armor

Hybrid patrol vehicle called 'safest of its kind'

Check out the schnoz on this one. D?sseldorf based Rheinmetall advertises its Gefas (Gesch?tztes Fahrzeugsystem) as the "safest, most future-proof system of its kind anywhere."

The conceptual model shown here was configured for convoy protection. Some options include a high-powered, electromagnetic, counter-IED system, an automated weapons station controlled from safely inside the vehicle, electro-optical sensor systems with downstream image processing for detecting and tracking moving targets, a 12-meter tactical radar, laser-optical sensors for detecting enemy optics, and an "instantaneously activated" smokescreen.

Gefas replaces standard steering and braking with a hybrid-electric Renk "drive … Read more

Novell lays off AppArmor programmers

Two years after acquiring the company that developed the AppArmor security software for Linux, Novell has laid off team members behind the project, CNET News.com has learned.

AppArmor's founder and leader, Crispin Cowan, joined Novell in 2005 when it acquired his company, Immunix, which developed the software. But he and four others from the project lost their Novell jobs in Portland, Ore., on September 28, Cowan confirmed.

However, he plans to continue AppArmor development. He and two other laid-off AppArmor programmers, Steve Beattie and Dominic Reynolds, launched an AppArmor consulting company on Wednesday called Mercenary Linux.

"I … Read more

Pentagon wants faster delivery of mine-resistant vehicles

The military-industrial complex is moving double-time to get tough new vehicles to troops in Iraq.

The MRAP (Mine Resistant Armored Protection) vehicles are on a mission to provide a better shield against roadside bombs. They achieve that protection in part through a V-shaped undercarriage that rides high off the ground. In terms of overall strength, they fall somewhere between up-armored Humvees (which were never intended to provide much in the way of armor) and the thicker-skinned M2 Bradley fighting vehicle.

While they can't defend against all types of explosives, they have proven effective against shaped charges designed to pierce … Read more