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Much has been made of President Barack Obama's desire to keep his beloved BlackBerry as a communications device. On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters that, thanks to a "compromise," his boss will be able to keep a security-enhanced BlackBerry and use it for e-mail.

What's unclear is whether the device he will use is a BlackBerry made by Research In Motion, or a similar smartphone. The one that keeps getting pointed to as an option is the Sectera Edge, made by General Dynamics. It's the only such device in the category that the National Security Agency has deemed secure enough for use in the highest levels of our government. Check out the video above from CNN, which got a demonstration of the Sectera Edge from GD.

(Credit: General Dynamics Canada )

Depleted uranium armor may provide great protection against other tanks, but it's useless against hackers bent on penetrating the networks that tankers and other crews increasingly rely on to move and shoot.

Looking to fill the order for "digital armor," General Dynamics Canada and Secure Computing have teamed up to develop Meshnet, a hardware/software firewall designed to protect networks and digital devices inside tanks and other military vehicles from hostile computer and virus attacks.

Without adequate firewall protection, a tech-savvy enemy could infiltrate the net to eavesdrop, ambush or "blind" a crew by cutting off its information flow. This was reportedly the case during Israel's incursion into South Lebanon last year, where Hezbollah hackers were allegedly able to monitor IDF communications, giving the guerrillas a leg up in attacking Israeli armor.

Inside the M1 Abrams

(Credit: U.S. Army)

Sidewinder consolidates all major Internet security functions into a single system, providing "best-of-breed" antivirus and spyware network protection "against all types of threats, both known and unknown," according to Secure Computing.

The software is packed onto a circuit board slotted inside Meshnet's "ruggedized" olive-drab, conduction-cooled chassis. This not only allows it to operate in the hot, dusty jolt-prone tank interior, but also to avoid clashing with the overall color scheme.

Finally, here's a phone plan that allows you to switch from the U.S. government's Secret Internet Protocol Router Network to the Unclassified but Sensitive Internet Protocol Router Network with a single keystroke.

(Credit: General Dynamics)

The National Security Agency has authorized military and government personnel to order up a bunch of General Dynamics' Sectera Edge secure, wireless smartphones, which will not only allow them to make secure calls but also to e-mail and Web-browse in either classified or unclassified mode.

The phones will still operate right along with everyone else on the existing high-speed Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), code division multiple access (CMDA) and Wi-Fi commercial cellular networks.

Although it looks like a regular phone, the company says the Sectera Edge is designed to rugged military specs, allowing for the wear and tear of both the office and "war fighters completing a tactical mission." And it comes with a personal organizer that includes contacts, calendar, tasks, alarms and notes so you won't forget your loved ones' birthdays in the midst of a covert operation.

Deliveries are scheduled for later this year, with sales estimated as high as $300 million over the next 5 years, according to the company. The Sectera Edge is part of the NSA's Secure Mobile Environment Portable Electronic Device program, but there are civilian models available. Did we mention the secret handshake?

(Credit: General Dynamics)

Maybe it's the trimaran's festive appearance that put off the scrambled-egg crowd, but one still wonders why the U.S. Navy took so long to adapt this 4,000-year-old Polynesian technology to its combat ship inventory.

In any case, they're making up for it now with the new Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), which promises to deliver more payload per ton of displacement than any previous U.S. warship, all on a high-speed, stealthy trimaran hull made of aluminum and steel.

The LCS is the Navy's response to asymmetric threats in coastal waters. The trimaran hull enables the ship to do 50 knots, then sneak up through the sand bars and unleash multiple helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or a swarm of Stryker- and Humvee-mounted troops. An LCS can do all this while supporting mine detection, conducting anti-submarine warfare and blowing opposing attack craft out of the water with its Bofors 57mm Mk.1.

The Navy says it has opted for a plug-and-play open architecture because it not only offers greater mission flexibility but also allows it to exploit newly developed commercial software and other technological upgrades faster and more cost effectively. Unlike legacy systems, open architecture can be easily upgraded with off-the-shelf products, not having to rely on costly proprietary hardware and software.

The onboard systems will integrate seamlessly with others across the fleet, according to General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems. Delivery of the LCS is scheduled for 2008.

Mobile computing can be a haphazard business, and new notebooks from General Dynamics and Panasonic give their owners permission to drop them (from a reasonable distance) as often as they like.

General Dynamics Itronix miniscule rugged notebook PC

(Credit: Erica Ogg/CNET News.com)

General Dynamics' GoBook MR-1 claims to be the smallest fully rugged ultramobile PC, and it may very well be. It weighs 2 pounds, and is about the size of a small jewelry box. It was made to have all the same features and capabilities of the full-size GoBook XR-1 but in a more compact form factor. That means four wireless connections: Wireless LAN, Bluetooth, GPS, and Wireless Wide Area Network. It's built on Intel's Napa platform. (NOTE: We goofed when we first posted this, giving the wrong platform. The GoBook is indeed built on Napa.)

All of General Dynamics' touchscreen notebooks, which are cold- and heat-resistant, now come with its proprietary outdoor viewing capability, called DynaVue. Outdoor viewing is one of the most confounding problems related to rugged computing. General Dynamics' solution is to put the polarizing film closer to the top of the touchscreen underneath the glass to reduce reflection.

Consumers aren't General Dynamics' customers--the company sells to militaries, telecom and utility workers, and public safety officers.

Panasonic's new Toughbook 52

(Credit: Panasonic)

Panasonic's new Toughbook 52, which replaces the 51 series, is aimed at business users as well as government, utility and safety workers. The 52 model adds a widescreen display and a carrying handle, but keeps the magnesium alloy case and shock-mounted hard drive of its predecessor. It's built on the Santa Rosa architecture, and has a Core 2 Duo processor.

Though it's semi-rugged (as opposed to fully rugged), Panasonic still promises the Toughbook will survive a 1-foot drop on concrete, and that the removable hard drive can weather a 3-foot drop. Besides being drop-proof, it's also apparently spill-proof--the notebook has a special system so that any liquid spilled on the laptop is drained out of the bottom without getting inside.

(Credit: Army Technology)

From Basra to Kabul, no environmentally aware burkha babe is going to be able to resist this 4x4, turbo-charged, hybrid, diesel-electric recon hotrod.

Created by General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS,) the Shadow RST-V (Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Targeting Vehicle) boasts stealth, survivability and low mileage. That's big, considering that about half the military's money--and a third of its manpower--is devoted to hauling stuff around, 70 percent of that stuff being fuel.

The aluminum-bodied RST-V seats four (seating by Oregon Aero), does 70 mph and has a 470-mile range. Bulletproof windows and armor are optional. Weaponry includes your standard machine gun and grenade launcher, topped off by the Javelin anti-tank missile mounted on the roof. Recommended are the radar/laser warning receivers, likewise the GPS.

The electric stealth mode not only makes for a quiet ride, it also reduces the heat signature, allowing you to elude the infrared.

Narrower than a jeep, the Shadow still has a Hummer's cargo capacity, thanks to a patented, folding suspension system. It also puts out 30kw of electric power; enough to fire up a decent base camp at Burning Man. Did we mention it's a hatchback?

In the works since 1997, the RST-V should be ready in time for Iran.