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Highlights of the U.S. 2010 defense budget
U.S. defense budget increase 4 percent over 2009, to $533.8 billion; weapons procurement, at $107.4 billion, comes third after Operations & Maintenance ($185.7 billion) and personnel costs ($136 billion)
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iPod helps U.S. fight insurgents in Iraq
The U.S. military is using iPods and iPhones to help troops carry out operations in Iraq and Afghanistan; devices are used for biometric identification, and will soon be used as guidance systems for bomb disposal robots and to receive aerial footage from unmanned drone aircraft
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Initial $50 million of stimulus package for airport security awarded
DHS announced the award of the first $50 million out of a total of $1 billion made available by the stimulus package for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA); money will fund explosive detection systems and advanced technology X-ray units that will streamline baggage screening at U.S. airports
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How DHS plans to use the stimulus package's funds
The stimulus package has added billions of dollars to the DHS budget; the department details how it plans to spend the money
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U.S. military wants jumping robot
DARPA funds a program to develop a hopping robot; the robot will be able to jump stairs and go over obstacles; it will be used for urban reconnaissance and intelligence gathering — although DARPA admits it could also be fitted with a raft of weapons; one of the requirement for the hopping robot: “’stick’ accurate landings”
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Raytheon awarded Nextgen Air Transportation System contract
Contract calls for Raytheon to study the Nextgen integrated communications, navigation, and surveillance (CNS) architecture and determine the NAS’s needs for 2018 to 2025
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Qinetiq to acquire Cyveillance for $40 million
Among the major winners of the administration’s 2010 defense budget will be defense contractors involved in cyber security, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; Qinetiq North America positions itself to benefit from the shift in the defense budget’s priorities by acquiring cyberspace intelligence specialist Cyveillance
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ShotSpotter to acquire QinetiQ North America's SECURES
ShotSpotter will acquire SECURES Acoustic Gunshot Detection System
from QinetiQ North America, strengthening its position in the acoustic detection arena; 35 localities in the United States already deploy ShotSpotter systems in high-crime areas -
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BAE in $13 million deal to provide U.S. military with IFF transponders
In an effort to reduce incidents of friendly fire on the battlefield, the U.S. military orders 500 identification friend or foe (IFF) digital transponders and spares for the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy; BAE has already delivered more than 4,000 common transponders
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Japan to start developing swine flu vaccine
CDC sends Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases a sample of the new type of flu strain, and NIID will begin to work on a modified swine flu virus, then distribute the virus to four Japanese vaccine makers and institutions
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Surge in armored car sales in Brazil
Brazilians have to live with exceedingly high levels of crime — in the late 1990s, for example, the UN ranked the Jardim Ângela section of São Paulo as the most violent neighborhood in the world — at the same time that government agencies, owing to corruption or incompetence, fail to provide security; São Paulo leads the country — and the world — in making and selling armored cars; tax breaks now allow the middle class to buy protection which once was the reserve of the rich
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BAE in $61 million contract to service MRAPs
The U.S. military buys more and more RG33 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles to defend U.S. soldiers from IEDs; there is a need to service these lumbering vehicles, and BAE receives a contract to do so
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More orders for AS&E's cargo screening vans bring in $4.7 million
Massachusetts-based AS&E’s popular Z Backscatter Vans are becoming more popular; company receives $4.7 million order for the “drive-by” scanning system, following several other orders in the past month
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Google rents goats for lawn maintenance
Only in California: A Silicon Valley company has 800 goats it rents out for lawn maintenance and brush and weed control; Google rents 200 of the goats for its expansive Mountain View campus; goats come with a professional herder and a border collie
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U.S. Navy nears decision on Littoral Combat Ship
The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) will help the U.S. Navy counter growing “asymmetric” threats like coastal mines, quiet diesel submarines, global piracy, and terrorists on small fast attack boats; two teams — one led by General Dynamics, the other by Lockheed Martin — compete for a contract that could be worth more than $30 billion when all is said and done
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More headlines
The long view
Need for National Information Clearinghouse for Cybercrime Data, Categorization of Cybercrimes: Report
There is an acute need for the U.S. to address its lack of overall governance and coordination of cybercrime statistics. A new report recommends that relevant federal agencies create or designate a national information clearinghouse to draw information from multiple sources of cybercrime data and establish connections to assist in criminal investigations.
Trying to “Bring Back” Manufacturing Jobs Is a Fool’s Errand
Advocates of recent populist policies like to focus on the supposed demise of manufacturing that occurred after the 1970s, but that focus is misleading. The populists’ bleak economic narrative ignores the truth that the service sector has always been a major driver of America’s success, for decades, even more so than manufacturing. Trying to “bring back” manufacturing jobs, through harmful tariffs or other industrial policies, is destined to end badly for Americans. It makes about as much sense as trying to “bring back” all those farm jobs we had before the 1870s.
The Potential Impact of Seabed Mining on Critical Mineral Supply Chains and Global Geopolitics
The potential emergence of a seabed mining industry has important ramifications for the diversification of critical mineral supply chains, revenues for developing nations with substantial terrestrial mining sectors, and global geopolitics.
Are We Ready for a ‘DeepSeek for Bioweapons’?
Anthropic’s Claude 4 is a warning sign: AI that can help build bioweapons is coming, and could be widely available soon. Steven Adler writes that we need to be prepared for the consequences: “like a freely downloadable ‘DeepSeek for bioweapons,’ available across the internet, loadable to the computer of any amateur scientist who wishes to cause mass harm. With Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4 having finally triggered this level of safety risk, the clock is now ticking.”