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Sea State<\/strong><\/p>\n A Saudi Arabian frigate was attacked by Houthi rebels<\/a> in waters west of Yemen on 30 January. Conflicting reports are floating around about the attack method\u2014while the official Saudi Press Agency attributed it to \u201csuicide boats,\u201d<\/a> the rebels themselves (and Iran<\/a>) claim to have used anti-ship missiles. At least two other<\/a> Houthi attacks on navy vessels have occurred in the Bab el Mandeb strait recently, including a successful cruise missile strike against a UAE Navy vessel last October.<\/p>\n The pacific hagfish<\/a> (or slime eel!) is on the menu of new defence tools being investigated by the US Navy. In a cool example of biomimicry, researchers are using the fish\u2019s slime to develop a new synthetic material<\/a> which they hope could provide an extra layer of defence on warships. The slime has properties similar to Kevlar and could also be used for anything from \u2018ballistics protection, firefighting, anti-fouling, diver protection or anti-shark spray.\u2019<\/a> The research team has recreated the slime\u2019s distinctive proteins, and are now working to refine and then mass-produce the synthetic slime.<\/p>\n Finally, we said farewell this week to the world\u2019s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise<\/em>, as it was decommissioned<\/a> on 3 February. Read more about its important legacy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Flight Path<\/strong><\/p>\n The Myanmar government is in the advanced stages of negotiations<\/a> with Pakistan to licence-build its own version of the JF-17 Thunder fighter. The deal would follow Rangoon\u2019s purchase of 16 JF-17s in 2015, expected to enter service later this year. Originally jointly developed by <\/a>Pakistan and China, the JF-17 is a single-seat, multi-role combat aircraft capable of deploying air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons. Late last year, Nigeria ordered three JF-17s<\/a>, while Azerbaijan<\/a> and Saudi Arabia<\/a> have also expressed an interest in acquiring the jet.<\/p>\n Trump v Lockheed Martin<\/em> continued this week with the defence outfit confirming<\/a> that the F-35 will cost below $100 million per unit. In the LRIP-10 deal to purchase 90 planes\u2014eight of which are ear-marked for Australia<\/a>\u2014Lockheed Martin has brought the cost per F-35A plane down to $94.6 million<\/a>, and promised that the plane and engine will cost between\u00a0$80\u201385 million<\/a> by 2019. Trump would like to have you believe that he should get the credit<\/a> for that impressive cost reduction, but The Strategist<\/em> recently clarified<\/a> that the reduction\u2019s consistent with the program\u2019s longer-term development.<\/p>\n Rapid Fire <\/strong><\/p>\n Reports emerged late last week that the Islamic State has been spending freely on drone technology<\/a> in an attempt to adapt to a diminishing numbers of fighters and increasing pressure from coalition forces on the ground in Iraq and Syria. In what\u2019s a notable change in the group\u2019s land-based strategy, IS has apparently been using store-bought drones to conduct surveillance operations, with some even being used to guide car bombs in real time. A recent video released by the group<\/a> demonstrates their increasing confidence in using such technologies to assist fighters on the ground.<\/p>\n And speaking of new drone technology, this one\u2019s a doozy<\/a>. Intended to support their forces on the ground, the US Army is reportedly in the research stages of designing a missile that will \u2018spew clusters of deadly quadcopter drones.\u2019 Okay, then\u2026<\/p>\n The US Army\u2019s infantry school will have some unfamiliar faces<\/a> added to its ranks this week, when it welcomes its first contingent of female trainees; four female Marine recruits are also set to join the US Navy<\/a>, having recently graduating from boot camp. These development come more than a year after the Defense Department lifted the long-term ban<\/a> on women serving in combat positions. The move generated significant debate; with supporters and detractors<\/a> alike making their cases. Australia meanwhile was a few years ahead of the US, opening up combat roles to women back in 2011<\/a>.<\/p>\n Zero Gravity <\/strong><\/p>\n Literal cracks are appearing in the plan to launch the latest SpaceX Falcon 9 by late 2017, after a \u2018persistent cracking of vital propulsion-system components\u2019<\/a> was highlighted this week by US congressional investigators. Despite assurances that the rockets are \u2018robust,\u2019 faults in the turbopumps will prompt a redesign of the \u2018Block 5\u2019 vehicle. Safety concerns in companies like SpaceX and Boeing will be front and centre in the next two years, as both look to begin crewed test flights commissioned by NASA. To comply with their standards, the loss-of-crew risk mustn\u2019t exceed 1-in-270<\/a>\u2014analysis suggests both companies are \u2018struggling<\/a>\u2019<\/u> to meet this requirement. That all seems to indicate that plans for manned tests in 2018 aren\u2019t necessarily grounded in reality<\/a>.<\/p>\n If all goes according to plan<\/a> US Congress will soon pass a new NASA authorisation bill, calling for a roadmap focused on future human space exploration. High-powered commentaries from the Cipher Brief speak to the role of exploration and \u2018The New Space Race\u2019<\/a>, examining both the changing threat environment<\/a> and the growing pivot<\/a> toward public-private partnerships in space.<\/p>\n Finally\u2014twins in space! It\u2019s no paradox<\/a>, but it is a NASA study<\/a>. Scott Kelly, returning from a year in orbit, was tested against his ground-based brother Mark. Preliminary results<\/a> suggest intriguing physiological differences, for example in the gut microbiomes and in the level of blood lipids. An in-depth investigation may even identify a \u2018space gene\u2019 activated while Scott was in space.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sea State A Saudi Arabian frigate was attacked by Houthi rebels in waters west of Yemen on 30 January. Conflicting reports are floating around about the attack method\u2014while the official Saudi Press Agency attributed it …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":597,"featured_media":30454,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[402,271,212,803,1078],"class_list":["post-30451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-drones","tag-f-35","tag-myanmar","tag-nasa","tag-saudi-arabia"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n