Thanks to improved data analysis techniques and a new operating mode, the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor aboard NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is now 10 times better at catching the brief outbursts of high-energy light mysteriously produced above thunderstorms. The outbursts, known as terrestrial gamma-ray flashes, last only a few thousandths of a second, but their…

Two local youths transitioned from boys to young men when they achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouts of America organization. Dylan Swenson and Ben Wright, both 17, shared the achievements that won them their hard-earned Eagle Scout rank Nov. 28, when they previewed their service projects at…

The Navy accepted delivery of the eighth LPD 17 class amphibious transport dock ship, the future USS Arlington (LPD 24), from Huntington Ingalls Industries Dec. 7. Accepting delivery of Arlington represents the official transfer of the ship from the shipbuilder to the Navy and is a major milestone in the ship’s transition to operational status….

Lockheed Martin photograph by Andrew McMurtrie HC-130J Combat King II takes off for Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., from the Lockheed Martin facilities in Marietta, Ga., Dec. 5. Aircraft number 5709 is the sixth of 15 HC-130Js to be delivered to the U.S. Air Forceís Air Combat Command. Maj. Gen. Timothy Zadalis, Director of Intelligence,…

Swarming boats operating in highly-trafficked strategic waterways will soon be easier to detect, target and engage. During a recent test, a Raytheon JLENS simultaneously detected and tracked double-digit swarming boats, hundreds of cars and trucks, non-swarming boats and manned and unmanned aircraft. The swarming boats, similar to swarming boats in the inventories of hostile navies…

Northrop Grumman, in cooperation with prime contractor Rockwell Collins Inc., provided the attitude and heading reference system that recently supported the first flight of the new Embraer Legacy 500 executive jet. Northrop Grumman supplied the fiber-optic, gyro-compassing LCR-100 AHRS for integration with the Rockwell Collins Pro Line FusionÆ avionics system on the fly-by-wire Legacy 500…

MARIETTA, Ga., Dec. 3, 2012 ñ Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] delivered the sixth production C-5M Super Galaxy to the Air Force, Friday, Nov. 30, at the Lockheed Martin facilities here. Aircraft 85-0001 is the ninth overall C-5M Super Galaxy for the Air Force and will undergo internal paint restoration at Stewart Air National Guard Base,…

Lockheed Martin photograph by Damien Guarnieri Members of the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, visited the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., site in Marietta, Gl., Dec. 3 to pick up two pallets of toys to deliver to children impacted by Hurricane Sandy in New York and New Jersey. The toys were loaded into…

Lockheed Martin photograph by Todd McQueen The first MC-130J Commando II that will be converted to a new AC-130J gunship made its first flight at Marietta, Ga., this week. The MC-130J will have a Precision Strike Package installed, then will fly as a gunship in early 2014. The total requirement for new AC-130J gunships is…

The Navy’s fourth Fire Scout detachment returned to Mayport, Fla., Dec. 1, after achieving several milestones during its five-month deployment aboard USS Klakring (FFG 42). The Fire Scout unmanned helicopter detachment logged more than 500 flight hours in the U.S. Africa Command Area of Responsibility in support of anti-piracy operations and providing real-time intelligence, surveillance…