The U.S. Navy has patents on weird and little understood technology. According to patents filed by the Navy, it is working on a compact fusion reactor that could power cities, an engine that works using “inertial mass reduction,” and a “hybrid aerospace-underwater craft.” From a report: Dubbed the “UFO patents,” The War Zone has reported that the Navy had to build…
Tag: warfare
How the NSA’s Hubris Left America Vulnerable
A new book promises “the untold story of the cyberweapons market — the most secretive, invisible, government-backed market on earth — and a terrifying first look at a new kind of global warfare.” Its author — a New York Times cybersecurity reporter — shares the book’s story about David Evenden, a former National Security Agency analyst who later worked in Abu…
New quantum receiver the first to detect entire radio frequency spectrum
A new quantum sensor can analyze the full spectrum of radio frequency and real-world signals, unleashing new potentials for soldier communications, spectrum awareness and electronic warfare. …
As UK Military Begins Mass Coronavirus Testing, Head of Armed Forces Ponders Robot Soldiers
Remembrance Sunday is the day of commemoration for British and Commonwealth servicemen, and the head of the British Armed Forces marked the occasion with a special interview on Sky News. And he shared a thoughtful answer when asked whether the army might try to recruit fewer soldiers. “[W]hat I’m hinting at is that we need to be thinking about how we…
Are the Best Star Wars Stories Now in Games Like ‘Star Wars: Squadrons’?
A game critic for the Los Angeles Times remembers his reaction to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. “What a disappointment — if only it had been built for video game consoles.” This leads to this epiphany:
For all the deserved attention “The Mandalorian” series on Disney+ has received, the just-released game “Star Wars: Squadrons” reminds us that some of the best…
Chinese Intelligence Compiles ‘Vast Database’ About Millions Around the World
Australia’s national public broadcaster ABC reports:
A Chinese company with links to Beijing’s military and intelligence networks has been amassing a vast database of detailed personal information on thousands of Australians, including prominent and influential figures. A database of 2.4 million people, including more than 35,000 Australians, has been leaked from the Shenzhen company Zhenhua Data which is believed to be used…
Elon Musk and John Carmack Discuss Neuralink, Programming Languages on Twitter
Friday night CNET reported:
With a device surgically implanted into the skull of a pig named Gertrude, Elon Musk demonstrated his startup Neuralink’s technology to build a digital link between brains and computers. A wireless link from the Neuralink computing device showed the pig’s brain activity as it snuffled around a pen on stage Friday night. Some reactions from Twitter: – “The…
The F-16’s Replacement Won’t Have a Pilot At All
“The next combat aircraft to enter the U.S. Air Force inventory will not be a manned sixth-generation fighter or even the Northrop Grumman B-21,” reports Aviation Week. “By fiscal 2023, the Air Force expects to deliver the first operational versions of a new unmanned aircraft system (UAS) called Skyborg, a provocative portmanteau blending the medium of flight with the contraction for…
As Videogames Respond To Protesters, Fortnite Removes Police Cars
Epic Games is apparently trying to navigate some difficult cultural waters, reports Engadget:
Gamers report that Epic has removed all police cars from Fortnite as of the shooter’s latest update, and the Wall Street Journal understands that it was in response to Black Lives Matter protests over police violence. The developer wasn’t trying to make a “political statement,” according to a WSJ…
Could an AI-Powered Drone Defeat a Human Pilot?
America’s Air Force “is hoping to pit an autonomous drone equipped with an artificial intelligence-driven flight control system against a fighter jet with a human pilot in a little over a year,” reports The Drive: [T]he general concept of a fully-autonomous unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) capable of air-to-air combat, as well as air-to-ground strikes, hold great potential to fundamentally change…