Latest news with #militaryengineering
Zawya
5 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Ivory Coast - Opening of the Odienné military engineering camp: a major asset for the region, both in security and civil terms
Officially opened on May 23, 2025, the new Odienné camp is planned to house a specialized military engineering unit, responsible for important missions such as the creation of infrastructure, assistance with military missions, and contribution to civil-military activities. "This camp will actively participate in local development through the construction of bridges, roads, public buildings, and humanitarian actions," says surveyor Serges Arnaud Bilé. This structure underscores the State's desire to renew its commitment to protecting citizens, ensuring security, and encouraging balanced development in adjacent territories. Its opening is ultimately part of a national dynamic aimed at modernizing and strengthening the operational capabilities of the Armed Forces of Côte d'Ivoire (FACI). "Since Odienné is a border area, this camp strengthens the strategic presence of the armed forces in the North. It will improve the army's operational and logistical capabilities, address security challenges, and ensure the country's stability," says teacher Bertrand Singo Tia. Much more than just a military installation, the Odienné Engineering Camp fosters collaboration between the armed forces and local populations in a spirit of unity. It also constitutes an essential lever for the economic and social development of the Denguélé region. "This camp will offer new training and employment opportunities for residents and will facilitate the construction of civilian infrastructure thanks to the skills of the Engineering units," said Cissé Aboubakar, an Odiénné official. The inauguration of this military center enabled the acquisition and delivery of more than 150 heavy machines and specialized vehicles. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Portail Officiel du Gouvernement de Côte d'Ivoire.
Times
10-07-2025
- Science
- Times
Pictured: China's wingship ‘monster' that revives Cold War tech
It is a holy grail of military engineering — a hybrid ship-plane that can carry heavy loads at high speeds by flying just above the surface of the sea. Now, there are hints that China has successfully revived the 'wingship', decades after the technology was abandoned by the Soviet Union. Photographs from Chinese social media appear to show a military wingship, also known as a Wing-in-Ground Effect (Wig) aircraft, in the Bohai Sea off northeastern China. If they are authentic, they would represent the revival of a technology not used for military purposes since the 1990s. Wingships take advantage of the 'ground effect' that allows an aeroplane to travel with greatly increased efficiency when it is flying low over a fixed surface. Drag is reduced, allowing the plane to fly faster, use less fuel and carry heavier cargo than at higher altitudes. The most famous 'ekranoplan', as they are known in Russian, was the Korabl Maket or 'Model-Ship'. It was nicknamed the 'Caspian Sea Monster' by American intelligence agencies who spied on it in the 1960s. At its launch in 1966 it was the heaviest aircraft in the world, with a maximum take-off weight of 535 tonnes. It was later surpassed by the Antonov An-225 Mriya, a strategic airlifter that could carry about 590 tonnes until its destruction shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. At 91m long the Caspian Sea Monster remains the longest plane ever, although only one experimental model was made. It crashed in 1980 and remains at the bottom of the Caspian Sea. Another retired ekranoplan, measuring 73m in length, was taken in 2020 to the Russian republic of Dagestan, where it immediately became a tourist attraction. The Bohai Monster, as it has been called, appears to be smaller. A photograph shows the aircraft on the surface of the water with floats at its wingtips and four of what look like jet engines mounted above the wings. Wig craft are much faster than ships and their low altitude allows them to evade detection by many conventional radar systems and anti-aircraft weapons. It was their vulnerability to high seas that led the Soviet Union to abandon plans for their military use.
