Phys.org May 13, 2019 Tactical Communication and Protective Systems (TCAPS), earmuffs or earplugs with built-in microphones allowing active hearing protection, have four microphones: two outside the ear canal and two inside it, underneath the hearing protection. Researchers in France have developed a proof of concept shooter location device because most modern combat weapons fire bullets at supersonic speeds, creating two acoustic wave – supersonic shock wave and the second one is a muzzle wave. The device uses the microphone underneath the hearing protection to detect the shock and muzzle waves generated by supersonic shots and record the time difference of […]
Tag Archives: Military technology
Warfighters need trusted sensors
Defense Systems April 16, 2019 More and more warfighters around the globe are starting to carry commercial smartphones leveraging the smartphone’s sensors to provide features ranging from blue force tracking to encrypted calling. The Pentagon has banned mobile devices from secure spaces, as smartphone sensors are a potential mother lode for hostile nation-states looking to gather mission-critical information. DOD is working with innovative industry partners on developing trusted sensors in form factors that include a wrist-worn wearable and an intelligent smartphone case that only allows interaction with approved, vetted and signed software. Because these devices operate independently of the vulnerable […]
Rising Asian Military Spending
Next Big Future April 6, 2019 By 2030, the countries with top defense spending are expected to be: USA with over 1 trillion (had $611 billion in 2016), China with $736 billion (had 215 billion in 2016), and India with $213 billion (had 56 billion in 2016). China, with $228 billion military expenditure in 2017 is the world’s second largest spender, with its share representing 13% of world’s total, compared to 5.8% a decade ago. By 2020, Asia-Pacific military spending will be about the same as North America. North America will be 33% of global defense spending down from about […]
US Military Procurement at a Quarter Trillion in 2020
Next Big Future March 20, 2019 According to the analysis of the DOD budget, in 2020, the US military will spend nearly a quarter of trillion dollars to buy military weapons and hardware. The Navy will get the most at about $70 billion, then the air force at $57 billion… read more.
Army looks to put ground-penetrating radar on drones
Defense Systems March 20, 2019 Ground-penetrating radar devices have not yet been mounted on small unmanned systems primarily because of size, weight and power constraints. The Army wants the radar-on-a-chip technology to deliver a digital map that shows the shapes, sizes and features of objects in the environment and collect data on inert unexploded ordinance (UXO), synthetic tracer material and flora and fauna using radar on a chip operating between 100MHz and 5GHz attached to an unmanned system. The objects of interest may be buried, unburied or partially buried in a 20-square-meter area. The success of the program would alleviate […]
The US and China are in a quantum arms race that will transform warfare
MIT Technology Review January 3, 2019 In November 2018 China unveiled a prototype radar that it claims can detect stealth aircraft in flight using quantum physics. The technology could bolster the security of battlefield communications and affect the ability of submarines to navigate the oceans undetected. In the absence of hard evidence, US researchers are skeptical of the Chinese claims. But the potential of quantum radar isn’t in doubt. To maintain US lead in the field of quantum communications and QKD a team of researchers at the US Army Research Laboratory is working on a quantum teleportation…read more. Related article […]
The US military is testing stratospheric balloons that ride the wind so they never have to come down
MIT Technology Review November 14, 2018 The current balloons shift with the wind and can only stay in one area for a few days at a time. DARPA is currently testing a wind sensor that could allow devices in its Adaptable Lighter-Than-Air (ALTA) balloon program to spot wind speed and direction from a great distance and then make the necessary adjustments to stay in one spot. DARPA has been working on ALTA for some time, but its existence was only revealed in September. ALTA will operate even higher than Google’s Loon at 75,000 to 90,000 feet (22,900 to 27,400 meters […]
Forecasting Military Technology 2020-2040
Next Big Future October 9, 2018 In reviewing the last 20 years (2000-2020), researchers at the Brookings Institution believe only computers and robotics had revolutionary change. This would include drones. Seven categories of military technology had high change—chemical sensors, biological sensors, radio communications, laser communications, radio-frequency weapons, nonlethal weapons, and biological weapons. Technological change of relevance to military innovation may be faster and more consequential in the next 20 years than it has proven to be over the last 20. Multiple countries (most notably China and Russia) are having the resources to compete with Western nations in military innovation…read more. Open […]
Possible game changer in detection of submarines
Next Big Future October 9, 2018 Researchers in China are working on a device they hope will be able to reveal the location of a target as far as 500 metres below the ocean surface monitoring tiny disturbances in the Earth’s magnetic field caused by metallic objects such as submarines. They are also working on sensors using cutting-edge quantum technology to chase the gravitational abnormality that a submarine creates in a large body of water. Powerful listening devices have also been planted in strategic seabed near the American naval base in Guam and in the South China Sea, some of […]
Why AI researchers shouldn’t turn their backs on the military
MIT Technology Review August 14, 2018 According to the author of a recent book, Army of None: Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War, AI researchers must be a part of thes conversations, as their technical expertise is vital to shaping policy choices. We need to take into account AI bias, transparency, explainability, safety, and other concerns. AI technology has these twin features today—it’s powerful but also has many vulnerabilities, much like computers and cyber risks. Unfortunately, governments seem to have gotten the first part of that message (AI is powerful) but not the second (it comes with risks). AI […]