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Archive for the ‘military’ category: Page 148

May 4, 2020

The Army Is Testing Handheld Ray Guns

Posted by in categories: energy, engineering, military

https://youtube.com/watch?v=h5jBjso6l6I

Circa 2015


Fittingly, these rifle-sized weapons would gun for other electronics.

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May 4, 2020

Marines will help make it clear that China can’t expel America from South China Sea

Posted by in categories: futurism, military

Beijing’s desire to turn the South China Sea into a personal lake for President Xi Jinping is getting pushback from an unexpected source, the United State Marine Corps. When people think of the Marines, they generally think of assault troops and aggressive attacks on fortified positions, so sea control might seem a stretch for the Corps.

But Marines are adaptive. Actually, the Marines are going back to the future. The seizure and defense of advanced naval bases has been a major part of the Marine Corps’ mission for over a century; but since World War II, the seizure portion — better known as amphibious warfare — has overshadowed the defensive mission. The Marine Corps commandant, Gen. David Berger, is rebalancing the Marine Corps for a closer integration with the Navy after the two sea services had drifted apart for several decades.

To understand this, we need to understand the threat posed by Chinese build-up in the Indo-Pacific Region.

May 4, 2020

Northrop, Raytheon team on next-gen interceptor bid

Posted by in category: military

The companies hope their team up will nab one of two spots in the competition, to be awarded later this year.

May 4, 2020

New Military Test Detects COVID-19 Before It’s Infectious

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, military

The test came out of DARPA, the U.S. military’s research division, and may be granted an accelerated emergency use authorization by the FDA by the end of the week, according to The Guardian.

If the test works as expected, it could play a major role in preventing future outbreaks by letting people know they need to self-isolate well before they start spreading the coronavirus.

“The concept fills a diagnostic gap worldwide,” Dr. Brad Ringeisen, head of DARPA’s biological technologies office, told The Guardian. He added that, should the FDA approve the test for use, it could be “absolutely a gamechanger.”

May 4, 2020

‘I Could Solve Most of Your Problems’: Eric Schmidt’s Pentagon Offensive

Posted by in categories: military, robotics/AI

Mr. Schmidt is pressing forward with a Silicon Valley worldview where advances in software and A.I. are the keys to figuring out almost any issue. While that philosophy has led to social networks that spread disinformation and other unintended consequences, Mr. Schmidt said he was convinced that applying new and relatively untested technology to complex situations — including deadly ones — would make service members more efficient and bolster the United States in its competition with China.


The former Google C.E.O. has reinvented himself as the prime liaison between Silicon Valley and the military-industrial complex.

The U.S. military has been “stuck in software in the 1980s,” said Eric Schmidt, Google’s former chief executive. Credit… Winni Wintermeyer/Redux.

May 3, 2020

DARPA Is Creating a Travel Adapter That Will Be Implanted in Soldiers’ Bodies

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, food, military

‘Through advances in medical devices and synthetic biology, DARPA’s new Advanced Acclimation and Protection Tool for Environmental Readiness (ADAPTER) program aims to develop a travel adapter for the human body, an implantable or ingestible bioelectronic carrier that can provide warfighters control over their own physiology. The integrated system will be designed to entrain the sleep cycle – either to a new time zone or back to a normal sleep pattern after night missions – and eliminate bacteria that cause traveler’s diarrhea after ingestion of contaminated food and water,’ reads a DARPA statement on the new device.”


The adapter is meant to regulate sleep patterns and protect against diarrhea.

May 3, 2020

Kim Jong Un surfaces — North Korea leader spotted at factory visit on May Day

Posted by in categories: existential risks, military

Seoul/New York: Kim Jong Un ended his almost three-week absence from public events with a factory visit, an appearance that will ease, but not end, concern about the stability of the North Korean regime and control of its nuclear arsenal.

Kim presided over a May Day ceremony to mark the completion of the Sunchon Phosphatic Fertilizer Factory northeast of the capital Pyongyang, the official Korean Central News Agency reported early Saturday. State media released photos showing the North Korean leader in a black Mao suit cutting a ribbon outside the facility, which non-proliferation experts say could be used to help produce fissile material for nuclear bombs.

U.S. President Donald Trump declined to comment on Kim’s reemergence besides telling reporters before heading to Camp David for the weekend that he “may” speak with the North Korean leader. “We’ll have something to say about it at the appropriate time,” Trump said.

May 2, 2020

Researchers see path to quantum computing at room temperature

Posted by in categories: computing, military, quantum physics

Army researchers predict quantum computer circuits that will no longer need extremely cold temperatures to function could become a reality after about a decade.

For years, solid-state quantum technology that operates at room temperature seemed remote. While the application of transparent crystals with had emerged as the most likely route to this milestone, the plausibility of such a system always remained in question.

Now, Army scientists have officially confirmed the validity of this approach. Dr. Kurt Jacobs, of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Army Research Laboratory, working alongside Dr. Mikkel Heuck and Prof. Dirk Englund, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, became the first to demonstrate the feasibility of a quantum logic gate comprised of and optical crystals.

May 1, 2020

Can Electric Cars on the Highway Emulate Plane-to-Plane Refueling?

Posted by in categories: military, sustainability

Jet fighters can’t carry a huge tank of fuel because it would slow them down. Instead they have recourse to air-to-air refueling, using massive tanker planes as their gas stations. If electric vehicles could pull off the same kind of peer-to-peer charging scheme it could eliminate range phobia and speed the adoption of EVs.


On-the-road peer-to-peer charging depends on steerable booms to make the connection.

May 1, 2020

Robots Will Replace Soldiers In Combat, Says Russia

Posted by in categories: military, robotics/AI

Russia continues it’s pursuit of Killer Robots. Battlefield deployment can be expected soon. Civilian deaths caused by the erroneous decisions of a robot are imminent.

Ban Killer Robots!


While some Russian robots have underperformed expectations in combat, the Ministry of Defence is working on a new generation of combat machines for training and possible future use. At the center of this design is the Marker UGV, or uncrewed ground vehicle. Resembling a miniature tank with treads and turrets, the Marker is as much a test bed as it is a machine expected to see battle.

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