First-ever electronic table games based on HHR betting

Florida-based Exacta Systems has partnered with casino game developer Interblock to create the first-ever electronic table games based on Historical Horse Racing (HHR) odds.

HHR betting is an electronic gambling system that allows players to bet on random replays of horse races or dog races that have already occurred in past years. When a player pushes the button on an HHR machine, similar to a casino slot machine, it randomly selects a previously run horse race from a video library of over 60,000 to determine a win or loss after each spin.

This HHR betting system will now be applied to Interblock’s roulette electronic table games (ETG). The revolutionary move makes Interblock's acclaimed roulette ETG products the first to incorporate Exacta's open-source HHR system.

“This transformation will maintain the award-winning gameplay that has made Interblock's game library the top choice among casino operators and roulette enthusiasts worldwide," said Jeremy Stein, chief executive officer and president of Exacta Systems.

“Our partnership with Exacta creates a unique offering within the HHR sector, taking two innovative companies and combining our best practices to further expand the HHR sector by the end of this year," said John Connelly, Global CEO of Interblock.

HHR machines are currently operating in a handful of U.S. states, like Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Virginia, and Wyoming.

In Virginia, HHR machines can be found at Rosie's Gaming Emporium locations. Rosie's currently has six locations in the Commonwealth: New Kent, Vinton, Richmond, Hampton, Dumfries, and Collinsville. A total of 2,634 HHR machines are in the state with over 1,500 more planned at new locations.

Exacta did not mention where the first Interblock roulette ETG HHR games will appear.

Air Force may add taildragger aircraft to Test Pilot School

Edwards Air Force Base in California is interested in adding taildragger aircraft to their Test Pilot School process, according to an announcement released Friday.

Home to the Air Force Test Pilot School, the base is interested in someone who can supply two different single-engine turboprop aircraft (of similar taildragger types) so students can make optimal direct comparisons on the same day.

The Air Force announced the idea in a Request For Information (RFI) document released Friday.

“This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes – it does not constitute as a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future,” Air Force officials said in the document.

The Test Pilot School is where the Air Force's top pilots, navigators, and engineers learn how to conduct flight tests and generate the data needed to carry out test missions. Human lives and millions of dollars depend upon how carefully a test mission is planned and flown. The comprehensive curriculum of Test Pilot School is fundamental to the success of flight tests and evaluations.

If the Air Force decides to award a contract in the future for the taildragger planes, they will support one of their three graded qualitative evaluation events (a requirement for graduation) during the academic year.

“It may or not work but we’re going to see if the students get more out of it with this new process,” the Air Force said in the RFI.

In August 2022, the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) announced a $3 billion contract to purchase 75 AT-802U Sky Warden taildragger aircraft that will operate as light attack/armed reconnaissance planes.

SOCOM is a unified command that oversees various special operations components of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force.

The Air Force expects the Sky Wardens to be fully operational in 2029.

It has been over 50 years since the Air Force has operated a single-engine taildragger.

Army meets with industry to develop kamikaze drone munition LASSO

The U.S. Army has invited defense contractors to a series of Industry Day meetings next month that will be the first steps to developing tank-busting kamikaze drones under the Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance (LASSO) program.

The Army announced the meeting in a Special Notice contract document last week.

The Product Manager, Soldier Precision Targeting Devices (PdM SPTD) office will meet with industry contractors between Sept. 19-21 to discuss the LASSO program.

The PdM SPTD is a product management office within the Program Executive Office Soldier portfolio. Its mission is to develop, produce, field, and sustain advanced targeting sensor capabilities to increase the lethality and survivability of dismounted warfighters across the full range of military operations.

The LASSO Industry Day meetings next month have a dual purpose: 1) to discuss how the Army can team with industry to field currently available systems, and 2) to create a climate of collaboration to drive both government and industry investments.

The meetings will be conducted in two phases at the Hilton Springfield hotel in Springfield, Va.

Phase I, on Sept. 19, will be an open presentation provided by the government to give the industry an overview of LASSO's emerging requirements. “This is open to all interested vendors,” the Army said.

Phase II will be one-on-one discussions and collaboration lasting from Sept. 20-21. Prime vendors may request meetings with the government. Sub and prime vendors are encouraged to schedule meetings onsite as well. Throughout the industry days, sub-contractors are encouraged to establish a booth space at their own expense to display their capabilities for prime vendor awareness.

The LASSO initiative was unveiled in July with the goal of quickly providing soldiers a portable loitering munition, similar to gear currently being used in the Russia-Ukraine war.

The LASSO system will be a drone carrying a lethal payload launched from a tube by soldiers. The drone would also have an electro-optical and infrared sensor, precision flight controls and the ability to track and engage faraway targets.

U.S. forces have been keeping a close eye on drone activities in the current Russia-Ukraine war.

In July, the Army’s Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office announced they are seeking sources and information to identify the cost and ability to support target procurement, preparation, and piloting of drone swarm attacks for ongoing and future JCO events.

The JCO intends to conduct a demonstration in the 3rd Quarter, FY 2024 to observe current counter-swarm technologies.

Student experiments aboard next launch from Wallops Island

NASA's Wallops Flight Facility is scheduled to launch two sounding rockets carrying student-developed experiments for RockSat-X and RockOn/RockSat-C missions on Wednesday.

The launch window for the missions is 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. EDT.

The two sounding rockets, a Terrier-Improved Orion and Terrier-Improved Malemute, will launch five minutes apart and are expected to reach an altitude of about 70 miles (113 kilometers) before descending by parachute into the Atlantic Ocean to be recovered. The launches may be visible in the Chesapeake Bay region.

The rockets will be carrying experiments developed by more than 30 university and community college teams as part of NASA’s RockOn Workshop and RockSat programs. Fifty percent of the RockOn teams are from minority-serving institutions.

In addition to the higher education experiments, 80 experiments will take flight as part of the Cubes in Space program, which partners with Wallops to provide a platform for students aged 11 to 18 to develop and conduct research and science that connects to real-world Earth or space-based problems or needs.

RockSat-X 2023 flight projects:

University of Puerto Rico: The team plans to collect micrometeorite samples from the upper atmosphere and to create an in-depth profile of the atmosphere to deliver environmental context for biosignature detection.

Northwest Nazarene University: This team is testing two robotic arms that could be used to assist astronauts conducting maintenance and repairs during spacewalks.

Red Rocks and Arapahoe Community Colleges of Colorado: These two teams will deploy an extendable arm system equipped with a 360-degree camera to capture video of the rocket, payloads and a view of Earth.

West Virginia Space Collaboration

West Virginia State University: Several experiments will measure acceleration, rotation, velocity, magnetic field, temperature, pressure and radiation levels. Lab-grown Mycelium blocks will be tested for structural integrity and durability during space flight.

West Virginia Wesleyan College: This experiment will control the spin of a gear motor at the same frequency but in the opposite direction of the rocket’s rotation.

Blue Ridge Community and Technical College: The team will create and design an Autonomous Navigational Assistant.

West Virginia University Institute of Technology: Knowing at any moment position, acceleration, and rotation of the rocket

Virginia Tech: This payload will eject FemtoSats away from the payload and investigate communication methods between the FemtoSats, the payload, and the ground. They also plan to improve upon their star-tracking instrument designed by the Virginia Tech 2022 RockSAT-X team.

University of Kentucky: The team is testing a method of ejecting a capsule that will also collect and transmit data during the flight. The capsule ejection method is planned to be used for a future International Space Station mission.

US Marshals Service to purchase Boeing 737 jet for prisoner transport

The U.S. Marshals Service has issued a solicitation for the purchase of one large transport category Boeing aircraft to fulfill its mission to transport federal detainees and prisoners in a cost-effective manner, without sacrificing the safety of the public, federal employees, or those in USMS custody. The aircraft will be part of the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System (JPATS).

According to contract documents released Friday, JPATS is looking to purchase a Boeing 737-700 or 737-800 jet with a trade-in of a 737-400.

JPATS currently owns two Boeing 737-400 aircraft, one Boeing 737-800 aircraft, and one Boeing 737-700 aircraft, which are being maintained (all maintenance, line servicing, repair parts, and logistics support) by a commercial contractor. JPATS operates the Boeing 737-400 aircraft and Boeing 737-800 aircraft out of their Oklahoma City, Okla. operational site and the 737-700 out of their Las Vegas, Nev. operational site, which will soon be relocated to Kansas City, Mo.

JPATS pilots are currently type rated to fly either the Boeing 737 Classic aircraft (Boeing 737-300/400/500) or the Boeing 737 NG aircraft (Boeing 737-600/700/800). A type rating is a certification of a pilot to fly a certain aircraft type that requires additional training beyond the scope of the initial pilot’s certificate.

JPATS pilots currently receive both initial and recurrent 737 Classic and 737 NG flight training through an established contract with a Federal Aviation Administration-approved training entity.

In January, JPATS released a Request For Information document related to the aircraft purchase and received responses from three companies:

• AerSale, Inc
• AAR Aircraft Services
• Berwin Group, LLC

“Adequate market research was conducted for this requirement and the Contracting Officer has adequate historical pricing,” JPATS said in contract documents. “The Contracting Officer has determined that the anticipated cost of $26.5 million to the government will be fair and reasonable.”

Companies interested in providing an aircraft under the contract have until Sept. 11 to submit a proposal. The final date to submit questions is Aug. 24.

The aircraft must be delivered 12 weeks after the award of the order. The anticipated award timeframe is January 2024.