Bolt-on kit turns “dumb” bombs into precision cruise missiles

Boeing and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop a jet-turbine-powered kit that turns a standard 500-lb (228-kg) “dumb” iron bomb into a miniature precision cruise missile.Continue ReadingCategory: Mil… Continue reading Bolt-on kit turns “dumb” bombs into precision cruise missiles

Exploding USB Sticks

In case you don’t have enough to worry about, people are hiding explosives—actual ones—in USB sticks:

In the port city of Guayaquil, journalist Lenin Artieda of the Ecuavisa private TV station received an envelope containing a pen drive which exploded when he inserted it into a computer, his employer said.

Artieda sustained slight injuries to one hand and his face, said police official Xavier Chango. No one else was hurt.

Chango said the USB drive sent to Artieda could have been loaded with RDX, a military-type explosive.

More:

According to police official Xavier Chango, the flash drive that went off had a 5-volt explosive charge and is thought to have used RDX. Also known as T4, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (…

Continue reading Exploding USB Sticks

The US Has a Shortage of Bomb-Sniffing Dogs

Nothing beats a dog’s nose for detecting explosives. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough dogs:

Last month, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a nearly 100-page report about working dogs and the need for federal agencies to better safeguard their health and wellness. The GOA says that as of February the US federal government had approximately 5,100 working dogs, including detection dogs, across three federal agencies. Another 420 dogs “served the federal government in 24 contractor-managed programs within eight departments and two independent agencies,” the GAO report says…

Continue reading The US Has a Shortage of Bomb-Sniffing Dogs

The US Has a Shortage of Bomb-Sniffing Dogs

Nothing beats a dog’s nose for detecting explosives. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough dogs:

Last month, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a nearly 100-page report about working dogs and the need for federal agencies to better safeguard their health and wellness. The GOA says that as of February the US federal government had approximately 5,100 working dogs, including detection dogs, across three federal agencies. Another 420 dogs “served the federal government in 24 contractor-managed programs within eight departments and two independent agencies,” the GAO report says…

Continue reading The US Has a Shortage of Bomb-Sniffing Dogs

MIT’s Digger Finger robot can sense items buried beneath the surface

Lately, we’ve seen some exciting advances in the development of robots that can interact with objects in interesting ways, ranging from grippers that work like elephant trunks to coil around odd items to others that use electroadhesion to grasp fragile… Continue reading MIT’s Digger Finger robot can sense items buried beneath the surface

AI scans satellite imagery to locate unexploded Vietnam War-era bombs

Many of the landmines and bombs dropped in Cambodia during the Vietnam War remain unexploded, which is a huge problem that is not easily solved for those tasked with clearing them away. Scientists have developed a new AI-powered tool that could make th… Continue reading AI scans satellite imagery to locate unexploded Vietnam War-era bombs

What Happened to Cyber 9/11?

A recent article in the Atlantic asks why we haven’t seen a"cyber 9/11" in the past fifteen or so years. (I, too, remember the increasingly frantic and fearful warnings of a "cyber Peal Harbor," "cyber Katrina" — when that was a thing — or "cyber 9/11." I made fun of those warnings back then.) The author’s answer: Three main barriers… Continue reading What Happened to Cyber 9/11?