defense

As anybody who's watched the movie Outbreak knows, when it comes to raging epidemics, the military will get involved at some point, the question is: in what way (PDF)?

To answer that, the Department of Defense (DOD) has commissioned the development of a simulation-based planning and training software application--a game, in other words, albeit a "serious" one--to help it to prepare for the next influenza pandemic.

The game will allow health care professionals and the military to recognize early signs of an outbreak, practice response tactics, and plot "local mitigation strategies" to limit the spread … Read more

China is actively conducting cyber espionage as a warfare strategy and has targeted U.S. government and commercial computers, according to a new report from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

"China's current cyber operations capability is so advanced, it can engage in forms of cyber warfare so sophisticated that the United States may be unable to counteract or even detect the efforts," according to the annual report (PDF) delivered to Congress on Thursday.

The report cites news articles and testimony from U.S. officials like Col. Gary McAlum, chief of staff for the … Read more

Things may be getting a little more stylish up on the DMZ (the Korean Demilitarized Zone) when Republic of Korea troops don their new high-tech battle uniforms. Accessories could include bulletproof helmets and a new assault rifle.

The Agency for Defense Development will begin the two-phase development on a new combat uniform beginning next year, according to The Korea Times.

"The agency has completed studies on the concept of the future combatant uniform and equipment,'" an unnamed official told the newspaper. "From next year, we plan to begin developing related technology and equipment after getting approval from … Read more

Two superstars of the casual gaming world--David Scott, the author of Flash Element TD, and Paul Preece, who wrote Desktop Tower Defense--are collaborating to create a new games company, Casual Collective.

Updated versions of Flash Element and Desktop Tower Defense are among the games offered at the new service, as well as new marquee titles Minions and Desktop Armada. These are multi-player games, and Scott and Preece hope they will bring users back to the games to hang out with (or conquer) their buddies. The games are monetized through in-game ads served by Mochi Media.

While an important key to … Read more

KIBBUTZ YIRON, Israel--"Znnnnnnnnng!"

The mechanical whine overhead forced every picker in the apple orchard to crane their heads toward its source. I didn't know it at the time, but we were watching Israel's high-tech future play out a couple of thousand feet above us.

A reconnaissance drone not much larger than your garden variety model airplane, a television camera strapped to its underside, was creeping through the sky to photograph military installations in Lebanon.

That was 26 years ago.

The "mazlat," as it was known in Hebrew, was a joint project between a … Read more

Internal bleeding can cause irreversible haemorrhagic shock within 30 seconds or progressive shock within eight hours, either way, it's not good and the military wants a portable, noninvasive way to detect and stop it right on the battlefield.

To that end, the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has contracted with Siemens Healthcare, the University of Washington's Centre for Industrial and Medical Ultrasound and Texas A&M to develop something called the Deep Bleeder Acoustic Coagulation cuff (DBAC). The cuff is a semi-automated, ultrasound device designed to cut blood loss and shock resulting from combat limb injuries, … Read more

Given the widespread adoption of open-source software within the US federal government, including the US Department of Defense, it's perhaps not surprising that the regulation-heavy federal government is finally getting around to issuing guidelines for open-source adoption within the US Department of Defense:

One of the primary issues to be addressed is if open source software is a form of commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS)....The memo should also dispel lingering ideas that open source software may not be used because it is a form of shareware or freeware....The memo will also confirm that it is acceptable for an … Read more

It was purely coincidence but the release of a report on how businesses are using technology to reduce their carbon footprint came just as the price of a barrel of crude on the NYMEX topped $129 for the first time.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, flanked by a coterie of CEOs featured in the report, also used the occasion on Tuesday to shine the spotlight on private sector green initiatives. At the same time, he hammered the Bush administration's attentiveness to environmental issues.

"Washington is asleep at the wheel," he said in a brief appearance at the San … Read more

It took 20 years, but here it is--again: the new and improved flash-bang grenade.

Sandia National Laboratories, which created the original Mk 141 flash-bang two decades ago, is having a second go at marketing a "fuel air" version of an old SWAT standby that it says is far safer for law enforcement and the military.

Traditional flash-bangs are basically big fire crackers--the "flash powder," a mixture of aluminum and potassium perchlorate dust, explodes quickly when ignited and produces an intensely bright light along with its huge bang. The body or canister is generally a steel tube … Read more