Latest news with #stealth
Al Arabiya
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Multiple American B-2 bombers leave US for unidentified location: Al Arabiya English
Multiple American B-2 bombers have left the continental US for an unidentified location, Al Arabiya English has learned. The stealth bombers left Missouri's Whiteman Air Force Base and went west over the Pacific. Al Arabiya English previously reported that several US B-52 bombers were stationed at Diego Garcia, a strategic island base in the Indian Ocean. These bombers replaced B-2 stealth bombers, which have been used in recent months to target hardened underground Houthi weapons depots in Yemen. The B-2 remains the only aircraft in the US arsenal capable of delivering the type of bomb necessary to target and potentially destroy Iran's deeply buried nuclear facilities, such as those at Fordow. The B-2 stealth bomber is capable of flying long-range missions directly from the US.
Reuters
a day ago
- Politics
- Reuters
How US military power looms over the Israel-Iran conflict
If Trump decides to use U.S. forces against facilities like Fardow, he may opt to send the U.S. Air Force's B-2 Spirit stealth bomber. The bomber's internal weapons bays are specifically designed to maintain stealth characteristics while accommodating large ordnance loads which could include two GBU-57A/B MOP (Massive Ordnance Penetrator), a 30,000-pound precision-guided 'bunker buster' bomb. The MOP represents the largest conventional bomb in the U.S. arsenal, specifically engineered to defeat hardened underground bunkers. Its massive size provides unmatched bunker-penetration capability, while the weapon's 20.5-foot length and GPS-guided precision targeting system enable accurate strikes against specific underground facilities. Its penetration capability of over 60 metres (200 feet) through hardened concrete makes it effective against the world's most protected underground installations.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Could This Made-in-the-USA Drone Company Dethrone China's DJI?
China's DJI owns 70% of the global market for drones -- and 75% of the U.S. market. American stealth drone start-up SiFly just introduced two new commercial drones that outclass anything DJI has for sale. SiFly is a private company that has not yet IPO'd. These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires › China owns the drone industry -- and DJI particularly so. According to "Connected Commercial Drones-1st Edition," published in April, China's DJI holds a "dominant" 70% global market share in drones. WBUR public radio reports that in the U.S., DJI owns a market share of 75%! But one company wants to change that. Santa Clara, California-based start-up company SiFly has "ambitions to dethrone Shenzen-based DJI as the global standard in commercial drones," as Newsweek reported last month. Up until last month, SiFly was a company operating in "stealth mode," avoiding attention and indeed, actively working to keep its existence a secret from the public. But in May, SiFly drew the veil off two new commercial quadcopter drones, the SiFly Q12 and Q250. The smaller Q12 boasts flight endurance of up to three hours, and can carry 10-pound payloads 90 miles before its batteries run out of juice. The larger Q250 can only fly for about half as long -- but carries 20 times the payload. Nothing DJI has on the market currently can match these numbers -- nor can other companies not named "DJI." At a Michigan drone competition in May, SiFly's Q12 set a record as the longest-flying "delivery quadcopter" in the world. For comparison, DJI's Phantom 4 RTK, not the company's most popular consumer drone but a decent commercial product, can carry 30 pounds for about 30 minutes (over four miles), for a cost of $6,500. DJI's most capable drone (at any price) appears to be the DJI FlyCart 30, a $20,000 drone that can carry 66-pound payloads about 10 miles, and usually must be special-ordered in the U.S. Speaking of price, though, how do SiFly's new drones compare? Well, that's a bit of a mystery. With the products so new to the market, no one really knows what SiFly will charge for them. estimates an MSRP of "at least $10,000, if not much more," for the Q12. SiFly itself has floated a more aggressive target for the Q250, albeit still vague: "We aim to be somewhere between the top end of the DJI market and what you see from the other Western suppliers, so we'd be talking about below $100k probably," for the Q250, says SiFly chief business officer Logan Jones. So somewhere between $10,000 and $100,000... probably? That's a pretty big price range, made even less clear given we're talking about two entirely different SiFly drones. Still, SiFly could probably sell its Q250 drone for more than DJI charges for the FlyCart and still compete effectively, based simply on the Q250's superior payload and endurance specifications. Domestically, the Q12 and Q250 also appear to compare favorably against, for example, AeroVironment's (NASDAQ: AVAV) Quantix commercial drone, which costs in the mid-teens thousands, but offers less range and endurance, and a smaller payload. Long story short, for the time being at least, SiFly's drones appear to be in a class to themselves. That's actually not too surprising, seeing as SiFly has to-date successfully kept what it's up to under wraps. Now that the company is advertising its existence, however, the significant advantages its drones have over the competition will presumably spur those rivals to up their own games (and/or lower their own prices). They'll need to act fast, though, if they intend to maintain market share, because SiFly is planning to begin Q12 deliveries by Q4 2025, and is already holding demonstrations of both its UAVs to build customer demand for its products. No discussion of American products competing with Chinese imports can be complete without a consideration of President Donald Trump's tariff policy, and its effect upon prices. As things stand today, Chinese imports to the U.S. entail tariffs of at least 30%. Tariffs on imported drones such as the FlyCart may be even higher due to Section 301 surcharges on "lithium-ion electrical vehicle batteries." What does that mean for SiFly? In a couple of words, it means "less competition." DJI may boost the capability of its drones to compete with SiFly's superior offerings, but will probably need to raise its prices to do so -- and the effect of any such price increases will be magnified by the addition of tariffs to the product cost. All things considered, SiFly appears to have chosen a great time to enter the market for commercial drones. Now, we just need to convince the company to IPO, so that we can invest in the opportunity... Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you'll want to hear this. On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a 'Double Down' stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you're worried you've already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it's too late. And the numbers speak for themselves: Nvidia: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009, you'd have $368,190!* Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you'd have $37,294!* Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you'd have $653,702!* Right now, we're issuing 'Double Down' alerts for three incredible companies, available when you join , and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.*Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025 Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends AeroVironment. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Could This Made-in-the-USA Drone Company Dethrone China's DJI? was originally published by The Motley Fool
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
China claims its new stealth tech could evade US' proposed Golden Dome missile defense
Scientists in China have debuted a new material that could evade the proposed US missile defense system announced by President Donald Trump, dubbed the Golden Dome. Designed to evade both infrared and microwave detection, the material could be well-suited for use on high-speed aircraft and missiles. Developed by a team led by Professor Li Qiang at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China, the high-performance stealth material is capable of operating across multiple detection ranges—including short-wave, mid-wave, and long-wave infrared, as well as microwaves—even at temperatures reaching 1,292 degrees Fahrenheit or 700 degree Celsius. With detection technologies becoming increasingly advanced, stealth materials have adapted to provide multispectral protection, masking objects across wavelengths from visible light to microwaves. However, many key military systems function in high-temperature environments, testing the limits of these coatings. High temperatures on military platforms often arise from external forces like aerodynamic heating or internal sources such as engine exhaust producing intense infrared radiation. Traditional stealth materials can struggle under these conditions as elevated heat may compromise their effectiveness or even lead to structural damage. This has created an urgent demand for materials that combine multispectral stealth with robust thermal resistance. This is where the new stealth material comes in offering a viable recourse. To test the material's stealth ability, the team compared it to a blackbody, which absorbs electromagnetic radiation. When heated to 1,292°F, the material's radiation temperature was about 790°F to 510°F lower than the blackbody's, the South China Morning Post writes. The material showed a significant reduction in radiation intensity, with levels 63.6% lower than a blackbody in the mid-wave infrared (MWIR) band and 37.2% lower in the short-wave infrared (SWIR) band. Beyond its ability to avoid detection, the material also does a great job releasing heat. When heated to 700 degrees Celsius, it gave off heat much more effectively than typical metals. The substance's breakthrough design comes from a composite structure that combines multilayer films with a microwave metasurface. The top layer acts as a moisture barrier, while the bottom layer ensures strong adhesion to the surface beneath. Additionally, the multilayer film is carefully laser-etched to let microwaves pass through without affecting its infrared stealth capabilities. According to the research, the device reaches a maximum operating temperature and heat dissipation performance that exceeds current leading technologies for combined high-temperature infrared and microwave stealth. Just a few days ago, US President Donald Trump announced plans to develop the 'Golden Dome' missile defense system—the American counterpart to Israel's 'Iron Dome'—aiming to build it within the next few years. The system is intended to counter ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons, and cruise missiles, and will reportedly include space-based tracking sensors. If infrared tracking proves to be the primary method for the Golden Dome system to detect and intercept hypersonic weapons, materials that offer combined infrared and microwave stealth—like the one developed by Li's team—could significantly reduce the chance of detection.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump Still Seems Convinced That Stealth Jets Are Literally Invisible
As expected, President Donald Trump's commencement speech at West Point on Saturday was packed with characteristically unhinged tangents. From drag queens to trophy wives, the president's ramblings covered a wide range of bizarre topics in between shots at Russia, Biden, and Obama as he spoke to the graduating cadets. However, one avenue of free-associative speculation Trump meandered along while speaking about military investment seemed to confirm that one of his much-derided beliefs remains intact: the president seems to genuinely believe that so-called 'stealth' fighter jets—military aircraft designed to be difficult to detect by radar—are actually invisible. 'We are buying you new airplanes, brand new beautiful planes, redesigned planes, brand new planes, totally stealth planes,' Trump said, speaking to a proposed record increase in defense spending. 'I hope they're stealth. I don't know, that whole stealth thing, I'm sort of wondering. 'We shape a wing this way, they don't see it. But the other way they see it? I'm not so sure, but that's what they tell me!' This is familiar territory for Trump, who has made similar remarks since at least 2017. In October of that year, Trump concerned reporters when discussing the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in Puerto Rico. 'Amazing job,' Trump said at the time. 'So amazing we are ordering hundreds of millions of dollars of new airplanes for the Air Force, especially the F-35. You like the F-35? ... You can't see it. You literally can't see it. It's hard to fight a plane you can't see.' 'That's an expensive plane you can't see.' At a Thanksgiving Day visit to a Coast Guard Station in Florida that same year, Trump doubled down on this seeming belief, saying he had asked 'some Air Force guys' whether flying an 'invisible' plane would look like what he had seen in films. 'I said, 'How good is this plane?' They said, 'Well, sir, you can't see it.' I said, yeah, but in a fight—you know, a fight, like I watch in the movies—they fight, they're fighting. How good is this? They say, 'Well, it wins every time because the enemy cannot see it. Even if it's right next to it, it can't see it.' I said, 'That helps. That's a good thing.'' Years of experience as Commander in Chief do not seem to have steered Trump toward the realization that such planes, which are shaped to either deflect or absorb incoming radar signals used to track movement, are meant to be difficult to detect. But can still be seen by the naked eye. In 2020, there was this remark: '[The F-35 is] the greatest fighter jet in the world, as you know, by far. Stealth. Totally stealth. You can't see it. Makes it very difficult. I was asking a pilot, 'What do you think is better: This one? This one? That one?' Talking about Russian planes, Chinese planes. He said, 'Well, the advantage we have is you can't see it.' So when we're fighting, they can't see us. I say, 'That sounds like a really big advantage to me.'' While Trump is no stranger to wild exaggerations and hyperbolic comparisons, the repeated factual inaccuracy over the invisibility capabilities of military aircraft continues to raise eyebrows. British journalist Mehdi Hassan, in picking up on the most recent 'invisible' planes comment, wrote that it was difficult to determine if such remarks are 'ignorance' or 'inanity.' 'His weirdness cannot be overstated,' Hassan concluded.
