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U.S. to bolster missile defense to meet North Korean threat
The United States is bolstering the country’s missile defense after a series of explicit nuclear threats from North Korea. The Pentagon will announce Monday that it is deploying fourteen additional ground-based interceptors at missile silos in Alaska and California.
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Questions raised about Iron Dome success
MIT professor Ted Postol is at it again: in 1992 he successfully challenged the claims made by the United States, Israel, and Raytheon about the effectiveness of the Patriot missiles in intercepting Iraqi SCUD missiles fired at Israel, and now he is raising similar questions about the accuracy of claims made about the effectiveness of Israel’s Iron Dome anti-rocket system during the 10-day Israel-Hamas war last November, a war code-named Pillar of Defense.
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ACLU looks into the use of military technology by local law-enforcement
Affiliates of the American Civil Liberties Union in twenty-three difference states have filed more than 255 requests for public records in order to determine how many local police departments are using federally subsidized military technology and tactics – technology and tactics which have that have traditionally been used on battlefields overseas such as, most recently, in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
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U.S. arms sales, security partnerships to suffer as a result of sequestration cuts
One area where sequestration-mandated budget cuts will be felt sooner rather than later is U.S. support for foreign militaries in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Training and security partnership engagements with allies will likely decline as well as the Defense Department must now operate with a $46 billion cut in its budget for fiscal 2013.
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U.S. military “unprepared” for cyberattacks by “top-tier,” cyber-capable adversary: Pentagon
A new Pentagon study concludes that the U.S. military is unprepared for a full-scale cyber-conflict with a top-tier, cyber-capable adversary. The report says the United States must increase its offensive cyberwarfare capabilities, and that the U.S. intelligence agencies must invest more resources in obtaining information about other countries’ cyberwar capabilities and plans. The report says that the United States must maintain the threat of a nuclear strike as a deterrent to a major cyberattack by other countries. The report warns that the Pentagon cannot be confident its military computer systems and communication networks are not compromised because many of the components of these systems and networks are made in countries which pose the main cyberthreat to U.S. national security.
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Enabling small ships to launch and retrieve long-endurance UAVs
About 98 percent of the world’s land area lies within 900 nautical miles of ocean coastlines. Enabling small ships to launch and retrieve long-endurance UAVs on demand would greatly expand the U.S. military’s situational awareness and ability quickly and flexibly to engage in hotspots over land or water. DARPA is seeking companies to develop these systems.
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The impact of sea-level rise on coastal military installations
The Pentagon says that climate-related effects are already being observed at Department of Defense (DoD) installations in every region of the United States and its coastal waters. The effects of climate change will adversely impact military readiness and DoD natural and built infrastructure unless these risks are considered in DoD decisions. A new white paper developed by the Pentagon’s Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) identifies key climate-related policy questions that need to be addressed.
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Developing the next-generation of VTOL aircraft
One of the greatest challenges of the past half century for aerodynamics engineers has been how to increase the top speeds of aircraft that take off and land vertically without compromising the aircraft’s lift to power in hover or its efficiency during long-range flight. DARPA’s new VTOL X-Plane project aims to achieve higher speeds, increased efficiency, and elegant design.
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Saving money and time in developing phased RF arrays
Phased radio frequency (RF) arrays use numerous small antennas to steer RF beams without mechanical movement. These electronics are invaluable for critical DoD applications such as radar, communications, and electronic warfare. These arrays, however, come with a high price tag. Current phased arrays are extremely expensive and can take many years to engineer and build.
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Israel tests advanced Arrow 3 missile defense
Israel and the United States have jointly tested the Arrow 3, a ballistic missile defense system designed to intercept enemy missiles outside the atmosphere. The Arrow 3 is the fourth component of Israel’s layered missile and rocket defense system, which also includes Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow 2. The Arrow 3 was designed to intercept missiles outside the atmosphere.
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Climate change as a national security issue
In a new report, Harvard researcher is pointing toward a new reason to worry about the effects of climate change — national security. During the next decade, the report concludes, climate change could have wide-reaching effects on everything from food, water, and energy supplies to critical infrastructure and economic security. “The imminent increase in extreme events will affect water availability, energy use, food distribution, and critical infrastructure — all elements of both domestic and international security,” the report’s author says.
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Defusing the threat of ionizing radiation
The damage to Japan’s Fukushima nuclear reactor after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake raised concerns regarding U.S. preparedness to treat large-scale human exposure to ionizing radiation. Additionally, the immediate destructive potential of nuclear and radiological weapons, as well as their long-term health and economic impacts, continue to be of concern to DoD. Researchers look for novel approaches to mitigate immediate and long-term health damage from acute exposure to ionizing radiation and model its biophysical effects.
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Israel, again, beats Syria’s air defense systems
The Tuesday night Israeli air attacks against targets in Syria raise questions about the effectiveness of the vaunted Syrian air defense system. By extension, similar questions should be asked about the effectiveness of the Iranian air-defense system: both systems use similar technology, and both come from Russia.
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Georgia police gets military-grade weapons
Metro Atlanta police departments and sheriff’s offices have recently acquired some new toys which include armored trucks, grenade launchers, and personnel carriers. According to the Georgia Department of Public Safety, $200 million in military equipment and weapons are owned by 600 Georgia law enforcement agencies. This military grade equipment has some people concerned as to why local law enforcement agencies are so heavily armed.
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Israel’s attacks in Syria indicate Assad’s deteriorating position
Wednesday’s attacks are likely to be the first in a series of attacks which Israel will feel compelled to launch at an ever quickening pace as the Assad regime continues to disintegrate. Israel attacked targets inside Syria before, but not too often, and only when the targets were of strategic value. The deteriorating situation in Syria appears to have persuaded Israel that it has no choice but to renew its military operations inside Syria.
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More headlines
The long view
AI-Controlled Fighter Jets May Be Closer Than We Think — and Would Change the Face of Warfare
Could we be on the verge of an era where fighter jets take flight without pilots – and are controlled by artificial intelligence (AI)? US R Adm Michael Donnelly recently said that an upcoming combat jet could be the navy’s last one with a pilot in the cockpit.
Autonomous Weapon Systems: No Human-in-the-Loop Required, and Other Myths Dispelled
“The United States has a strong policy on autonomy in weapon systems that simultaneously enables their development and deployment and ensures they could be used in an effective manner, meaning the systems work as intended, with the same minimal risk of accidents or errors that all weapon systems have,” Michael Horowitz writes.
“Tulsi Gabbard as US Intelligence Chief Would Undermine Efforts Against the Spread of Chemical and Biological Weapons”: Expert
The Senate, along party lines, last week confirmed Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National intelligence. One expert on biological and chemical weapons says that Gabbard’s “longstanding history of parroting Russian propaganda talking points, unfounded claims about Syria’s use of chemical weapons, and conspiracy theories all in efforts to undermine the quality of the community she now leads” make her confirmation a “national security malpractice.”