NASA honored for 'tweets' from Mars

NASA honored for 'tweets' from Mars: "NASA was honored Wednesday for its efforts to inform the public through the popular social-networking Web site Twitter.

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(Via CNN.com - U.S..)

Thousands of U.S. guns missing in Afghanistan

Thousands of U.S. guns missing in Afghanistan: "More than one-third of all weapons the United States has procured for Afghanistan's government are missing, according to a government report released Thursday.

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(Via CNN.com - U.S..)

JSF Secrets to Stay Secret

JSF Secrets to Stay Secret: "

Nobody is going to be allowed to play around with the software that controls the F-35’s electronic warfare package.

After a long period of obtuse answers about whether foreign customers would be able to put their own systems in F-35 or customize the software themselves, the issue has been clarified.

‘No,’ says Maj. Gen. Charles Davis, program executive officers of the Joint Strike Fighter program. The super-classified software allows electronic surveillance, detection, identification, self-defense and attack. A software-run techniques generator also will be able to send algorithm data streams carrying false information into enemy sensors and antennas.

The Israeli firms of Elbit and Elta had been disappointed at their lack of participation in the F-35 program and saw the EW system as perhaps their last chance to be involved. Their argument is that Israel has a completely different set of threat priorities than the U.S.

‘They are going to buy aircraft that have basically the same capability as all the others,’ Davis says. ‘They are trying to do a requirements analyses for future missions. Those mission [refinements] would be submitted through Lockheed Martin [and other contractors]. That [customization] is doable through software. It is not doable by Israelis sticking boxes in the airplane. [Elbit and Elta being involved] is not an option,’ he says.

Israel Defense Forces are looking at an initial buy of 25-50 F-35As. They abandoned the idea of a STOVL force when they saw the price, weight, range and payload penalties associated with the design compared to a conventional takeoff aircraft.

In the U.S., among the various services, there has been an open question - given that the design can be modified to carry an electronic warfare officer - about whether some future variant of the F-35 would be transformed into a specialized electronic warfare/attack specialty aircraft. It is under study but the likelihood seems to be diminishing.

‘I think electronic [warfare] will simply be a mission area [each] airplane performs,’ says Heinz. ‘I do not believe I’m [moving toward] special variant type airplanes. Holistically, the requirements guys are looking at how can they can meet the [EW/A] requirement within the number of aircraft that will be available jointly. I will be able to cover some bands in the spectrum [due to electronic techniques amplified through the advanced radar].

‘There will be podded additions [like Next Generation Jammer] that can go on the aircraft,’ he says. ‘But, we’re surmising a technical solution without knowing the requirement. Today, we have a pretty good understanding of the bands that need to be recovered. I think NGJ as it grows will have several applications including boxes that go inside an airplane or small pods that can go on the exterior of a number of platforms.

‘I’m going to build to the gap that the requirements people believe exists today,’ Heinz says. ‘It may be a multi-platform solution and not one dedicated to an individual platform for a specific mission. We’re still going through that.

Specialists are also still ironing out the threat and target set for F-35s.

By 2014 the F-35 community will begin establishing its relationship with the Air Armament Center at Eglin where the service develops it new kinetic and non-kinetic weapons and studies the introduction of new missions. For example, all the initial F-35 Block 0.5 aircraft, because of their advanced electronically scanned array radars, will arrive capable of training for cruise missile defense.

But, ‘It’s not just weapons threats,’ Davis says. ‘You have to decide where you’re going to attack that kill chain at with electronic warfare. We’re ready to penetrate and do electronic warfare, we need a program to go do it and people need to tell us their requirements. We’re not there yet.’''

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(Via Ares.)

Hacking Huns

Hacking Huns: "

The German military is apparently quietly setting up a cyber warfare unit, which is due to be fully operational by next year.

According to the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel, the new unit is being created within the the seven-year-old strategic reconnaissance command. The command (KdoStratAufkl) also is in charge of electronic warfare activities and space-based surveillance. In that capacity, it is the main operator for the German SAR-Lupe radar satellite system.

The strategic reconnaissance operation has been gradually gaining size within the German military establishment. The command includes about 7,000 employees, of which 6,300 are from the military.

The Cyber warfare activity would include 76 staff based near Bonn, says the German publication. '

European militaries have been increasingly showing interest in cyber warfare, not least because of the cyber attack launched against Estonia in 2007. France also has signaled it wants to step up its activity in this area. Germany’s government IT infrastructure also came under attack that year. The Estonian attacks were traced back to Russia, while the ones against German targets emanated from China.

Der Spiegel says the German cyber warriors are being trained to take down or manipulate an adversary's networks.

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(Via Ares.)

Cool New Digital Walkie Talkies beat GMRS Hands Down!

By John R. Ghysels, Special to Technology-Report.com

You are in the wilderness, sneaking up on game with senses 1000x more powerful than your own. Or, you could be preparing your own highly trained squad of paintball commados to assault the enemy stronghold, or simply trying to rally your family at Epcot. Either way, cheap toy-grade walkie talkies hardly give you the edge in today’s digital world. Yet, cellular signals stop in rural areas and the big monthly fees for Nextel or regular cellular can really add up once you get a few units going. In keeping with our usual fugal sensibilities here at Technology-Report, we suspect that, for a single work site or family outting, these nifty rigs may fit the bill for both the sensible cheapskate and smart small-business person alike.

These are TriSquare’s latest and most powerful Digital eXRS two-way radios. We spotted these impressive Walkie Talkies at CES, and spent a bit of time interviewing the company president and the friendly, knowledgable team who came in from Kansas City for the show. We plan on some extensive, and challenging, comparison field tests soon.

“Text Me”

So far, we’ve seen that these WT’s are built well, with surprisingly advanced technology. These unique radios bring cellular features to the Walkie Talkie market, without expensive cell fees, all for a price identical to most conventional 2 way radio units. Intriguing features include texting between units, offering silent, reliable messaging for fun as well as stealth. They also incorporate real privacy by utilizing “frequency hopping” digital signals, just like most of today’s cellular phones. The bottom line is that these things are impossible to eavesdrop on by typical yo-yo’s with radio scanners, like, say, the staff at TR (and we’ve heard plenty on the open frequencies used by conventional radios).

Like new, Digital (HD) TV, the digital signal is said to be robust and comes punching through even in crowded conditions. It would be nice to be able to get through reliably on the impossibly congested channels TR’s users have encountered in theme parks, large public events or even within the tourist areas of cities like Las Vegas and San Francisco. There, the simple “privacy codes” of conventional radios can’t cope, forcing frustrated communicators to channel hop while fighting through interference.

Military (likely) Grades these an “A”

What’s really surprising is that these radios are nearly military grade in their ability to protect privacy. In a way, it’s a shame we didn’t see more of them during the dark, early days of Iraq (they may have been there, but we didn’t “see” them on the newsreels).

Many folks back home noticed that, during the first couple of years of the conflict, service people quickly and quietly adopted civilian walkie talkies for official convoy work and security details, in place of non-existent and non-issued military gear.

Military commaders became concerned when it was reported that once Soldiers and Marines started sporting FRS Radios on their tunics, many enjoyed them greatly and became noisy chatterboxes, just like us civilians. Radio scanners soon appeared in many AQ hideouts, as the bad guys tracked American convoys and patrols. These inexpensive TriSquare rigs could have easily met soldiers’ needs for security, as many commanders banned the handy, but insecure, conventional GMRS radios, even if it meant using nothing.

Today, the military has finally issued its own digital radios. Still, privacy continues to be a serious consideration in the peace time world for many parents, companies, security firms and others.

No Licence required

Which brings us to another interesting point with these rigs. They require no licence, and the FCC regulations for these channels place no official retrictions on their use, unlike standard GMRS radios. Many folks don’t realize that GMRS radios are limited to family and private, personal use only, and require a $80 licence from the FCC. While many ignore the requirement, it will be a comfort to some, particularly commercial users, that the licence, and its fees, are waived when using these 2-way radios.

We are really looking forward to working with these rigs in the field soon, and will pass along what we find to our readers.