Military Defense
GTRI helps transform a T-6 trainer into a light attack aircraft
June 15, 2012 4:05 am | News | CommentsResearchers from the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) are helping convert an aircraft used to train pilots into one with intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR) and light attack capabilities. The new aircraft would provide a less expensive alternative to legacy warbirds like the A-10 and F-16 and could be used by foreign military allies as well as U.S. homeland security agencies.
New process technologies bring better helmets to the field
May 17, 2012 4:40 am | News | CommentsThe U.S. Army Research Laboratory-led Army ManTech program has achieved a breakthrough in the ability to process thermoplastic-based composites for use in the helmets of soldiers. The new material grades have produced several types of head protection, each of which saves at least one-quarter the weight and up to 35% higher tolerance from fragmenting munitions.
Doctors, soldiers work together to remove naval mines
May 16, 2012 6:27 am | News | CommentsStarting this week, U.S. Navy divers will be part of a multinational effort near Estonia to help clear the Baltic Sea of underwater mines left over from as long ago as the First and Second World Wars. At the same time, physicians are studying these divers and how gas molecules form in humans who experience long periods deep underwater.
Vertical takeoff and landing UAV enters new development phase
May 1, 2012 6:20 pm | News | CommentsPart helicopter, part airplane, the Office of Naval Research-sponsored Flexrotor vertical takeoff and landing unmanned aerial vehicle has an oversized propeller with helicopter-like controls for vertical takeoff and landing and the wings of a conventional aircraft. If successful, the craft will extend UAV surveillance capabilities to smaller platforms like ships.
As ice cap melts, militaries vie for Arctic edge
April 16, 2012 7:22 am | by Eric Talmadge, Associated Press | News | CommentsTo the world's military leaders, the debate over climate change is long over. They are preparing for a new kind of Cold War in the Arctic, anticipating that rising temperatures there will open up a treasure trove of resources, long-dreamed-of sea lanes and a slew of potential conflicts.
Future naval fleet may be made of titanium
April 4, 2012 3:46 pm | News | CommentsA new friction stir welding technology that can join titanium components will be the basis for Office of Naval Research (ONR)-funded production of a full-size ship hull section made entirely with marine-grade titanium. Previously, friction stir techniques could not be used because of the high temperatures required.
U.S. announces deal to ensure medical isotope supply
March 26, 2012 9:54 am | News | CommentsMedical isotopes are used to treat cancer and heart disease worldwide, but have been typically been made using highly enriched uranium. This material can also be used to create nuclear bombs, which has prompted a recent agreement between several countries to ensure its future supply while improving security.
Naval Research Lab to build robot for shipboard firefighting
March 8, 2012 12:04 pm | News | CommentsEquipped with an advanced sensing and navigation suite of instrument, the Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting Robot (SAFFiR) is the product of a interdisciplinary team and is designed solely to fight fires aboard U.S. Navy and Marine Corps vessels. A humanoid-type robot was chosen because it was deemed best suited to operate within the confines of an environment that was deigned for humans in the first place.
With a bang, Navy begins tests on EM railgun prototype launcher
February 29, 2012 3:12 am | News | CommentsAfter years of development work, engineers have fired the U.S. Navy’s first industry-built electromagnetic railgun (EM Railgun) prototype launcher at a test facility. The 32-MJ prototype demonstrator, built by BAE Systems, is intended to lead to eventual full-scale tactical deployment.
Navy tests material that destroys with density
December 6, 2011 7:03 am | News | CommentsDetails are slim, but the U.S. Navy has reported that it has successfully demonstrated for officials the lethal force of its new warheads built from High-Density Reactive Material (HDRM). The material is as dense as steel, as strong as aluminum, and holds more explosive force than TNT.
U.S. report blasts China, Russia for cybercrime
November 3, 2011 12:00 pm | News | CommentsFor years, experts and officials have complained about cyberattacks emanating from China. Now, U.S. intelligence agencies have published a report that offers the first detailed public accusations from U.S. officials, saying computer attacks by foreign governments and corporate hackers are on the rise and represent a "persistent threat to U.S. economic security."
Electromagnetic railgun fires its 1000th test shot
November 1, 2011 7:34 am | by Grace Jean, Office of Naval Research | News | CommentsLast year, the Naval Research Laboratory’s electromagnetic railgun program achieved a milestone with a world record 33-megajoule firing. This year, the long-range weapon logged its 1,000 firing as physicists and materials scientists experiment with new materials and muzzle designs.
Science fiction-style sabotage a fear in new hacks
October 24, 2011 7:31 am | by Jordan Robertson, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsThe computer attack that hobbled Iran’s unfinished nuclear power plant last year was assumed to be the work of elite hackers backed by a nation-state. Alarming, however, key elements of the attack have been replicated in the laboratory by security experts, often with little time, money, or specialized skill.
Scientists man bioterror front lines
August 26, 2011 7:41 am | by Marcus Wohlsen, Associated Press | News | CommentsOver the past decade, federal research laboratories such as Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have shifted from Cold War-era defense R&D to meeting the challenges of new terror threats, developing a nationwide system to sniff the air for germs such as anthrax and smallpox.
Report: Global cyberattack under way for five years
August 4, 2011 4:27 am | by Barbara Ortutay, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsComputer security firm McAfee Inc. issued a report Wednesday reporting the the targets of a concerted wave of cyberattacks totaling more than 70 entities, mostly in the U.S. The attacks, the company reports, are likely originating from a nation state.
Pentagon publishes strategy for cyberspace wars
July 14, 2011 12:24 pm | by Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press | News | CommentsIn a broad new cybersecurity strategy released Thursday, the Defense Department formally declared cyberspace a new warfare domain. As part of the plan, the Pentagon is developing more resilient computer networks so the military can continue to operate if critical systems are breached or taken down.
DARPA tackles cyberspace to protect industry
June 17, 2011 12:28 pm | by John D. Banusiewicz, American Forces Press Service | News | CommentsAt a global security conference in Paris Friday, Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III outlined a pilot program in which the government helps the defense industry in safeguarding the information their computer systems hold. The program will share classified threat information and the know-how to employ it with participating defense companies or their Internet service providers.
ONR showcases technology investments
June 17, 2011 12:25 pm | News | CommentsThe Naval Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) show held recently in Alexandria, Va., was the stage for the Office of Naval Research’s announcement of nine partnerships with organizations that focus on kindling student interest in STEM disciplines. They include such endeavors as Sally Ride Science and the Gulf Coast initiative.
U.S. says no new cybersecurity treaty needed
June 1, 2011 12:15 pm | by Paisley Dodds, Associated Press | News | CommentsAmerica's new cyber czar said Wednesday, ahead of an international cybersecurity summit in London, that international law and cooperation--not another treaty--was enough to tackle cybersecurity issues for now. Christopher Painter’s comments were in response to the urging of Michael Rake, chairman of one of the world's largest telecommunications companies, to begin forming a cyber nonproliferation treaty.
Georgia Tech partners with Northrop Grumman to develop technology for DARPA
May 25, 2011 4:41 am | News | CommentsThe Georgia Institute of Technology, in partnership with Northrop Grumman Corp., has been selected to develop a new type of MEMS gyroscope technology for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)'s Microscale Rate Integrating Gyroscope program.
Target destruction moves Navy step closer to lasers for ship self-defense
April 8, 2011 9:12 am | by Geoff S. Fein, Office of Naval Research | News | CommentsOn Wednesday, the Office of Naval Research and Northrup Grumman successfully tested their solid-state, high-energy laser (HEL) from a surface ship, neutralizing a target vessel with a powerful blast of focused light. According to officials, the test marks the first time an HEL has been placed aboard a Navy ship and destroyed another ship at such high power levels.
Carbon-nanotube motorboat completes rough weather sea trials
April 8, 2011 8:21 am | News | CommentsThe 54-foot Piranha finished trials this week off Puget Sound, and is now being evaluated by defense contractors as an unmanned platform for anti-piracy, harbor patrol, and oceanographic surveying. The invention of Zyvex Technologies, the carbon-fiber boat infused with carbon nanotubes weighs almost five times less than a conventional aluminum or fiberglass boat of the same size.
Learn, adapt, respond: DARPA’s electronic neural networks take shape
April 8, 2011 7:53 am | News | CommentsDARPA's Systems of Neuromorphic Adaptive Plastic Scalable Electronics (SyNAPSE) program aims to fundamentally alter conventional designs by developing biological-scale neuromorphic electronic systems that mimic important functions of a human brain. So far, SyNAPSE has successfully demonstrated all the core hardware, architecture, and simulation. Now, the agency plans to build prototypes.
Air Force to launch 2nd unmanned spaceplane
March 4, 2011 4:19 am | News | CommentsA second version of the secretive X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle is scheduled to rocket to space this afternoon from Cape Canaveral. Current forecasts predict a 70 percent chance that bad weather may delay the flight. The unmanned craft resembles the space shuttle, but is much smaller. The Air Force won't say what the shuttle is to be used for, but they do confirm that it operates completely autonomously.
Developers showcase hummingbird-shaped drone
February 28, 2011 5:10 am | News | CommentsBuilt for DARPA, one of the smallest spy planes ever devised could easily have emerged from the Q branch. Instead, a California company recently demonstrated the drone, which weighs less than an ounce, can hover and move in any direction, and is able to perch on a flat surface to gather intelligence.
