military

The U.S. Army needs more steel in the ground when it comes to renewable energy.

The Army today announced a special task force called the Energy Initiatives Office (EIO) designed to speed up deployment of solar and wind power at its bases. The task force is being created to help meet the Army's ambitious goal of getting 25 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2025.

"We view ourselves as a target-rich environment for doing a better job with taxpayer dollars and being good stewards of the environment," said John McHugh, secretary of the Army … Read more

The Chinese government has released an official app for people (both domestic and oversees) to keep tabs on what the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is up to. There's just one catch: you'll have to jailbreak your iPhone to use it.

One of the few apps to come from a major group to not go through Apple's App Store (the U.S. Army has its own app available in the App Store), the PLA app requires its users to jailbreak their iPhones before they can download the app.

The report, from ismashphone.com, says that growth in … Read more

Too busy to keep up with the tech news? Here are some of the more interesting stories from CNET for Thursday, July 14.

• After much anticipation, Spotify has launched in the United States. And here at CNET, we are smitten with Spotify's service. The CNET staff gave the service five thumbs-up. Sean Parker of Napster fame--and a Spotify investor--says Spotify signals a golden age of music. Business Insider republished a post from his Facebook page, where he wrote: "For a decade I have waited for a music service that could rekindle my excitement about music...Spotify is the … Read more

The Pentagon today elaborated on its plans to defend privately-owned Internet servers owned by banks, transportation and utility companies, and other key firms from electronic attacks, a proposal that has raised privacy concerns in the past.

"Our assessment is that cyberattacks will be a significant component of any future conflict, whether it involves major nations, rogue states, or terrorist groups," William Lynn, the deputy secretary of defense, said during a speech at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C.

To illustrate the sophistication of such attacks, Lynn said a foreign government was behind a cyberattack in March … Read more

The Army plans to install microgrids in Afghanistan as part of its mission to reduce its energy-related vulnerability in the field.

A three-month experiment will deploy a system designed to use fuel more efficiency and pave the way solar and wind power in the field, the Army said earlier this week.

Right now, the Army uses diesel generators to power its bases. Transporting that fuel for generators and its vehicles comes at a significant financial and military cost as fuel convoys are often targets for attack.

The microgrids the Army plans to install will include diesel generators that are able … Read more

Wind turbines that do not interfere with radar systems used by aircraft may soon become a commercially viable option for the wind energy industry, Danish turbine manufacturer Vestas said today.

"Our testing has demonstrated that we have successfully adapted military stealth technology to make Vestas wind turbines viable for placement in many locations that have been restricted by radar concerns," Vestas Technology R&D President Finn Strom Madsen said in a statement.

Vestas said it successfully tested in Britain a full-scale "stealth" rotor on a turbine, paving the way for wind power plants to be … Read more

PARIS--If the Eiffel Tower makes you think of a direction, I'm willing to bet it's up. But for some people, the iconic French landmark can also mean down.

Down, as into a "secret" military bunker that has an entrance just feet from the south pillar, or leg, of the tower, and which then goes underground and which is full of Eiffel Tower history and even legend.

Secret of course, is a marketing term when it comes to this bunker, since it is open for a small number of weekly public visits. But because it belonged to … Read more

PARIS--As a major contractor to the U.S. Department of Defense, giving American soldiers a competitive advantage is a big part of what Raytheon does.

At the Paris Air Show here this week, the giant company is demonstrating a number of its newly developed technologies, including several intended to give the U.S. military that competitive edge. Among them is an overarching system that provides what's known as Global ISR--intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance--and a technology that's a key part of that known as Distributed Common Ground System, or DCGS.

I got a chance to see this technology demonstrated … Read more

Reports from the United States and United Kingdom military this week indicate those organizations are more comfortable voicing an idea I find blindingly obvious: cyberwar is war.

First came news yesterday in the Guardian that the U.K. is developing offensive weapons that could be used in attacks on computing systems as "an integral part of the country's armory."

Then, today, the Wall Street Journal reported the U.S. will consider responding with traditional military might to an attack on its computing infrastructure. "If you shut down our power grid, maybe we will put a missile … Read more