If you thought tanks were nothing more than hulking slabs of armor, barely able to get out of their own way much less other friendly vehicles, well, then you better think again. The Israeli Defense Forces are fielding a brand new helmet-mounted display dubbed IronVision which gives buttoned up tankers the ability to see through their vehicle thereby offering 360 degree situational awareness. The system works much like the helmet-mounted displays F-35 pilots are using to see through the floor, sides and nose of their plane’s fuselage to better gauge where the enemy is in a knife fight. Under development by Elbit Systems for several years, “the Helmet Mounted System (HMS) provides “protective glass walls” for tank or armored fighting vehicle crews who may need to operate in so-called closed-hatch mode when maneuvering in high-threat areas, according to Boaz Cohen, director of Elbit’s land systems division,” says Defense News.
Space has long been the bastion of science fiction writers who have conjured up all manner of invasion and conquest. Apparently, the US Defense Department is starting to pay attention to space as the next high ground, going so far to propose a separate branch of the military known as the US Space Corps. According to a recent posting on Wikipedia, The United States Space Corps (USSC) is a proposed branch of the United States Armored Forces that, if created, would absorb the United States Air Force’s current space missions and would be dedicated to the cause of space as a warfare domain.
In June 2017, the US House Armed Services Committee (HASC) voted to create the U.S. Space Corps. The new service would be administered by the Secretary of the Air Force (much as the Marine Corps falls under the Department of the Navy), but would be a separate branch, and necessitate a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. A provision in the House version of the 2018 US defense budget requested the creation of the Space Corps. The top Republican and Democrat on the strategic forces subcommittee, Reps. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) and Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.), are leading this effort. This proposal is opposed by the U.S. Air Force.
Its not clear how the US Space Corps would evaluate and utilize space as a military platform, the lengths to which they would consolidate and employ certain assets already in place as part of their arsenal, and steps they would take to develop and field new systems for both control over low Earth orbit as well as outer space, up to and including bases on the moon and Mars.
Beyond photo reconnaissance, it has long been speculated that the upcoming SR-72 will be capable of launching air-to-ground and air-to-air ordnance up to and including nuclear weapons
As a retailer of historically-based military products, we have always contended that there would be an eager audience looking to collect some of the conjectural systems currently on the drawing board, such as a hypersonic jet capable of striking targets anywhere around the world in two hours or less, or near future weapons systems destined for mid-twentieth century deployment by a number of nations.
On July 15th, the House of Representative approved the initial concept for the US Space Corps. The bill must now go before the Senate for ratification before it gets sent up to the Executive Branch final approval.
Produced in 2015, “13 Minutes” (German: Elser – Er hätte die Welt verändert) is a German drama film directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel that tells the true story of Georg Elser’s failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler in November 1939. The title of the film is drawn from the fact that Elser’s bomb detonated in a venue that the Fuhrer had left just 13 minutes before.
It was screened out of competition at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival. It was one of eight films shortlisted by Germany to be their submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards, but it lost out to Labyrinth of Lies.
While it hasn’t been completed and there’s still lots of information that has to be uploaded. Forces of Valor’s new site should give collectors a better idea of what to expect moving forward
Waltersons, the new owners of the Forces of Valor brand, has announced the soft opening of its new web site. While it hasn’t been complete as yet, the new site should give collectors a better sense of what they can expect going forward as well as their intention towards putting their best foot forward getting the line off the ground. You can find the new site here: http://forcesofvalor.com/new_website/products.php
Look, if you can spot them, for a trio of three-tone warbirds flying in low this fall
Images were posted yesterday for three upcoming Hobby Master aircraft. Sensing a theme, each of the three new warbirds are decked out in a three-tone camouflage pattern, melding together a brown, green and dark green pattern that helps it blend into the triple canopy cover of the Vietnamese countryside as well as certain parts of central Europe. The three 1:72 scale aircraft include a USAF McDonnell F-4D Phantom II Fighter-Bomber that was attached to the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing “Statue of Liberty Wing,” then deployed to RAF Lakenheath, England during 1975 (HA1978), a USAF McDonnell F-4E Phantom II Fighter-Bomber that was attached to the 32nd Tactical Fighter Squadron “Wolfhounds”, then deployed to Soesterberg AB, The Netherlands, during 1989 (HA1979), and finally a USAF Republic F-105D Thunderchief Fighter-Bomber known as “Cherry Girl”, that was deployed to Vietnam during 1967 (HA2515). The pre-order window for each warbird is still open although we expect all three to do quite well at retail once they hit the streets.
Ebay is currently running a promotion where buyers earn 8% on qualifying items made by June 29th at 11:59PST. Said discount can be applied with no minimum purchase and across all categories. This discount may be deducted from any future purchases once the buyer has been notified, which generally happens one month later.
An artist’s depiction of an AH-64 Apache “Longbow” attack helicopter mounting the new Raytheon laser weapon beneath one of its stubby wings
Raytheon reports that they have successfully conducted a field test whereby an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter acquired and hit an unmanned target using a high energy laser. Its not clear what type of damage was inflicted on the stationary target, nor the rate at which the weapon can be recharged so that it can engage other targets. Since the helicopter is shown mounting Hellfire missiles, we will presume that the crew may have to wait while the weapon is fully operational before using the weapon again. Moreover, its not clear if the weapon can be fired at moving targets, hence the need for back up ordnance. Here’s a link to the article: http://www.raytheon.com/news/feature/high_energy_laser.html
If true, this all but negates the Afghanit active protection system being bolted on to the new Russian T-14 Armata main battle tank. At the time of this writing, I am not sure of any means of defeating a laser weapon, even if the target had the requisite time to respond to the threat.
Hobby Master’s first foray into the dark arts is this warplane known as “Fatal Attraction”, which was attached to the 415th Tactical Fighter Squadron, which participated in Operation Desert Storm
In a surprise announcement, Hobby Master has back tracked from its recent spate of Soviet warbirds in favor of offering a 1:72 scale version of a Lockheed F-117A Stealth aircraft (HA5801). As shown here, the model will feature an open bomb bay, so collectors can load out the aircraft any way they see fit. Slated to pop up on radar in November, the addition of the F-117 Nighthawk is an interesting move since there aren’t all that many liveries to choose from nor operators to cover. Still, adding the F-117 fills a niche in the marketplace, and helps to complete the entire pantheon of aircraft in the US arsenal for the better part of the 20th century.
An up-close look at the bomb bay door shows the “intricacy” of the artwork
Footnote: There seems to be some confusion over the price of Hobby Master’s first F-117A stealth aircraft. After bouncing around a bit, our distributor has set the final price at $104.99, a bit more than we originally thought, but a price that should help Hobby Master recoup its investment in the mold within a relatively short period of time.
Ebay is currently running a promotion where buyers earn 6% on qualifying items, 8% on items $25+, and 10% on items $50+ made by June 22nd at 11:59PST. Said discount can be applied with no minimum purchase and across all categories. This discount may be deducted from any future purchases once the buyer has been notified, which generally happens one month later.
The centerpiece of Corgi’s second half Aviation Archive releases is this Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress ‘Little Miss Mischief’, which was attached to the USAAF’s 324th Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group, and will likely be compared to the recent efforts by Air Force 1
Many ardent aviation enthusiasts weren’t holding out much hope for Corgi’s second half lineup, citing all manner-of-reason why the manufacturer was falling behind the competition. So, when word came that Corgi announced their second half releases, quite a few collectors did a double take, instantly praising the “pooch” for finally pumping out some eagerly asked for favorites. While we are still awaiting important information concerning the new introductions before posting them online, consider this: Corgi is finally offering a heavily requested Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress as part of its back half mix, giving Air Force 1 a run for the money this fall and reestablishing themselves as the predominant maker of WWII-era fliers.
