Month: September 2016

Enlarge / A Standard Missile 6 launches to engage an over-the-horizon threat as part of the US Navy’s first live fire demonstration to successfully test the integration of the F-35 with existing Naval Integrated Fire Control-Counter Air (NIFC-CA) architecture on September 12. (credit: US Army)

In a test at the White Sands Missile Range this week, an unmodified Marine Corps F-35B fighter successfully acted as an airborne spotter for the Navy's Aegis Weapon System, locking onto and passing targeting information for an "over the horizon" threat to a Standard 6 missile. The missile, launched by the USS Desert Ship—a Navy ground facility at White Sands that emulates an Aegis-equipped cruiser or guided missile destroyer—"successfully detected and engaged the target," according to a statement issued by the Navy's Program Executive Office-Integrated Warfare Systems.

The test showed that all F-35 fighters can connect into the Navy's current version of the Naval Integrated Fire Control-Counter Air (NIFC-CA) network architecture. What that means is that the radar systems aboard the F-35s now making their way out to the Marine Corps and Navy will be able to act as extensions of Navy ships, allowing them to pass targeting data on incoming aircraft, drones, and cruise or ballistic missiles to Ticonderoga-class cruisers and Arleigh Burke class destroyers, who can then in turn push a button and launch an SM6 (also known as the RIM-174 Standard Extended Range Active Missile)—a missile with an effective range of up to 250 nautical miles (460 kilometers, 290 miles)—to take out the threat. Additionally, the same integration could allow the F-35 to target ships and other surface targets for missile strikes from an Aegis ship.

Aegis is the weapon system first deployed in the 1980s aboard the USS Ticonderoga. It is the backbone of the surface Navy's air and missile defense capabilities, originally developed to work with the giant SPY-1 phased-array radar systems deployed aboard the Ticonderoga and its sister ships. But Aegis's software has been gradually extended to take in targeting information from a broad collection of other sources and has even been adapted for ballistic missile defense, including a current land-based Aegis system in Romania and a future "Aegis Ashore" ballistic missile defense site in Poland. Ars will be taking a deeper look at Aegis and ballistic missile defense in an upcoming feature.

Enlarge / The different Broken Isles have their own stories, and characters to encounter.

World of Warcraft’s Legion expansion goes out of its way to make you—the nameless, wandering hero who's nearly identical to 8 million other death knights, priests, paladins, and the like—feel like you are special.

Even before the expansion launched, it softened the field for this idea, through the deaths of heroes who had household names in Azeroth. Tirion Fordring, Vol'jin, and Varian Wrynn: poof, all gone in a flurry of green fire and (in at least two cases) horrible screaming. There's no time to mourn the dead, however, because you're in charge now.

You, yes you. The leader of the warriors, mages, hunters, rogues, or whatever other class you selected as far back as 11 years ago. Me? I'm the leader of the all the monks of Azeroth. The shamans, too, since I rolled a second character sometime in the many, many hours I've spent with Legion over the past few weeks.

(credit: sikeri)

The US Supreme Court says the online ads portal Backpage.com will have to comply with a subpoena and produce documents as part of the Senate's investigation into sex ads and human trafficking.

The development comes days after Chief Justice John Roberts had temporarily blocked an appellate decision ordering Backpage to comply with the investigation that demands information about the site's editorial practices as they relate to reviewing ads posted by third parties. The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations maintains that the site is a launchpad for the exploitation of children.

The eight-member high court did not comment about why it lifted its stay (PDF) other than to say that Justice Samuel Alito did not participate.