmakers also considered a similar measure this year, but the bill failed to make it out of a House committee before the legislature adjourned in early April. Meanwhile, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, signed a bill into law in early April that added 'pistol converters,' or auto sears, to the state's definition of rapid-fire modification devices. Possession of these devices already carried strict penalties. Stateline reporter Amanda Hernández can be reached at ahernandez@ SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
