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It’s Time to Take a Technology Scout Tour

Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter is pushing hard for increased collaboration between private industry and the military as part of the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Third Offset Strategy, which focuses heavily on technological superiority. In August 2015, Carter opened the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental in Silicon Valley, which is meant to serve as a conduit

The Modern Soldier”s Inventory -Waging the War on Weight

We live in an age of unprecedented technology – technology that makes our lives easier and more connected at the push of a touch-screen and glace of a monitor. For the military, ruggedized equivalents provide tactical awareness, allowing soldiers and Marines to see beyond their personal sight using GPS, smartphones, tablets, and even helmet-mounted screens.

Navy Wants Drones to Help Drones

While drone-on-drone fights are still thought of in the future tense (which isn’t to say forces aren’t preparing for them) drone-to-drone cooperation is here now – in the form of swarming, for instance. With the Navy developing unmanned vehicles – in the air, on the surface and below the ocean – these systems, designed to

Navy to Test Powerful 150-Kilowatt Laser

The U.S. Navy, which has already developed a 30-kilowatt laser that has been used operationally, will soon test a new directed energy weapon that is five times more powerful, said the vice chief of naval operations July 23. The Office of Naval Research “will perform a shipboard test of a 150-killowatt laser weapon system in

Welcome to the Age of Lasers

Lasers are here to stay -now, how do you detect them? The recent at-sea tests of the Navy’s Laser Weapon System have ushered in a new era—the age of “Laser Wars”—where there is an increasing role for directed-energy weapons in the battlespace. How will commanders detect, assess, and counter laser or laser-assisted threats in this

Social Media, Electronic Warfare Tools Among SOCOM”s Technology Gaps

Special Operations Command is looking for a few good ideas to help it fight the Islamic State and other adversaries, a top acquisition official said on May 25.It has niche requirements for tools that will help it defend against drone and electronic warfare attacks, and to navigate the world of social media, said Tony Davis,

A Defense Technology Revolution Could Happen Sooner Than You Think

The Pentagon has been battered by criticism that it is falling behind in the technology arms race. Skeptics point to rising powers and terrorists finding new ways to exploit military weak spots. Hundreds of pages of legislation have been written to prod the Defense Department to innovate. Amid downbeat talk now comes new data that

Picatinny employees design new nanocomposite

Researchers at the Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC) at Picatinny Arsenal are co-inventors of a new nanocomposite and method to manufacture it. The other inventors are from the University of California-Davis. The new nanocomposite is comprised of non-faceted nanoparticles reinforcing a nanostructured metal matrix. This means that instead of having a large particle

Air Force Leader Wants ‘Flying Coke Machine’ to Replace A-10

The Air Force’s next-generation close-air-support platform should be able to provide instant firepower on demand, the service’s top officer told reporters June 15. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh compared the desired capability to the convenience and flexibility of a soda machine. “Imagine the … flying Coke machine and just having a Coke

NRL Seawater Carbon Capture Process Receives U.S. Patent

The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), Material Science and Technology Division, has been granted U.S. patent 9,303,323 for a method to simultaneously extract carbon dioxide and hydrogen from seawater. This single process provides all the raw materials necessary for the production of synthetic liquid hydrocarbon fuels. Synthetic fuel production can offer logistical and operational advantages

UK MOD Preparing to Roll Out Demonstrator Unit for its First Directed Energy Laser Weapon

The project, which is called the Laser Directed Energy Weapon Capability Demonstrator, will have a contract worth between 20 and 100 million pounds, according to the Ministry of Defence, which also said that “the potential of laser based weapons systems has been identified as an opportunity and offers significant advantages in terms of running costs

Anti-UAV Defense System to be Tested at Airports Across the US

The rising threat of small, unmanned drones near airports is becoming increasingly important to the US.Now a UK-developed system capable of jamming signals on UAVs is going to be trialed by the US aviation authority.The system uses high powered radio waves to disable drones, effectively blocking their communication and switching them off in midair.Three British