Latest news with #CRANE
The Sun
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Aldi launches new garden range TODAY – including £9.99 air lounger & ‘ultimate centrepiece' for summer parties
ALDI turns up the heat this summer with a new garden range landing in stores today. The line-up features a £9.99 air lounger for effortless relaxation and a £59.99 inflatable movie screen to bring the big screen to your back garden. Available nationwide from Thursday, the Specialbuys collection also includes a £39.99 HD LED projector—ideal for outdoor gatherings and UEFA Women's EURO 2025 matchdays. 'As excitement mounts for the UEFA Women's EURO 2025, Aldi is helping fans get matchday ready with the ultimate viewing party line-up,' the retailer announced. The inflatable movie screen stretches three metres wide and comes with built-in blowers, fans, and all the accessories needed for quick setup. It's designed to self-inflate in minutes, with easy deflation and a carry case included for simple storage when not in use. Aldi describes the screen as 'the ultimate centrepiece for any summer viewing party', with a durable design that makes it ideal for repeated use. Whether you're watching the big game, a blockbuster film or enjoying a family night under the stars, it's made to bring people together. Paired with the £39.99 HD LED projector – also hitting shelves today – customers can create a full outdoor cinema experience in their own back garden without breaking the bank. For those who prefer lounging in the sun, Aldi has also introduced the CRANE Air Lounger at just £9.99. Designed to be inflated without a pump, it's lightweight, portable and perfect for relaxing anywhere – from picnics and festivals to camping trips and garden parties. To inflate, simply scoop air into the lounger by dragging it back and forth through the air, roll over the opening to trap the air inside, and secure it with the buckle. My garden was looking so old and the patio was broken - now it's a lush oasis and people can't believe how little I spent It supports up to 150kg and is available in blue or grey, each with its own handy carry bag. This latest drop follows Aldi's recent hit with its Inflatable Ice Bath, which went viral on social media last month. The supermarket continues to tap into the growing demand for fun, low-cost outdoor products that make the most of summer. Other recent garden favourites from Aldi include the Garden Bright Solar Magnolia and Cherry Blossom Trees (£19.99), which light up beautifully at night with 100 LEDs, and the Foldable Paddling Pool (£49.99), which fans have called 'the best paddling pool' for its generous size and speedy setup. Customers have also praised Aldi's £4.99 basket stake for being 'very sturdy' and perfect for hanging flower baskets and lanterns. And the £24.99 Garden Design String Chair, a stylish dupe of a designer piece, has also turned heads thanks to its chic looks and bargain price. Over at B&M, garden lovers have snapped up the Wavy Mini Garden Wall Mirror for just £1 – a clever hack to make smaller spaces feel bigger and brighter. The retailer's bargain olive trees (£12.50) and Red Oriental Lilies (£4.50) have also drawn praise for adding instant colour and class to patios and balconies. 3
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
China claims its stealth drones fly 3x longer using 50% less energy than US rivals
China has allegedly taken over the US in the development of a state-of-the-art new stealth aircraft, a report from the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reveals. Newly published research shows that Beijing is one step ahead of Washington in developing the next generation of stealth drones. These rely on eliminating traditional control surfaces, such as flaps and tail fins to reduce radar reflections and thermal signatures. The next-generation stealth drones China is developing replace traditional control surfaces with fluidic systems. These steer jets using precise air pulses, enabling greater stealth and higher fuel efficiency. According to the SCMP report, the Pentagon recognized the need for this technology early on. However, DARPA only greenlit the X-65 program in 2023 to develop and validate fluidic system jets. DARPA, the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency, is responsible for stealth jets and GPS. The US agency is known for developing world-leading defense innovations. However, according to the new report, China has overtaken it when it comes to fluidic systems, which are also known as CRANE (Control of Revolutionary Aircraft with Novel Effectors). According to a paper by Professor Luo Zhenbing with China's National University of Defence Technology (NUDT), the US's X-65 program is years behind China's operational systems. The paper, published in last month's Acta Aeronautica et Astronautica Sinica journal, states that China was already testing a CRANE aircraft in 2021, while the US was still drawing up concepts. Aside from being ahead in the development timeline, Luo and his colleagues also claim China's technology has broader applications than DARPA's X-65. Not only that, it is also more energy efficient and will have a longer operational lifespan. It's worth noting, of course, that DARPA's technology is in the early development phase. This means that comparisons between the two technologies today won't reflect the finished models. China's systems use DSJ, or dual synthetic jet, technology. This generates a pulse of air by vibrating ceramic plates in wing compartments. DARPA's designs, meanwhile, which use single air chambers which are prone to breakdown. China's DSJ units use two chambers that pulse alternately, reducing stress and preventing these breakdowns. According to NUDT this dual-chamber design prevents pressure damage during dives. It can even enable underwater use. Using the technology, a submersible drone could suddenly rise from the sea and start flying. Luo's paper states that DSJ units last three times as long as the US's equivalent while using half the energy. China's first DSJ-controlled drones – fixed-wing UAVs – took flight in 2021. In 2023, NUDT engineers started testing DSJ-controlled flying-wing drones. By contrast, DARPA's X-65 program is still in the concept stage and no flight tests have taken place. That is, at least according to publicly available information. The US's big-tail drone, designed to validate fluidic controls for the US Air Force's secretive Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter, is expected to make its debut flight this year.
South China Morning Post
17-03-2025
- Science
- South China Morning Post
DARPA is losing a critical next-gen stealth jet tech race to China: study
In 2021, as US defence contractors sketched concepts for a futuristic drone controlled by blasts of air instead of mechanical flaps, China quietly flew one. Advertisement Now, newly published research has revealed for the first time details of how Beijing outpaced Washington in this pivotal arms race Next-generation air dominance hinges on eliminating traditional control surfaces. Rudders, flaps and tail fins create radar reflections and thermal signatures. Assist or even replace them with fluidic systems – steering jets via precise air pulses – and you gain more invisibility, fuel efficiency and even underwater manoeuvrability. The Pentagon recognised this early on, but it was not until 2023 that the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) greenlit the X-65 programme, a radical drone designed to validate fluidic flight control, also known as CRANE (Control of Revolutionary Aircraft with Novel Effectors). Advertisement
