National Defense articles from November 2008

National Defense archives from November 2008

Oil price swings should not delay U.S. energy strategy.(PRESIDENT'S PERSPECTIVE)
November 1, 2008... On Oct. 13, the former investment bank Goldman Sachs, now a bank holding company, slashed its year-end crude oil target to $70 a barrel, down from previous projections of $115 a barrel. Crude has plummeted 44 percent since it reached a peak of...

Why the Pentagon keeps buying the wrong weapons.(DEFENSE WATCH)
November 1, 2008... At the height of World War I, Frederick Lanchester conceived a string of mathematical formulas that helped to predict the outcome of armed conflicts. His equations gave rise to attrition warfare and the notion that victory is achieved by...

Expensive frills: customers blamed for military aircraft sticker shock.(WASHINGTON PULSE: NEWS FROM THE INSIDE THE BELTWAY)
November 1, 2008... The justification most often heard for the spiraling costs of military aircraft is that the Pentagon is ordering fewer of them, so they become more expensive to build. But that theory doesn't hold water, says a recent government-funded study....

Irregular warfare: I know it when I see it.(WASHINGTON PULSE: NEWS FROM THE INSIDE THE BELTWAY)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... The term "irregular warfare" has been ingrained in the military lexicon. But there is little consensus on what it really means. "It's one of those things that you know it when you see it, but you may not be able to get the definition right the...

Army to separate the wheat from the chaff.(WASHINGTON PULSE: NEWS FROM THE INSIDE THE BELTWAY)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Many of the companies that supply equipment and weapons to the U.S. military may be wondering what the future holds for their business after the current wars end. According to Army Gen. William Wallace, head of the Training and Doctrine...

Poor return on army's IT investment.(WASHINGTON PULSE: NEWS FROM THE INSIDE THE BELTWAY)(information technology)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... The Army spends $10 billion a year on information technology, but even that much money is not buying the service what it needs, said Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Sorenson, the Army's chief information officer. "We have separate networks that don't talk to...

"I think we need to consider whether there needs to be a parallel kind of procurement process for the current fight.(WASHINGTON PULSE: NEWS FROM THE INSIDE THE BELTWAY)
November 1, 2008... "I think we need to consider whether there needs to be a parallel kind of procurement process for the current fight, even as we continue the longer-range modernization." Defense Secretary Robert Gates speaking to military officers at the...

"The cost for those who survived [the Iraq war].(WASHINGTON PULSE: NEWS FROM THE INSIDE THE BELTWAY)
November 1, 2008... "The cost for those who survived [the Iraq war] but will need medical care for the rest of their lives will be $600 billion." Vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., citing estimates by American economist Joseph Stiglitz, who...

"The Department of Defense expects the cost to develop and procure major weapon systems in its current portfolio to total $1.6 trillion--$335 billion.(WASHINGTON PULSE: NEWS FROM THE INSIDE THE BELTWAY)
November 1, 2008... "The Department of Defense expects the cost to develop and procure major weapon systems in its current portfolio to total $1.6 trillion--$335 billion of which is expected to be spent over the next five years." Government Accountability...

Bargain price spectrum: nationwide emergency responder network remains in limbo.(SECURITY BEAT: HOMELAND DEFENSE BRIEFS)
November 1, 2008... The Federal Communications Commission has slashed the price for the D-block, a piece of 700 MHz spectrum set aside for emergency responders. D-Block is a chunk of the 700 MHz spectrum that analog television will no longer be using by next...

Despite progress, ID program still far behind.(SECURITY BEAT)
November 1, 2008... The Transportation Worker Identification Credential, a high-tech secure ID card for ports, is still seeing major delays in its implementation. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "It has been six years since the Transportation Worker...

SAFETY Act participation grows.(SECURITY BEAT)
November 1, 2008... The Department of Homeland Security has seen a significant surge in the number of contractors seeking protection from lawsuits under the SAFE-TY Act. The six-year-old legislation, which stands for Support Anti-Terrorism by Fostering...

Fears that little known medical isotope could fall into the wrong hands.(SECURITY BEAT)
November 1, 2008... Counterterrorism experts have long warned that unsecured radiological materials such as cesium-137--commonly used in the medical community--could fall into terrorist hands and be used to manufacture so-called dirty bombs. But there is a...

Coming soon: robots as parking valets.(INSIDE SCIENCE + TECHNOLOGY)
November 1, 2008... SENDAI, Japan -- A car parked illegally on a city street comes under suspicion by law enforcement agents who believe it may be packed with explosives. They send in two robots to lift the vehicle and move it to a designated safe location where...

Soft power: U.S. defense strategy to pay more attention to fragile states.(Defense Strategy)
November 1, 2008... The new American way of war, says Defense Secretary Robert Gates, will be to prevent costly and controversial military interventions. That will be achieved not by being isolationist, but by helping governments in weak nations root out...

Understanding the market: energy reforms have ignored resilience of the oil industry.(Analysis)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Alternative energy efforts that ignore or work against energy market economics usually fail in the long run, while attempts to shift demand toward new energy solutions that respect market economics are more likely to...

No coherent strategy in place for energy security.(INDUSTRY STUDY)
November 1, 2008... The lack of a consistent, strategically integrated energy policy impairs the United States' productivity and competitive edge, concludes a study by the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. In order to protect its interest, the ICAF study...

Maritime surveillance: Coast Guard not yet ready to commit to unmanned aircraft.(Coast Guard)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] The Coast Guard's unmanned aerial vehicle program has yet to get off the ground. Last year, plans were halted to acquire a vertical-takeoff UAV, called Eagle Eye. At the time, officials said the project had to...

To win hearts and minds, give Coast Guard new hospital ships.(COMMENTARY)
November 1, 2008... * Long before it became fashionable to "win hearts and minds," the U.S. Coast Guard was rescuing people regardless of nationality. Humanitarian missions are a perfect match for the Coast Guard's lifesaving ethos. That is why the Coast...

Scholars give Defense Dept. failing grade.(Science and Technology)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] The Pentagon's science advisors confirmed in a recent study what other experts have been saying for a long time: The Defense Department has lost its luster as a technological innovator and has done a poor job...

Nature's bounty: Army-funded lab looks to plants and animals to inspire cutting edge research.(Science and Technology)(Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- Venus' flower basket, a white tubular sponge that resides one mile down in the depths of the Pacific Ocean, is prized among some Asian cultures for its skeleton's delicate lattice-work. ...

Emergency response: robots primed for disaster operations.(Science and Technology)
November 1, 2008... SENDAI, Japan -- In a country where robots can waltz, karate-chop wood, play drums and conduct orchestras, perhaps it is not surprising that they may soon rescue humans trapped beneath the rubble of an earthquake. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]...

Researchers debate utility of autonomous armed robots.(Science and Technology)
November 1, 2008... * When the Navy's John Canning sat down at a table full of Pentagon lawyers in 2003 to ask what possible legal roadblocks there might be to sending autonomous armed robots into combat, he was surprised when they told him that doing so would be...

Cleared to launch: space programs poised for major expansion in Asia.(Science and Technology)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SAPPORO, Japan -- Japan's government is about to kick off a major expansion of the nation's space programs. The goal is to broaden the scope of space research from traditional areas such as exploration into new...

Defence technology countdown: greatest hits, unfortunate misses.(Cover story)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * In the intricate and routinely zany world of military weaponry, the past several decades have been nothing short of a technological shock-and-awe. The flipside of so much scientific marvel, alas, is that technology...

V-hull trucks.(Hit)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * The MRAP--mine resistant ambush protected vehicle--is a fortress on wheels. When the U.S. military invaded Iraq in 2003, there were only a handful of these vehicles in the inventory. Now, the Defense Department is...

Battlefield energy.(Miss)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... * Hulking generators. Thousands of fuel tanker trucks. Massive loads of batteries. The gargantuan energy demands on the battlefield have been a logistical nightmare for the military for a long time. But it became even more of a predicament in...

Bomb-detonating robots.(Hit)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * It is hard, if not impossible, to find an explosive ordnance disposal specialist who doesn't appreciate this technology. Bomb squad robots were deployed shortly after the beginning of the Iraq conflict. For the EOD...

Directed energy.(Miss)(military lasers)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... * Where are our high-tech laser weapons that can take out an enemy tank. missile or aircraft without a traditional warhead? Decades of research have gone into making science fiction weapons into science fact, but it's hard to see where they...

iPod translators.(Hit)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * A shortage of Arab-speaking interpreters has been a huge hindrance for U.S. troops in the Middle East. The Army tested several translation devices, but none was as successful as the iPod. Orlando-based Vcom3D...

Gun-toting robots.(Miss)
November 1, 2008... * If a bomb disposal team can attach a gripper to a robot and use it to dismantle roadside bombs, can a soldier attach a machine gun to a similar device and use it to remotely fire a weapon? Sure. Is the military ready to take this step?...

Biometrics.(Hit)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * Using attributes of the human body to identify crime suspects has been a law enforcement tactic for more than a century. Until recently, fingerprints and mug shots were the means most employed to identity...

Radiation monitors.(Miss)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... * When casting around for technology programs developed by the Department of Homeland Security, it's hard to find any "hits." The list of "misses" is long and includes the transportation worker identity credential, the Project 28 virtual...

Haptic-friendly gadgets.(Hit)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * Remember that old AT&T jingle that concluded with "reach out and touch someone?" Now we really can, thanks to advances in haptic technology. Aerospace, defense and other security-oriented industries typically...

Space-based radar.(Miss)
November 1, 2008... * Back in the pre-9/11 era, when the Pentagon believed it could monitor its enemies from space, it seemed like a cool idea--a constellation of orbiting spy satellites that could deliver images of geographic areas that typically would be...

'America's Army'.(Hit)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * America's Army is one of the most popular video games today and is gaining status in the industry as one of its most recognizable brands. It also has been a valuable Army recruiting tool. It is the first...

Liquid explosive detectors.(Miss)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * Two years after London authorities thwarted a terrorist plot to blow up transatlantic airliners by using liquid explosives, passengers still are banned from carrying water bottles onto planes. The reason? A lack of...

ROVER video receiver.(Hit)
November 1, 2008... * ROVER stands for remotely operated video enhanced receiver. It is a laptop computer that allows ground forces to see what an aircraft or unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is seeing in real time by receiving images acquired by the aircraft's...

Mission control centers for unmanned vehicles.(Miss)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... * The military is now flying hundreds of unmanned surveillance aircraft over Afghanistan and Iraq. While the aircraft and sensors have advanced rapidly, the workstations that pilots on the ground employ to operate them are archaic. Pilots...

Tiny spy aircraft.(Hit)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * Miniaturized drones--which come in a wide variety of designs and brand names--have finally given soldiers and Marines on the ground their own "eyes" on the battlefield. Mini-drones were once seen primarily among...

Mobile broadband for troops.(Miss)
November 1, 2008... * It is rather shocking that in today's wired culture, troops in combat zones do not have easy access to information. The military has spent billions of dollars during the past decade building high-tech networks and communications systems, but...

No sliding: wall-climbing robots that really stick.(TECH TALK: A TIP-SHEET ON THE LATEST GADGETS)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * Scientists have developed wall-climbing robots that adhere to concrete, wood, steel, glass, drywall and brick. They conform to shapes such as bumps, corners or cracks, and can also clamp to dusty or damp surfaces....

NASA pursues shape shifting wings.(TECH TALK: A TIP-SHEET ON THE LATEST GADGETS)(National Aeronautics and Space Administration)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... * National Aeronautics and Space Administration researchers are perfecting a fiber optic-based sensing system that could be the first step in developing technology that would allow pilots to change the configuration of a wing in midair. ...

Technology permits Kaput UAV to keep flying.(TECH TALK: A TIP-SHEET ON THE LATEST GADGETS)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * A cutting edge flight control system that was developed by Rockwell Collins Control Technology permits smashed unmanned aerial vehicles to not only keep on flying, but also to safely return to base. The...

Seaglider finds commercial role.(TECH TALK)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... * An Office of Naval Research inspired autonomous underwater vehicle--the Seaglider--may soon find itself in the commercial marketplace. The Seaglider relies on a buoyancy based propulsion system that permits it to patrol the ocean depths...

Moon probe is readied for this year's mission.(TECH TALK)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * A spacecraft that is intended to find ice and water-bearing compounds on the moon this year is moving rapidly through its pre-launch trials. An official for Northrop Grumman Corp. of Redondo Beach, Calif.,...

Model assists in Iraq water and land use planning.(TECH TALK)
November 1, 2008... * Scientists from Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque, N.M., and Iraqi engineers have assembled a computer model of that arid Middle Eastern nation's surface water and related systems. The project which was sponsored by the State...

Involve all employees in compliance program.(Ethics Corner)
November 1, 2008... Tony Stark, hero of the summer blockbuster hit Iron Man, is CEO of the high profile defense company Stark Industries. Tony channels his brain power, bravado, and love for things that go boom and creates a deadly "cluster missile" (Jericho) for...

NDIA ethics committee.(NDIA NEWS: ASSOCIATION BRIEFS)
November 1, 2008... Joe Reeder, Chairman Attorney, Greenberg Traurig LLP Thomas Culligan Tofie M. Owen, Jr. Senior Vice President for Corporate Development, SAIC John D. Illgen Vice President, Northrop Grumman Simulation ...

Aberdeen chapter supports Science and Math students.(NDIA NEWS)
November 1, 2008... * The Aberdeen Proving Ground chapter of the National Defense Industrial Association announced the winners of its first annual Science and Math Academy scholarship program at a general membership meeting held at the Aberdeen Clarion Hotel. ...

Gift provides for Chemical Engineering students.(NDIA NEWS)
November 1, 2008... * Ann and Norman Hoffman of Waconia, Minn., have donated more than $2 million to support the University of North Dakota's School of Engineering and Mines/Chemical Engineering Department. The Hoffmans' gift will establish the Ann and Norman...

Hugh Harris Scholarship winners announced.(STEM NEWS)(Awards list)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... * THE NATIONAL DEFENSE Industrial Association Gulf Coast Chapter, in conjunction with NDIA's Targets, Ranges, and UAVs Division, announced this year's winners of the annual Hugh Harris Scholarship Award. Each winner received a $1,000...

NDIA calendar: upcoming exhibits, shows and events.(National Defense Industrial Association)(Calendar)
November 1, 2008... NOVEMBER 4-7 Aircraft Survivability Symposium 2008 (US/Secret Only) Monterey, CA www.ndia.org/meetings/9940 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 5 Intelligence Community Forum Bolling AFB, Washington, DC ...