PATUXENT RIVER NAS, Md. – Missile-defense experts at Northrop Grumman Corp. will install LAIRCM laser-based missile-defense systems for large military aircraft under terms of a $123.5 million U.S. Navy order announced on Friday.

Officials of the Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., are asking engineers at the Northrop Grumman Mission Systems segment in Rolling Meadows, Ill., to provide the electro-optical Large Aircraft Infrared Counter Measures (LAIRCM) for a variety of U.S. military aircraft.

LAIRCM automatically detects a missile launch, determines if it is a threat, and activates a high-intensity laser-based countermeasure system to track and defeat the missile, Northrop Grumman officials say.

Circa 2015 face_with_colon_three

We already have smart guns, but DARPA has taken the next logical step — the defense agency has built smart bullets. The military agency has shown off new footage of its Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance — shortened to EXACTO rounds — that show the smart bullets maneuvering in mid-air to hit moving targets.

DARPA first showed off its EXACTO technology in a video released last year. The clip highlighted the agency’s advanced bullet as it’s fired from a rifle, showing it veering off course half-way through its flight to hit a designated area. This new video, taken during tests earlier this February, shows the rounds compensating for the acceleration of a moving target, deviating from their natural course to slam into their torso-shaped objective.

Fleets of small, low-cost amphibious warships are absolutely critical to how the Marine Corps’ plans to fight in the coming years.

Circa 2010

Electro-hypercannon could bring back the dreadnought era.