Military Technology

The military is the highest funded think tank, so we should expect some advanced technology coming out of there. Developments in military technology are likely our greatest danger, so what better to learn about?

DARPA’s iXo Artificial Intelligence Control Grid – (Google video – March 25, 2007)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2301756762339435723&q=darpa
This twenty minute video was constructed almost entirely using government/military quotes, animations, videos, images and photos. The narrative is sourced from government quotes from start to finish. It unveils the government’s numerous and ongoing programs related to artificial intelligence., “NBIC”, the “Global Information Grid”, nanotechnology, biotechnology, autonomous drones, “naval sea-bases”, space weapons and weather modification. The makers of the video clearly had an agenda that exceeded mere information. Leaving aside the agenda, the video is nonetheless an introduction into types of technology that many civilians know little about.

Pentagon to Merge Next-Gen Binoculars With Soldiers' Brains – (Wired – May 1, 2007)
http://www.wired.com/gadgets/miscellaneous/news/2007/05/binoculars
U.S. Special Forces may soon have a strange and powerful new weapon in their arsenal. Dubbed "Luke's Binoculars" - after the high-tech binoculars Luke Skywalker uses in Star Wars - high-tech binoculars 10 times more powerful than anything available today, augmented by an alerting system that literally taps the wearer's prefrontal cortex to warn of furtive threats detected by the soldier's subconscious is under development. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency says it expects to have prototypes in the hands of soldiers in three years.

The Militarization of Neuroscience – (The Bulletin – April 10, 2007)
http://www.thebulletin.org/columns/hugh-gusterson/20070410.html
According to Jonathan Moreno's new book, Mind Wars: Brain Research and National Defense (Dana Press 2006), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has been funding research in the following areas: mind-machine interfaces that will enable military personnel to control high-tech weapons by thought alone; "living robots" whose movements could be controlled via brain implants; "cognitive feedback helmets" that allow remote monitoring of soldiers' mental state; MRI technologies for use in interrogation or airport screening for terrorists; pulse weapons or other neurodisruptors that play havoc with enemy soldiers' thought processes; "neuroweapons" that use biological agents to excite the release of neurotoxins; and new drugs that would enable soldiers to go without sleep for days, to excise traumatic memories, to suppress fear, or to repress psychological inhibitions against killing.

Fighter-Controlled Jet is Tested -- (BBC -- April 2, 2007)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6514413.stm
The US Air Force routinely uses remotely controlled aircraft for search and destroy missions. The advantage is that these planes can be sent into dangerous areas without risking a pilot's life. The downside is that the controllers are remote from the battle area and so may not be able to respond to rapidly changing situations. In view of this shortcoming, the British Royal Air Force is testing a converted Tornado whose pilot is able to control four unmanned craft from the cockpit.

Duke Patents Mind-Controlled Weapons -- (Wired -- March 20, 2007)
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/03/mind_controlled.html
Work on Brain-Machine Interface (think monkey controlling a joystick with its thoughts) is old news, but a patent granted earlier this month underscores researchers' confidence that a broader set of military applications is possible: like controlling weapons with your mind.

Hiding Messages in Plain Sight -- (BBC -- February 15, 2007)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6361891.stm?ls
A technology that can "hide" information in plain sight on printed images has begun to see the first commercial applications. The technology can encode data into a picture that is invisible to the human eye but can be decoded by relatively simple camera, not too dissimilar from ones already found in mobile phones.

Surveillance Cameras Get Smarter -- (AP -- February 25, 2007)
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SMART_SURVEILLANCE?
SITE=3DWIRE&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
The never-blinking surveillance cameras, rapidly becoming a part of daily life in public and even private places, may be sizing you up as well. And they may soon get a lot smarter. Researchers and security companies are developing cameras that not only watch the world but also interpret what they see. Soon, some cameras may be able to find unattended bags at airports, guess your height or analyze the way you walk to see if you are hiding something.

Record Power for Military Laser -- (BBC -- February 22, 2007)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6380789.stm
A laser developed for military use is a few steps away from hitting a power threshold thought necessary to turn it into a battlefield weapon. The Solid State Heat Capacity Laser has achieved 67 kilowatts (kW) of average power in the laboratory. It could take only a further six to eight months to break the "magic" 100kW mark required for battlefield use.

India in Aerospace Defense Plan -- (BBC -- January 28, 2007)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6307875.stm
India says it plans to build an aerospace defense command aimed at preventing possible attacks from space. The head of India's air force outlined the plans saying it would protect both Indian territory and assets, claiming that India was an aerospace power with "trans-oceanic reach" and it was vital that it should be able to exploit space.

A new generation of commercial satellite-based camera systems expected to be operational in the first half of 2007 will provide electro-optical imagery in increased quantities, and with higher resolution and improved geolocation accuracy.

The Army Signal Regiment, based at Fort Gordon, Ga., recently released a “Campaign Plan” setting out its course for the future. Section three, “Future Capabilities,” describes initiatives based on technological advances and lessons learned from previous and current military operations.

As technology advances, the Signal Regiment’s combat development and training strategies are changing proactively as well. The regiment is moving faster than ever before. As a LWN (LandWarNet) developer and integrator for the warfighter, the regiment is enabling LWN capabilities to the lowest level possible. These capabilities will allow battalion command posts to synchronize planning and execution down to the leader-soldier level. Retiring Mobile Subscriber Equipment (MSE) in favor of JNN (Joint Network Node) and WIN-T (Warfighter Information Network-Tactical) enables battle command by providing a fully integrated information network supporting warfighting, intelligence and business mission areas.

Extend network services and capabilities to soldiers and leaders below battalion level, especially key tactical leaders on the move over long distances, in all operational environments and conditions, during non-contiguous operations.

Develop Networking Waveforms. Networking waveforms are essential in providing JTRS (Joint Tactical Radio System)-like capability both near-term and in the future. Developments such as Soldier Level Integrated Communications Environment (SLICE) waveform versions and Enhanced Position Location and Reporting System (EPLRS)-capable Microlight radios are examples of near-term implementations.

Provide command posts down to battalion level with network services to support synchronized planning and execution of tactical operations.

Extend IP networks to tactical command posts. Command posts require access to converged IP networks (voice, video and data). This will enable enhanced interoperability with other Army command posts and with allied, joint and coalition elements.

Enhance GIG (Global Information Grid) services during reset and ready phases to facilitate seamless IT support for training, rehearsals and operational deployments.

The Army is leveraging the GIG-Bandwidth Expansion program and Installation Information Infrastructure Modernization Program (I3MP) to ensure sustaining base facilities are equipped to support preparation, deployment and warfighting operations.

Build regional hubs to provide GIG connectivity and DISN (Defense Information System Network) service to deployed forces. The Army will establish regional hubs to host secure LWN services as required by the commander. The regional hub will focus and integrate the leader-soldier network into a common, shared wide area network available to leaders and soldiers anywhere in the world.

Provide space and aerial layer communications solutions critical to extending the network to the leader-soldier.

Wideband/Protected SATCOM. A smaller, agile force operating over greater distances requires greater reliance on efficient, beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS), wideband/protected network transport systems within an integrated network.

As the Army continues development of its battlefield networking technology of the future, the Joint Network Node is proving that an IP-based system relying heavily on COTS equipment can be both a bridge to that future and a valuable communications tool for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

US Military Deploy Robot Sentries in Iraq -- (Peter Warren, Sunday Times -- April 18, 2005)

The US military has deployed robots armed with machine guns at military checkpoints to deal with suicide bombers.

The robots, developed from technology used to deal with unexploded bombs, can be armed with a fearsome range of weaponry, but the first of 18 units due to be sent to Iraq this month will be armed with rifles or machine guns according to US military sources.

The small tank-like machines can carry flame-throwers, grenade and rocket launchers and will be controlled by soldiers from distances of over half a mile away.

Boffins Causing a Buzz with Bee Sized Aircraft -- (London (AFP) January 31, 2007)

Scientists in Britain have figured out how insects fly, bringing bee-sized surveillance aircraft a step closer to reality.

Experts from the University of Bath in southwest England have studied insect flight in the hope of discovering groundbreaking ways to build tiny aircraft that could be attached with cameras and sensors.

Scientists hope the discovery will help construct minature aircraft that could be used for reconnaissance in areas such as traffic monitoring, border surveillance, fire and rescue operations, and even spying.

Bath boffins found that bee wings are rigid at the front and flexible at the back. The structure is the most efficient for generating maximum vortices, or spinning masses of air. The vortices generate lift and keep the insects in the air.

Walking Like a Bomber -- (MIT Technology Review -- January 18, 2007)
http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/18072/
In November 2005, three suicide bombers walked into three hotels in Jordan and blew themselves up, killing 63 and injuring more than 100. While the world is alert to such deadly threats, the challenge remains: how to detect approaching suicide bombers from a safe distance. A new radar-imaging technology expected to reach market later this year could solve the problem by directing low-power radar beams at people - who can be 50 yards or more away - and analyzing reflected radar returns to reveal concealed objects.

Chinese Test Anti-Satellite Weapon -- (Aviation Week -- January 15, 2007)
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?
channel=awstspace&id=news/CHI01177.xml
U. S. intelligence agencies believe China performed a successful anti-satellite weapons test at more than 500 mi. altitude, destroying an aging Chinese weather satellite target with a kinetic kill vehicle launched on board a ballistic missile. The Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, NASA and other government organizations have a full court press underway to obtain data on the alleged test. If the test is verified it will signify a major new Chinese military capability.

America's New Global Strike Weapon -- (Popular Mechanics-- January, 2007)
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military_law/4203874.html
If Pentagon strategists get their way, there will be no place on the planet to hide from such a US assault. The plan is part of a program — in slow development since the 1990s, and now quickly coalescing in military circles — called Prompt Global Strike. The goal, according to the U.S. Strategic Command's deputy commander Lt. Gen. C. Robert Kehler, is "to strike virtually anywhere on the face of the Earth within 60 minutes."

The Mathematics of Cloaking -- (Physorg -- December 26, 2006)
http://www.physorg.com/news86358402.html
The theorists who first created the mathematics that describe the behavior of the recently announced "invisibility cloak" have revealed a new analysis that may extend the current cloak's powers, enabling it to hide even actively radiating objects like a flashlight or cell phone.

Molecule-Size Keypad Lock -- (Live Science -- December 26, 2006)
http://www.livescience.com/technology/061226_molecule_lock.html
Scientists have created a keypad lock a single molecule in size. This lock only activates when exposed to the correct password, a sequence of chemicals and light. Researchers suggest their device could in the future lead to a new level of safeguards for secret information. This lock might also serve to recognize when certain sequences of chemicals are released in the body—for instance, after exposure to Sarin or another deadly chemical or biological weapon.

The Future of War -- (The Independent -- November 21, 2006)
http://www.ioltechnology.co.za/article_page.php?iArticleId=3554796
At a recent exhibition of new military technology one independent expert stood almost agog as the prototype for a new killing machine was rolled out. It went by the acronym of URV or Unmanned Robot Vehicle - and it looked like something from the movies.

Spies in the Sky -- (Jackson Free Press -- December 27, 2006)
http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/comments.php?id=12123_0_4_0_C
Jackson, Mississippi will have a new 'eye in the sky' that gives a whole new meaning to the old phrase, 'Big Brother Is Watching.' The helicopter, called Metro One, features an array of high technology and spying devices, such as a 360-degree 18x zoom color camera, video recording, a GPS in-flight map, a 20-million candle searchlight and, most notably, an infrared camera that can pick up both biological and mechanical heat signals.

Ultra-Secure Long-Distance Quantum Key Distribution -- (Physorg -- December 22, 2006)
http://www.physorg.com/news86020679.html
Scientists have demonstrated unconditionally secure quantum key distribution (QKD) over a record-setting 107 kilometers of optical fiber. The work is a significant step towards enabling communication with an unprecedented level of security over long distances of optical fiber.

Free-Electron Laser Shines at Over 14 Kilowatts -- (Physorg -- November 8, 2006)
http://www.physorg.com/news82217403.html
The most powerful tunable laser in the world just shattered another power record: the Free-Electron Laser (FEL) produced a 14.2 kilowatt (kW) beam of laser light at an infrared wavelength of 1.61 microns on October 30. The laser's new capabilities will enhance a wide range of defense and scientific applications.

Airborne Laser Closer to Completion -- (Physorg -- October 28, 2006)
http://www.physorg.com/news81242559.html
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency rolled out an airborne laser aircraft, the latest development in a missile-defense system that was once ridiculed as a "Star Wars" fantasy. It should be operational within two to seven years.

Launching a New Kind of Warfare -- (Guardian -- October 26, 2006)
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1930960,00.html
Robot vehicles are increasingly taking a role on the battlefield - but their deployment raises moral and philosophical as well as technical questions.

Invention: Invisible drones -- (New Scientist -- October 02, 2006)
http://www.newscientisttech.com/article/dn10202?
DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn10202
"Persistence of vision" turns the fast-moving rotors of any helicopter into a near-transparent blur, while the slow-moving body looks solid. Inventors have now come up with a way of making the whole body of an aircraft spin as it flies, turning it into a single blur in the sky. This would not evade radar but should help the aircraft avoid visual identification.

Working Invisibility Cloak Created -- (New Scientist -- October 19, 2006)
http://www.newscientisttech.com/article/dn10334
An invisibility cloak that works in the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum has been unveiled. The device is the first practical version ever created. The cloak works by steering microwave light around an object, making it appear to an observer as if it were not there at all.

Future Be Warned: Keep Out -- (Wired -- September 7, 2006)
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,71724-0.html?tw=wn_technology_7
The U.S. government plans to bury thousands of tons of nuclear weapons and feul waste under the New Mexico desert. And while it may be safe and secure for our current generations and a few thereafter, the government is taking additional steps to insure that those in the distant future - up to 10,000 years from now - the site will be clearly demarcated as dangerous, in a manner understandable to any human being, regardless of language or technological sophistication.

Military Blimps Report for Duty -- (Washington Post -- August 07, 2006)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/06/AR2006080600499.html
In the era of $300 million fighter jets, satellite-guided rockets and complicated battlefield computer networks, the US military is interested in reviving an old-fashioned technology: the blimp. The military's interest is driven by a search for cheap alternatives to satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones. Some low-flying versions are already in Iraq, Afghanistan and along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Physicists Draw Up Plans for Real 'Cloaking Device' -- (New Scientist -- May 25, 2006)
http://www.newscientisttech.com/article.ns?id=dn9227&feedId=online-news_rss20
Physicists have drawn up blueprints for a cloaking device that could, in theory, render objects invisible. Light normally bounces off an object's surface making it visible to the human eye. But John Pendry and colleagues at Imperial College London, have calculated that materials engineered to have abnormal optical properties, known as metamaterials, could make light pass around an object as so it appears as if it were not there at all.

Building a Better Limb -- (U.S. News -- July 23, 2006)
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/health/articles/060723/31arm.htm
Until Iraq, companies had little incentive to develop high-performance prosthetics, since most of the country's approximately 1 million people missing a limb are older and often frail victims of diabetes or vascular disease. But wounded U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq are young, athletic, and impatient -- and have no intention of quietly retiring on disability. Much of the new research is being funded by the Defense Department -- including a $48.5 million program that aims to build a "thought controlled" arm by 2009 that's as strong and agile as Luke Skywalker's in Star Wars.

Smokeless Rockets Launching Soon? -- (CNet -- May 17, 2006)
http://news.com.com/Smokeless+rockets+launching+soon/2100-11397_3-6073392.html?tag=nefd.top
Only time and money separate the current state of rocket propulsion science from the engine rooms of Star Trek's Starfleet, according to a university professor. Mach-Lorentz thrusters (MLTs), assuming they can be scaled up from lab tests, could provide a new source of propulsion that "puts out thrust without blowing stuff out the tailpipe." he said.

Pentagon Endorses Space Missile Plan -- (MSNBC -- May 10, 2006)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12728362/
The Pentagon's top weapons buyer has endorsed a plan that could lead to a multibillion-dollar U.S. missile defense component in space and strain ties with China, Russia and other countries. At issue is what the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency calls a space-based "test bed." It would initially involve as few as one or two interceptor missiles designed to shoot down ballistic missiles possibly tipped with nuclear, chemical or germ warheads.

Full-Tilt Flying Machine -- (Live Science -- March 31, 2006)
http://www.livescience.com/technology/060331_popsci_osprey.html
Twenty years in development, the new Osprey tilt-rotor flies faster and farther than any helicopter and goes places airplanes never could. As the Osprey lifts off in helicopter mode, the onboard computers, commanded by the pilot, control it by changing the pitch of the rotor blades - the angle at which they bite into the air as they spin around the hub. To accelerate the MV-22 into airplane-like flight, the nacelles rotate forward, and the prop-rotors transition from generating lift and controlling the direction of the aircraft to simply creating forward thrust.

The Great Weapons Debate -- (Popular Mechanics -- April 11, 2006)
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/defense/2530001.html?page=7&c=y
The Pentagon wants to deploy a host of exotic new weapons systems. Critics say too much of this costly hardware is designed to fight the wrong war. This website shows seven advanced weapons systems and machinery being developed by US military. The usefulness and practicality of them remains to be seen.

Are Laser Weapons Ready for Duty? -- (MSN -- April 11, 2006)
http://msn-cnet.com.com/Are+laser+weapons+ready+for+duty/2008-1008_3-
6059967.html?part=msn-cnet&subj=ns_3-6059967&tag=tg_home
By the end of this year, the Air Force plans to conduct a first, fully loaded test flight of its Airborne Laser, a jumbo jet packed with gear designed to shoot down enemy missiles half a world away, at the speed of light. The ABL also packs a megawatt-class punch--it's not exactly your garden-variety laser pointer. For ground troops and embassy guards, the Active Denial System is being put through its paces. The ADS would provide a non-lethal form of crowd control, using millimeter waves (a cousin of microwaves) to cause an intense burning sensation meant to encourage people to flee.

Revealed: UK Develops Secret Nuclear Warhead -- (Times Online -- March 12, 2006)
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2081800,00.html
Britain has been secretly designing a new nuclear warhead in conjunction with the Americans, provoking a legal row over the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The aim is to produce a simpler device using proven components to avoid breaching the ban on nuclear testing. Known as the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW), it is being designed so that it can be tested in a laboratory rather than by detonation.

Shock and Awe -- (ScienCentral News -- March 23, 2006)
http://www.sciencentral.com/articles/view.php3?type=article&article_id=218392756
They're loud, sometimes deadly, and invisible. But now scientists are making the shockwaves from explosions visible, and their work could help thwart the efforts of terrorists. With new reconstructions researchers are able to see exactly what happened and also to predict the effects of future explosions. In theory, shockwaves could even be traced backwards to detect sniper locations.

Saved by 'Sand' Poured into the Wounds -- (New Scientist -- March 16, 2006)
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18925435.800-saved-by-sand-poured-into-the-wounds.html
QuikClot, which is issued routinely to police officers in Hillsborough county, Florida, was developed for the US military to cut down the number of soldiers who bleed to death on the battlefield. More than 85 per cent of soldiers killed in action die within an hour of being wounded. Improved hemorrhage control "could probably save 20 per cent of the soldiers who are killed in action" says one trauma surgeon.

Sticky Foam Gets Serious -- (Defense Tech -- March 7, 2006)
http://www.defensetech.org/archives/002220.html
Sticky foam is the custard pie of the non-lethal world, often seen more as a practical joke than a weapon. After some initial enthusiasm for the idea during the Marine deployment to Somalia in 1995, the idea faded and has been in limbo ever since. Now sticky foam is back, defending nuclear weapon stockpiles. Some facilities storing uranium and plutonium now boast steel doors with containers of hydrocarbon solution built into them. Breach the door, and the liquid comes foaming out under high pressure, expanding in bulk by a factor of forty and sealing the breach with an impassable obstacle.

Stealth Sharks to Patrol the High Seas -- (New Scientist -- March 1, 2006)
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?hbxmail=nl&id=mg18925416.300
Imagine getting inside the mind of a shark: swimming silently through the ocean, sensing faint electrical fields, homing in on the trace of a scent, and navigating through the featureless depths for hour after hour. We may soon be able to do just that via electrical probes in the shark's brain. Engineers funded by the US military have created a neural implant designed to enable a shark's brain signals to be manipulated remotely, controlling the animal's movements, and perhaps even decoding what it is feeling.

E-Weapons: Directed Energy Warfare in The 21st Century -- (Space -- January 11, 2006)
http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/060111_e-weapons.html
There is a new breed of weaponry fast approaching, and at the speed of light no less. They are labeled "directed-energy weapons" and may well signal a revolution in military hardware, perhaps more so than the atomic bomb. Directed-energy weapons take the form of lasers, high-powered microwaves, and particle beams.

Videogames Integral to U.S. Military -- (NewsDaily -- February 14, 2006)
http://www.newsdaily.com/TopNews/UPI-1-20060214-10332700-bc-us-combattraining.xml
Using videogames to train today's U.S. military recruits, who grew up with XBoxes and PlayStations, is necessary and natural says a new report. With videogame shooting experience before and after entering the military, today's recruits are expected to feel less inhibited pointing their weapons at somebody. That "provides a better foundation for us to work with," said Marine Lt. Col. Scott Sutton.

Police, Army Robots to Debut in 5 Years -- (The Korea Times -- January 23, 2006)
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/200601/kt2006011617112710160.htm
By the 2010s, Korea is expecting to see robots assisting police and the military, patrolling the neighborhoods and going on recon missions on the battlefield. The Center for Intelligent Robots said the state-backed agency plans to check the feasibility of security robots by convening a 40-member planning committee late this week. The government also seeks to build combat robots. They will take the shape of a dog or a horse, with six or eight legs or wheels.

Navy Tests Look-to-Talk Device -- (Wired -- January 11, 2006)
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,69996-0.html?tw=wn_tophead_4
The U.S. Navy is field-testing a new short-range communications device called LightSpeed that could soon let sailors talk securely up to two miles away, just by looking at each other. The device uses infrared, similar to that of a television remote control, to transmit audio and visual information. To overcome range limits, LightSpeed connects to ordinary binoculars and uses the optical lenses to amplify the signals. Then soldiers on either end can simply plug headphones and a microphone into their binoculars to talk to one another.

US Military Sets Laser PHASRs to Stun -- (New Scientist -- November 8, 2005)
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8275
The US government has unveiled a "non-lethal" laser rifle designed to dazzle enemy personnel without causing them permanent harm. But the device will require close scrutiny to ensure compliance with a United Nations protocol on blinding laser weapons. The US Department of Defense believes the weapon could be used, for example, to temporarily blind suspects who drive through a roadblock.

Landmine Arrows -- (New Scientist -- November 28, 2005)
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8355&feedId=online-news_rss20
A company has developed a shell containing hundreds of steel arrows that can trigger landmines with a single shot. Each rod has a flared rear end, like the feathers of an arrow, and hundreds can be packed into a single cylindrical shell. This shell can be lobbed into a mined area and just before impact a charge behind the arrows will fire them downwards. The metal flights will keep the arrows on a straight course so that they pepper the area at high velocity and at regular spaces.

Air Force Testing New Transparent Armor -- (Air Force -- October 25, 2005)
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123012131
Engineers here are testing a new kind of transparent armor - stronger and lighter than traditional materials - that could stop armor-piercing weapons from penetrating vehicle windows. Researchers are testing aluminum oxynitride (ALONtm) as a replacement for the traditional multi-layered glass transparencies now used in existing ground and air armored vehicles.

AIRBORNE LASER BRINGS STAR WARS ONE STEP CLOSER -- (Reuters -- August 31, 2005)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050824/tc_nm/laser_dc
A U.S. Pentagon invention could make air combat resemble a battle scene from Star Wars, with a laser so small it can fit on a fighter jet, yet powerful enough to knock down an enemy missile in flight. The laser being designed by the Pentagon's central research and development agency will weigh just 750 kg (1,650 lb) and measures the size of a large fridge.

Army Tries Water from Vehicle Exhaust Fumes -- (Military -- October 6, 2005)
http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,78169,00.html
Keeping an army provisioned in the desert is a ballet of logistics, particularly when it comes to supplying two vital liquids: diesel fuel and water. Now, using technologies developed for the space program, the U.S. Army is conducting an experiment that could convert the exhaust pipes of military vehicles into water fountains.

FAKE SHARK SKIN COULD MAKE NAVY FLEET FASTER -- (Live Science -- July 15, 2005)
http://www.livescience.com/technology/050715_shark_skin.html
Recent research could lead to synthetic shark skin that would make ships and submarines faster and less expensive to operate. If the research pans out, submarines -- already stealthy and shark-like -- could become even more so. The problem now includes the growth of barnacles, mussels, algae and other organisms adding to fuel costs for the military and shipping industry, and increasing drag by up to 15 percent, scientists say.

Military to Fund Prosthetics Research -- (USA Today -- October 6, 2005)
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2005-10-05-military-prosthetics_x.htm?csp=36
The Defense Department is embarking on a multimillion-dollar research program to revolutionize upper-body prosthetics after a surge in troops who have lost hands and arms in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The technology for artificial hands and arms hasn't improved much since World War II.

NASCAR ENGINEERS HELP DESIGN NEW COMBAT VEHICLE -- (Live Science -- September 13, 2005)

By Michael P. Regan, Associated Press

A few months from now, Peter Anthony Schlesinger hopes to zap a laser beam at a couple of chickens or other animals in a cage a few dozen yards away.

If all goes as planned, the chickens will be frozen in mid-cluck, their leg and wing muscles paralyzed by an electrical charge created by the beam, even as their heart and lungs continue to function normally.

Among those most interested in the demonstration's outcome will be officials at the Pentagon, who helped fund Schlesinger's work and are looking at this type of device to do a lot more than just zap the cluck out of a chicken.

Directed energy could bring numerous advantages to the battlefield in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, where U.S. troops have had to deal with hostile but unarmed crowds as well as dangerous insurgents.

Aside from paralyzing potential attackers or noncombatants like a long-range Taser stun gun, developers say directed-energy weapons could fry the electronics of missiles and roadside bombs — or even disable a vehicle in a high-speed chase.

The most ambitious program is the Air Force's Airborne Laser, a plan to mount a laser on a modified Boeing 747 and use it to shoot down missiles.

At the same Air Force Research Laboratory in New Mexico, researchers working with Raytheon have developed a weapon called the Active Denial System, which repels adversaries by heating the water molecules in their skin with microwave energy. The pain is so great that people flee immediately.

"It just feels like your skin is on fire," said Rich Garcia, a spokesman for the laboratory who, as a test subject, has felt the Active Denial System's heat. "When you get out of the path of the beam, or shut off the beam, everything goes back to normal. There's no residual pain."

A Humvee-mounted Active Denial weapon is expected to be given to all services by the end of this year for evaluation, with a decision about deployment expected by the end of 2005.

But the idea of using directed energy against humans is already creating controversy, fueled by deaths allegedly caused by Tasers and the alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners — which put the military's respect for human rights under a microscope.

Some experts believe the use of directed energy will be hamstrung by international law and treaties.

PROJECT LETS ARMY DIG DEEP INTO UNDERGROUND DATA -- (C|Net News -- August 22, 2005)
http://news.com.com/Project+lets+Army+dig+deep+into+underground+data/2100-7337_3-5840142.html?tag=nefd.top
Soldiers combing the mountains of Afghanistan or the deserts of Iraq for subterranean stashes of weapons of mass destruction--or even the elusive Osama bin Laden--may soon have help. Silicon Graphics Inc plans to collaborate with the U.S. Army over the next several months on what it has dubbed a Subterranean Target Identification program. The program would allow soldiers to use seismic data from the Earth to help them feel out the presence of underground bunkers.

RESEARCHERS RECOVER TYPED TEXT USING AUDIO RECORDING OF KEYSTROKES -- (Berkeley -- September 15, 2005)
http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2005/09/14_key.shtml
Researchers were able to take several 10-minute sound recordings of users typing at a keyboard, feed the audio into a computer, and use an algorithm to recover up to 96 percent of the characters entered. "It's a form of acoustical spying that should raise red flags among computer security and privacy experts," said one expert.

Out of the five human senses, sound is perhaps the most necessary. But now sound has become a weapon. It has been discovered that certain sound frequencies have surprising effects on the human body, such as causing uncontrollable bowel movements, unconsciousness, or (according to rumor) even death. Allegedly, armies can be halted by a sound so powerful that they can not even hear it. There is also supposedly a "sonic bullet" - a projected sound wave that acts like a bullet. The "peaceful" applications of these sonic technologies are for riot control or even the excavation of earth.

In 1994 Japanese scientists created the world's smallest working car. It can drive around on a dime; an electron microscope was used to build the engine. Tomorrow, the smaller the enemy, the harder to detect. The harder to detect, the more dangerous. Imagine a person walking into a high-tech military base carrying a container full of 100 robots, nearly invisible, like tiny insects. Near a supercomputer, the robots are released. Their function is to remain dormant inside the computer until a radio signal is sent; then they are to seek out and destroy the power source, disabling the defence system. Although this situation is still theoretical, many U.S. robotic scientists believe that by the year 2020 robots could be small enough to enter into the human body through the skin. This field is known as nanotechnology.

Space technology has also begun using sound and robotics. Today's satellites can pick up radar images from all over the world, and can single out individual targets. It is rumored that some satellites can read the time on a person's watch or pick up infrared images that can distinguish between individuals. This type of technology creates new possibilities for warfare. Instead of using an assault team to fight an enemy, a satellite spots the enemy, who is exterminated by high intensity ultra-sound (which is capable of causing earthquakes), plasma beams, or even lasers. From orbit, satellites can identify the individual heat signature of a high ranking political opponent (even inside a building) and destroy that person.

Scientific testing of the frequency of sound that forces uncontrollable bowel movements, confusion etc. has proven it unlikely to be effective. On the show "Mythbusters," the myth of the "Brown note" as they call it was declared definitively busted after testing. That being said, that doesn't prove that all types of sonic weapons have no military application.

SPY CRAFT TAKE GULL FLIGHT LESSON -- (BBC -- September 8, 2005)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4185648.stm
Aviation researchers have copied the wing action of seagulls to develop spy drones that can morph shape mid-flight. The toy-sized drones are being developed for tricky urban missions so that they can zip around tight places. They could fly into urban environments to detect biological agents.

THE MILITARY'S WALRUS: An Unlikely Flying Machine -- (Live Science -- September 13, 2005)

U.S. SPECIAL FORCES TRAIN IN "ADAPTIVE THINKING" U.S. special-forces soldiers are learning how to negotiate, resolve conflicts, and think within cross-cultural settings through a simulation game developed by Sandia National Laboratories. The Adaptive Thinking and Leadership simulation focuses on developing the soldiers' "interpersonal flexibility and strategic communications," according to Sandia researcher and project leader Elaine Raybourn. The games can be played by an individual or in a networked game with as many as 24 players. The instructors can modify the immersive scenarios as the game is played, changing the direction of the game. The exercises are intended to help the soldiers communicate with respect and to work effectively with individuals in other cultures. "Communication skills and interpersonal adaptability are paramount in successfully achieving Special Forces objectives," says Raybourn.

VR GOGGLES HEAL SCARS OF WAR -- (Wired News -- August 22, 2005)
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,68575,00.html?tw=wn_1techhead
I'm inside a virtual-reality simulation of a war zone in Iraq. High-resolution goggles cover my eyes and headphones cover my ears. Hollywood special-effects pros and game developers are coming together to develop new immersive simulation technologies for the military. Most are used as training tools, but this time, the goal is to help combatants cope with the personal psychological effects of war in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

(Building)