(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.
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