Hasta La Gadget!

It just keeps getting harder for America’s enemies to hide from the technological marvel that is the modern US military. A new ground fire acquisition system (GFAS), coming to Apache Attack helicopters next spring, uses infrared sensors to detect muzzle flashes from small arms fire and pinpoint enemy positions to within five meters. Before the sound would have a chance to reach current acoustics-based sensors the source of the shot pops up on the targeting computer, is sent back to commanders in the Operations Center, relayed to ground troops, and fed to other aircraft — by the time they’re able to pull the trigger again combatants may already be on the wrong side of a Hellfire missile. The new system will make spotting opposing forces easier and keep pilots as safe as they can be — at least until missions can be flown from the comfort of their couch.

Apache’s new infrared targeting system spots foes when they fire, doesn’t wait for the smoke originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 May 2011 13:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Army Marketplace may be mired in bureaucratic muck, but the depot for mobile military apps isn’t simply stagnating in a stack of paperwork somewhere. Developers and commanders are still pushing forward with the project and hoping for the best. There are already 17 apps for Android and 16 for iPhones, created as part of the Apps for the Army contest last year, and designers have whipped up prototypes for the homepage (above) and personalized user pages (after the break) where soldiers can post ideas for apps, request features from devs, and write reviews. The chief of the Army’s Mobile Applications Branch, Lt. Col. Gregory Motes, hopes the Marketplace will make its debut at LandWarNet in August, even if there won’t be any approved smartphones to access it for several months after that. At least the military claim one victory, when its app store launches it’ll already have more titles than TegraZone.

Continue reading Army app store advances, tries to break through bureaucracy’s defenses

Army app store advances, tries to break through bureaucracy’s defenses originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Apr 2011 12:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We first heard of the Shredder back in September, a crazy, treaded contraption that looked fit to appear in the next Starship Troopers film — or maybe a TMNT reboot at least. It’s the product of the overactive mind of Ben Gulak, the guy behind the Uno transforming and self-balancing motorcycle that we saw at CES. When Ben showed us some videos of the DTV Shredder at the show we knew we had to ride it, and so we did, hitting the sand in New Mexico and managing to come away from the experience unharmed and only a little dehydrated. Come on in to check out our experience on both the consumer-friendly Sport and rather brawnier Military edition, both of which could be in production by the end of the year.

Continue reading BPG Werks DTV Shredder test-ride (video)

BPG Werks DTV Shredder test-ride (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 13:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The US Army is calling upon Android app developers to help make military life a little less stressful — and, perhaps, a lot safer. Under a new Army framework known as the Mobile/Handheld Computing Environment (CE), third-party developers will be able to create and submit tactical Android apps, using the military’s CE Product Developer’s Kit. The framework, originally prototyped by the folks over at MITRE, represents the latest phase in the Army’s ongoing campaign to incorporate smartphone technology on the battlefield. Any app operating under the CE system will be interoperable across all command systems, and, as you’d expect, will be tightly secured. The kit won’t be released to developers until July, but the Army has already begun tinkering with its baseline suite of Mission Command apps, which includes tools designed to facilitate mapping, blue force tracking, and Tactical Ground Reporting. On the hardware side of the equation, the Army is planning to deploy a new handheld known as the Joint Battle Command-Platform, or JBC-P. The two-pound JBC-P is essentially a military-friendly smartphone designed to run on a variety of existing radio networks, while supporting the full suite of forthcoming apps. The JBC-P will be tested this October, and will likely be issued on a wider basis in 2013.

US Army developing Android-based smartphone framework and apps originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 11:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While it’s easy enough to envision soldiers scaling battlegrounds with portable hotspots in tow, it’s a useless solution for warriors deployed to remote areas that have patchy service to begin with. Enter the KnightHawk 3G, a rugged network-in-a-box that cooks up connectivity in otherwise uncovered areas. The self-contained WCDMA network runs over the 2100MHz spectrum, promising download speeds as fast as 14.4mbps and max upload rates of 5.76mbps. It has capacity for up to 60 simultaneous voice calls and can handle 14 HSPA connections at a time. And it’ll help keep our troops in top shape — you can’t tell from the photos, but that thing weighs 45 pounds.

Gallery: KnightHawk 3G

Continue reading KnightHawk 3G network-in-a-box breaks soldiers’ backs, helps them get online anywhere

KnightHawk 3G network-in-a-box breaks soldiers’ backs, helps them get online anywhere originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Apr 2011 18:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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