National Defense articles from April 2009

National Defense archives from April 2009

No way to escape tighter budgets, acquisition reform.(PRESIDENT'S PERSPECTIVE)
April 1, 2009... A mix of unease and confusion is what best describes the current mood in the defense industry as it tries to predict what lies ahead. Two major developments--an acquisition reform bill now being debated on Capitol Hill and the Obama...

Electric vehicles.(READERS FORUM: VIEWS ... COMMENTS ... SUGGESTIONS)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2009... The November 2008 President's Perspective, "Oil Price Swings Should Not Delay U.S. Energy Strategy," stated the following: "If it [the federal government] declared its intention to buy only alternative fuel or hybrid type vehicles with greatly...

Combat stress.(READERS FORUM: VIEWS ... COMMENTS ... SUGGESTIONS)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2009... I very much appreciate your December 2008 article, "To Heal Psychological Trauma, Troops Relive War in Virtual Reality," and the way the U.S. military is searching for new treatment of its soldiers returning from combar with post-traumatic...

On biofuels.(READERS FORUM: VIEWS ... COMMENTS ... SUGGESTIONS)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2009... The interesting article "Renewable Fuels" (January 2009) provided an insightful assessment on the issue of crops and corn-based ethanol as fuel, pointing out its possible unwanted impact on energy balance, environmental footprint, and food...

No nuclear meltdowns.(READERS FORUM: VIEWS ... COMMENTS ... SUGGESTIONS)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2009... You are certainly on target with your January 2009 headline, "Future of Nuclear Energy Hinges on Recycling Technology." However, you call the Three Mile Island incident a "meltdown." It was no such thing, it was a coolant leak. TMI had no...

Nuke recycling.(READERS FORUM: VIEWS ... COMMENTS ... SUGGESTIONS)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2009... I am disappointed on your source of information in "Future of Nuclear Energy Hinges on Recycling Technology" (January 2009). You quoted a scientist from the Union of Concerned Scientists as saying, "The most severe threat associated with...

Border security.(READERS FORUM: VIEWS ... COMMENTS ... SUGGESTIONS)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2009... Several articles on homeland security in the January 2009 edition of National Defense raise serious questions regarding the Department of Homeland Security's failure to deploy improved sensors to detect weapons of mass destruction. ...

'Holodeck' troop training on Army's wish list.(WASHINGTON PULSE)
April 1, 2009... The Army's newly published training manual champions the use of high-tech simulations as a means to improve soldiers' skills across a wide range of missions. The service already owns thousands of simulators but the Army would like to move to...

Military hardware: what do users want?(WASHINGTON PULSE)
April 1, 2009... At a time when the Pentagon is under orders to make "tough choices" about which weapons it should acquire, military buyers may want to consider paying more attention to what troops in the field really need. Sometimes, less can be more. The...

Pentagon technology wins in the complexity category.(WASHINGTON PULSE)
April 1, 2009... For decades we've been reminded by the Pentagon's technology experts that the Defense Department, since the end of the Cold War, no longer is at the forefront of science because consumer technology is advancing at such fast pace that defense...

Identity check: letting local police check detainees' immigration status causes concern.(SECURITY BEAT: HOMELAND DEFENSE BRIEFS)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Department of Homeland Security is undertaking a new initiative to allow local police to check the immigration status of those persons it takes under custody. The plan has sparked protest by at least one human...

Senators oppose FEMA divorce from Homeland Security Dept.(SECURITY BEAT)
April 1, 2009... Not long after Hurricane Katrina devastated coastal regions of Louisiana and Mississippi in 2004, questions arose about the wisdom of having folded the Federal Emergency Management Agency into the Department of Homeland Security. Critics...

Border Patrol meets hiring goals, looks to add more officers.(SECURITY BEAT)
April 1, 2009... U.S. Customs and Border Protection in December reached its goal of hiring 6,000 new border agents. The objective was set two years ago by former President George W, Bush in a bid to deter cross-border illegal activity--from smuggling to...

Computers that even soldiers can't break.(INSIDE SCIENCE + TECHNOLOGY)
April 1, 2009... BlackBerries, iPhones and laptops, move over. In a few years, soldiers could pull from their pockets paper-thin mini computers that they can unfold or unroll to display maps, streaming video and the latest mission briefings. The display screens...

On deck: threats to aircraft carriers bolster case for unmanned combat.(Unmanned Warfare)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Navy's aircraft carriers for decades have been hailed as the most dependable means to secure U.S. military access to troublespots around the world. As floating airbases, the carriers are regarded as the ultimate...

Defense dept. forecasts greater use of robots in ground combat.
April 1, 2009... The Pentagon currently owns 6,000 robots--3,500 of which are deployed in combat zones. Most serve in military bomb-squads and explosive detection units. That may seem like a lot of robots, but to officials who oversee robot technology...

Aging scout: with no replacement in sight, Army's oldest helos keep going.(Army Aviation)
April 1, 2009... The Army's oldest and busiest scout helicopters were supposed to be retired by now. Instead, maintenance crews scramble to keep them operating around the clock, in two theaters of war. The OH-58A Kiowa helicopter was first deployed to...

Army's industrial depots prepare for surge.(Tactical Vehicles)
April 1, 2009... The Army's maintenance depots may have to rapidly ramp up their capacity so they can fix up to 40,000 trucks and combat vehicles that could be returning from Iraq in the next several years. Most of that work will be done at the Letterkenny...

Army's 2.5-ton trucks undergo overhaul.(Tactical Vehicles)
April 1, 2009... Army trucks will be overhauled to "like-new" condition at Red River Army Depot in Texas for roughly half the cost of buying new models. The Army awarded a $20.5 million contract to BAE Systems in September to refurbish--of "reset" in...

Combat ready: Chaos goes where no robot has gone before.(TECH TALK: A TIP-SHEET ON THE LATEST GADGETS)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] An autonomous tracked platform that can be used for troop extraction, resupply, and search and security operations was tested by U.S. Marines in this year's Cobra Gold exercise in Thailand. The diminutive Chaos...

Research leads to whisper quiet UAVs.(TECH TALK: A TIP-SHEET ON THE LATEST GADGETS)
April 1, 2009... While many low altitude unmanned aerial vehicles are able to frustrate visual, radar and infrared detection, the noise they emit especially as they hone in on targets can give them away. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Engineers and technicians...

Sophisticated flight simulator is off the ground.(TECH TALK: A TIP-SHEET ON THE LATEST GADGETS)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A fully immersive cockpit simulator for the Navy's E-6B command, control and communications aircraft is now operational. It was built by L3/Link Simulation and Training, Arlington, Texas. A Naval Air Systems...

Integrated emergency communications nearing fruition.(TECH TALK: A TIP-SHEET ON THE LATEST GADGETS)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Putting the word out in an emergency to the people who need it the most always has been a challenge for local authorities. Technologies are now available to make their job easier. A partnership between Northrop...

Handheld computer enhances sniper accuracy.(TECH TALK: A TIP-SHEET ON THE LATEST GADGETS)
April 1, 2009... Advanced ballistic computers that are paired with custom software are permitting shooters to score targets up to 2,500 yards of more. Horus Vision of San Bruno, Calif., recently earned a second contract to provide more than a thousand of...

Stealthy, small robot tracks enemy day of night.(TECH TALK: A TIP-SHEET ON THE LATEST GADGETS)
April 1, 2009... A tiny, mobile surveillance robot that can be thrown through windows or over infrared walls has been outfitted with sensors so that it can spot bad guys in the dark. The Recon Scout IR--produced by ReconRobotics Inc. of Edina, Minn.--gathers...

White House kicks off new wave of reforms.(ETHICS CORNER)
April 1, 2009... President Obama pledged to make procurement reform a priority through increased transparency and oversight, calling for more frequent audits, increased federal procurement staff, stricter "revolving-door" rules, and fewer sole-source contracts,...

Retired Army Brig. Gen. William Holmes presents the William R. Moseley Award to Jerry Smith.(NDIANEWS)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Retired Army Brig. Gen. William Holmes presents the William R. Moseley Award to Jerry Smith, former vice president and general manager, Day & Zimmermann Munitions & Government, at the 2009 Munitions...