PL-01 Light Tank
A concept tank built by OBRUM and BAE systems for Poland, the PL-01 was first unveiled during the International Defense Industry Exhibition in Kielce on September 2, 2013. It is planned to enter service in 2018.
The tank not only has a totally badass look, it also uses incorporates new and very impressive technology in its defensive and offensive systems. One such technology that really stands out is the PL-01's infrared camouflage armour. The vast majority of battlefield sensors today rely on infrared signatures from combat vehicles and the PL-01's ability to cloak itself from these sensors gives it a tremendous advantage. It does so by using temperature controlled wafers that blanket its exterior. The wafers allow the tank's skin to match the infrared signature of its surroundings. Small infrared sensors mounted around the tank collect infrared data from the tank's environment and the tank's main computer relays this information to the wafers. The wafers then coordinate to display an infrared pattern that best matches the data collected.
What's even more impressive is the tank's ability to use the wafers to pretend to be something else. Its computer can use preprogrammed infrared patterns to get the wafers to generate an infrared signature that resembles something harmless, such as a car.
The primary weapon of the PL-01 is a 105 or 120 mm caliber gun. The cannon will be able to shoot both conventional projectiles and guided anti-tank missiles. The cannon fires at a rate of 6 per minute.
USS Gerald R. Ford (Nuclear-powered Aircraft Carrer)
The flag ships of the US navy are its Nimitz class nuclear powered aircraft carriers that have been in service since 1975. There are 10 operational Nimitz class carriers today, each with their own formidable carrier battle group that includes missile cruisers, destroyers, and submarines. However, these carriers are getting old and the US Navy has initiated a program to build a new class o carriers to replace the ageing fleet.
The result is the Ford class aircraft carrier. Using basically the same hull as the Nimitz carriers, the Ford carriers' main improvements are hidden from view. Some of the most significant are the heavy incorporation of automation. Anything that could be automated was automated. This reduces the crew size of the Ford carriers by several hundred, as compared to Nimitz carriers. Additionally, the Ford carriers use an entirely new catapult system called the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS). This is a drastic improvement from the Nimitz carriers' steam catapults. The EMALS requires less maintenance, weighs less, recharges faster, is more reliable, and uses less energy. Another feature is improved crew living conditions with a considerably better air conditioning system. The flight deck of a Ford class carriers is also larger, with one less elevator and a superstructure that's smaller and positioned further out.
USS Gerald R. Ford is the first of the Ford class carriers and it is planned to be commissioned late next year. Each carrier costs just south of $20 billion.
DF-26 Carrier Killer Missile
China, ever wary of a US military intervention at its doorstep, is particularly and rightfully scared of the carrier battle groups of the US pacific fleet. The aircraft carriers can eliminate China's maritime trading capacity, all from several hundred miles away where China's surface ships and land-based aircraft will not be able to reach it without impending destruction from the carrier's air wing and the battle group's surface ships. As such, China has really pushed hard in developing a weapon to counter the aircraft carrier. The first such weapon that was created was the DF-21 and the DF-26 is its successor.
The operational range of the DF-26 is claimed to be 5000 km. Its speed is unknown but its predecessor, the DF-21, has a speed of Mach 10. As such, it is probably safe to assume that the DF-26 is at least as fast as Mach 10. How do you defend against a missile flying at 10 times the speed of sound?
One of the scariest things of the DF-26 is that it not only can theoretically target and destroy aircraft carriers, China now has a missile with enough range to hit Guam, one of the US's premier military bases in the Pacific. Although not much is known of the DF-26, we do know that the DF-21D has a formidable reputation. In fact, the US Navy admitted in 2009 that "there was... currently no defense against it". If the DF-21D is already so scary, the DF-26 must surely be keeping some US admirals up at night.
X-47B
The Northrop Grumman X-47B is one of the Navy's newest toys. It's an unmanned carrier-ready aerial vehicle that is capable of aerial refueling, high maneuverability, and has a tremendous range (2400 miles, twice that of the Reaper drone).
However, the X-47B is only a concept aircraft and the Navy has stated the they will open up competition for private contractors to build an unmanned aircraft from what they have learned through the X-47 program. The competition is slated to begin in 2016 and an aircraft is expected to enter service in the early 2020s.
T-14 Armata
This is the Russian land army's new main battle tank. The Armata was first seen in public in the 2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade. The Russian army plans to acquire 2300 Armatas by the end of the decade.
The most significant feature of the Armata is an unmanned turret. The crew sits in a well armoured capsule in the front of the hull. This is a significant advancement in tank technology for which the US has not caught up. The M1 Abrams still uses a manned turret. There was an initiative to develop an unmanned turret version of the Abrams known as the M1 TTB but the program was not successful.
T-14 also comes with significantly improved armour known as reactive armour. This armour is very similar to the explosive reactive armour found on more advanced Cold War-era Soviet Union tanks. Such armour, surprisingly, uses explosive material embedded in the armour itself to disrupt high velocity, armour piercing projectiles from penetrating the armour successfully. Talk about fighting fire with fire.
The Armata also features a new active protection system where a built-in radar tracks incoming projectiles and the system is able to "intercept" the missile and render its guidance ineffective through electronic countermeasures.
Besides those already listed, Armata has much, much more improvements from its predecessor, the T-90. It also represents a significant paradigm shift in Russian tank design. The T-90's design prioritized speed and maneuverability and thus had a low profile with light armour. It was 20 tons less than its US counterpart, M1 Abrams. The Armata, however, prioritizes protection over maneuverability. The T-14 Armata represents a serious challenger to the dominant M1 Abrams and is a serious wake up call for the US Army.