Sunday, December 27, 2020

Defence News: Israel Shipyards starts construction of first African OPV-45 patrol vessels

Israel Shipyards starts construction of first African OPV-45 patrol vessels

According to a report on the Africa Intelligence website, the vessels were commissioned by the Ivory Coast

Eyal Boguslavsky, Defense News, 12/27/2020

https://www.israeldefense.co.il/en/node/47337

The OPV-45 fitted with remote controlled 30mm cannon on the foredeck. Photo: Israel Shipyards

Israel Shipyards announced last week that it has started construction of the first of two OPV-45 offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) which according to a report on Africa Intelligence website were commissioned by the Ivory Coast. The company said that the two vessels would be delivered to the customer within the next two years.

The Janes website noted that Israel Shipyards did not identify the customer when it announced the order in July, although the company suggested it was a navy operating in the Gulf of Guinea when it said the vessels were designed to provide "protection against the increasing threat of piracy in the region".

The OPV-45 displaces 300 tons, reaches a maximum speed of 24 knots, and has an operational range of 3,500 nautical miles at 12 knots. It has a crew of up to 20, with space for an additional 20 troops. Two 20 ft shipping containers can be loaded onto the ship with a deck-based crane, and a 7 meter-long rigid-hull inflatable boat can be launched from a stern ramp. Israel Shipyards has said the two African OPV-45s will be equipped with Israeli-made day/night observation systems and stabilized weapons to maximize their effectiveness during missions.

Israel Shipyards has begun the construction of the first two OPV-45 Offshore Patrol Vessels for the Côte d'Ivoire Navy. (Picture source Israel shipyards)

Weapons options include stabilised naval gun systems of up to 30 mm on the foredeck and 12.7 mm machine guns elsewhere on the vessel. Israel Shipyards said the African customer’s vessels will be equipped with day/night observation systems as well as stabilized weapon systems, both Israeli-made.

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Planetary Researchers Create Map of Early Mars’ River Systems

Dec 24, 2020 by News Staff

http://www.sci-news.com/space/map-early-mars-river-systems-09186.html

This image shows a suite of fluvial ridges on Mars (at –67.64 °E, 43.37 °S).

Image credit: J. Dickson.

Mars used to be a wet world, as evidenced by rock records of lakes, rivers, and glaciers.

The Martian river ridges were formed between 4 and 3 billion years ago (the Noachian to Hesperian period), when large rivers deposited sediments in their channels, rather than only having the water cut away at the surface.

Over time, sediment built up in the channels; once the water dried up, those ridges were all that was left of some rivers.

The ridges are present only in the southern hemisphere, where some of Mars’ oldest and most rugged terrain is, but this pattern is likely a preservation artifact.

“These ridges probably used to be all over the entire planet, but subsequent processes have buried them or eroded them away,” said lead author Dr. Jay Dickson, a researcher in the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences at Caltech.

“The northern hemisphere is very smooth because it’s been resurfaced, primarily by lava flows.”

“Additionally, the southern highlands are some of the flattest surfaces in the Solar System,” said co-author Dr. Woodward Fischer, also from the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences at Caltech.

“That exceptional flatness made for good sedimentary deposition, allowing the creation of the records being studied today.”

The new map allows planetary researchers to explore questions at global scales, rather than being limited to patchier, localized studies and extrapolating results to the whole hemisphere.

In addition to identifying 18 new fluvial ridges, using the map allowed the team to re-examine features that had previously been identified as fluvial ridges. Upon closer inspection, some weren’t formed by rivers after all, but rather lava flows or glaciers.

“If you only see a small part of a ridge, you might have an idea of how it formed,” Dr. Dickson said.

“But then you see it in a larger context — like, oh, it’s the flank of a volcano, it’s a lava flow.”

“So now we can more confidently determine which are fluvial ridges, versus ridges formed by other processes.”

“Now that we have a global understanding of the distribution of ancient rivers on Mars, future explorations — whether by rover or by astronauts — could use these rock records to investigate what past climates and tectonics were like.”

“One of the biggest breakthroughs in the last twenty years is the recognition that Mars has a sedimentary record, which means we’re not limited to studying the planet today,” Dr. Fischer said.

“We can ask questions about its history.”

“And in doing so, he says, we learn not only about a single planet’s past, but also find truths about how planets evolved… and why the Earth is habitable.”

The team’s results are published in the journal Geology.

_____

J.L. Dickson et al. The global distribution of depositional rivers on early Mars. Geology, published online December 21, 2020; doi: 10.1130/G48457.1

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SPACE - S0 - 20201227 - Electrodynamic Solar Forcing, Cold Events, Sun-CO2

Good Morning, 0bservers!

Solar wind speeds rose a bit starting around 0100 UTC after a Phi Angle shift about two hours prior. It was a pretty mild rise, from a low of 405 KPS to around 470 KPS. Particle Density rose around the same time as the shift, but went back down about the same time the wind speed rose. Temperature mirrored the rise in solar winds. Electron Flux just bumped up the underside of the warning threshold, while the Proton Flux remained nominal. The Magnetometer was a little unsteady, but still well within accepted norms. The X-Ray Flux chart was pretty much riding the Class B flare line all day and night, with only the slightest of spikes (by maybe 10% above the baseline), which is the quietest it has been in days. The video loop shows the coronal hole in the South passing the midpoint, actually growing in size now that it is aiming ahead of our orbit. At this stage we would still be susceptible to the stream from this hole, but that will weaken the further it moves away. As it stands, we should see that stream arriving in 12-36 hours. What does have me concerned is that the Magnetogram from SOHO is showing one of the major sunspots directly aiming at Earth right now, with the lesser spot about a day or so behind the midpoint. There is some magnetic complexity there, so despite the quiescent X-Ray readings the past 24 hours, that could change (literally) at any moment. The good news is that I'm not seeing any new sunspots across the Eastern lim, although the video does show some glow radiating from the "dark" side of the Sun...

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Saturday, December 26, 2020

Health & Science News: Vitamins being used in some hospital coronavirus treatment protocols

Vitamins being used in some hospital coronavirus treatment protocols

Multiple vitamins and minerals, including vitamin D, vitamin C, B complex vitamins and zinc, are listed on East Virginia School of Medicine's treatment protocol for coronavirus in patients.

By Jerusalem Post Staff, December 26, 2020

https://www.jpost.com/health-science/vitamins-used-in-some-hospital-coronavirus-treatment-protocols-653291

SHAARE ZEDEK hospital team members at the coronavirus ward, last month. Without institutional cooperation we will not be able to defeat the virus. (photo credit: NATI SHOHAT/FLASH90)

Vitamins are being used in the treatment of coronavirus at some hospitals, Dr. Peter Osborne told Fox News on Thursday.

Osborne is an expert in functional nutrition and certified with the American Clinical Board of Nutrition, according to his website.

Multiple vitamins and minerals, including vitamin D, vitamin C, B complex vitamins and zinc, are listed on East Virginia School of Medicine's treatment protocol for coronavirus in patients. Zinc has an impact on viral replication which may prevent the virus from entering cells, Osborne told Fox.

Vitamin D levels in particular may have an impact on coronavirus mortality, Osborne explained. "So far, here's what we know: people with low vitamin D who get COVID have a greater tendency toward dying, have a greater tendency toward hyper-inflammation in the cytokine storm that comes with COVID, and have a greater tendency toward getting on ventilators," he told Fox News.

Osborne went on to recommend that people get a blood test to check their vitamin D levels, saying that the test is "probably one of the smartest things that a person could do right now, with an unpredictable role of a relatively unknown illness."

He cited a study by University of Chicago researchers that found that patients who were vitamin D deficient in the year before they were tested were 1.77 times more likely to test positive for the coronavirus.

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RESCUE HOIST TRAINING SYSTEM

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SPACE - S0 - 20201226 - Solar Forcing, Cascadia Fault Zone, Upcoming Specials

Good Morning, 0bservers!

Looks like Ol' Sol took a Christmas holiday of sorts yesterday. We saw a lowering of Solar wind speeds from a high of 530 KPS to the current 440 KPS, a mostly steady downward slope. Density and Temperature took a similar slide, and the Phi Angle was mostly stable with only one or two polar jumps, none of which seemed to cause any knock-on effects. Still seeing Electron Flux levels piercing the warning threshold, but only just. Proton Flux looks nominal, as does the Magnetometer. The KP-Index stayed green yesterday, but lower into the KP-1 and KP-2 range (with three consecutive KP-0 readings to boot - no worries, though, that gap is too brief to be concerned over). The X-Ray Flux was relatively quiet, only one bump of note which reached the quarter-mark of the Class B flare range, but the background level is still elevated just on the Class B line. The minor Southern coronal hole (the one just leading the sunspot groups) passed the midpoint around 2300 UTC, but it's unlikely we'll see any significant stream from something that small.

* * *

Another new video from Suspicious0bservers, "THE NEXT DISASTER | Part 1 - Ice, Fire, Magnetism".

Enjoy!

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Defense News: General Dynamics wins huge US Army contract to produce Abrams M1A2 SEPv3 tanks

General Dynamics wins huge US Army contract to produce Abrams M1A2 SEPv3 tanks

The number of tanks to be delivered was not disclosed, but the contract is worth $4.62 billion

By Eyal Boguslavsky, Israel Defense, 12/22/2020

https://www.israeldefense.co.il/en/node/47260

The 1st prototype Abrams M1A2 SEPv3 .armytimes.com photo

The U.S. Department of Defense last weekend awarded a huge $4.62 billion contract to General Dynamics Land Systems to produce Abrams M1A2 SEPv3 main battle tanks for the U.S. Army. The delivery is estimated to be completed by June 2028.

The 4th prototype Abrams M1A2 SEPv3 apparently fitted with the Trophy Active Protection system made by Rafael Advanced Defense SystemsLtd. of Israel . army-technology.com photo

The M1A2 SEPv3 is a modernized version of the M1A2 Abrams main battle tank offering enhanced protection and survivability, as well as higher lethality than the previous versions of the M1 Abrams series. The new tank also features new armor, communications, reliability, sustainment, and fuel efficiency.

Abrams M1A2 SEPV3 (System Enhanced Package)Main Battle Tank (2020) US Mil TV, 9 Apr 2020

The first upgrade of the M1A2 SEPv2 to the v3 configuration was ordered in December 2015, and the first production vehicles were delivered to the U.S. Army in October 2017.

Current model Abrams M1A2C Photo: US National Guard/Staff Sgt. Christopher McCullough

In July 2018, the U.S. ordered an upgrade of 100 M1A1s by General Dynamics, and in January 2019 made an additional order to upgrade 174 M1A1s to the standard M1A2 SEPv3, which is now called M1A2C in the U.S. Army.

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Friday, December 25, 2020

USA Military: supergun hits precise target at 43 miles

US military 'supergun' fires an artillery shell 43 miles and scores a DIRECT HIT

The 'extended-range cannon artillery system' was fired at a test range in Arizona
It had broken the record for the longest precision-guided cannon shot in history
The supergun will be able to strike enemy targets from outside their range
It uses a prototype shell which can course correct using GPS and laser tech

By IAN RANDALL FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 07:20 EST, 24 December 2020 | UPDATED: 12:44 EST, 24 December 2020

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A 'supergun' being trialled by the US military has successfully fired an artillery shell to hit a precise target at a distance of more than 43 miles (70 kilometres) away.

Breaking the record for the longest precision-guided cannon shot in history, the 'extended-range cannon artillery system' was tested at a firing range in Arizona.

The weapon has now achieved its designed range — following a successful shot over a distance of 40 miles (65 kilometres) back in the March of this year.

The supergun was developed with the aim of being able to shell enemy positions from a safe distance, well beyond the range of any potential retaliatory strikes.

The range of the weapon is equivalent to the distance from the Statue of Liberty in New York to the city of New Brunswick, in New Jersey.

The US army has said that the new piece of heavy artillery will be readied for deployment onto the battlefield by the year 2023.

Supergun fires shell more than 43 miles and hits target

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A 'supergun' being trialled by the US military, pictured, has successfully fired an artillery shell to hit a precise target at a distance of more than 43 miles (70 kilometres) away

Breaking the record for the longest precision-guided cannon shot in history, the 'extended-range cannon artillery system' was tested at a firing range in Arizona

'I don’t think our adversaries have the ability to hit a target on the nose at 43 miles,' Brigadier-General John Rafferty — who is in command of the long-range artillery development project — told the Times.

The successful shot — made at Arizona's Yuma Proving Ground — followed two undertaken on the same day which failed.

Strong winds meant that the first attempt fell short of its target, while the second failed due to an unspecified malfunction.

The experimental supergun is also testing a new design of guided artillery shell — the Excalibur S — which is also being trialled by the US Navy.

Developed by Raytheon, a US-based defence contractor, the Excalibur S is equipped with a GPS system that allows it to accurately course correct and laser seeker technology that enables it to even hit moving targets.

According to the US military, a key challenge in the development of the extended-range cannon artillery system has been in ensuring that the shells it fires can survive the intense pressure of their launch without damaging the guidance systems.

The longest-range gun ever built was the German Paris-Geschütz, or 'Paris Gun' (pictured) — so named for its use in shelling the city of lights from March–August 1918 — which could propel a 234 lbs (106 kg) shell a distance of 81 miles (130 km) in three minutes

World War II saw the Allied militaries make use of the M1 240mm howitzer (pictured, left) — which was capable of firing a 353 lbs (160 kg) shell around 14 miles (22.5 kilometres). It's spiritual successor, meanwhile — M-110 self-propelled howitzer (pictured, right) — was used by the US army in the Iraq war of 2003. It had a similar range

The extended-range cannon artillery system now joins a pantheon of historical superguns that date back as far as World War I.

The longest-range gun ever built was the German Paris-Geschütz, or 'Paris Gun' — so named for its use in shelling the city of lights from March–August 1918 — which could propel a 234 lbs (106 kg) shell a distance of 81 miles (130 km) in three minutes.

While the Paris Gun's range exceeded that of the new US artillery weapon, its accuracy was relatively poor — meaning that it required a target the size of a city in order to be considered effective.

Nevertheless, the German forces viewed the weapon as a success — at least in how it met its goal to attack the morale of the Parisians, who were initially unclear where the shells were coming from, and suspected attack from a high-altitude zeppelin.

World War II saw the Allied militaries make use of the M1 240mm howitzer — which was capable of firing a 353 lbs (160 kg) shell around 14 miles (22.5 kilometres).

Its spiritual successor, meanwhile — M-110 self-propelled howitzer — was used by the US army in the Iraq war of 2003. It had a similar range.

The superguns that never were: The V-3 (pictured, right) — which would have used multiple propellant charges to accelerate its projectile as it passed along its 416-feet-long barrel — was built in the Pas-de-Calais region of France with the goal of being able to strike London, 125 miles away. It was destroyed by the Allies. Pictured, left, a part from the biggest supergun ever conceived — 'Big Babylon' — which was commissioned by the Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in 1988 and would have had a 512 feet (156 m) -long barrel and the capability to hit targets some 600 miles (965 km) away

During World War II, Nazi scientists attempted to construct a cannon known as the Vergeltungswaffe 3 (V-3) — or 'Retribution Weapon 4' — in the wake of the success of the V-1 flying bomb and the V-2 rocket.

The V-3 — which would have used multiple propellant charges to accelerate its projectile as it passed along its 416-feet-long barrel — was built in the Pas-de-Calais region of France with the goal of being able to strike London, 125 miles away.

However, its size and static design made it vulnerable, and the site was destroyed by Allied forces before it could be completed.

The biggest supergun ever conceived, however — dubbed 'Big Babylon' — was commissioned by the Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in 1988.

It was based on the research of the Canadian artillery expert Gerald Bull, who had hoped to build a gun capable of economically launching satellites into orbit.

Work on the project was abandoned in 1990 after Mr Bull was assassinated outside of his home in Brussels, Belgium, on March 22. It has been speculated that his assailants were operatives from Mossad, the Isreali National Intelligence Agency.

The remains of Big Babylon — and its smaller precursor, 'Baby Babylon' — were seized and largely destroyed in the following year by the United Nations. One piece remains in the Imperial War Museum in Duxford.

Had it been completed, it is said that Big Babylon would have had a 512 feet (156 m) long barrel and have been capable of hitting targets some 600 miles (965 km) away.

For more info on this article visit:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9085427/Weapons-military-supergun-fires-artillery-shell-43-MILES.html

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