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Australia: "high risk" of terrorism at Commonwealth Games in India
Australia says there is a “high risk of terrorist attack” in New Delhi as the Indian capital prepares to host the Commonwealth Games, scheduled for 3-14 October; the U.S. State Department issued a travel alert on 1 September urging U.S. citizens to be cautious of their security if they travel to India during the Games
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Delhi proposes unprecedented security at Commonwealth games
The security measures India has put in place for the Commonwealth Games surpass those instituted for Delhi’s Independence Day and Republic Day; in all, the Games will be secured by more than 80,000 Delhi police personnel, 17,500 paramilitary personnel, 3,000 commandos, 100 anti-sabotage teams, more than 200 dogs, and 15 bomb squads
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Six freed over suspected Pope plot
U.K. police released the six men arrested Friday on suspicion that they plotted to kill the Pope during his U.K. visit; the police, after a thorough search of the homes of the suspects — all men of North African origin — and interviews with neighbors, the police said the men posed no credible threat; one newspaper reports that the men were arrested after been overheard sharing a joke in their canteen; the six all work for Veolia Environmental Services, a contractor which employs 650 on-street staff to keep the streets of Westminster clean
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Spray-on clothes to help injured soldiers
Researchers develop spray-on clothing which could be used by people in a hurry, but also by first responders and soldiers in the field for spray-on sterilized bandages; drugs may be added to the spray-on bandage to help a wound heal faster
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In era of tighter budget, simulation-based training becomes popular
Training is invaluable, but first responder and emergency management agencies around the country are finding their budgets tighter than ever, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to conduct large-scale training exercises; the solution: simulation-based training
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U.S.: Mexico's drug war posing growing threat to U.S. national security
The Obama administration sees the drug-related violence sweeping Mexico as a growing threat to U.S. national security and has launched a broad review of steps the military and intelligence community could take to help combat what U.S. officials describe as a “narcoinsurgency”; one problem with increased intelligence collaboration: U.S. agencies have been wary of sharing some intelligence because of concerns that some of their Mexican counterparts may be on the payroll of the cartels
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Crash of UAV copter with foliage-penetrating radar sheds light on secret program
Two emerging security challenges to the United States — the growing violence of the drug war south of the border, and growing concerns about climate change-driven conflicts in Africa and Asia — have led DARPA to fund the development of technology that will allow U.S. special forces to see through the dense canopy of a jungle; the recent crash, during trials, in the jungle of Belize of a Boeing A160T equipped with foliage-penetrating radar sheds some light on this programs; spokesman of the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) said more than 90 percent of the objectives of the Belize trials had been met when the crash terminated the effort
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Sandia Labs developed an IED-disabling water-blade device
A device developed by Sandia National Laboratories researchers that shoots a blade of water capable of penetrating steel is headed to U.S. troops in Afghanistan to help them disable deadly IEDs; the portable clear plastic device is filled with water and an explosive material is placed in it that, when detonated, creates a shock wave that travels through the water and accelerates it inward into a concave opening; when the water collides, it produces a thin blade
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New helmets to make soldiers more alert, reduce stress, pain
New helmet to enhance U.S. soldiers’ cognitive abilities, improving long-term alertness, and reducing stress, anxiety, and pain; DARPA-funded research looking to equip helmets with noninvasive technology for “transcranial pulsed ultrasound,” which can remotely stimulate brain circuits
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EMP threat to U.S. should be kept in perspective
In 1962 the United States conducted a high-altitude nuclear test above Johnston Island, 825 miles southwest of Hawaii; detonated 400 kilometers above the island, the resulting nuclear blast knocked out street lights across Hawaii and tripped circuit breakers, triggered burglar alarms, and damaged a telecommunications relay facility on the island of Kauai; could terrorist, or a nuclear-armed rogue state, launch an EMP Pearl Harbor against the United States?
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Israel, Russia in joint venture to develop UAVs
There may be political tensions between Russia and Israel, but military cooperation is tightening; the two countries have agreed to form a joint venture to develop and produce UAVs, and signed a military cooperation agreement, paving the way for more cooperation in the fields of unmanned systems, counter terrorism, and asymmetric, urban warfare
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Fake chips from China threaten U.S. military systems
To withstand the rigors of battle, the Defense Department requires the chips it uses to have special features, such as the ability to operate at below freezing temperatures in high-flying planes; because it pays extra for such chips, experts say, the Defense Department has become a prime target for counterfeiters, most of them Chinese companies; from November 2007 through May 2010, U.S. Customs officials said they seized 5.6 million bogus chips — yet many more are finding their way into the United States and even the military
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The U.S. military prepares for the coming conflicts triggered by climate change
The popular debate surrounding “global warming” is rife with emotion and has paralyzed U.S. policymakers; military planners, however, remain divorced from the emotional content of the topic, looking at possible future scenarios and conducting planning to address the associated challenges and threats arising from sharp changes in climate
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The laser designator-equipped Shadow UAV offers smart bombs more precision
The light weight laser designators enable the UAV to designate targets for laser guided smart bombs when more accuracy than GPS guided weapons is needed: GPS guided weapons hit within a 10 meter/31 foot circle, while laser guidance is good for 1-2 meters, or 3-6 feet
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Local anger mounts over counter-terrorism-funded CCTVs
There are 4,200,000 CCTVs installed in the United Kingdom, leading many to describe the kingdom as a “surveillance society”; 218 of these CCTVs caused a firestorm: they were installed in a predominantly Muslim section of Birmingham — along with 169 automatic license plate recognition (ANPR) cameras; the reason for local anger: the funding for the deployment came from the U.K.’s counter-terrorism, rather than crime-fighting, authorities; residents argue this makes them all look like potential terrorists
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More headlines
The long view
Tantalizing Method to Study Cyberdeterrence
Tantalus is unlike most war games because it is experimental instead of experiential — the immersive game differs by overlapping scientific rigor and quantitative assessment methods with the experimental sciences, and experimental war gaming provides insightful data for real-world cyberattacks.
Using Drone Swarms to Fight Forest Fires
Forest fires are becoming increasingly catastrophic across the world, accelerated by climate change. Researchers are using multiple swarms of drones to tackle natural disasters like forest fires.
Testing Cutting-Edge Counter-Drone Technology
Drones have many positive applications, bad actors can use them for nefarious purposes. Two recent field demonstrations brought government, academia, and industry together to evaluate innovative counter-unmanned aircraft systems.
European Arms Imports Nearly Double, U.S. and French Exports Rise, and Russian Exports Fall Sharply
States in Europe almost doubled their imports of major arms (+94 per cent) between 2014–18 and 2019–23. The United States increased its arms exports by 17 per cent between 2014–18 and 2019–23, while Russia’s arms exports halved. Russia was for the first time the third largest arms exporter, falling just behind France.
How Climate Change Will Affect Conflict and U.S. Military Operations
“People talk about climate change as a threat multiplier,” said Karen Sudkamp, an associate director of the Infrastructure, Immigration, and Security Operations Program within the RAND Homeland Security Research Division. “But at what point do we need to start talking about the threat multiplier actually becoming a significant threat all its own?”
The Tech Apocalypse Panic is Driven by AI Boosters, Military Tacticians, and Movies
From popular films like a War Games or The Terminator to a U.S. State Department-commissioned report on the security risk of weaponized AI, there has been a tremendous amount of hand wringing and nervousness about how so-called artificial intelligence might end up destroying the world. There is one easy way to avoid a lot of this and prevent a self-inflicted doomsday: don’t give computers the capability to launch devastating weapons.