Free Republic

Electronic warfare, known as the battle in the electromagnetic spectrum, relies on data and signals to survey, fight and defend and the complex mission executed by the Army’s electronic warfare Soldiers – which includes detecting and responding to enemy jamming attempts and other electronic interference – is intensifying. Currently, the Army is developing an Electronic Warfare Planning and Management Tool, or EWPMT, to manage and control electronic warfare assets in support of unified land operations. According to Army News Service, through the EWPMT, the Army can now visually synergize its EW attack, targeting, and surveillance capabilities to enable the maneuverability...

The U.S. Navy, anticipating a future when a high-tech enemy could read its electronic communications, is going back to a hack-proof means of sending messages between ships: bean bags. Weighted bags with messages inside are passed among ships at sea by helicopters. In a future conflict with a tech-savvy opponent, the U.S. military could discover even its most advanced, secure communications penetrated by the enemy. Secure digital messaging, voice communications, video conferencing, and even chats could be intercepted and decrypted for its intelligence value. This could give enemy forces an unimaginable advantage, seemingly predicting the moves and actions of the...

The world was shocked when pictures began circulating early last year of a strange, large gun seemingly bolted to the bows of a Chinese amphibious assault ship. It turned out to be the world’s first naval rail gun. Now it’s been pictured in operation. A hazy image of the oddly-shaped ship with its oversized gun sailing in the open ocean has been released on China’s tightly controlled social media networks. It shows the vessel undergoing testing on the open ocean. If true, it means Beijing has beaten the United States — and the world — to getting the next generation...

Officials say they want computers to be capable of explaining their decisions to military commanders The report noted that while AI systems are already technically capable of choosing targets and firing weapons, commanders have been hesitant about surrendering control to weapons platforms partly because of a lack of confidence in machine reasoning, especially on the battlefield where variables could emerge that a machine and its designers haven’t previously encountered. Right now, for example, if a soldier asks an AI system like a target identification platform to explain its selection, it can only provide the confidence estimate for its decision, DARPA’s...

Most U.S. reconnaissance craft are purpose-built monoliths that operate in geostationary orbit, about 22,300 miles (35,800 kilometers) above Earth. Though these singletons are extremely capable, they're expensive, typically costing $1 billion or more to build, launch and operate. And it takes a decade or so to develop each one, said Paul "Rusty" Thomas, of the Tactical Technology Office at the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The nation's current spy satellites, therefore, aren't terribly responsive to new technologies and new developments, and they represent "big, fat, juicy targets" to adversaries, Thomas said last week during a presentation with NASA's...

The idea of humans controlling machines with their minds has spun off sci-fi blockbusters like “Pacific Rim” and entire subgenres of foreign film, but while today skyscraper-sized fighting robots exist only on the big screen, the Pentagon is building technology that could one day make them a reality. Today, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is selecting teams to develop a “neural interface” that would both allow troops to connect to military systems using their brainwaves and let those systems transmit back information directly to users’ brains. The Next-Generation Non-Surgical Neurotechnology, or N3, program aims to combine the speed and...

The U.S. Army is standing up the Army Futures Command in Austin, the capital of Texas, in its first major reorganization in more than forty years, Army leaders announced on Friday. The new command will consolidate all Army efforts to prepare for war fighting, from planning to developing future combat systems. The Army had considered more than a hundred locations, but decided on Austin, Texas, since it is a growing tech hub close to top schools and affordable to live in. “The Army made the right choice. The Austin Mega Region has 6,500 high-tech companies, an innovation ecosystem with 36...

It’s every parents’ worst nightmare – their children stuck underground as rescuers work around-the-clock to save them. For some 12 boys and their soccer coach – who have been trapped for nearly two weeks in a flooded Thai cave – Israeli technology may be part of the answer. It’s every parents’ worst nightmare – their children stuck underground as rescuers work around-the-clock to save them. For some 12 boys and their soccer coach – who have been trapped for nearly two weeks in a flooded Thai cave – Israeli technology may be part of the answer. Donating the communication systems...

The 51-foot-long, yellow and grey autonomous undersea vehicle is being designed to glide just beneath the waves or along the ocean floor for months at a time with little to no contact with human operators. Boeing has said Echo Voyager can reach a maximum depth of 11,000 feet, with a top speed of about 9 mph. The drone runs on a hybrid electric-battery/marine diesel system; its diesel generator will kick in when the battery runs low. It periodically resurfaces to snorkel depth to recharge.

If an enemy launches a weapon, like an anti-tank missile, at a U.S. Army tank protected with Trophy, radar or sensors recognize and locate the incoming threat. Tracking radar identifies what kind of threat has been launched at the tank. It distinguishes a rocket from an anti-tank missile, for example. Trophy instantaneously works out where the weapon would strike. If the missile will strike the tank, then it swings into action to protect the soldiers. The system figures out the necessary firing angles to intercept the incoming weapon. The computers relay the firing angles to the two launchers positioned on...

The reference to American technology falling into Iranian hands refers to December 2011, when an American stealth drone operating from Afghanistan crashed in Iran. Rather than bomb the downed drone so the Iranians couldn’t get the cutting edge design and technology, the Obama administration did nothing.

As Americans pack their bags for holiday travel, a new report is raising key questions about a pilot program that scans the faces of international travelers. The report, from Georgetown Law’s Center on Privacy and Technology, criticizes the scope and execution of Homeland Security’s biometric exit pilot program. The program, currently running at nine airports around the country, uses facial recognition technology to identify passengers leaving on international flights. Homeland Security says the program, which it plans to expand, can catch travelers fraudulently using another person’s personal documents. But the report questions whether Homeland Security is vested with the power...

DARPA has developed a new sensor that can see through clouds, operating just as effectively as current systems do in clear weather. The Extremely High Frequency (EHF) targeting sensor successfully demonstrated its ability to capture real-time video through clouds, marking the completion of its flight tests. Ultimately, the Pentagon is hoping to create a system that can be mounted on different types of aircraft to capture high-resolution video of targets on the ground, regardless of the weather conditions. The EHF targeting sensor comes from DARPA’s Video Synthetic Aperture Radar (ViSAR) program, which launched in 2013. According to the agency, the...

The U.S. Army is rushing ahead with its project to develop a new light tank to give infantry brigades extra firepower, especially against a near-peer opponent such as Russia. In the past, though, developing a vehicle that is both lighter than a traditional main battle tank and still survivable and useful on a modern battlefield has proven to be a difficult proposition. The Army plans to send out a final, formal request for proposals for the program, known as Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF), to interested defense contractors in November 2017. The service then hopes to power through the contracting process...

Defense giants Boeing and Lockheed Martin have won contracts to develop a new, large submersible capable of tackling a wide number of underwater missions. The goal is to develop a technical data package that will result in one company producing the Orca Extra-Large Unmanned Underwater vehicle (XLUUV). The XLUUV program is designed to create a long haul, long distance unmanned submarine with the capability to take on a variety of payloads, from sensors to weapons. In January 2017, DefenseNews reported that XLUUV would have a payload bay of at least 325 cubic feet. Unlike most current UUVs, which have to...

ORLANDO, Fla., Sept. 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin's (NYSE: LMT) Legion Pod® has been selected as the Infrared Search and Track (IRST) system for the U.S. Air Force's F-15C fleet. Lockheed Martin will produce more than 130 systems, which will be delivered for aircraft integration. Lockheed Martin’s Legion Pod® has been selected as the Infrared Search and Track system for the U.S. Air Force’s F-15C fleet. Equipped with the company's IRST21® infrared sensor and advanced data processing capabilities, Legion Pod provides long-range detection and tracking of airborne threats in radar-denied environments. The Boeing Company, serving as the U.S. Air...

The Pentagon's research and development arm has laid down a challenge for the defense industry: Give us an armed drone that can carry air-to-air missiles and is inexpensive to produce—oh, and also we need to crank out 500 of them every month. If one of the big defense contractors succeeds at this mission, it will revolutionize military manufacturing and aerial warfare as we know it. In a video posted earlier this week on YouTube, Air Force Lt. Col. Jimmy Jones, a program manager with the Strategic Technology Office, challenged industry with the Flying Missile Rail (FMR) concept. DARPA's vision is...

ngineers working with the Royal Navy have let their imaginations run wild designing what submarines of the future could look like and have come up with stunning concepts which mimic nature. Vessels shaped like manta rays, eel-like drones and swarms of fish-shaped torpedoes are just some of the ideas proposed for revolutionising underwater warfare. Eel-like drones could be deployed from the submarines “With more than 70pc of the planet's surface covered by water, the oceans remain one of the world's great mysteries and untapped resources,” said Commander Peter Pipkin, the Royal Navy's fleet robotics officer. "It's predicted that in 50...

New Delhi (Sputnik) — The Indian Air Force (IAF) is set to get their first fighter jet equipped with a new age active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar as upgrades to their deep penetration Jaguar fighter are completed. Defense sources told Sputnik the AESA-equipped Jaguar DARIN III will take its first flight this month. Technical trials and other necessary tests have been completed. "The new age AESA radar has been integrated into Jaguar and it is ready to take its first flight in a few days. Suitable date is being finalized by the Ministry of Defense and IAF," a defense...

The Air Force is accelerating development of a special, high-tech, on-board threat library for the F-35 designed to precisely identify enemy aircraft operating in different high-risk areas around the globe - such as a Chinese J-20 stealth fighter or Russian T-50 PAK FA 5th Gen fighter, service leaders said. Described as the brains of the airplane, the "mission data files" are extensive on-board data systems compiling information on geography, air space and potential threats in areas where the F-35 might be expected to perform combat operations, Air Force officials explained. "Mission data files are the key that unlocks the F-35,"...