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Innovative surveillance solutions recognized
MicroObserver Unattended Ground Sensor from Textron Defense Systems was recognized as one of the 2011 Big 25 intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) products; the solution detects and tracks vehicles and personnel for perimeter defense, border security, force protection, persistent surveillance, and critical infrastructure protection
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Flight control software helps pilots stick carrier landings
Navy and Marine Corps aviators conducting carrier landings today line up with a moving flight deck in a complicated process; they must constantly adjust their speed and manipulate the aircraft’s flight control surfaces — ailerons, rudders, and elevators — to maintain the proper glide path and alignment to the flight deck for an arrested landing; new software makes landing much easier
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Army contracting scandal reaches DHS
A $20 million contracting scandal involving the Army Corps of Engineers has now grown to include DHS; last week, Representative Edward J. Markey (D-Massachusetts) expanded the congressional probe to gather information on EyakTek, an Alaskan-native corporation that has received more than $1 billion in set-aside contracts from DHS and the Army
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Detecting criminals coming back to the scene of the crime
Law enforcement officials believe that perpetrators of certain crimes, most notably arson, do come back to the scene of the crime to witness their handiwork; similarly, U.S. military in the Middle East feel that improvised explosive device (IED) bomb makers return to see the results of their work in order to evolve their designs; scientists have developed a method to identify these individuals
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Innometrik, Lumidigm integrate technologies
Lumidigm says that Innometriks’ Rhino reader, which combines embedded Lumidigm fingerprint biometrics, smart cards, PKI, and digital signature technologies, is now handling high security applications in extreme weather and rough environments for several organizations of the U.S. Department of Defense
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U.S. army orders 315 reconnaissance micro-robots
Recon Scout XT weighs 1.2lbs (540g), can be deployed in five seconds, and thrown up to 120 feet (36m); soldiers and law enforcement use the Recon Scout system to determine the layout of the enclosed spaces, identify potential IEDs, and the fix the location of friendly, indigenous, or enemy personnel
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NATO: 10,000 Libyan shoulder-fired missiles unaccounted for
Senior NATO officials said that at least 10,000 shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles are unaccounted for in Libya, and that at least some of them may have fallen in the hands of al Qaeda operatives; the missiles are known as SAM-7 by NATO designation and 9K32 Strela-2 in Russia, and typically have a range of about four kilometers and an infra-red guidance system; more than forty civilian aircraft have been hit by these portable surface-to-air missiles since 1975, causing about twenty-eight crashes and more than 800 deaths around the world
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Nonlethal microwave weapon successfully tested
Counter-electronics High-powered Microwave Advanced Missile Project (CHAMP) is a nonlethal alternative to kinetic weapons that neutralizes electronic targets; it would allow the military to focus on these targets while minimizing or eliminating collateral damage; Boeing and the U.S. Air Force have successfully completed the missile’s first flight test
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U.S. Army buys Raptor's MIPs-based detectors
Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) technology is capable of selectively sensing microscopic amounts of explosives or other molecules that are dangerous for humans and the environment, such as toxins, chemical agents, biological agents, pesticides, and poisons; the U.S. Army wants more MIPs detectors
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Infantry now has ultra lightweight portable mine clearance system
A new mine-clearing system from light weight and portable; its cost minimized by its modular design — which means that users only need to replace consumed module such as the rocket delivery unit rather than the entire system
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Shells tracked by radar
With the high costs of live fire training, the Pentagon wanted a shell-scoring system, and commissioned Cambridge Consultants to develop one; after fourteen months of development, the company unveiled its holographic radar scoring system, the Land and Surface Target Scorer (LSTS)
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Anti-magnet: to protect ships' hulls from mines
Researchers have created a new type of magnetic cloak which shields objects from magnetic fields — at the same time that it prevents any internal magnetic fields from leaking out; this “antimagnet” could be used to protect a ship’s hulls from mines that detonate when a magnetic field is detected
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U.S. looks to keep Libyan WMD scientists away from terrorists
With Libyan rebels consolidating their hold over the country, the United States is looking to restart a State Department program designed to keep top Libyan biological and nuclear scientists from working for terrorist organizations or hostile nations; Libya’s new leaders have expressed their interest in working with the United States to keep track of Libyan WMD scientists and on other counter-proliferation programs, but the interim government has yet formally to respond to U.S. requests
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Maintaining water quality
Scientists at Kansas State University and seven other collaborating institutions were recently awarded $3.3 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to conduct a-large scale study of how stream organisms influence water quality across North America
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New vest offers GPS tacking and other information
Canadian company Laipac Technology is showing its S911 GPS Vest which the company describes as “a high coverage assault protection designed for military, tactical law enforcement and VIP personnel that demand the highest protection.”
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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.
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.