Military tech

The U.S. military has been working on a new use for old PackBots that will save soldiers time and aggravation, though not replace them completely, when it comes to chemical warfare.

With new Foster-Miller Talon and 510 PackBot models being introduced, the old PackBot models will be rotated out of use in combat.

The Department of Defense ordered that the older models be put to good use. Through a program towards that end, the 95th Chemical Company at Fort Richardson in Alaska has been testing out modded PackBots since 2005.

The new/old PackBot, called a Chemical, Biological, Radiological … Read more

A robotics company founded by a father who lost his son to the Iraq war has garnered an $800,000 contract with the U.S. military.

Black-I Robotics makes an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) called the LandShark that can be used as a platform to disable bombs, provide reconnaissance, and carry wounded soldiers from the battlefield. The LandShark robot can also be used at home in the U.S. as an aid to first responders for search-and-rescue, firefighting, Hazmat, and SWAT efforts, and even in agriculture, according to a company statement.

"We believe UGV chassis should be thought of … Read more

Another entrant in the race to produce a ducted-fan-propelled, vertical-take-off-and-landing UAV, the planned "humvee of the air" will morph to different missions and reach targets three times faster than helicopters, according to the manufacturer.

The official name of the vehicle is VTOL-Swift Tactical Aerial Resource, or V-STAR. With a cruising speed of 288 knots, a 650-mile range and a 400-pound payload, the V-STAR promises to be a "breakthrough solution for frontline military logistics," according to Broomfield, Colo.-based Frontline Aerospace. The aircraft would use a Rolls-Royce gas turbine with counter-rotating blades and "diamond-box-wing" design … Read more

Visitors to this summer's Olympics in Beijing may see a familiar American gadget on the go, according to a report from the Xinhua News Agency, the official press agency of China.

China's military demonstrated on Tuesday their skills at balancing and shooting while on Segways (Xinhua photo of demo) during a series of drills of anti-terrorist units in Jinan, Shandong Province, according to Xinhua.

The Segway was demonstrated as a useful tool since it allows soldiers, once they are trained in balancing and maneuvering the machine, to keep both hands on their weapon while still accelerating and turning … Read more

All the king's horses include this "Stallion," a 4x4-wheeled, all-welded armored scout car with optional 50-caliber weapon station designed and built by the King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau (KADDB) in Amman Jordan.

The cozy three-seater was designed to be used by peacekeepers, "internal security," and what looks like divot repair out on the Bisharat back nine.

KADDB was established by Royal Decree in 1999 to supply "independent, high-quality, scientific, and technical services" to the Jordanian armed forces and to help the nation in creating a sustainable industrial base along the way.… Read more

Even for the most effective night-vision goggles, there's always been one problem: It's difficult to be discreet while looking like "Buffalo Bill" from Silence of the Lambs.

But there may a more discreet way to carry out surreptitious missions with the "Infrar-Red Personal Night Viewer," which provides nocturnal vision on a 3.5-inch screen built into a handheld device. Better still, as OhGizmo notes, the 500-line-resolution display comes through in black and white, rather than that creepy green glow.

The PistolCam a device designed to fit onto regular pistols or even small rifles. When removed from the holster, the camera automatically starts to record video clips (with audio) at 30 frames per second for a maximum of 60 minutes. It can also capture 3.2-megapixel still images.

Besides helping to improve accuracy when firing, the tactical illuminator and laser targeting light can help brighten the scene for another party who may be viewing the situation in real time. The resulting footage could be used in resolving disputes about the use of the firearm.

You can forget about thinking of … Read more

On July 25, 2000, an Air France Concorde ran over a piece of titanium debris while taking off from Charles de Gaulle International Airport. Minutes later 113 people perished in a ball of fire.

Most airports rely on visual inspections to keep runways clear of foreign objects and prevent what happened in France, but Heathrow International Airport, the world's busiest, has now installed a permanent dual radar system called the Tarsier, which scans 3,658 meters of runway in search of junk 24 hours a day.

The Tarsier uses networked high-frequency, high-resolution radar and integrated digital signal processing to … Read more

Logic Instrument got FCC approval nearly two years ago for its "Tetra T-Pad" rugged smartphone, but not much has been heard about it since then. Perhaps the French manufacturer thought better of trying to sell a phone that costs about $2,600 on the American market.

That's the price tag Lussorian quotes for this steroidal handset, which it says has met U.S. military standards that require 25 tests involving the harshest conditions. Weighing just under 1.3 pounds, the T-Pad is dustproof, waterproof, and can withstand shock, vibration, and subzero temperatures. As for the phone specs, … Read more