The National Guard may be bracing for yet another turbulent hurricane season, but the Navy is preparing a decidedly more cinematic response to future natural disasters that may strike the United States.
Navy Landing Craft Air Cushions (LCAC) assigned to the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS Anchorage rolled up on the beaches of Oregon on June 3, ferrying heavy Marine Corps vehicles ashore, handing off mobile equipment to local agencies and providing immediate direct relief.
In the decades since its ubiquitous AK-47 assault rifle became a staple of fighting forces across the world, legendary Russian weapons manufacturer Kalashnikov Concern has applied its engineering ingenuity to unusual military-grade technology, from unmanned tanks to autonomous gun systems to a clothing line. But now, Kalashnikov Concern is taking aim at the gadget we were promised as in the futuristic cities of tomorrow: the flying car.
Russia will procure more Zubr (“bison”) hovercraft, a sixty-two-foot-long, 555-ton air-cushioned behemoth that can ferry three tanks, ten smaller armored vehicles or five hundred troops. Construction of the first vessel is slated to begin in 2018, according to Russian news site Sputnik News, which did not indicate how many Rubbers would be built.
As a kid, did you dream of riding around on a futuristic aircraft that combined high-speed flying with the ease of of riding a bicycle? Most of us who have seen “Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi” did. Now, that dream is finally becoming a reality.
