Apr 18

PDF Mix Up Reveals Classified British Submarine Flaws

Posted in: military, security, Today's Chili, Weird News

British Submarine

The British Ministry of Defense thought they had done everything right when they released a declassified report on the flaws and design weaknesses in several of their nuclear submarines. Unfortunately, as soon as the declassified – and heavily edited, with a great deal of information redacted – report was released, readers determined that in order to redact much of the text, the background color around the classified text had just been changed to black. 
This meant that while a reader looking at the PDF couldn’t make out what the redacted text said visually, they could still highlight the text and see it, and more importantly they could highlight the entire document’s text, copy it, and paste it into a new document and read it without any of the redaction in place. All of the still-classified information would be visible and plain as day. 
The bulk of the classified information had to do with design flaws in the submarines and their nuclear reactors, and details about how much damage the submarines would have to take before the reactor core would melt down. In addition, classified information on US disaster policies and procedures on-board military vessels were also in the document, and revealed just as easily. 
For their part, the MoD has removed the document and replaced it with one that’s been correctly redacted, but once the information is available, it’s out there forever. To make matters worse, the information is relevant to a current generation of nuclear submarines in service in the British Navy – many of which will be in service for years to come. 
[via BBC]
No Comments
Apr 18

SRI unveils Taurus, DaVinci’s bomb-defusing little brother

Posted in: military, robot, robotics, Today's Chili, wargadget
This is SRI International’s Taurus. Brought to you by the minds behind the DaVinci robo-surgeon, the diminutive (14 x 5-inch) bad boy is used to detect and defuse IEDs. Piggy-backing on existing devices such as Talon or PackBot, the device delivers hi-def 3D images and haptic feedback (via gloves) to a bomb disposal tech operating from a safe distance. According to IEEE Spectrum, it works so well that users forget they’re working remotely. Right now it’s a prototype, but with any luck the system could be in the field as early as this summer.

SRI unveils Taurus, DaVinci’s bomb-defusing little brother originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Apr 2011 16:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceIEEE Spectrum  | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
Apr 16

US government contractor developing ‘microwave gun,’ Hot Pockets tremble

Posted in: military, Today's Chili, wargadget
Ah, the beloved “electronic bomb,” able to disable all technology in its vicinity: variations on the concept go way back, but useful prototypes remain tantalizingly out of reach. Into the breach steps defense contractor BAE Systems, taking a fresh crack with a High-Powered Microwave (HPM) gun intended to disable small boat engines – if successful, the technology may also target ships, UAVs, and missile payloads. The secret-shrouded weapon sounds similar to Boeing’s planned airborne EMP weapon, but lacking the missile delivery systems. BAE seems to be betting big on electromagnetic warfare as a future battlefield tactic, with a manager pitching the sci-fi scene to Aviation Week:
“Unlike lasers, HPM beams don’t need a lot of accuracy. With a fan [of HPM energy] you can target 10-30 small boats. If you can knock out 50-75% of the engines in a swarm, you can then concentrate on the remainder with lasers or kinetic [cannons].”

To develop better defenses against such attacks, the contractor received $150,000 from the Air Force to test-fire microwaves at military computers. No word on whether said defenses involve generous use of tin foil.

US government contractor developing ‘microwave gun,’ Hot Pockets tremble originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 16 Apr 2011 16:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Boing Boing  |  sourceDanger Room  | Email this | Comments

No Comments
Apr 14

The Immigration Con Man who Built a Fake Army [Scandals]

Posted in: chinese, military, Today's Chili, top

What would you do to stay in the country you love? Would you trust a fellow foreigner—someone from your homeland—with your future, paying him up to $450 to join his US Army unit and get a fast-track to citizenship? These desperate, deceived immigrants did just that. More »

No Comments | Tags: ,
Apr 13

iRobot agrees to provide US Navy with bomb disposal and recon bots in a deal worth up to $230 million

Posted in: deal, military, robot, Robots, Today's Chili, wargadget

iRobot may still be best known as the creator of the homely Roomba vacuum-cleaning drone, but savvy readers will know the company’s endeavors span a pretty broad range of robot-related activities. One of those has now borne fruit in the shape of a multiyear agreement with the US Navy for the provision of “portable robotic systems” that can identify and dispose of explosives while also performing a bit of reconnaissance work in their spare time. The announcement doesn’t tell us the particular model(s) or number of bots that will be provided, but there is clarification to say that iRobot will be responsible for providing spares, repairs, training, and accessories along with the hardware, with the total revenue for the company potentially swelling to $230 million over the full course of the contract, which lasts through 2015. Our guess is that the “throwable” robot shown off a couple of weeks back would be a good candidate for this task, though we doubt it’ll be thanking us for endorsing it for such perilous work.

iRobot agrees to provide US Navy with bomb disposal and recon bots in a deal worth up to $230 million originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Apr 2011 10:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Forbes  |  sourceReuters  | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
Apr 12

DARPA’s next-gen wearable display: augmented-reality, holographic sunglasses

Posted in: augmented reality, AugmentedReality, military, Today's Chili, wargadget

The US military seems to adore the idea of wearable displays, hence its continued efforts to make them a reality. We know it seems like just yesterday that DARPA tapped Lockheed Martin to build low-power, lightweight augmented-reality eyewear, and it was actually four full years ago when the wild and wonderous dream was to craft HMDs as small and light as “high-fashion sunglasses.” Well, that dream lives on, this time with holograms: the lenscrafters at Vuzix just received a cool million to develop goggles that holographically overlay battlefield data on the wearer’s vision. It all sounds very Dead Space (or, you know, like a Top Secret version of Recon-Zeal’s Transcend goggles), promising realtime analysis of anything within sight. The company believes the finished product will be no more than 3mm thick and completely transparent when turned off. If all goes well, expect this to trickle down to consumers in short order; soon you’ll have full “situational awareness” — including relationship status — of that mysterious stranger you’ve been eyeballing from across the room.

DARPA’s next-gen wearable display: augmented-reality, holographic sunglasses originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Apr 2011 23:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink DVICE  |  sourceWired  | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: , ,
Apr 10

US Navy’s solid-state laser sets boat ablaze (video)

Posted in: laser, military, Today's Chili, video, wargadget

See that flaming wreckage in the picture above? A laser did that, mounted on board a second vessel similarly bobbing on top of the ocean last week. Yes, even though the United States Navy told us that legitimate seafaring death rays might take another decade to materialize, basic weaponized lasers are ready today, as the 15-kilowatt gun attached to the USS Paul Foster happily demonstrates. Of course, as you’ll see in the video after the break, a beam of such minimal power takes a moment to burn through even an unshielded engine and ignite the fuel therein — once we get some 100+ kilowatt lasers up in there, we shouldn’t have such problems.

Continue reading US Navy’s solid-state laser sets boat ablaze (video)

US Navy’s solid-state laser sets boat ablaze (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 10 Apr 2011 21:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceWired  | Email this | Comments

No Comments
Apr 09

Sprint radar imaging system peeps inside walls, floors to detect bombs, tell-tale hearts

Posted in: military, security, Sprint, Today's Chili

Back in 2005, we reported on a little something called the Prism 200, which allowed its holder to essentially see what folks were doing on the other side of a wall. Since then, we’ve seen plenty of devices that boast the same claims, but it wasn’t until recently that the makers of the Prism 200 created a device that can actually see inside those walls. Looking something akin to an old school punch clock, Cambridge Consultants’ Sprint in-wall radar imaging system provides 3D renderings of items embedded in walls, floors, and even ceilings. Where as existing X-ray systems require access to both sides of a wall, Sprint’s radar setup allows users to see what’s going on inside without dual access. As you might imagine, Cambridge is pushing this thing as a security tool, allowing for detection of bombs, drugs, dead bodies — you know, the usual bad guy stuff. Sprint is currently undergoing testing. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading Sprint radar imaging system peeps inside walls, floors to detect bombs, tell-tale hearts

Sprint radar imaging system peeps inside walls, floors to detect bombs, tell-tale hearts originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Apr 2011 13:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceCambridge Consultants  | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
Apr 08

Download DARPA’s sub-hunting sim, help train its ACTUV automaton

Posted in: military, robot, ship, Software, Today's Chili, wargadget

DARPA dabbles in all matter of defense drones, and it’s no stranger to leveraging the wisdom of the masses to help develop tomorrow’s military machinery. The agency’s latest program to go the crowdsourcing route is its Anti-submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV), and it wants you to help develop the software that’ll control the thing. DARPA’s borrowed a bit of the Sonalysts Combat Simulations Dangerous Waters game to create the ACTUV Tactics Simulator, where players complete missions tracking a target sub while navigating through and around commercial ocean traffic. Would-be captains can then choose to submit their strategies and game data to DARPA for use in shoring up the autonomous seabot’s strategic submarine pursuit software. Hit the source link for a free download and dive into the sub-hunting action.

Download DARPA’s sub-hunting sim, help train its ACTUV automaton originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 23:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Register  |  sourceDARPA  | Email this | Comments

No Comments
Mar 29

Future Navy lasers will ‘burn incoming missiles,’ blast through ominous vessels

Posted in: government, laser, military, Today's Chili, us, usa, wargadget

The United States Navy has been working on next-gen weaponry ever since the last-gen was present-gen, and if the next next-gen ever actually arrives, well… we don’t stand a chance at lasting very long. According to Wired, the Navy’s Office of Naval Research is expecting laser technology (as it relates to weaponry) to mature in the next score, and if all goes well, a free-electron laser could be mounted on a ship during the 2020s. As of now, FELs produce a 14-kilowatt beam, but that figure needs to hit 100+ in order to seriously defend a ship; unfortunately for those who adore peace, it seems we’re well on our way to having just that. When it’s complete, these outrageous pieces of artillery will be capable of “burning incoming missiles out of the sky [and] zapping through an enemy vessel’s hull.” Something tells us that whole “You Sunk My Battleship” meme is just years from reappearing in grand fashion.

Future Navy lasers will ‘burn incoming missiles,’ blast through ominous vessels originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 12:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink DVICE  |  sourceWired (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

No Comments