Israel's version of the “Wild West” is the Sinai Peninsula, a desolate part of Egypt largely ignored by Cairo and left to the unruly tribes that have called it home since antiquity.
An evolving technology could greatly enhance the lethality of weapons. Replacing steel in warhead casings with a novel reactive material (RM) developed by the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) could make bombs and missiles several times more effective.
A networked search-and-attack system called Wabep, developed by Germany and Israel, last month demonstrated the integration of two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV)—Rheinmetall's KZO tactical recon platform (see photo) and Israel Aerospace Industries' Harop loitering munition. A trial by the German defense ministry showed the interoperability of the UAVs as a reconnaissance and strike asset. Wabep (a German acronym meaning “weapon system for standoff engagement of individual and point targets”) is slated to become the German military's next UAV system.
Defense Research and Development Canada (DRDC) is working on a system that will provide ships in the littorals or those docked in port with continuous laser surveillance of optic threats—any weapon that uses a lens, including laser-guided rockets and missiles, along with binoculars, telescopes and other devices used by spotters.
The F-35B short-takeoff/vertical-landing version of the Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is to start sea trials on the USS Wasp this month. It costs more than the F-35A and F-35C and has lower performance, so the U.S. Marine Corps and its allies have mounted a public-relations offensive focusing on its advantages: the ability to fly off Navy amphibious ships and use small airfields with short runways like its predecessor, the AV-8B Harrier.
When the U.S. Army released its fiscal 2011 Tactical Wheeled Vehicle Strategy in January, the service was lauded for a forward-looking approach in defining and addressing needs that also laid plans to reduce its fleet of 260,000 trucks 15% by 2017. The Army is “at a strategic crossroads,” Maj. Gen. Thomas Spoehr, director of force development, said at the time, since it “cannot afford to sustain and modernize a fleet of the current size, given future budget expectations.”
A quiet fight is being waged across Eastern Europe and the Baltic states between smugglers who are taking advantage of porous borders with relatively low-tech defenses to smuggle nuclear materials out of Russia, and the U.S., which is sending money, equipment and advisers to help authorities stop them. It's quiet only because few in the U.S. pay attention to it. Congress, in its cost-cutting mood, is taking money away from several programs that help to detect and acquire radioactive material before it can be stolen and sold.
Although the technology focus remains on the transition from Hermes 450 to Watchkeeper unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), it is the subtler changes to platforms and operational concepts that deliver increased performance to the British Army. And while the tactical UAV continues to provide vital intelligence, it is the lower-tech, less glamorous platforms that are gaining in popularity with the troops whose missions they support.
Sometimes, having a combat capability isn't enough: operating personnel have to become marketing teams and sell their services to comrades and allies. This is the lesson learned by the Royal Navy's tiny Sea King Airborne Surveillance and Control detachment in Afghanistan. The Westland-built Mk. 7 version of the Sikorsky helicopter, known by the acronym Skasac—and nicknamed “Bagger” for its large radome that hangs from the side in flight—has been in theater for more than two years, but developing an informed user base took time.
The technology behind imaging has become so mundane that almost everyone carries powerful imaging sensors these days—in their cell phones. While the market is saturated with these devices, the science behind them continues to break ground. Sources say that in the near future, swarms of mini surveillance satellites will be in orbit, robots will have functional vision, compact and powerful telescopes will be developed, and infrared (IR) field-location markers will identify friend from foe on battlefields.
Camp Bastion's main entry point (MEP) is, in effect, the front door for ground admission to NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission in Helmand Province. Here, the imperatives of force protection and base security meet, sometimes conflict with, and ultimately reinforce the wider purpose of the coalition mission. It may seem to be a dichotomy, but the MEP underlines the fact that security rises when trust is built—and vice versa.
Researchers in the U.S., Singapore and China have developed a patch for skin-mounted electronics. Circuits could have uses in medical diagnostics, communication, power generation, man-machine interface and network connection. A patch is “almost unnoticeable to the wearer,” says Prof. John A. Rogers, a researcher at the University of Illinois, since it flexes with the skin. No conductive gels, tapes or wires are necessary. A patch can also be concealed in a temporary tattoo. The patch is a modified polyester elastomer, 30 micrometers thick, with low modulus.
AeroVironment unveiled a portable UAV with vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) that represents more than four years of development. Called Shrike, the 5-lb. micro-UAV fits in a backpack and combines stealth and persistent perch-and-stare in a platform that can be deployed and recovered in remote areas. The VTOL platform reportedly hovers for 40 min. It carries a high-resolution, encrypted video camera that transmits images in flight, hovering, or for several hours in perch-and-stare mode.
It is one of the least elegant but most effective battlefield weapons—the rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), which since World War II has been a lurking threat to armored vehicles (principally tanks), bunkers and other structures as well as infantry and occasionally low-flying helicopters. Though it shares battlespace with more sophisticated weapons, the RPG remains a vital capability. Wielded by dismounted troops, the RPG engages targets in scenarios ranging from maneuver warfare to urban and asymmetric combat.
Tests by robot-maker iRobot Corp. and Princeton Gamma Technologies (PGT), developer of radiological isotope detectors, show that unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) can monitor radiation in the ocean and detect leaks from nuclear power plants, and possibly dirty bombs and nuclear weapons in transit. A 3.25-lb. detector was attached in an aluminum vessel to the nose of iRobot's 1KA Seaglider, an autonomous, battery-powered UUV that follows preprogrammed routes undersea for months (see photo).
In urban battle zones, security checkpoints can be dangerous and traffic stops sometimes tragic. Miscommunication between civilian drivers and soldiers manning the checkpoints can lead to injury or death. A vehicle that doesn't slow down, however, could be a threat. German researchers are pursuing chemical technology that simplifies the situation: a mix of extinguisher chemicals that will shut down an internal combustion engine.
Rapid metal prototyping technologies permit the fast development of precision parts from a computer-aided design model without intermediate steps and can also speed the repair of existing structures. Researchers at the Missouri University of Science and Technology and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) have developed a hybrid laser deposition and machining process that can be used to build high-performance precision metal parts for aerospace.
Experts in industrial control security fear the lesson of the world's most advanced malware is being forgotten: a glaring vulnerability in many countries' critical infrastructures. Even if the U.S. or Israel were responsible for the attack on Iran's nuclear infrastructure, there's no guarantee that other countries couldn't learn from the lesson of Stuxnet and use similar techniques to attack U.S. or Western facilities.
Miniature unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) with vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) capabilities are becoming more common. One of the latest debuted last month at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International show in Washington. Called Ghost, it was developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to provide real-time intelligence to urban ground forces. It may also find a role among police and civil emergency responders, like a miniature UAV recently unveiled by Insitu (see p. 10).
Defense research, development and procurement in the U.S. are likely to take massive hits. Budgets have been rising for years, and even an $800 billion cut through 2020 leaves base budget levels above those of the George W. Bush administration. That puts those who argue for ring-fencing defense on shaky ground. But operations, maintenance and personnel costs are predicted to rise, squeezing procurement and R&D. This follows the pattern of previous drawdowns, when the percentage decline in investment far exceeded the cuts to operations and people.
Acoustic sniper detection systems have been a component of military and security operations for several years. As the technology evolves, systems are becoming easier to install and use in a range of vehicles. The latest example is the Acoustic Shooter Location System (ASLS) from Rheinmetall Defense of Germany.
As the Pentagon braces for recommendations from the 12-member congressional “Super Committee” tasked with finding a further $1.2 trillion in budget cuts this fall—on top of $350 billion already requested over 10 years—it could soon be lights out for some major defense programs. When it comes to the Army, which has already jettisoned the Future Combat Systems modernization plan along with other programs over the past several years, the cuts may strike at the heart of the service: the manned ground vehicle fleet.
The defense industry has nurtured and commercialized numerous technologies that are now commonplace—think GPS and the Internet. If one of the newest initiatives from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) pans out, synthetic biology could be one of the next defense-promoted breakthroughs that affect the production of fuels and other chemicals.
