National Defense articles from February 2009

National Defense archives from February 2009

Science in defense.(READERS' FORUM: VIEWS ... COMMENTS ... SUGGESTIONS)(Letter to the editor)
February 1, 2009... * Thanks for writing the November 2008 article, "Scholars Give Defense Department Failing Grade." I retired from the Army a year ago and I started working for Lockheed Martin Simulations and Training Support in January 2008. Before I retired, I...

Industry consolidation.(READERS' FORUM: VIEWS ... COMMENTS ... SUGGESTIONS)(Letter to the editor)
February 1, 2009... I was astounded to read in your December column, "Clouds of Uncertainty on the Horizon, But No Major Storm," that there is pressure on defense companies to head down the diversification path again. As you noted, we've been there and done that,...

Foreign policy ambition overlooks war lessons.(DEFENSE WATCH)
February 1, 2009... * Preparations may soon be under way for pulling U.S. forces out of Iraq. But don't be looking for a peace dividend any time soon. The military in fact is gearing up for a big buildup. It plans to remain engaged in a "long war," according...

U.S. may lose robotics edge.(WASHINGTON PULSE: NEWS FROM INSIDE THE BELTWAY)
February 1, 2009... * Unmanned weapons systems--in the form of surveillance drones and bomb-detonating robots--have been hailed as revolutionary technologies that have helped U.S. forces gain an edge in recent wars. But the United States may soon see that...

We don't see a breakthrough on replacing petroleum.(WASHINGTON PULSE: NEWS FROM INSIDE THE BELTWAY)
February 1, 2009... "We don't see a breakthrough on replacing petroleum in this period." Matthew Burrows, counselor at the National Intelligence Council, discussing the findings of the NIC's latest study, "Global Trends 2025."

So much of the success of Future Combat Systems.(WASHINGTON PULSE: NEWS FROM INSIDE THE BELTWAY)
February 1, 2009... "So much of the success of Future Combat Systems depends on a network that has never been demonstrated." Andrew Krepinevich, of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, suggesting to the Obama administration that it should...

"Have any of you done this Wii yet?(WASHINGTON PULSE: NEWS FROM INSIDE THE BELTWAY)
February 1, 2009... "Have any of you done this Wii yet? My daughter stands in my living room with a little handle and she can play tennis, watching the ball come and go. She can bowl. It's amazing simulation. We don't have anything like that for our troops." ...

Domestic drones: DHS mulls maritime Predator as northern version takes flight.(SECURITY BEAT: HOMELAND DEFENSE BRIEFS)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * The first Customs and Border Protection Predator B unmanned aerial vehicle arrived in December at Grand Forks, N.D., where it will conduct regular patrols of the northern border. Meanwhile, work continues at...

Senators may seek life science lab security regulations.(SECURITY BEAT)
February 1, 2009... * "The commission believes that unless the world community acts decisively and with great urgency, it is more likely than not that a weapon of mass destruction will be used in a terrorist attack somewhere in the world by the end of 2013." ...

Governors attempt interoperability solution as feds falter.(SECURITY BEAT)
February 1, 2009... * Six states are being asked to design new projects to help first responders communicate with each other more effectively during disasters. Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Massachusetts, New York and Washington will come up with new ideas to...

DHS pilot program to focus on state emergency planning.(SECURITY BEAT)
February 1, 2009... * The Department of Homeland Security, along with U.S. Northern Command, is coordinating a new pilot program designed to make states devote more fulltime personnel to drawing up emergency response plans. The DHS-funded Task Force for...

Getting to the bottom of global warming--from space.(INSIDE SCIENCE + TECHNOLOGY)
February 1, 2009... * The first of several satellites designed to monitor Earth's greenhouse gases has reached orbit and will begin collecting data in the coming months. If all goes as planned, the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite for the next five years...

Energy strategy: converting U.S. car park to hybrids should be priority one.(Energy)
February 1, 2009... Reducing personal vehicle demand for gasoline is the quickest and most effective way to cut our consumption of crude oil, and by extension, make our nation more secure. Hybrid vehicles could be one of the best available options to achieve...

Defense Department should rethink energy-saving tactics.(VIEWPOINT)
February 1, 2009... The Defense Department is working toward developing alternative fuels and propulsion technologies to decrease its energy dependency, and increase its energy security. The Pentagon's environmentalism, however, does not align much with reality....

Tougher rules: mandatory disclosure regime raises stakes for contractors.(LEGAL COMMENTARY)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A new regulatory enforcement regime has now commenced that underscores the Department of Justice's aggressive approach to procurement fraud and dramatically increases the compliance and disclosure obligations of...

Sinking fleet: Navy's shipbuilding strategy remains under fire.(ANALYSIS)
February 1, 2009... PANAMA CITY, Fla. -- The Navy's numbers are sinking, and there is not much that the Obama administration or Congress can do in the near term to reverse the tide. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A fleet of 278 ships today--less than half of what...

Inside the hatch: coming soon: cockpits in combat trucks.(Tactical Vehicles)(Cover story)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Soldiers would like to control their vehicle-based technologies--sensors, communications, blue force tracking and weapons--from a single interface, just as civilians access multiple programs from their desktop...

Greener Army: high-tech vehicles promise fuel savings--years from now.(Tactical Vehicles)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Army is channeling the majority of its investments in fuel-efficient technology into the Future Combat Systems. But that program is still years away from fielding, and energy savings may take a long time to...

Electric cars for Army posts, but fuel guzzlers for combat.(Tactical Vehicles)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * Electricity-powered golf carts are a staple on military bases around the United States. The Army now is asking manufacturers to design a larger and more sophisticated version of the electric golf cart in order to...

Growing pains: equipment shortages undercut U.S. Special Operations Forces.(Special Operations)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The U.S. Special Operations Command has seen its budget and personnel nearly double since 2001. But analysts caution that the command may be stretching itself thin because it has not acquired enough additional...

Urban surveillance: U.S. Special Operations Command weighs deployment of armed drones.(Special Operations)
February 1, 2009... After a decade of development, an experimental rotary-wing unmanned aerial vehicle may have found a customer at Special Operations Command. The Boeing A160T Hummingbird, originally a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program, is...

Satellite phone made tougher, more compact.(TECH TALK: A TIP-SHEET ON THE LATEST GADGETS)
February 1, 2009... * A sleeker, smaller and more rugged satellite telephone--featuring an internally stowed antenna--has been introduced by Iridium Satellite LLC of Bethesda, Md. The device, which is called the 9555, also comes with an intuitive user interface, a...

Honeycomb design curbs jet noise.(TECH TALK: A TIP-SHEET ON THE LATEST GADGETS)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * Jet aircraft noise in and around airports is a major pain for persons living near these transportation hubs. The upshot is that complex sound abatement for take-off and landings are required, which often make...

Aviation fire extinguisher makes debut at convention.(TECH TALK)
February 1, 2009... * A halon alternative portable aviation fire extinguisher that is made by H3R Aviation Inc. of Larkspur, Calif., was recently showcased at a business aviation convention in Orlando, Fla. The Halotron 1, a 150-pound, wheeled extinguisher, is...

Low profile, light hydration packs attach to vests.(TECH TALK)
February 1, 2009... * The makers of Armorbak Hydration Series in response to recommendations from soldiers in the field have produced four hydration packs that attach directly to a soldier's personal armor. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Made by Camelbak of...

Final rules on mandatory disclosure.(Ethics Corner)
February 1, 2009... The April 2008 Ethics Corner, "New Rules For Federal Contracts," explained the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) mandate for contractor codes of ethics effective Dec. 24, 2007. Although the ethics program provisions required attention and...

Industrial College of the Armed Forces seeks industry partners.(NDIA NEWS)
February 1, 2009... The Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF) is reaching out to industry to find 10 promising young leaders from the private sector to join its student body as industry fellows. The Defense Department provides formal education for...

Port security.(NEXT MONTH: PREVIEW OF OUR NEXT ISSUE)
February 1, 2009... * While the military and law enforcement have long been eyeing ways to improve port security, the Mumbai attacks brought urgency to the issue. A recent Department of Homeland Security document said that technology would be the key to thwarting...

Robotics technology.(NEXT MONTH: PREVIEW OF OUR NEXT ISSUE)
February 1, 2009... * The Science fiction vision of humanoid robots that work alongside their living counterparts will happen by the end of the century, some futurists predict. Army basic research dollars are already being spent to look at some of the...