Microsoft Wins $479 Million Army Contract for Augmented Reality Systems
Microsoft has secured a $479 million-plus contract with the U.S. Army for Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) prototypes, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, expanding its relationship with the military and beating out a slew of other companies competing for the contract. According to the government proposal, the program is intended to “accelerate lethal defensive and offensive capabilities … Continued
The Air Force Can Use an Electromagnetic Pulse to Kill Enemy Computers
One of the US Air Force’s most high-tech weapons is a tool that can’t hurt people — but it kills electronic devices. The CHAMP (Counter-Electronics High-Powered Microwave Advanced Missile Project) is a computer-frying device that emits a strong blast of targeted microwave energy that can take down enemy data centers and infrastructure without blowing anyone … Continued
That time the Russians designed a hovercraft so insane we had no clue what the hell it was
In the first spy photographs, an enormous beast reared up out of the Caspian Sea, a metal monster studded with jet engines and spewing a mighty spray of water behind it. The United States called it the Caspian Sea Monster, and that wasn’t far from the truth. In the mid-1960s, the Soviets were testing something … Continued
Apache Copters Get New Targeting System That Uses Infrared to Detect Muzzle Flashes
One of the new weaponry advances for the U.S. Army’s Longbow Apache helicopters is a targeting system that uses infrared cameras to detect muzzle flashes from ground fire. That means the Apache’s virtual eyes will be instantly drawn towards anybody shooting anything. Not only does the system allow pilots to target the ground-based enemies at … Continued
Unmanned Global Observer Aims to Make Satellites Obsolete
The massive unmanned airborne vehicle (UAV) Global Observer is testing beautifully at the moment, and could one day (with a companion plane) provide much of the same coverage as a geosynchronous satellite for a fraction of the price. For more, just ask Bob Curtin, AeroVironment’s vice president of business development, who gushed recently to TechNewsDaily … Continued
Video of Airborne Tactical Laser Hitting a Ground Target Is Not Very Satisfying
You might remember that the U.S. Air Force and Boeing have equipped a C-130 plane with an Advanced Tactical Laser for initial air-to-air tests. In September, it finally hit something successfully: A truck. Cool enough, but don’t expect any explosions. https://gizmodo.com/us-air-force-successfully-tests-advanced-tactical-laser-5295833 The parked truck’s hood and engine gets burned through like butter, and as you … Continued
Build Your Own LED-Based Non-Lethal Weapon To Make Frenemies Sea Sick (Sort Of)Disorient
Homeland Security loves non-lethal weapons: from sound cannons, to the $1M flashlight that temporarily blinds, disorients, and screws equilibrium. And now you can build your own for $250! Does it really work? Not that well, but it’s great for raves… https://gizmodo.com/lrad-sound-cannon-used-on-pittsburgh-g20-protesters-5369190 Those wacky Ladyada hardware hackers (Adafruit Industries) and Phil Torrone from MAKE Magazine, trawled … Continued
LRAD Sound Cannon Used on Pittsburgh G20 Protesters
I guess military tech always finds its way home. Pittsburgh city officials believe their police department’s use of a Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) at last week’s G20 protests was “the first time the sound cannon had been used publicly.” Police used the device to emit a painful shrill that forced demonstrators to cover their … Continued
Photo Veil: The Military’s Cloak of (Almost) Invisibility
Comparable to Snake’s suit in Metal Gear Solid, the Photo Veil is an exterior wrap that is able to create site-specific, high-resolution camouflage for vehicles and soldiers out on the battlefield. Designed by Military Wraps, Photo Veil gathers images from cameras on drones, satellites and lidar to create an almost identical duplicate of the object’s … Continued
Boeing Airborne Laser Weapon Fires for the First Time
Boeing and the US Air Force keep advancing in their airborne high-energy laser weapon, the modified 747-400F that is designed to shoot down missiles as they fly to their targets. Last week they fired the entire laser system for the first time ever at the Edwards Air Force Base in California. https://gizmodo.com/boeing-begins-firing-airborne-high-energy-laser-nearby-391636 While the laser … Continued
We All Live in a Flying Submarine
For some military operations, you need a submarine. For others, you need a plane. But what if you need both? DARPA has a plan for that – a submarine that flies. Or a plane that submerges, depending on your point of view.Currently, the flying sub only exists as a set of design objectives issued by … Continued
Quantum Ghosts and Other Bizarre Military Research
Soldiers who can communicate with each other telepathically. Amputated limbs that grow back with the help of a nano-scaffold. Equipment that can see through dense smoke or fog by exploiting quantum effects. Your tax dollars are hard at work trying to create the most sci-fi military in the world. U.S. military researchers will showcase their … Continued
It’s Like a Heatwave Burnin’ In the Subcutaneous Layer of Your Skin
The terms “U.S. Marines” and “non-lethal” seem pretty antithetical to each other, but the Leathernecks are close putting in an order for Raytheon’s Silent Guardian millimeter wave defense system. As far as non-lethal weapons go, this one’s pretty hardcore – it slowly cooks you from the inside. But they swear it will stop before it … Continued
Air Force Plans Fully Armed, Fully Autonomous Robot Plane
It can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead. And, also, the U.S. Air Force is thinking of building a few of them – unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capability, … Continued
French Sent Robots to Watch the Pope
Following the 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John II, images of the pope waving from inside the Popemobile’s bulletproof cube dominated his international visits. But while the Popemobile might be useful against guns and popejackings, it still leaves him vulnerable to aerial attacks. So, during Pope Benedict XVI’s recent trip to Lourdes, the French defense … Continued
Defense Firm Prepares to Terminate the Terminators
It happens to the best of us: Your robot body guard takes a car bomb to the brain and suddenly she thinks she’s supposed to kill you rather than protect you. Or maybe an enemy combatant has sent an autonomous computerized agent to destroy you, and Sarah Connor is nowhere to be found. How can … Continued
Military Exo-Suits Are On the Way
U.S. military troops won’t have to wait decades for useful exoskeleton robo-suits. According to the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center (SSC), development plans are on track to deploy the suits in a few years. Which soldiers will get the suits, and what roles will our cyborg supersoldiers play?SSC (also known as Natick, for the Massachusetts … Continued
Zephyr Shatters Robot Plane Endurance Record
The U.S. military wants to have robotic eyes in the sky constantly roving and watching what goes on below, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They might achieve that capability very soon, as a test vehicle called the Zephyr just obliterated the old endurance record for an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), nearly tripling … Continued
U.S. Navy Developing Lasers and Huge Guns
The year is 2019. The destroyer U.S.S. Mason patrols enemy waters, and is suddenly faced with a barrage of incoming missiles. Almost instantly, dozens of brightly colored lasers beam out of the Mason, intercepting the missiles and destroying them harmlessly in the air. Then a massive deck-mounted gun turns and takes aim at an onshore … Continued