Comments for The Aerospace & Defense Blog

Comment on Beer and Nazi politics: retracing some of history's paths

2011-09-23T16:02:58.932Z

John, if you're going to retrace some of history's paths, it would be good to get the details right. Poland was far from being the first occasion that Hitler's troops crossed the border - there were four other very significant events preceding that. Perhaps the march into Alsace-Lorraine wasn't a big deal, but it +could+ have been, and the OKW was horrified at the prospect of massed French divisions responding. They didn't, of course, and that helped create the notion of Wermacht invincibility in Hitler's mind. The annexation of Austria, too, may not have been a dramatic moment in European affairs, although it was certainly fraught with risks. But the Spanish Civil War was a major event for German military might, providing invaluable experience in air-ground support that proved utterly devastating during the subsequent invasion of Czechoslovakia. Poland, then, was +not+ the first foreign military adventure for Hitler, but the +last straw+ for Britain and France.

Comment on Some of the unsung events of 9/11 that didn't make it onto the front page

2011-09-23T16:03:01.147Z

Did the US pick up the tab for everyone's out of pocket expenses?

Comment on Let Skylab be a reminder of what happens to a neglected space station

2011-09-23T16:03:03.097Z

I'm a 37-year NASA engineer who was: a) one of the Skylab flight controllers in Mission Control in Houston that brought Skylab safely out of orbit; and, b) am one of the 'cabal' inside NASA who is a proponent of creating new, American-led commercial space industries; including a commercial human transportation industry to replace our current monopoly-reliance on our Russian friends.

First, a tweak of the history; followed by what really matters now, in Sept. 2011.

History- NASA did not 'neglect' Skylab after 1973. Skylab's mission was over, completely accomplished. And there was never a plan to keep it going, with the shuttle or anything else; it wasn't designed for that sort of maintenance or upgrade.

In terms of a safe deorbit, two things conspired simultaneously:
1. Shuttle availability slipped - as new things often do; and at the same time,
2. Solar activity increased above predictions, which expanded the upper atmosphere, increased drag, and brought Skylab down even faster.

We controlled Skylab through through the final day; in fact, when our entry debris footprint prediction suggested that southeastern Canada would be under the debris track, we commanded the spacecraft to change attitude and drag profile to - successfully - put its 3 thousand mile debris track right down the Atlantic, and around the Cape of Good Hope. I last saw Skylab data on my screen as it was burning up, over Ascension Island in the South Atlantic, at about 400,000 ft altitude.

We were extremely surprised later when it turned out that the debris track was not 3000 miles - but three times that - leading the heaviest remaining parts, the oxygen tanks, to land in the Aussie outback. No one in 1979 could have predicted that.

What Matters RIGHT NOW?? The Bush Ad. ordered the Shuttle cancelled (in 2004) without any US replacement for astronaut transportation services. The Obama Administration's first major space decision was to rectify that: by creating a US Commercial Crew Development Program that used innovative, government/industry cost-sharing partnerships to jump-start a brand-new, cost-effective, competitive commercial space transportation industry. And progress has been made.

The Administration's budget request to continue this innovative effort, however, is now under attack by the large traditional NASA contractors and their congressional district supporters, who are trying in the House to reduce the Administration request by 70% or more, essentially gutting the attempt to create a true, multi-competitor American led industry. Instead they want to build a truly un-needed, hugely expensive government designed/owned/operated superbooster; leaving human transportation to and from the ISS something we continue to pay the Russian's over $1b for.

Both the group, Tea Party and Space, and conservative Republican Cong. Rohrbacher, support the Obama plan to get off of Russian dependency via jump-starting a new American industry. This is not a partisan issue; it is, however, an issue of Old Aerospace, campaign contributions, and trying to kill the new to keep funding the old.

How this plays out, this year, will determine whether America continues being a true space faring leader or not; and whether American tax dollars continue to go solely to paying Russian space engineers, instead of American ones.

Obama, the Tea Party, and Cong. Rohrbacher all agree: we need to fight back against the big donations and ensure the US Commercial Crew Development effort is fully funded.

Dave Huntsman
My opinion only.

Comment on Smoke, mirrors, and other hocus-pocus take center stage at U.S. deficit-reduction talks

2011-09-23T16:03:18.853Z

More to the point, congress has already cut the DoD budget to the point we're barely able to respond militarily to more than one or two threats. Does anyone recall that the national gaurd is supposed to fill in for the standing military when they are deployed? And to respond to disasters at home in the US and if necessary riot control etc. I have a co-worker(happens to be a 20 yr gaurdsman) who is currently on his 5th deployment. He's been on the ground in both Iraq and Afghanistan. If our congressional "leaders" don't stop playing economic chicken it won't really matter... we'll all need to learn Mandarin. nuff said

Comment on Smoke, mirrors, and other hocus-pocus take center stage at U.S. deficit-reduction talks

2011-09-23T16:03:19.383Z

People who feel they are not taxed enough by the current regime are free to remit their extra money to the Treasury (They take checks. Really.)

Comment on Smoke, mirrors, and other hocus-pocus take center stage at U.S. deficit-reduction talks

2011-09-23T16:03:20.319Z

Yet those taxes pay for many of the Military and Aerospace contracts that keep many of us employed. Bottom line is we don't object to taxes that benefit us. None of those in Congress will need to depend on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, or any of the other "entitlements" that they are trying cut. Time to start paying for past bills for Iraq, Afghanistan, through BOTH taxes and spending cuts.

Comment on Must an entire sector of U.S. civil aviation be demonized in the interests of Obama re-election campaign?

2011-09-23T16:03:21.708Z

Economically, the dude: Obama does not have enough knowledge to understand the supply and demand which could generate enough tax to bail us out of this huge debts.

Comment on Must an entire sector of U.S. civil aviation be demonized in the interests of Obama re-election campaign?

2011-09-23T16:03:22.176Z

If our President thinks that is wrong for businesses to use corporate jets. Then all presidents and/or other political figures need to stop using Air Force One, Marine Helicopters and other private presidential aircraft. Especially since we the tax payers are paying for these frivolous expenditures. This is a waste of our money. They can purchase coach seating on regular airliners just like the rest of us, and get searched by the TSA like everyone else.

Comment on What if we considered selling counterfeit electronic parts like we do selling stolen property?

2011-09-27T01:33:19.877Z

A good idea in concept. The difficulty lies in enforcement across international borders. At what level does the penalty occur? If a systems manufacturer uses a counterfeit part in a product they sell, are they liable? Or is it the part seller who sold the chip to the EMS contractor who sold the board to the contract assembler who sold the module to the OEM? Realize that numberous international boundaries have been crossed - some several times.

Comment on An open letter to GPGPU-based embedded computing providers

2011-10-31T17:04:40.590Z

There is a large difference between supporting mil/aero with GPUs for display (which have been around for a very long time) vs. general purpose signal processing (which has only been possible since 2002, when ATI shipped the first programmable floating point GPU).

I agree that first by itself is of no consequence. But it does speak to who has the experience in building the hardware and software infrastructure to use these devices, tightly integrated into a heterogeneous system in a meaningful and optimal, SWaP-aware manner.

However, claiming to be first if you know you aren't speaks to something else.

Comment on An open letter to GPGPU-based embedded computing providers

2011-10-31T17:04:42.337Z

quantum3d and nvidia were providing rtos support to the mil/aero market almost a decade ago. the simple fact was that the do178b market wasn't a good investment of time/money and development. nvidia scraps more GPUs than the market will ever deliver.

Comment on An open letter to GPGPU-based embedded computing providers

2011-10-31T17:04:42.883Z

Good points, and the CUDA example is quite relevant, since Nvidia processors are not currently supported by any RTOS vendors - so actually could not be deployed in any safety critical avionics unless the device manufacturer were willing to build his own RTOS, which some do...but then they'd still need a DO-178B certifiable graphics driver, which is not available as a COTS product for Nvidia GPGPUs from anyone, so they'd have to build that themselves too, and take it through certification.

AMD, however, supports mil-aero manufacturers, have GPUs that are supported by major RTOS vendors like Wind River and Green Hills, as well as mil-aero graphics card suppliers like Aitech, Tech Source, and Lockheed Martin, and there exist field-proven DO-178B certifable drivers from third parties like ALT Software, as well as component obsolescent management programs that offer 15-20 year life cycle support from Core Avionics & Industrial.

Comment on An open letter to GPGPU-based embedded computing providers

2011-10-31T17:04:43.336Z

A point well made. I am interested in providing an elegant systems solution that works efficiently, is supportable and remains so when my design is eventually deployed. To date most vendors seem to have slapped a few GPU chips on a board, mentioned something about CUDA and likely are already in the bar when you get there. But then of course they were there first.

Michael Drake, Chordell Systems Ltd.

Comment on Imagine that: COTS component lifecycle support that sees integrators through design and production

2011-10-31T17:04:43.866Z

I worked for disk drive manufacturers from the late 1970's until 2001. I am doubtful that anything can be done regarding disk drive product life cycles except to do a lifetime buy and hope that the qualification/acceptance testing was done well and no product "gotchas" show up later on.

Comment on Aerospace and defense electronics industry consolidation proceeding at a rapid pace

2011-10-31T17:04:45.348Z

Congrats!!!!!!!!!!
Hope this merger will bring positive impact for the country. Looking to see that day......

Comment on Aerospace and defense electronics industry consolidation proceeding at a rapid pace

2011-10-31T17:04:46.721Z

Good time following your way I must say ........
Congratulations..

Comment on Drones don't kill people, people kill people

2011-10-31T17:04:52.524Z

Finally some commons sense. By some of the arguments posted here we should not have ballistic missiles, long range bombers, artillery, or sniper rifles.
In every case, including unmanned aircraft, the rules of war apply. Rules of engagement are established, targets are selected and reviewed.
With the sensors used on unmanned aircraft, the enemy is seen, up close, and no matter where the pilot and sensor operator are, they feel the choice of their actions. More so than their bretheren on other long range weapons systems.
No, these soldiers and airmen are not facing the enemy on the ground, but because they are doing their job, our infantry can fight and survive an enemy that has no rules.

Comment on Drones don't kill people, people kill people

2011-10-31T17:04:54.693Z

To win a war, soldiers have to do the work and not sit back in a game room and flying an UAV to kill someone thousands of miles away. Who ever is the target could be enamy or innocent people so counter terrorism is a display name for the public only.

Comment on Drones don't kill people, people kill people

2011-10-31T17:04:55.395Z

I think all need to remember the US is still working to prevent terrorism from killing US citizens at home and abroad. Shenendoah stated the American people are killing innocent people. If that were the case I would agree, stop it. But Anwar al-Awlaki was not at all an innocent individual. So don't be mislead to believe Americans are going around killing innocents. I agree it is misleading to say Drone Kills Top Al Qaeda figure. That is like saying Boeing jets killed thousands in the trade towers in NYC. It is more accurate to state US Counter terrorism program attack kills U.S. born Al Qaeda recruiter, Anwar al-Awlaki. The method is really not even relevant. Unless the purpose of the media is to begin a campaign against the use of UAV's, which may very well be the case. Watch the headlines and judge for yourself if that is the case.

Comment on Drones don't kill people, people kill people

2011-10-31T17:04:55.629Z

I have to agree that the language of drone killing, somewhat blunts the fact, that the Xbox solder who is controlling the drone is not responsible for the death of the target is wrong. If a solder shoots an enemy on the battlefield he knows it's his kill, he owns it, but when you are sitting at a keyboard, it's not much different than playing "Modern Warfare" on the Xbox, you don't feel the impact, you don't smell the blood, you don't see the results of your action, and somehow that is morally wrong. The target or targets are living breathing human beings, not computer graphics.
In the computer age, the real enemy is war itself.

Comment on It's time for clear explanations of why software is important in aerospace and defense systems

2011-10-31T17:04:55.941Z

You hit it on the head - the concept that software is "abstract" because you can't touch it. You can't detect ("touch") and know properly hardened metal or correct fuel additives - but they can kill you just as dead. A bad drawing can create a killer part, but the line on that drawing is as ephemeral as the software that might have created it.
The time is here to create a software 'product' as a fixed thing, not a document that can be forever re-edited til the money runs out.
Software is a 'thing' - and you pay for it. Just because it's easy to change doesn't mean it should be and thats the problem with the entire cricital software industry: every line of code is fungible and flexible as though they didn't have impacts far beyond their existence as bits and bytes.

Comment on Beer and Nazi politics: retracing some of history's paths

2011-10-31T17:04:56.502Z

Sir,
do u have those 25 points presented by Nazi Party during that meeting? can u share?
just want to know ideas that moved people.

warm rgds

satpal

Comment on Smart money today isn't betting on the success of space exploration

2011-10-31T17:04:56.814Z

Sorry, but that is really a lot of uninformed nonsense. The end of the Shuttle program in no way means the end of US spaceflight.

"Smart" people like Jeff Bezos, Robert Bigelow, Richard Branson, John Carmack, Elon Musk, and others are putting huge amounts of their own money into human spaceflight. So smart money is, in fact, being bet on US spaceflight. Upwards of $2B is going for various "NewSpace" style human spaceflight projects.

Even Boeing is betting its own money on spaceflight. In collaboration with Bigelow, Boeing is developing a commercial vehicle to deliver crews to the ISS and to Bigelow's commercial stations. Unlike it's Shuttle contracts, Boeing has to put up internal investment to compete for the commercial crew transport program.

The ISS is in no way "being mothballed". It will have a full crew of six till at least 2020 and they will carry out a rich program of experimentation in the coming years. The crews will get there initially on Russian Soyuz but by 2015 they will arrive on commercial vehicles built and operated by the likes of Boeing, SpaceX, Blue Origin, or SNC.

The Shuttle was a hyper-expensive, contraption that should have been retired 20 years ago. We are entering an incredibly exciting time in which human spaceflight will finally start to become accessible to more than just a tiny number of govt. employees.

Comment on Quadruped robot nearing release

2011-12-08T07:27:03.176Z

Why doesn't AlphaDog have a cool song like BigDog?

Comment on Drone, UAV, UAS ... what do we call that unmanned flyin' thing, anyway?

2011-12-08T07:27:13.629Z

Another point that I want to POINT out is that the Air Force has very few Unmanned Aircraft Systems!!! The Army has 90% of these systems and the one used for over 700,000 Combat hours is the Shadow RQ7B! It is the most widely used and most reliable; the Army also has the Warrior Alpha and the Gray Eagle and the Hunter. Point is I am tired of the Airforce and the media, neither have a clue when it comes to Unmanned Aircraft Systems.

Comment on Drone, UAV, UAS ... what do we call that unmanned flyin' thing, anyway?

2011-12-08T07:27:18.699Z

Comedian Bill Maher has sarcastically called UAV's "flying killer robots" which brings up memories of the 1960's Japanese manga and tokusatsu series "Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot". ("Giant Robot" did carry quite an arsenal aboard and Johnny could control it remotely.)
Seems that the platform capability is resembling automata and they are now essentially flying robots.

Comment on Drone, UAV, UAS ... what do we call that unmanned flyin' thing, anyway?

2011-12-08T07:27:28.184Z

First if you have been working with UAS for a long time then you would know that at the Program Management Office for Unmanned Aircraft at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama they are called "Unmanned Aircraft Systems", we quit calling them Unmanned Aircraft Vehicles a few years ago. The term "Drone" comes from those that are ignorant of what they are. "Drones" are rocket type devices that we shoot out of the air with our missiles and Field artillery for training.

Comment on Drone, UAV, UAS ... what do we call that unmanned flyin' thing, anyway?

2011-12-08T07:27:55.953Z

Drone is inaccurate, but simple for the "lower brow line" of the mainstream media. Notice that I did not say "Neanderthal".

Comment on Drone, UAV, UAS ... what do we call that unmanned flyin' thing, anyway?

2011-12-08T07:28:10.040Z

The term UAV was originally linked to Cruise Missiles. During the early adoption of Remotely Controlled Aircraft for purposes other than guiding a warhead down a chimney stack, the Air force wanted to articulate the fact that the vehicles were being controlled by Rated Pilots and not by an Intel Chip a la Terminator Style. I believe it was Gen Wald that initially approved the term Remotely Pilotrd Aircraft (RPA) which lasted a couple of years. It was under pressure of the FAA that the term UAS was adopted as the Air Force attempted to secure airspace access. The distinction between vehicle and system (UAV vs UAS) was a way to deal with the fact that in the event of an investigation, not only did the board have to look at the vehicle itself, but the other componets such as the ground control system and the communications system. After 6 years of using the term UAS, the Air Force is again reverting back to the term RPA, again to counter the arguments that the aircraft are not being actively controlled and operated by individuals. There should be no distinction between an F-16 and an MQ-9 flying and launhing weapons other than the physical location of the pilot at the time.

Comment on Drone, UAV, UAS ... what do we call that unmanned flyin' thing, anyway?

2011-12-08T07:28:17.841Z

According to Webster, the first definition of drone is a male honeybee that has no sting and does not gather pollen for honey, ergo, it does nothing. Likewise, the original man-made drones were aircraft that did nothing --- their function was simply to be a target. To use the word "drone" for current technology UAS/UAVs is, in my mind, completely inappropriate and is improper word usage.

Comment on Drone, UAV, UAS ... what do we call that unmanned flyin' thing, anyway?

2011-12-08T07:28:23.083Z

Couple more: Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), Unmanned Aircraft (UA)... I'm sure I'm forgetting 10 or so more.

Comment on Video Games as Military Education

2011-12-08T07:28:28.449Z

Thats great!
Ima Physical Therapist and I work with rehab and athletes training with game based.

www.gamesaude.com

Comment on The best defense is...

2011-12-08T07:28:32.459Z

You make an excellent point, I appreciate such a well written and thought out comment. Intelligence, Analysis and Counterintelligence are certainly important, and definitely more useful as they are capable of preventing a conflict before it even begins.

I apologize for not responding sooner, as a response that well said deserves one.

You've given me quite a bit to think about!

Comment on The best defense is...

2011-12-08T07:28:39.167Z

The point is well made, but with respect to paradigm shifts, the focus and results of the Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) in the latter part of the last Century would seem to have also be stating that the best Defense is Intelligence, Analysis, and Counterintelligence. It is not always about capabilities and overt actions, but about intentions and covert acts, be they prelude to combat or stand alone.

This model has served us well in the more recent conflicts, and in your example would tell us that the missiles were being prepared for firing or even that a date had been set for such. But as an author critical of select DOD thinking in RMA, I must add that...

To the Pentagon, RMA has also meant redefining the list of threats against which it must prepare to face in an evolving World. Terrorism, Cyber attacks and other systemic attacks (e.g., water supply) and other hostile threats short of open war are good examples. The role of the military today is seen as needing to be much broader and more active (even proactive) than ever before. This, too, certainly relies on the above cited 'best defense.'

Unfortunately, their list also includes preparation and a good deal of strategic thinking about what is termed the Politico-Military Force Matrix which in oversimplified explanation sees (in part) the military as a resource for policing citizens. From this thinking we have seen statements at the highest levels expressing presumption that nationwide Martial Law will at some point be declared.

The danger in such planning is that planners and the Joint Chiefs cannot help but observe that the very tools and procedures they have established and continue to establish for meeting any such challenge could also be used to usurp power and political control with little difficulty.

Since we cannot rely on absolute power to police itself, the best defense in my opinion as student of military thinking is, perhaps, improved observation and control of the planners. Actually, I would prefer a means of divorcing centralized control of National Guard in any such action and instead allowing State's Governors to be the sole local commanders. And no, I don't trust FEMA in that role given their less-than-zero-performance track record.

Comment on Is orange juice key to preserving last intact German Do-17 light bomber downed in Battle of Britain?

2011-12-08T07:28:46.156Z

Thanks for the shout-out, John! Next weekend is our big turkey feast for 2011!

Comment on Guns, guns, guns

2011-12-08T07:28:55.267Z

BJ Curtis hit the nail on the head - yes, new technology allows modern forces to search out, identify and track enemy forces, and to engage them at distance. But UAVs, robots etc have not yet advanced to the point where they can replace having an actual force on the ground that can if necessary, take and hold actual territory. Therefore, until that happens, you will need to have ground forces (infantry, tanks, helicopters etc) in order to do that, and chances are, such a force will have to directly engage enemy forces. The ongoing conflict in Afghanistan and the recent conflict in Libya has shown this . . . no matter how useful UAVs and air power have been (and they have been very useful), you still have to have forces on the ground (in Afghanistan its ISAF ground troops, in Libya it was the NTC forces) to go in and 'do the business'.

Comment on Guns, guns, guns

2011-12-08T07:29:07.903Z

'only a matter of time before infantry are not required to secure an area'

yea right! not even in my unborn grandchildren's life time. We will ALWAYS need an infantry. Not as large, agreed! But there is no replacement for 'boots on the ground'.

Comment on Guns, guns, guns

2011-12-08T07:29:18.652Z

mi gran preocupacion es que los paises afectados por la primavera arabe tengan armas de destruccion masiva y hallan caido en manos de grupos terroristas que no deja de ser la gran pregunta del millon.en esta guerras internas los que participan tienen objetivos concretos y sus beneficios nada se improvisa y lo mas posible y perceptivamente es que si se han adueÃ±ado de algo que puede y va ser utilizados a sus objetivos antioccidentales o cooaleciones adscritos a la otan.ojo.

Comment on Guns, guns, guns

2011-12-08T07:29:20.711Z

Although potentially lethal video game toys with joy sticks and cross hairs may enthuse the current generation, you are dangerously foolish to advocate the substitution of these toys for properly employed firearms to produce success in theater. Of course your toys can generate targeting information yielding a 'kill them all' scenario, but nuclear and chemical weaponry has yet to achieve popular acceptance.

Comment on Guns, guns, guns

2011-12-08T07:29:22.536Z

I believe the Barrett has been around for over 20 years, while the FN SCAR has been in actual service since 2009. The XM8 OICW was ultimately cancelled. The HK416 is fairly new as well, but the point of the blog is not that new models are not being released (though they have slowed drastically), but that there has been a shift in the focus of technology. When is the last time a new type of gun has been considered major step forward for the military? Probably the Barretta.

Guns are no longer what alter the battlefield, and it has been that way for some time. There was a time when getting the latest and greatest gun was how you dominated your opposition (the advent of machine guns, for example), but that time has long since passed.

New technologies that gather intelligence or allow us to perform missions without placing soldiers in danger (or drastically reduce that danger) are what the vast majority of the defense budget is being spent on, not guns.

Comment on Guns, guns, guns

2011-12-08T07:29:23.909Z

Yeah I'm with Anonymous, there are plenty of guns out there for the taking...all you have to do is look around. the reason I think you don't see new military arms is that the projects get canceled before they really get started. But they are out there.

Comment on Guns, guns, guns

2011-12-08T07:29:24.611Z

I agree with you Skyler! No need for putting the soldiers in harms way anymore!

Comment on Guns, guns, guns

2011-12-08T07:29:25.516Z

Um, huh? No new guns? You mean you've just never heard of the FN SCAR, OICW, OCSW? You mean you've never heard of how the Barrett M82 revolutionized long-range sniping? Maybe *you* don't go looking for new guns and ammo, but others do, and the world is full of them.

Comment on No power, no content: the October snowstorm from Hell

2011-12-08T07:29:26.936Z

As a Nashua resident, I can vouch for John! The schools are still closed (despite sunny, 50 degree weather, the schools are being used for emergency shelters). Even trick or treat was postponed! Never heard of that happening before.

On the plus side, my commute to Chelmsford has been pretty light this week!

John, I look forward to things returning to normal and seeing your posts return as usual.

Comment on Is it time for widely recognized industry standards for anti-tamper?

2011-12-08T07:29:27.794Z

Instead of the Hainan Island Incident, one of the most famous starts was the coalitionâs capturing of the Enigma machines. The Navy certainly had advanced in the tampering area: just blow âem up. This is evident in the downing of the secret chopper during the bin Laden mission.

Comment on Drones don't kill people, people kill people

2011-12-08T07:29:29.869Z

Even extremely conservative sources recognize that drone strikes have killed many innocent people--hundreds. With drones, we cause large explosions in cities full of people. If one thinks about what is actually happening, the civilian death count is probably much higher than usually estimated. American people are not the only valuable people, who must be respected. By this behavior, we are going to bring retaliation in kind. God help us.

Comment on Drones don't kill people, people kill people

2011-12-08T07:29:31.257Z

We, the American people, are killing, blowing apart, grievously injuring, and torturing many, many, many relatively innocent, good, hard-working, positively contributing people. Stop it, stop it, STOP IT! People! We have no right to do what we are doing. May the Great Spirit have mercy on our souls. And may we start acting like decent people!

Comment on Drones don't kill people, people kill people

2011-12-08T07:29:31.897Z

Paradoxically, perhaps, the drone pilot is more aware than anyone else of the act. I think that this article does not see that. It is like sneaking up on someone and not the normal act of war requiring valor. I do not criticize it for that. I just note it.

Comment on One phone to rule them all - robust data isolation for two personas on a single mobile device

2011-12-08T07:29:32.739Z

Your blog somehow suggested that I should put my laptop in a separate bag when I fly. The big bag goes in the bin. A small bag would go under my feet with laptop, reading material, and a pencil for sudoku.

Comment on Counterfeit parts: problem with military electronics designs finally getting attention on Capitol Hill

2011-12-08T07:29:33.176Z

This seems to be a big problem for retailers and companies as well. I read a really good article that talks about this problem in detail and how is impacting business in general. http://ow.ly/4CwAQ

Comment on Convoy combat training

2011-12-08T07:29:35.204Z

US Debt-to-GDP Ratio Approaching 100% as DoD Boondoggle Billions Flow to Lockheed Martin: First in Funding, First in Fraud

US total debt $55.6 trillion ... US national debt $14.1 trillion ... US federal budget deficit $1.5 trillion ... US Debt-to-GDP Ratio 97% and rising ... U.S. dollar rapidly losing world reserve currency status ... as U.S. politicians bought and paid for by multinational corporations (legalized by Citizens United vs. FEC) cut education, close schools, convert asphalt roads to gravel and accelerate America's descent into oblivion just so they can dole out millions daily to Lockheed Martin and other repeat-offender federal contractors for Rube Goldberg weapons systems and myriad military and non-defense boondoggles as unnecessary, unaffordable and unjustifiable as our unending wars for oil and profit:

http://watchingfrogsboil.com/dod-daily-doles-to-lockheed-martin-first-in-f

Comment on Sylmar Earthquake 40th anniversary: the day is still seared in memory

2011-12-08T07:29:36.203Z

I remember the 1971 earthquake like it was yesterday. I was 13, made 14 in March. I remember my dad running into our room with my 3 1/2 month old sister under his arm like a football.. telling us to get out of bed, we had bunk beds, and taking us (my siblings) into the living room and making us get under the table. It felt like a giant was kicking the house with his boots on. I remember after it was over, going back into our bedroom to find our mirror on the floor in a zillion pieces. My mom worked grave yard at St.Francis hospital, of course there was no electricity so we couldn't contact her, it was scary, she called to let us know she was ok as soon as the power was back on, she said the IV bottles were clanging together and those big heavy doors were swinging open and shut. Schools were closed for about a week, I was excited to go back and talk about it with my friends, go figure.. yeah 2/9/71 is etched in my memory for ever..it was a scary and exciting day for a 13 year old. Selene James

Comment on Sylmar Earthquake 40th anniversary: the day is still seared in memory

2011-12-08T07:29:37.451Z

Thanks for mentioning Los Angeles High School. I attended that school in the early 1970's. I remember going to school on February 9th, only to be told by school officials to go home due to the severe damage to some of the school's older buildings. About two weeks later, the entire student body was being bussed to Fairfax High School to finish the school year since LA High was too badly damaged.

LA High has not been the same since its stately main building had to be torn down because of the quake. Oh, well. I still have my memories of that fateful day. Thanks for the article.

Comment on Sylmar Earthquake 40th anniversary: the day is still seared in memory

2011-12-08T07:29:38.449Z

I'm not sure where I was or where in the valley I was living exactly. Most likely in the Van Nuys area.
I was working in the music business as I am now.
I remember the havoc and loss of lives.

It was one hellofa quake.

Comment on Sylmar Earthquake 40th anniversary: the day is still seared in memory

2011-12-08T07:29:39.791Z

On the morning of February 9th, 1971, I lived in Granada Hills off Knollwood Dr. on the top side of the dam. The alarms had jusy gone off at 6:00AM, and we were just opening our eyes when I heard a train coming down the street. I have been on many trains, and know what they sound like, but this one was coming down a street with no tracks.The train went thru our living room...everything that could break, broke...Every dish & glass,the refrigerator tipped over and spilled everything out, windows fell out,cement walls fell onto our car, all the lamps fell & broke and when the power came back on for a few seconds, we have fires start on the rug. It was by far the most powerful, intense earthquake I have ever felt. I truely believed in the moment that this was the end of the world...But, since this event. I have lived through many quakes (most of which I laugh at, compared to my Sylmar quake)and have spent the last fourty years trying to educate people on being prepared, having food and water, and a plan to evacuate the family, kids, pets, elders, ect...
I now work for a company called "Survivor Industries" with supplies peolpe from all walks of life with Emergency Medical Supplies. Food and water packed in metal foil packages with a five year lifespan. The various kits contain everything you may need to survive a earthquake or major event, with your focus being on your families survival, and believe me, you will not have much left to use if it is a "Sylmar" size quake...We had no water for a month, no power for 3 weeks, and gas took even longer.

So, Happy Aniversary Sylmar Quake...I am ready for whatever comes next, because I am now prepared for the worst.

Please visit my company site at

survivorind.com

JT Brooke

Comment on Sylmar Earthquake 40th anniversary: the day is still seared in memory

2011-12-08T07:29:40.477Z

I am glad to know that I am not the only one with February 9th on my mind today. I was just a couple of years younger than you, living in the San Fernando Valley when the quake hit. I recollect loosing my entire silk worm experiment for my 4th grade class project. It was smashed and soaked when an aquarium came off the table both were sitting on and hit the floor. School was cancelled for the better part of a week until building inspections were completed to determine that the portable "bungalow" trailers were safe for occupancy.
This event has led to a life long interest in building safety and seismicity.

Comment on Army still exploring synthetic vision technology

2011-12-08T07:29:42.240Z

Synthetic Vision is a good thing as you know but like all good things, it must be done right as one is aware being a pilot myself.

Our company owns the patented 3D method to provide SV to the cockpit of the plane and is why Honeywell along with many others purchased a license from us of U.S. Patents No. 5,566,073 written by the creative mind of Jed Margolin.

Mr Margolin's ideas and methods for real 3D Synthetic Vision for both the cockpit of the plane and for flying UAV's with Synthetic Vision are far ahead of its time and if used across the board would save millions and millions of wasted defense dollars in crashed planes and crashed UAV's, take note General Atomics & U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).

Honeywell's product works because they follow 5,566,073 correct method in producing real 3D Synthetic Vision, as for Rockwell they have no license of our technology and as your wrote "One can only hope their engineers will be able to enhance the image enough" this method is not true and/or real 3D Synthetic Vision and in my opinion is why Rockwell's direction will fail and could cost many DoD lives. I for one would not care to fly using a Rockwell system that may or may not be able to "enhance the image enough"!

In the end, I agree that the problem is with the cost to the U.S. Army as you said John "it is hard for the U.S. Army to justify an upgrade to synthetic vision right now"

Based on our proven methods at Optima Technology Group and with Paul Mace at Symbolic Flight Inc., this method is being used under license by the likes Cobham plc., Honeywell, L3, Gulfstream, and others.

And the real cost to provide the U.S. Army and/or DoD planes with real 3D Synthetic Vision is about 1/10 or less of what the likes of Honeywell or Rockwell are quoting the U.S. Army and others in DoD.

Makes me wonder why the U.S. Army accepts these overpriced methods, but then again I am told it's not American unless you overcharge your own Government. Dr. Adams

Comment on Commandos attack, and pirates die; South Korean navy show the world how to do anti-piracy

2011-12-08T07:29:43.675Z

Note that it was a chemical transport, confidence is high that no children were aboard. That is to say, there is no lock-step or cookie-cutter approach to resolution of problems of this ilk.

There may be instances where non-lethal methods are warranted, such as when children are involved or in proximity. But I support the use of lethal force when appropriate, such as disincentive for repeat violent offenders, particularly when administered by highly trained and effective teams.

Ferg

Comment on Commandos attack, and pirates die; South Korean navy show the world how to do anti-piracy

2011-12-08T07:29:44.783Z

Simple ways to combat piracy:
1) NRA convention on a cruise ship - off the coast of Somalia.. bring all the weapons and ammo you can get in your luggage.
2) Remote control ship - cruise it through the area slowly.. when they board, remotely trigger the poison gas. Rinse and repeat.
3) Fill an old ship full of enough conventional explosives to make it heavy in the water. When the pirates board it, blow it up with enough "bang" to make the people 50 miles inland wonder what happened.
4) Aren't the SEALS bored? I'm sure they'd love a training mission or two. Tell them there's a bar with free beer 20 miles inland they have to fight their way to it.
5) Outfit ships in the region with LARGE automatic rotating weapons and enough ammo to bring down a small country.
6) Bring Chuck Norris out of retirement.
7) AC-130
THEY ARE PIRATES. They're not boarding the ship with water pistols and rubber bands. What's the problem?

Comment on Commandos attack, and pirates die; South Korean navy show the world how to do anti-piracy

2011-12-08T07:29:46.078Z

The concept of deterrence can be debated endlessly. However, Tom's point is well-made: Using lethal force is 100% effective in eliminating second-time offenses. As long as there are no perceived consequences to acts of piracy, they will continue. The smarter pirates will soon figure out not to attack Korean-flagged vessels (For the not-so-smart pirates... it may take a few more times.)wingman2951wingman2951

Comment on Commandos attack, and pirates die; South Korean navy show the world how to do anti-piracy

2011-12-08T07:29:48.870Z

Lethal force cuts down on repeat offenders. It amazes me how much we will put up with in the name of humanity. Kill them swiftly and then wait for the next group to arrive. It will not take long for the pirates to catch on. Save the non lethal weapons for the civil disobedient crowd. (They are not kidnapers and murders).

Tom Weston

Comment on Commandos attack, and pirates die; South Korean navy show the world how to do anti-piracy

2011-12-08T07:29:50.384Z

I note that you were NOT on board and at risk when this rescue was attempted. Possibly you should either be present, or better yet, have your children on the ship when you authorize the lethal attack.

Making it personal does make a difference.

John Alexander
author of Future War, and many articles on non-lethal weapons.

Comment on Sheriff Clarence Dupnik is a loose cannon who needs to be secured in Pima County, Arizona

2011-12-08T21:43:49.101Z

I must be missing the thread here, but failing to see what this has to do with Mil&Aero... maybe something about guns !?

Will we be reading about the NRA soon too !?

Comment on Sheriff Clarence Dupnik is a loose cannon who needs to be secured in Pima County, Arizona

2011-12-08T21:44:01.704Z

Sheriff Dupnik is an excellent case study for mandatory retirement in law enforcement. Especially when it's clear he's already "retired" from any actual law enforcement responsibilities while already on the Arizona taxpayers' dime.

Comment on Second-generation Intel Core processor announcement triggers an avalanche of new embedded computing products

2011-12-08T21:44:07.756Z

John, good job of being on top of this announcement and getting the word out.

Comment on If Michelle Obama is pregnant, what might that mean for the defense budget?

2011-12-08T21:44:21.154Z

GO MICHELLE, SO BE IT, IF YOUR PREGNANT, THEN CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WHITE HOUSE FAMILY. YAAAAAY, WE NEED A BABY BOY OBAMA. GOOD LUCK

Comment on DARPA makes Lockheed Martin sit for three months on one of 2010's most important military technology stories

2011-12-08T21:44:31.183Z

Thanks for drawing attention to this example of unnecessary secretiveness.

The correct term here is secretiveness rather than secrecy, because in this case as in so many others, the Pentagon wasn't concealing the important information from foreign foes, only from the voters and taxpayers.

Military and intelligence community public affairs offices consistently claim that such secretiveness shields valuable information from opposition forces such as the Taliban, or foreign military services.

But the Pentagon isn't worried about their opponents, such as the Russian and Chinese armies; they're worried about their enemies in Congress and in executive branch agencies.

Comment on Counter-MANPADS for commercial aircraft, where'd it go?

2011-12-08T21:44:33.944Z

Your readers may be interested in DHS' final report on the C-MANPADS program, which was obtained under FOIA by the Federation of American Scientists. It is available here: http://www.fas.org/programs/ssp/asmp/documents/DHSMANPADSReport.pdf.

Comment on Could we someday see a rugged iPad?

2011-12-08T21:44:36.752Z

I bought my son modulrcase.com which is a rugged system that includes a case, cover, stand and mount. He loves it. He installed it in his bunk.

Comment on Neil Armstrong on being there

2011-12-08T21:44:39.060Z

Yes thanks to sir Neil Armstrong for his inspiration. jouer au poker

Comment on Maritime nuisance: unmanned surface vessels designed to harass enemy submarines

2011-12-08T21:44:41.275Z

We had a 2 mile long seismic cable and used to pickup subs prop noise. We would then fire our airgun (eguivalent to 400 lbs explosive) which was 40 feet underwater. The subs would rocket away.
We could pick up other airguns 120 miles away!

Comment on Is your embedded system supplier "board agnostic?"

2011-12-08T21:44:49.432Z

Great reporting from the AUVSI show John!

Comment on I wanna go to UAV school

2011-12-08T21:44:58.479Z

Who the heck is going to hire you when you graduate with a UAV degree? I graduated 8 years ago from UND's Avaition program. I now mix paint at Menards.

Thanks,

Ryan

Comment on I wanna go to UAV school

2011-12-08T21:45:01.661Z

Great post, we covered this a few weeks ago also at UAVpilot.org, your readers might be interested in a few of the other options we mentioned as well over there.

Glad to see options are expanding!

Comment on Despite good news out of Farnborough, avionics suppliers still expect slow recovery

2011-12-08T21:45:13.187Z

Exactly. The avionics equipment can't fly itself and need to be on board the airplane. Therefore it is very much dependent on the aircraft sales.

Peter Irha
CAI
Consolidated Aerospace Industries www.cai-aero.com

Comment on Democrats in Congress move to get their pound of flesh from the military while they still have time

2011-12-08T21:45:19.145Z

Mark Twain once observed that "no American's life, liberty, or property are safe as long as Congress is in session." To that, I would add a corollary: "America's national security is not guaranteed as long as *this* Congress is in session."

Comment on Working the Farnborough air show, backwards and in high heels

2011-12-08T21:45:23.513Z

A voice of reason... how refreshing! Especially when it's that of a man. Self-torture in the form of high heels makes no sense at an air show.

Comment on F-15 Silent Eagle stealth fighter could be considered as alternative to F-35 joint strike fighter amid tight budgets

2011-12-08T21:45:29.829Z

Note that the F-15 Silent Eagle did not make its first flight the other day. They only flew one of the conformal weapons bays for that jet on a regular F-15 Strike Eagle that Boeing St Louis uses for tests.

Comment on Aviation safety story questioning Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashworthiness takes unfair jabs at Boeing, FAA

2011-12-08T21:46:37.607Z

I remember pilots and other organizations that raised all kind of concerns when Airbus used composite materials for part of their aircraft's. There used to be calls to get rid of A300's because of that.

Now Boeing is building an aircraft completely out of composites. Where are the same people that where concerned back then? There are valid concerns about the survivability in case of a crash on a B787.

Should Boeing be serious they should put the concerns at ease and do the suggested test. The cost is minimal compared to the loss of life. Should it be true that the aircraft is as good if not better than other Boeing models, nothing is lost. However just in case, there are problems, then fix them now rather than having all aircraft's grounded should a crash happen and it is ruled that the composite structure caused more fatalities than necessary.

I understand that Boeing wants to get the aircraft into service as soon as possible. I understand the economic factor. Never the less, I also oppose risking lives and just hoping that nothing will happen and in case something happens that, the insurance company will take care of that problem!

Comment on Aviation safety story questioning Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashworthiness takes unfair jabs at Boeing, FAA

2011-12-08T21:47:02.784Z

If your looking for a transport aircraft with a great history of crashing-buy Airbus. If you want an airplane that stands the test of time- buy Boeing.

Comment on Iranian early warning radar in Syria: is this a real threat, or just more posturing from Iran?

2011-12-08T21:48:15.884Z

Let's get this straight... an Iranian-designed fixed radar installation located in Syria, manned by Iranians and/or Syrians... Sounds like more target practice for the Israeli Air Force.

Comment on For the love of God, transition is not a verb!

2011-12-08T21:48:48.643Z

In the relevant usage, 'switch' implies a sudden change between two states whereas 'transition' implies a gradual process. Unfortunately, 'transit' fits the meaning no better, for it connotes a physical journey.

To illuminate this meaning, consider a light switch. It has two states: open and closed. In contrast, light dimmers (ignoring the additional switch function that most have) provide intermediate ('transitional'!) states between open and closed.

I hope these shades of meaning turn on a light bulb for the reader and bring his understanding out of the shadows.

Comment on For the love of God, transition is not a verb!

2011-12-08T21:49:10.201Z

Sorry John, transition can be used as either a noun or intransitive verb (no object)

Comment on For the love of God, transition is not a verb!

2011-12-08T21:49:25.988Z

From Dictionary.com

dictionary results
tran·si·tion? ?/træn?z???n, -?s??-/ Show Spelled[tran-zish-uhn, -sish-] Show IPA
?noun
1. movement, passage, or change from one position, state, stage, subject, concept, etc., to another; change: the transition from adolescence to adulthood.
2. Music .
a. a passing from one key to another; modulation.
b. a brief modulation; a modulation used in passing.
c. a sudden, unprepared modulation.
3. a passage from one scene to another by sound effects, music, etc., as in a television program, theatrical production, or the like.
?verb (used without object)
4. to make a transition: He had difficulty transitioning from enlisted man to officer.
Use transition in a Sentence
See images of transition
Search transition on the Web

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Comment on Unpiloted, automated passenger aircraft: coming to an airport near you

2011-12-08T21:50:08.075Z

And where is the compelling argument that shows us exactly why the human pilot element is the reason we have delays at airports? Delays are caused by weather, baggage issues, passengers on no-fly lists, equipment malfunctions and the simple difficulty of trying to squeeze too many flights into too few slots.

No embedded system could replace, for example, the Hudson River crash pilot. So a UAV network needs a fallback to ground pilots (a la Predator) which essentially means when there's an onboard emergency, the plane makes a 911 call and has to wait for someone on the ground to react.

Your argument - and if there is one, it's well hidden in generalities - is of the Pinto ilk.

Passenger UAVs might be the best thing ever... for the transoceanic steamship industry.

Comment on Oil spill in the Gulf: you mean the studies are just beginning now?

2011-12-08T21:50:43.361Z

Some of us decided not to wait for government funding or approval and SpecTIR spent several weeks collecting airborne hyprspectral data on the tidal coastal wetlands of FL and LA. It was done a few days prior to oil coming ashore and can be used as baseline data for damage assesment and lont term monitoring of the remediation work.

Comment on With the T-50, Russian jet fighters are back ... and it's none too soon

2011-12-08T21:51:24.811Z

That's because Russia is a global superpower again.

Comment on The next favorite infantry weapon: a flying gun for remote controlled UAVs that takes out snipers

2011-12-08T21:51:43.515Z

Do you know who in the military is asking for this capability? We had some ideas along these lines but do not know who might be interested.

Comment on What's backup plan if satellites go down on NextGen air traffic management system?

2011-12-08T21:51:49.412Z

It is advisable that the FAA maintains the ground based surveillance, navigation, and communication back ups. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association has been an advocate of maintaining these back ups since the inception of a satellite based system. However, the FAA sold this system to Congress under Administrator David Hinson as a way to eliminate costs. Those costs would be realized by the elimination of all ground based infrastructure. What a shell game this has become.

Comment on Going back in time on the USS Cassin Young

2011-12-08T21:52:48.224Z

Hello John,

I really enjoyed your article entitled, "Going back in time on the USS Cassin Young". It is so nice to hear stories of people who prioritize American History and devote their personal time to preserve the legacy of World War II. I also had the pleasure of meeting Bob Harris on my most recent trip to Boston. Bob possesses a passion for the history of the Cassin Young and was truly a pleasure to meet. Thank you for posting this blog. I hope that it promotes others to make the trip to visit the Cassin Young and learn about an important part of US History.

Respectfully,
JoAnn Vormschlag

Comment on Aer Lingus vs. US Airways

2011-12-08T21:53:34.229Z

You mean you've actually had a *positive* experience on USAir??? (That would be one more than I can remember ever having.) I don't think I would get on a USAir flight if it were the last plane out of Saigon...

Comment on Conformity with military airborne systems crucial for SESAR integration

2011-12-08T21:54:15.008Z

US Air Shows The Duluth Air Show is the largest air show in the State of Minnesota. It returns with one of the largest static displays in the midwest. The NASA education center, along with the Kids Zone, Sound Stage, and Vetrans Area are larger than ever for 2010. There is something for everyone at the Duluth Airshow.

Comment on Arms embargo against the only reliable U.S. ally in the Middle East

2011-12-08T21:55:30.777Z

Fast forward a couple of months and look at what Obama is saying now with regard to Palestinians. He is endorsing the Palestinians' demand for their future state to be based on the borders that existed before the 1967 Middle East war with "mutually agreed" land swaps, in a move that will likely infuriate Israel.

He knows what he is doing and he knows that the Palestinians want to split Israel into pieces. I cannot believe we have an American president that is endorsing people who hate and want to exterminate all Western values.

Comment on Arms embargo against the only reliable U.S. ally in the Middle East

2011-12-08T21:57:24.832Z

The denial of conventional nunker-busters will compell Israel to use tactical Nukes. And in the aftermath of sixty thousand centrifuges spewing their fissionable russian-origin material no one will ever know or be able to prove what kind of weapon started out this inferno.
Look uo Urban Aeronautics and see how much Israel truely needs American apaches. They dont. The apaches are essentailly another subsidy via the foreign aid program. Incedentally Israel does not receive a penny of civilian foreign aid.

Comment on Arms embargo against the only reliable U.S. ally in the Middle East

2011-12-08T22:01:23.629Z

Jerusalem is mentioned the the Bible MANY times, not once in the Koran. The great Mosque, third holiest in Islam is built on top of the older, and most holy original Jewish Temple.
What about if Mexico decided to "claim" El Paso Texas as their capitol? It was once Mexican territory. However, there were not any Palestinians prior to 1947, and never a Palestinian nation.

Israel is the size of New Jersey: how about giving it a break?

Comment on Arms embargo against the only reliable U.S. ally in the Middle East

2011-12-08T22:03:47.403Z

No one except thinks that E. Jerusalem is part of Israel except the Israelis. Even The U.S. embassy is in Tel Aviv because Jerusalem is not recognized as Israel's capital, precisely because it's not such a black and white issue as you claim it is.

Comment on Arms embargo against the only reliable U.S. ally in the Middle East

2011-12-08T22:05:34.329Z

"whip has to be slashed on a wild horse (even if its your favorite animal) to ensure its sanity..." -- Shehzad

Your analogy breaks down when the whip is being applied, not to a wild horse but to sane man, and when it is being applied by a madman on behalf of one.

Israel needs American weapons to defend itself against it's and America's enemies. Restraining America's only ally in the region, in order for our mutual enemies to gain advantage, is lunacy at best, or pure treachery at worst.

Israel is not the wild beast needing to be whipped or restrained. If anything, that distinction goes to the Ishmaelites who crave the destruction of both America, their "great satan," and Israel, their "little satan."

Comment on Arms embargo against the only reliable U.S. ally in the Middle East

2011-12-08T22:06:23.954Z

Thank you for bringing to light Obama's misguided arms embargo against our only reliable ally in the Middle East.
Can you imagine the chaos and incalculable loss to our own security if Iran actually succeeds in obliterating Israel?

Comment on Arms embargo against the only reliable U.S. ally in the Middle East

2011-12-08T22:07:39.742Z

Sanctions would not really matter as Israel is already armed to the teeth with the most sophisticated mil tech in the world & has better weapons compared to any of its Arab neighbors. In international relations, sometimes reins have to be pulled back and whip has to be slashed on a wild horse (even if its your favorite animal) to ensure its sanity and to let it know whose the wagon-master.

Comment on Arms embargo against the only reliable U.S. ally in the Middle East

2011-12-08T22:08:09.851Z

I believe this is exactly what Obama wants. He's a Muslim and God only knows how he got into the Whitehouse. My guess is ACORN and their manufactured votes. I also believe Iran will attack Israel as soon as they have a functional nuke. Their goal is to die for Allah and especially killing Jews and infidels (Americans). There is nothing you can do to persuade someone who wants to die that you can offer him something better. Your only recourse is to stop him from taking you with him.

Comment on Does the Green Lantern superhero read Military & Aerospace Electronics?

2011-12-08T22:08:33.455Z

Awesome! Hal Jordan is good at his job, so I'm sure he likes to keep up with the latest and greatest news and advancements in his field.

Comment on Does the Green Lantern superhero read Military & Aerospace Electronics?

2011-12-08T22:09:33.533Z

I can't just wait to see M&A magazine inside the movie. I hope Mr. John Keller appear on it as himself, maybe as Carl Ferris' friend and personal technical consultant.

Comment on Intel i7 microprocessor set to produce a tectonic shift in military embedded computer industry

2011-12-08T22:10:38.275Z

Where was this technology developed?
Israel, by any chance?

Comment on Tiger Woods: please, just make it all go away

2011-12-08T22:11:56.715Z

Good luck with that. Our culture has become one centered (obsessed?) around vacuous celebrities who in the overall scheme of things contribute little of value to our society (even if they are the best golfer ever, Oscar winning actress, etc.) As I see it, they extract huge taxes on us in terms of endorsements, movie ticket prices, CD and DVD prices, greens fees, whatever so we can live vicariously through their lives. Unless they develop build things or manufacture products they do not create any wealth. They simply extract it from the rest of us. I've become so digusted with Hollyweird and "professional" sports, I rarely watch TV, never go to the movies anymore, and I won't pay exhorbitant ticket prices and concession stand prices to go see a game. I have much better things to do with my very short life than to waste it on that.

Comment on Vengeful American fighter pilots get their pound of flesh at Pearl Harbor

2011-12-08T22:13:23.626Z

The flights that day were not just in the well known P-40 but at least one sortie was in its predecessor the radial engined P-36. As far As I can determine this was the only combat engagement of a P-36 flown by Americans. The P-36 served in 1942 in Alaska and Panama but never met enemy aircraft.

This is ironic since the export P-36, the Hawk 75, shot down the first German plane brought down by the French. The Hawk 75 also served in combat in France, Finland, India China and even the Dutch East Indies.

Comment on Vengeful American fighter pilots get their pound of flesh at Pearl Harbor

2011-12-08T22:15:59.835Z

The requirements for a Medal of Honor do not include following orders. It's ridiculous to even suggest such a thing, as the heroic act(s) for which the medal is awarded are almost always done at the spur of the moment, during the fog of war, without any orders in the first place. For example, no one has ever been given orders to jump on a grenade, yet doing so is a 100% guarantee for being awarded the medal.

The actions of these two airmen, while indeed heroic, more than likely did not meet the "above and beyond the call of duty" requirement to receive the MOH.

Comment on Vengeful American fighter pilots get their pound of flesh at Pearl Harbor

2011-12-08T22:16:57.058Z

Obviously Taylor and Welch were the basis for the 2 main USAAC characters in the movie "Pearl Harbor." It defies logic that heroism can't be officially recognized because someone lacked the foresight to cut them orders prior to the attack! It is just this type of selfless sense of duty and initiative for which the MoH was intended. Let's continue to keep alive the memories of all the heroes of that day.

Comment on Vengeful American fighter pilots get their pound of flesh at Pearl Harbor

2011-12-08T22:18:17.276Z

Thanks for your important piece, John. After 68 years, I didn't see much in the news about Monday, the 7th, so your blog is refreshing.

My Dad was in the Army Air Corps and my Mom in the Signal Corps.

When they were alive, December 7th was always a defining day for them... as immigrants, they were very conscious of being Americans and what that meant.

Thanks for keeping December 7th alive as more and more of WWII vets pass on.

Memory Forever.

Kathy from NC

Comment on Vengeful American fighter pilots get their pound of flesh at Pearl Harbor

2011-12-08T22:19:23.906Z

You have a captivating and compelling writing style, John. It was like being there.

Although my dad never made it overseas into the 'thick of things' he was still honored at his death as a WWII vet. I also have several uncles who were tail-gunners in this war, so this article does have a special meaning to me.

All the best from Toronto,
Russ

Comment on IITSEC not as busy this year but the technology is as cool as ever

2011-12-08T22:20:27.806Z

Actually hall was larger than last year by 30,000sq ft. The organizers use of different halls each year causes perception of size to vary, always believe the sq ft numbers not what the hall appears to be. I agree some said traffic seemed lighter, but all exhibitors said it was high quality and who they needed to see.

Comment on Vengeful American fighter pilots get their pound of flesh at Pearl Harbor

2011-12-08T22:21:20.396Z

Hi John - Nice piece. This day has kind of faded as those with living memory have passed away. My father was in line to enlist Dec. 12, 1941, an was soon on a train for Chicago, and eventually San Diego, for Navy training. He served on the USS Yorktown, CV 10.
BTW - been a while since Hanford Sentinel! - Jim Malone

Comment on IITSEC not as busy this year but the technology is as cool as ever

2011-12-08T22:22:37.432Z

Just what is noteworthy in the Cubic Simulation systems device? These capabilities have been out for over four years and I have patents out on just this type of system....

Comment on Trends: another embedded software supplier snapped up by a computer hardware company

2011-12-08T22:23:24.889Z

Actually, "Ready Systems" (not Reddy). I worked there.

Comment on COTS, COTS, COTS, COTS

2011-12-08T22:24:12.424Z

I agree, COTS has been the most used...abused nomenclature I've ever seen. To me I agree with your assessment that "COTS" means the maximum use of standard products, which do not have development costs to the user, as opposed to the past where every platform may have had their own unique custom device for the same function. It does not mean the use of the least expensive , commercial radio shack device.....to perform in the demanding environments of airborne or rotary wing applications but the use of standard products which have been specifically developed for those environments. We offer standard product solutions at various environmental screening levels to cover applications from ground based to airborne to satellites. In this way, customers on various applications can select the most suitable standard product solution.....COTS solution....for their applications.

Comment on We're not playin' around: E-networking means business, not socializing

2011-12-08T22:24:50.661Z

I could not agree with you more. It is strange that our A&D industry is so timid about using E-networking (http://ow.ly/vr9L ) when the US Government (supposedly bureaucratic and slow to change) has fully embraced it. E-networking is the way of the future and the A&D companies that realize this early and encourage their employees to take part will gain the most.

Comment on OpenVPX interoperability standard hands off to VITA in another step toward ratification

2011-12-08T22:25:43.594Z

Nicely put, John. And especially interesting that while VITA took its eye off the ball in the first place, the organization got back in the game....and now controls the ball via VITA 65. Those guys are smart.

C2

Comment on DVT: Not just in M-ATVs

2011-12-08T22:26:36.480Z

It was a great day ?? and so valuable . Thank you again for everything. I am looking forward to sharing the information and resources with clients. Thanks again.

Comment on It's official: Nobel Peace Prize now has no value whatsoever

2011-12-08T22:27:29.225Z

Mr. Cooley,

You seemed confused about the topic here. It is about Mr. Obama receiving what used to be an esteemed award for promoting peace. What peace did he promote in his first 10 days in office? Giving the prize to Obama for only his political philosophy says nothing about other presidents and their policies. It only indicates that the prize is no longer about people doing something about peace, only about who the Norwegians sympathize with. And that's not really been a secret.

Comment on It's official: Nobel Peace Prize now has no value whatsoever

2011-12-08T22:27:59.147Z

I believe this award is for recognition that bullying the world is not pursuing peace, the bush years were aweful for everyone including Americans. Illegal spying on US citizens, secret energy meetings where cheney and the other thieves planned the theft of Enron retirement money and shut down the California electric grid, I for one see this as a sigh of relief of the world that perhaps not all Americans are crazy. Why people like you want to police the world and why you think you are empowered to is beyond comprehension. Also why is it most of the loudest and toughest war hawks are people who NEVER served. Cheney had 5 deferments, did rush limbaugh serve? How about palin?

Comment on It's official: Nobel Peace Prize now has no value whatsoever

2011-12-08T22:28:47.759Z

Well said. The Nobel Peace Prize obviously has nothing to do with peace or honor, just politics.

Comment on It's official: Nobel Peace Prize now has no value whatsoever

2011-12-08T22:29:13.484Z

Well said. Any illusion of nobility surrouding the Nobel Peace Prize is now completely gone.

Comment on Russian T-95 main battle tank: could this combat vehicle be more formidable than we thought?

2011-12-08T22:29:50.926Z

Thomas Kelly responds to NERO's Russian T-95 tank analysis; response placed by John Keller

I just wanted to weigh in quickly on the, well, absurd article that was written by NERO about the T-95's formidable capabilities -- that this next-generation main battle tank was somehow an unstoppable juggernaut.

The article then goes on to describe how the tank's existence alone could lead NATO to make a tough nuclear decision when the Soviets take back their ex-Eastern Bloc territories because of this trump card. Did NERO forget Superman is on our side? Surely the Man of Steel would not stand idle while the Russians bulldoze their way into Europe.

Fantasy? Yeah, just like stating that the T-95 is invincible; it's not. I hadn't read an article that warhawked that hard in a long time.

And the kicker is that this month's magazine had a feature on the new 15-ton bunker buster super bomb. I wonder if that could penetrate the T-95s armor?

In any case, your publication is informative and helpful. Just kind of felt like that point of view was kind of comical.

-- Thomas Kelly

Comment on Can commercial software-defined radio replace JTRS? One reader points out why not

2011-12-08T22:31:41.612Z

The predecessor of JTRS was the Multi Mode-Multi Band Transceivers under development by CECOM at Ft. Monmouth NJ ending about 1994. The were 17 inches high in a RETMA Rack config and weighed about 105 pounds. I was instrumental in killing that program with cooperation from US Army TRADOC Battle Labs. CECOM wanted me fired but I had protection from a very great hero. CECOM then tried several other approaches that failed and finally got JTRS lined up and took over 12 years and hundreds of millions of dollars to get finalized and into initial production. In the meantime, commercial radios surpassed JTRS for most purposes and the unique features of JTRS could have been retrofitted but no, the Army had spent hundreds of millions and COULD NOT adjust for fear of looking like fools. About 1994 Andy Viterbi and I discussed a wider CDMA that should have resolved the issues. But no one would fund him for this military application.
Back in the 1980s CECOM realized that the Cell Phone approach was viable and instead of capitalizing on commercial approaches, developed a cell phone look alike system from scratch that could not follow a phone as it went from cell to cell. I was in SIGINT and saw flaws in CECOM systems but management would not let me address the issues because they followed the 11th commandment, ALWAYS PROTECT THE PROGRAM. The same scenario happened with the CECOM TACJAM-A. Most of these folks are retired now and thank heaven for that. The Army started FCS because they could not get the programs to function internally because of all of the bullshit. FCS was awarded and immediately the Army told the contractors what was needed. These are the same Army folks that could not get it done right in 30 years of trying in house. And so, the Army insisted that one of the requirements was to implement the JTRS instead of considering alternative approaches to supplant this JTRS approach with systems based on commercial items.
Off the Topic, we have items in the inventory that can do a lot of good against IEDs, short range missiles and intelligent mortars and find infiltration areas in most circumstances with remoted platforms. Also, we can put up high flying drones with bent pipe repeaters to give ubiquitous coverage for Comms and provide Bi-Static radar sources etc. I am impressed with the Air Force and Navy but the Army's agility to do the right thing has left me saddened and disappointed.
Good luck to our troops. Your training is the best and although we spend 30 times more than necessary to improve your tools, you are still the best armed troops in the world. HUA, Bob

Comment on Can commercial software-defined radio replace JTRS? One reader points out why not

2011-12-08T22:32:27.618Z

The General has a great idea. Offer the radios for free. Of course, they would require a service contract for, say, a minimum of ten years, or else you pay a hefty penalty, and you have to turn in your free radios and find a new one. Service fee would cover the costs of infrastructure, security, maintenance. Why buy an expensive radio when DOD will just give you JTRS radios free? Why, it could come in appropriate colors for each of the Services.
Even purple for Joint commands.

Comment on Remembering the lessons of 9/11

2011-12-08T22:33:21.003Z

They want to kill us just because we're Americans? How overly simplified can you be? People fight wars when they have no other way to settle a grievance. Remember Sun Tzu and the need to know the enemy intimately; we have not done a very good job of this. Couple that failure with egregious violations of Tzu's 7th and 8th P'ien and we have Iraq and Afghanistan, which are bleeding this country dry. As a clarion of the arms merchants, you in particular must be very careful so as not to be perceived as working against the interests of the USA yourself.

Comment on Making up for lost time

2011-12-16T05:00:47.702Z

Another fine piece of cinematography worthy of your time would be "Starship Troopers" (1997). On the downside, although they've perfected space travel in this movie's timeframe, they have only seemed to advance handheld weapons technology to roughly the equivalent of a 30-caliber machine gun. On the upside, the military has coed showers.

Comment on Last day no-shows in Paris

2011-12-16T05:00:48.935Z

Why pay for a booth for all the days, pay all the air fares and then don't show on the Friday. What kind of message does it send? For me it says: "We are unprofessional. We don't care.." I hope they enjoyed their stay in Paris, likely their last.

Mike Drake
Chordell Systems Ltd

Comment on Cold fusion, hot topic

2011-12-16T05:00:52.382Z

To Don Foster.. are you wondering about "neurons" (should have been neutrons), or that the Navy is claiming success with cold fusion? If the latter, there are dozens of very reputable facilities around the world reporting reproducible cold fusion effect. The media is just gun shy to report on it much. So far.

Comment on Cold fusion, hot topic

2011-12-16T05:00:54.239Z

The people at SPAWAR have done excellent work over the years, but they were not the first to demonstrate neutrons.

Please note that cold fusion has been replicated thousands of times in hundreds of major laboratories such as Los Alamos, BARC, China Lake and Mitsubishi. I have a collection of 1,200 peer-reviewed journal papers on cold fusion from the library at Los Alamos, plus 2,000 other papers from conferences, national laboratory reports and other sources. I have uploaded a bibliography of 3,500 papers, and several hundred full text papers here:

http://lenr-canr.org

Cold fusion has produced thousands of times more energy per gram of fuel than any chemical reaction, and it can probably generate millions of times more. In some experiments, it has reached temperatures and power density comparable to the core of a conventional fission reactor. So I think it has great promise for practical applications, although a great deal more R&D will be needed before it can be made into a practical source of energy.

Comment on Cold fusion, hot topic

2011-12-16T05:00:54.988Z

"ran the first demonstration that produced neurons from low-energy nuclear reactions. In other words they are the first to demonstrate cold fusion"

Is this some test to see if anyone is reading your blog? This does not make any sense. Is it some hip joke I am totally missing?

Comment on Suppliers training primes

2011-12-16T05:00:55.752Z

Comment on Take time...and perhaps see Terminator

2011-12-16T05:00:57.078Z

Crystal Group Inc.'s computers are also featured in key scenes of Terminator Salvation.

Crystal Group's RS47F and RS234T rugged servers and rugged displays, including the RD2217, are featured prominently as workstations in the command center used by John Connor and his fellow Resistance fighters. Crystal Group servers and displays were chosen for rugged design, use in military applications, and presumably their ability to survive the nuclear annihilation brought on by Skynet in the film. Crystal Group's futuristic design and construction techniques were deemed to be an excellent fit for the period of the film, reveals a company representative.

Comment on Aerospace and defense technology market gets a vote of confidence

2011-12-16T05:00:59.933Z

That Laser is in NO trouble . . .

Comment on Win some, lose some

2011-12-16T05:01:01.774Z

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Ben Franklin

Comment on Win some, lose some

2011-12-16T05:01:02.913Z

Wait a minute: this is *checked* luggage, not carry-on baggage. TSA specifically says that we are allowed to ship firearms in checked baggage, as long as it's declared, unloaded, and packed in a hard-sided container (we're supposed to check with the airline regarding ammunition). Reed's gun was not loaded - it was in the separate magazine, where it belongs (if properly secured per the TSA rules).

OK, Reed should have declared it, but Marines are not known to be the sharpest tools in the shed.

Three model rocket motors are considered "bomb-making material"?
Come on, get a life.

Admittedly, if a fire would have been started in the luggage comparent of the aircraft, and the bullets and rocket motors would have gone off, then there would be some cause for concern, but if you have a fire in the luggage compartment of an aircraft, then you already have a significant cause for concern.

A 'semiautomatic' handgun? A majority of handguns sold today are semiautomatics, not revolvers (those are the ones you see in Westerns). Courtney Howard's choice of words is exposing her bias (not just ignorance).

The TSA is un-American organization that is required (byt their job) to violate your rights, whether or not you love them. 9/11 happened because of a policy of appeasing hijackers. The passengers on United 93 changed that policy and probably saved the people then in the White House. In all known cases of airline disturbances since 9/11, fellow passengers have physically restrained attempted hijackers and other in-flight criminals (sometimes with excessive force, e.g. Jon Burton).

If I had to choose between trusting a U.S. Marine (how puts his/her life on the line when he/she enlists), or a TSA agent (how has a boring job with too much power), I'd trust the former.

Comment on Not a bad time to travel

2011-12-16T05:01:06.641Z

Yeah and you could get some good "hack" while you're there

Comment on Military market a bright spot for avionics suppliers

2011-12-16T05:01:08.279Z

Thank you; this is "Great" news. I will post it to my Professional Group on Linkedin "FED, GOVernment, MILitary & Prime Contractor Biz Development. Ben Garcia http://www.linkedin.com/in/2bengarcia

Comment on In support of illegal aliens (sigh)

2011-12-16T05:01:10.682Z

The stimulus package and associated bailouts are way too big! You mention the wars and the executives' bonuses. The cost of eight years of wars and all the executives' pays and bonuses combined don't come close to the new government spending dumped on us taxpayers in the first month of the new Administration. That's what has Congress and the stock market worried, and why the stock market has continued its nosedive since the election. There is no confidence in the wisdom of this stimulus package in the nation as a whole.

You state, "It is about time our hard-earned tax money was used..." What hard earned money? This stimulus package and associated bailouts are paid with non-existent money, i.e., it's all deficit spending. So it will be followed by high inflation, depleting any surviving savings and retirement plans even further.

I agree that a stimulus was needed. But not at this magnitude. This is insanity, government gone out of control.

Comment on In support of illegal aliens (sigh)

2011-12-16T05:01:11.649Z

I live in California and we cant possibly sustain this level of support of illegal aliens and their families....Our Jails are full and our schools are over crowded with Illegal aliens or children of illegal aliens...Many of our ER have closed, because illegal don't PAY or have no health insurance.

California is dieing in the name of cheap labor and at the expense of California staying part of the United States.

Comment on Newcomers to defense biz will face ITAR headache

2011-12-16T05:01:13.350Z

I completely agree. After seeing my own small business come under the scrutiny of the State Department simply because we were 'unaware' of the issues (seriously) I can attest to how disruptive this can be to business. Small companies need to take some simple steps to avoid the problem. Advice from experts should be sought BEFORE you begin exporting.

John Perser
ExportSafe.com

Comment on Newcomers to defense biz will face ITAR headache

2011-12-16T05:01:14.847Z

Very good cautions and insight! Export enforcement law and regulations are very complex. The problem in this area is further exacerbated by enforcement trends which only point to a large increase in civil and criminal actions for the next few years. For example, a task force was formed in the latter part of 2007 that has been educating Federal Prosecutors and Agents regarding making cases in this area. Prior to this, there were not many Prosecutors taking these cases and very few Agents focused on it, at least in DOJ. As this education spreads throughout the 59 US Attorney's offices and their myriad of corresponding investigative agencies with whom they work, we will see much more scrutiny and many more cases. Add to this that the penalties for violations in this area were significantly increased, to as much as $250,000 per violation in some instances, and the pain becomes unbearable for many small and large companies alike. Furthermore, recent changes to the FAR now require that companies self-report violations. If they do not, their problem is compounded. As a former Federal Agent, now forensic accountant, who proactively advises companies (as well as research facilities, universities, hospitals and others) about this and, in many cases, helps them conduct the investigations after the problems have been discovered, I would strongly advise any companies to obtain expert assistance and counsel as they consider moving into this area. It's not a cost that many companies like to pay, but the cost/risk ratio is too high to not contemplate such proactive work gravely.

John Hanson, CPA, CFE
Huron Consulting Group

Comment on Hey Kid! Mean Joe is still the best

2011-12-16T05:01:15.783Z

I think that you hit the nail on the head regarding the commercial. The old super bown commercials had more to them than any of the commercials in the current Super Bowls. The best string of commercials were the Budweiser commercials with the frogs, the aligator and the horses kicking the extra point.

Comment on Kaching!!!

2011-12-16T05:01:17.031Z

Gambling produces no real goods or services, and is only marginally better than pushing drugs.

Boarded-up businesses that eventually surround casinos are a visible reminder of this phenomenon. Money that could be invested in productive companies is instead risked in a legalized gambling scheme.

To make mattes worse, the Organized Crime Section of the Department of Justice found that "the rate of illegal gambling in those states which have some legalized form of gambling was three times as high as those states where there was not a legalized form of gambling."

This is because state-sponsored gambling does not allow people to bet on credit, and it forces winners to report their winnings to the government. Illegal gambling does not have these "limitations".

Finally, gambling encourages greed instead of productivity. Is this good for us?

Comment on The flub heard 'round the world

2011-12-16T05:01:18.591Z

I think you need to relearn your history. The Electoral College elected George Bush, not Al Gore, as president of the United States following the 2000 election. Not only is it erroneous to declare Gore the winner, it is unconstitutional.

Comment on The flub heard 'round the world

2011-12-16T05:01:19.418Z

I wish these guys could get it right, as now a THIRD oath of office is in order. The first time the president and chief justice couldn't figure out when or where to say the word 'faithfully,' and the second time they forgot the Bible ... and speaking of that Bible, I understand that Abe and Mary forgot their family Bible back in Springfield, and had to run out and buy a new one at the last minute for the 1861 inaugural. Couldn't Barack and Michelle have done the same thing for the Oval Office swearing in? Then a president 150 years in the future could use the 'Obama Bible' for his ceremony.

-- John Keller

Comment on Waiting for Philadelphia

2011-12-16T05:01:23.334Z

Don't feel bad, Philadelphia is my home airport! They only have 2 runways that can handle full size jets. One for incoming and one for outgoing. These 2 runways share the same taxiways, so traffic on the ground is usually snarled as well. Guess we just gotta live with it until they change things.

Tom

Comment on Waiting for Philadelphia

2011-12-16T05:01:24.722Z

One runway in Philly I believe. I always dreaded going through that god forsaken place.

Comment on Waiting for Philadelphia

2011-12-16T05:01:25.393Z

In case you have not noticed the whole country has been shut down by snow storms all week. Also, airports/FAA can not regulate the amount of flights per hour and thus the delay.

Comment on Will democratic administration be good for defense electronics funding?

2011-12-16T05:01:28.607Z

I believe the Obama administration will be good overall for the defense industry in two ways. One is morally and the other is economically.
Morally speaking if he keeps to his campaign promises and draws down troop levels in Iraq, fewer soldiers have to get harmed or killed and to me that?s a good thing.
Economically I look to history and the period after Viet Nam that led to increased defense expenditures paying to replace the equipment that was broken, or destroyed during that conflict. Also once the lessons were learned from Viet Nam the defense planners overcame the perceived battlefield lessons which led to an increase in technology development in the form of smart bombs, better performing platforms, etc.

Comment on Outlook for U.S. military combat aircraft through the next decade

2011-12-16T05:01:30.401Z

The author's assumptions are probably as accurate as anyone elses--similar to trying to draw conclusions from all the financial talking heads having different outlooks on the economy and Market.
I for one don't think the F-35 will survive without serious production cuts. Why:
The expected future of warfare does not support need for JSF in concert with the fact that fewer and fewer of our Congressional members/staff have never spent a day in the military--I don't think they will appreciate the future tactical advantages the JSF will provide.
At least two foreign allies who had signed up to purchase/share the cost of the JSF are having second thoughts due to noise or funding, we can expect the unit cost to rise in result.
It would be substantially less expensive to cancel the JSF in favor of a mix of new F-16's and tactical UAVs.
The fragile state of the economy and Democratics preference for social issues over the Air Force's "wish list" will not be conducive to JSF funding.

Comment on Outlook for U.S. military combat aircraft through the next decade

2011-12-16T05:01:30.931Z

The F-35 is so far away from proving itself as to be scary. It will be some years before there is a fully tested example as opposed to pre-production examples flying now with no war systems on them. The program management is run on spin and sophistry.

Then to it isn't a mini-me F-22. It is a medium to low altitude strike fighter. It is the "Buick of stealth". It will never be the best combat aircraft in the area of technology. It will be the best aircraft that can be safely exported to a wide variety of countries each with a their own kind of export risk to technology bleed. The U.S. has spent billions on high end stealth R&D and other related combat technology over the years. We aren't going to just export that quality away. The LockMart doesn?t decide what tech is exported. A special technology board combining DOD and the U.S. State Department does.

Because the F-35 is has less than 2 percent of its flight testing done, there is no way we will know what it will cost.

The F-22 can super-cruise (not use it's afterburner) at around Mach 1.8 @ around 60,000 - 65,000 ft. It will not only clean the skies of aircraft but is the only high end stealth aircraft that can survive going against today's and future high end super SAMs.

And it is getting cheaper as we produce it. How much would the F-16 cost if we only made less than 200 of them? The F-22 is not old technology. Look at the relationship between it's APG-77 Radar and the AN/ALR-94 passive emissions detector and locator.

Stealth is nice but not everything. When the F-117 stealth fighter was shot down in 1999, LM came out and stated that even a simple turn could reduce your radar cross section by a factor of 100 or more.

The F-22 even if it was not stealthy, has raw speed and altitude to get it out of trouble just as fast as it got into it. The F-35 does not. The F-35 was meant to work after the F-22 cleared the big air defense threats.

Of course with JDAM et al (cheap near all weather sub 4 meter PGMs dropped from way up), After big SAMS and enemy aircraft are taken care of, I don't need a stealth aircraft. I can bomb you but you can't touch me.

For most AEFs ( Air Expeditionary Force, USAFs term for deployment packages by calendar date and quantity ) I don't need a stealth fighter. New build F-16s will do for most ( not all ) deployments. The budget group-think of the once great USAF is so far down the crapper, it will take a swan dive to save it. The USAF doesn't need the F-35 to kill off an enemy air threat. It does however need lots of cash to recapitalize all of it?s geriatric airframes, not just the pointy fast ones.

The Navy at least had the good sense to have new build Super Hornets to keep on deck for some years. Without that they would be in trouble. And of course they have delayed they're arrival of the F-35 to help pay for an out of control ship building industry.

The F-35 may be useful someday, but with all of the hype and spin about it's alleged ability with little test hours to show with real war systems on the jet and much more software than the F-22, DOD is putting it's money down on the roulette wheel and hoping for the best. The blue-sky marketing of the unproven F-35 is insane. It, by itself will not be the savior for air domination. It the 2020?s, we may start retiring some of the early F-22s. If production stops now, what will replace it? It?s performance is truly superior to anything on the drawing board. Without absolute air domination, or the deterrent value of it, the U.S. can not do any worldwide deployment or war. One thing man can?t do is predict the future very well. However, the Boy Scouts and not the Pentagon have it right: ?Be prepared?.

Comment on Election night

2011-12-16T05:01:32.959Z

Robert Enders is right when he points out that paying taxes is a patriotic act. With that in mind, were supporters of the failed Massachusetts ballot initiative to eliminate the state income tax unpatriotic? I think the measure's supporters were asking themselves, at what stage do they become compelled to be so patriotic as to be working against their own interests. Massachusetts taxpayers are asking themselves how much abuse they have to take. They're being asked to pay the salary of State Sen. Dianne Wilkerson, who's under arrest after FBI surveillance caught her stuffing bribe money into her bra. They still have to pay tolls on the Massachusetts Turnpike 20 years after that roadway was all paid for. Get rid of the income tax in Massachusetts, and the kids will still go to school, the cops will still patrol their beats, the firefighters will still respond to alarms, and the roads will still get plowed in the winter. We do it in New Hampshire. Eliminate the Massachusetts income tax, however, and there might be a little less graft and corruption. I think that was the whole idea.

-- John Keller, chief editor
Military & Aerospace Electronics

Comment on Election night

2011-12-16T05:01:34.052Z

That yes-vote wasn't for "lowering the income tax in Massachusetts"; it was for ELIMINATING the income tax in Massachusetts--an action that, had it passed, would have been an unmitigated disaster for a state which depends on a well-educated workforce for its very lifeblood. Journalists owe it to their readers to sudy what they are describing and to describe it accurately and in context. Paying taxes is, by the way, one way to be patriotic and support the country and our brave men and women in the Guard and in the active services. There's no other way to pay for them and their equipment (electronics or low-tech).

- Robert Enders, Lexington MA

Comment on Super Tuesday treats (this blog entry is not about politics)

2011-12-16T05:01:35.144Z

Starbucks is offering a free tall cup of brewed coffee on Nov. 4. Go in and tell the barista that you voted and enjoy your free cup!

* Only 54% of Americans vote -- let's see if we can increase participation in the democratic process!

Comment on Mil-aero side effects

2011-12-16T05:01:36.267Z

Lets start with the contractors. Unfortunatly it is the all mighty dollar that these people seek and what soil they are supposed to protect doesnt seem to matter.
Are the Engineers and Scientist at risk? They all are and have always been. They are just more so today.
Mental Rolodex? Don't know of too many of them who could redesign a weapon on a whim, it usually takes several, courtesy of the US Government.

Comment on Bailouts and pirates and bombs! Oh, My!

2011-12-16T05:01:41.056Z

I saw that same email touting $425,000.00 for everybody, but the math was off by a few zeroes. Hey, what's a factor of 1000 between friends?

Anyway, never mind the puny $85 billion for the AIG bailout, look at the more recent $700 billion proposal. If you divide that by the number of mortgages in the US (much less than 200 million) then you end up with something approaching $75,000 each. Hey, now I'm starting to get interested...

Comment on Bailouts and pirates and bombs! Oh, My!

2011-12-16T05:01:42.351Z

Regarding the Birk bailout plan, the math is just wrong. $85 Billion divided by 200 million comes out to $425, not $425,000. This is the type of math that got us into trouble initially.

Comment on Bitter about the bailouts

2011-12-16T05:01:43.661Z

Very well stated Courtney, I agree with your comments.
The root cause of the corporate failures is the Board of Directors' lack of being held personally responsible for not taking corrective actions, even when solutions are obvious.
As a result, we have established greed as the accepted motivating factor
in Corporate America.
Any bailout should include
a purging of all top management and Boards of Directors.
Hopefully they will not be accepted to run for political offices.
Jim Williams
An average citizen.

Comment on A market view of media bias over vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin

2011-12-16T05:01:46.080Z

Some of us are not sick of the continued claims of media bias against Republicans because these claims are true.

It wouldn't be so bad if they admitted it. Almost everyone has some source of bias, but the trick is to master it so that no one can tell what it is by your actions and statements. This is impossible for Old Media journalists, who blatantly skew their coverage and then vehemently deny skewing it.

If they admitted their partisan nature, then the public could decide for themselves whether to continue to receive news from such sources. By denying it, the Old Media continues to (try to) pull the wool over the public's eyes. And some folks, regrettably, are duped.

Dr J

Comment on A market view of media bias over vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin

2011-12-16T05:01:48.716Z

Media bias is not critizing it is trying to destroy a person they believe to be threat to their agenda. We no longer have reporting by the media. What we have is editorializing their agenda in an attempt to meet their personal vision. I believe the media today is afraid of Gov. Palin. If they do not like for fear she might get the 3 AM call they should really be afraid of the other side at 3 AM.

Comment on A market view of media bias over vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin

2011-12-16T05:01:51.041Z

Kirk touches lightly around a tree but the problem is deep sickness within the forest where the Main Stream Media (MSM) is effectively a third party hiding in sheep's clothing of objectivity. The repetitive cacophony filling the networks is effective disinformation rivaling that of some controlled nations. When one of the parties and the media align, Democracy suffers. A recent example, in addition to virulent attacks on governor Palin is the attempt by activists of one party to prevent an opposition reporter, Stanley Kurtz from obtaining access to some 907 files relating to what a Community Organizer does with $110,000,000 in Annenberg grant funds intended for helping failed minority schools. Obama cited this experience more than once as valuable part of his resume. WGN in Chicago, however, has been inundated with offensive calls and threatened to prevent even an interview with the reporter's story of public information being denied him. Further, the Librarian of the public library says the information is not permitted for review. Why have the MSM been so silent? Why do they not lead that parade about the candidate seeking the Presidential office? Perhaps inconvenient truths in opposition to their agenda might be revealed. Kirk, I admire your directness suggesting the media to do their jobs. From my perspective they are; objectivity and balance died a long time ago.

Comment on A market view of media bias over vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin

2011-12-16T05:01:52.195Z

You're out of your mind. Did you complain against the percieved media bias against Hillary Clinton when she ran in the primary. I think not. Palin said Clinton was whining at the time. The media is just doing the vetting that McCain should have done. Quit your whining. Let's face it if she can't handle the scrutiny how is she going to handle dealing with world leaders who denegrate her because of her gender. Grow up and face the fact that she is a political lightweight and was picked to placate the far right political base. She is nowhere near qualified for the 2nd highest job in the US gavernment.

Comment on Boeing machinists strike: cons, and pros?

2011-12-16T05:01:53.490Z

I don't know where the numbers for income came from, but they're are horribly inaccurate. $34,000 in additional pay and $65,000 average income per year is not correct. This is a number that Boeing released to the media and grossly exaggerated. It is a flat out lie, just for the record.

Comment on 9/11: more a day of infamy than Pearl Harbor

2011-12-16T05:01:55.222Z

I was attending a trade show in Chicago on 9/11. My colleague and I were lucky enough to get a rental car, and we drove straight through to New England (18 hours).

I may never forget the flurry of emotions I had during that time (horror, sadness, fright, compassion, confusion, and an overwhelming drive to be with loved ones as soon as possible, among others), and yet what made more of a lasting impression on me (who I am as a person and an American) and my life was what I encountered on that journey home.

As we traveled from state to state, we encountered so many good-hearted people who went out of their way to reach out to people. Workers at various towns and cities towed their gas-powered signs to the edge of the interstate; the lights greeted travelers, carrying messages that ranged from "God bless" to "USA" to images of the American flag. Semi trucks were adorned with the flag on their grills. Strangers at rest areas and gas stations would go out of their way to transform their somber faces to smiles, delivering a touch on the shoulder or back as they genuinely inquired, "How ya doing?" I recall being embraced by a stranger?s spontaneous half-hug while waiting on line for coffee at a travel plaza en route. And throughout the trip, present and former colleagues, friends, relatives, and even friends of those friends and relatives, phoned my cell to find out where I was, make sure I was okay, and to offer up a status report on their loved ones' whereabouts, as well as a to lend an ear.

I hope that one day I do forget the images I have seen on TV and in newspapers and that awful feeling in the pit of my stomach -- but I want never to forget the camaraderie, humanity, and sheer goodness that I witnessed on my trip home.

Comment on 9/11: more a day of infamy than Pearl Harbor

2011-12-16T05:01:56.532Z

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Comment on More on media bias

2011-12-16T05:01:57.858Z

Great stuff on the media, the election, and voting from Craig Ferguson, host of a late-night talk show and newly an American citizen: http://community.mae.pennnet.com/video/video/show?id=2108638%3AVideo%3A1619

Comment on More on media bias

2011-12-16T05:01:59.262Z

Media bias has virtually always played a role in elections, in the U.S. and elsewhere, will always be. I was in college, taking a Propaganda & Persuasion class, when Bill Clinton was the focus of media bias; he was even cut out of photos so it would look like he wasn't in attendance at important events. Clearly he overcame the bias and attacks, as can any strong candidate.

Secondly, take a look at the following: http://community.mae.pennnet.com/photo/photo/show?id=2108638%3APhoto%3A1558

No media bias involved. Photos don?t lie. This is the best we've got for a VP candidate? I invite everyone to visit the Command Post online community at http://community.milaero.com to comment.

Comment on More on media bias

2011-12-16T05:02:02.460Z

This post has been removed by the author.

Comment on More on media bias

2011-12-16T05:02:04.863Z

I can not express how pissed I am at the bias media...

What they are doing...and claiming to be 'reporters' is sickening!

Comment on Not another Web browser! Think again, Chrome is worth a try

2011-12-16T05:02:06.579Z

Maybe the Sponge Bob Squarepants "Spongetron" is right.

SpongeTron: Everything is Chrome in the future!!!!!!!!! (from episode SB-129)

Comment on Navy confrontation on the Black Sea not as serious as it looks

2011-12-16T05:02:08.170Z

Trevor makes very good points in this comment, and I agree with all of them. After thinking about the points that Trevor makes, I think he might have a better perspective on the situation than I did when I wrote my blog. Trevor's strongest point: underestimating the situation and the danger. I think this poster takes a lesson from history -- we underestimate danger at our peril. John Keller

Comment on Navy confrontation on the Black Sea not as serious as it looks

2011-12-16T05:02:09.590Z

I wouldn't say that. The danger here has to do with back and forth escalating tensions.

For every action, each country has a reaction and it goes back and forth. This is going to go on for months and possibly years.

It will continue to escalate on other fronts around the world.

Example, South America, outside of Venezuela, the Russians plan to hold war games in America's backyard as a reaction to the U.S. sending in ships/aid to Georgia.

Furthermore, Russia is now making claims it has intentions of helping Iran with their nuclear ambitions. The United States will read that signal as a direct threat to their national security and so will Israel. This will in return be met with certain reactions to those situations as well. Then once the USA does something, next Russia does something else and so on... its a neverending cycle that escalates and returns the world to a state of having that finger on the button.

All this starts small, and pretty soon you have a new cold war. Eventually you are on the brink of worlwide destruction again like we had during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Russia seems to be acting out of hurt pride (from losing the cold war, etc.) rather than through any sense of rationale about their future standing in the world.

It's very dangerous and in my opinion you underestimate the situation.

Comment on FEMA follies and aid antics

2011-12-16T05:02:10.885Z

Your friend's who received checks, they had to apply to get those relief checks. If they suffered no financial loss, or damage to their home, that is fraud. Hope they feel good about that.

"Danger pay" for disaster assistance employees? Thats laughable, does your friend also have super secret squirrel security clearance?

These staffing levels and response assets are what the public demanded after Katrina, no need to complain now that nothing has happened. Am I to infer that your circle of friends is upset that Gustav didn't come ashore as a CAT 9 cataclysm?

Had nothing been done, then I guess there would be complaints as well.

Comment on What McCain's choice of Sarah Palin could mean for defense spending

2011-12-16T05:02:12.257Z

You are right. I was going to simply write in Mickey Mouse, but with Palin on the ticket, I guess I'll vote McCain. At least we have one conservative in the election.

Comment on What McCain's choice of Sarah Palin could mean for defense spending

2011-12-16T05:02:13.381Z

She is AWESOME! Fantastic choice. I am republican and was voting for McCain, but now I'm excited about it!

Comment on Some days I wish my Nissan could fly

2011-12-16T05:02:14.816Z

Funny clip on the Onion News Network: http://www.theonion.com/content/video/mean_automakers_dash_nations_hope

Comment on Radical Islam is one step closer to acquiring nuclear weapons

2011-12-16T05:02:16.282Z

Agreed. The threat of terrorists obtaining nuclear weapons is real, and it's not going to go away. Have you seen the movie "Obsession: Radical Islam's War on the West?" It's an incredible film that profiles the rise of radical Islam, its present state, and what will happen to us in the future if we don't face our enemy now. Definitely worth a look.

Comment on Achieving immortality in space?

2011-12-16T05:02:17.671Z

as they said on the tv show life after people the immortality drive is pretty much doomed from the start. should the human race be wiped out the ISS, without the annual speed up from a space shuttle the space station would slow down and crash to earth, taking and destroying the immortality drive.

Comment on Achieving immortality in space?

2011-12-16T05:02:18.732Z

dear friends dont be rubbish

the forces attacked Iraq for weapons of mass destruction
did they found anything
the answer is no

similarly they now want want to do that again

Comment on Some truce: Russia continues invasion of Georgia

2011-12-16T05:02:19.964Z

Let's see...Invading an indepent country, using false pretenses to do so, using propaganda usefully, continuing against the wished of the world.... Are we talking about Russia or the US?

Comment on Some truce: Russia continues invasion of Georgia

2011-12-16T05:02:21.243Z

Georgia did indeed start the hostilities and after Russia fought back, the Georgian President made what I consider to be the gross mistake to declare war. Russia has a lot of economic interests to lose if it continues this invasion, unless of course, Russia is successful at taking Georgia over. I thought it would stop before that happened but I now feel some more negotiations may be needed.

What I would like to see is the President of Georgia removed by the Georgian people. Since 2004 tension has increased under his administration. Maybe a change in leadership would help stabilize that country. A change in leadership is certainly going to be a welcome event in the United States.

Comment on Some truce: Russia continues invasion of Georgia

2011-12-16T05:02:22.413Z

I suggest you read the log of the events, starting from the early articles on yahoo and in any independent US or Eropean sources. They clearly indicate that Georgia was an agressor killing thousands of Osetians first, before the Russia started their "punishing actions".
Georgia was bold (not say stupid) enough to give Russia an excuse to get bombed and then to apeal to "big daddy" for protection.

Comment on Russian invasion of South Ossetia: an excuse for conquest in Georgia

2011-12-16T05:02:23.178Z

You wrote: "Now what if Mexico decided to issue Mexican passports to all the residents of Imperial County, and send in 'peace keepers' under the guise of protecting the Hispanic population of that county."

One thing to keep in mind here is that S. Ossetia was part of Russia since 1801 (e.g., before the US acquired California in 1848). When Russia voluntarily made Georgia independent in the 1990s, ethnic tensions were high and Russia issued passports to S. Ossetians - who for centuries had already been Russian citizens - to protect them.

Unfortunately for many partisans in the world, genocide is only bad if the party you don't like conducts it. For example, for US radicals, Israeli genocide is OK b/c Israel is a US ally. Gerogian genocide - no problem, it's an ally.

But imagine if the situation was slightly different. Instead of Georgia launching the assault last Thursday, bombing civilians in a large city and wiping seven villages off the face of the Earth, Russia had done so, and Georgia came to their defense. Well, clearly in that case, Russia would have been the aggressor, and everyone would be supporting Georgia in defending the Ossetians.

Comment on Russian invasion of South Ossetia: an excuse for conquest in Georgia

2011-12-16T05:02:25.580Z

Who are you to make comments like these? Seems like the US and Europe are turning the blind eye to the atrocities committed by Georgian extremists in South Ossetia. Are the 2000 people dead on South Ossetian side not improtant? You're bringing in the size of the region into the argument and Russian interests and equating Mexico to Russia... Where did you get your education again (if you have any)? Oh, the US... Figures. Keep reading the US and Brittish news media and stay as informed as you'll ever get -- meaning 0. Russia doesnt need Georgia the least bit. They are a weak economy barely making it. They just dont want US in their backyard. Did you know that US trained the Georgian military specifically for this attack and some of the Americans fighting in Georgia were killed. Maybe they are part of Halliburton.
Americans conveniently ignore human suffering everywhere, yet those that died in 9/11 are still being talked about. Is american life better or more important than elsewhere in the world? Keep believing the bullshit they feed you; you cant do any better than that. How about a new titled for a new blog: ?Georgia comnmits genocide of South Ossetians.?

Comment on Russian invasion of South Ossetia: an excuse for conquest in Georgia

2011-12-16T05:02:28.482Z

Good thing Russia invaded Georgia! That sleazeball mass-murdering Saakashvili should be brought before the ICC.

Of course you raise a valid point that Russia does not want Georgia closer to NATO. As you may recall, Russia has been invaded by its neighbors many times, and suffered casualties that make 9/11 look like a broken fingernail. It is being surrounded by a very hostile US, which along with its close ally Israel is the most aggressive nation in the world. But that has been the case for a while, and Ukraine and Poland have done similar, yet - no Russian invasion. (Meanwhile, the US was ready to go to nuclear war to prevent Russian military in Cuba - a country which does not even border the US - at the same time US had nuclear weapons in Turkey - but I suppose any sort of "equality" does not apply, the US is meant to rule the world, right?)

Where do you stand on the US invading Grenada under Reagan? There wasn't even a threat to the US students there remotely to what Georgia was doing in South Ossetia (no US citizen died in Grenada) - mass murder, snipers shooting at civilians fleeing, bombing the entire city with rockets, thousands dead in one day (as much as 9/11, but in a much much smaller population of 70,000!).

You write: "published reports say these 'peace keepers' have become Ossetian partisans". Well half of these peacekeppers are Georgian, and they murdered the Russian ones when Georgia started their assault. How would you feel if Iranian peacekeepers in Iraq murdered American peacekeepers, shooting them in the back, while Iran started massive bombardment of Kirkuk? Even though that is half-way around the world, I know people like you - you would be calling for war and destruction, perhaps even nuclear war against Iran, like InSane McCain and all the other wingnuts . . . .

You write: "The Russians do, however, have a reputation for snatching chunks of land near their borders when they see an opportunity." Your knowledge of Russian history is so pathetic, I cannot even begin to respond to this. But one point I would make: what other empire has ever given back land it has controlled for 50 years? Russia gave up a lot of land in the 90s - do you think it likely the US will give California, New Mexico and Arizona back to Mexico? I don't think so. So when you accuse people of landgrabbing, look at your own backyard and try not to make such ignorant statements.

You write: "Now what if Mexico decided to issue Mexican passports to all the residents of Imperial County, and send in 'peace keepers' under the guise of protecting the Hispanic population of that county." I ask you the reverse - what if Mexico started bombing a community of Americans in Mexico, murdering women and children, while at the same time cozying up a nuclear Iran and joining a military alliance with Iran?

What people like you do not seem to remember - the three times that Russia was brutally ravaged by invasions in the last two centuries, those invasions all came from NATO countries. They have much more reason to fear NATO, than the US has to fear Iran - what a joke that one is.

Comment on Russian invasion of South Ossetia: an excuse for conquest in Georgia

2011-12-16T05:02:29.106Z

What a "deep" analysis... Do you remember Kosovo?

Comment on Russian invasion of South Ossetia: an excuse for conquest in Georgia

2011-12-16T05:02:29.714Z

"Do the Russians, historically, have a reputation for coming to the aid of beleaguered peoples throughout the world? I don't think so. The Russians do, however, have a reputation for snatching chunks of land near their borders when they see an opportunity."

Didn't we do the same to Mexico? Why did Georgia attack South Ossetia and killed so many of its own citizens? And what are we supposed to do, invade Russia, stop buying their oil? Would we sacrifice $10 at the pump for Mr. Saakashvili? If anything, this situation only shows that we have very limited options when faced against a real enemy, with a real (although incompetent) army, and specially against a country that cares little for what we say, or do. Russia is in the enviable position of not needing the US for anything, they have a growing agriculture, they have all kinds of natural resources, and not that many people to share those resources with. They also have those nukes, remember?

Comment on Russian invasion of South Ossetia: an excuse for conquest in Georgia

2011-12-16T05:02:29.995Z

This author only need to look back 10 years and find all of his/her answers.

Write this type of story just showed how ignorant and arrogant the author is.

Comment on Russian invasion of South Ossetia: an excuse for conquest in Georgia

2011-12-16T05:02:30.370Z

May be you should read some more before making things "plain and simple" in your mind.
First of all, there is a lot of history to this conflict, even Russia aside. You need to have a basic grasp of it before you brush off ethnic violence as an excuse - it is unfortunately quite real.

Second, you need to get your facts right. It was Georgian military that launched a massive attach on South Ossetian capital on Thursday night, using artillery and multiple rocket launchers. The city with 70k population is in complete ruins. If you read something other than biased CNN (e.g. BBC), it's clearly stated.

Lastly, for your claim to be true, Russia would need to push beyond South Ossetian borders. That, so far, has not happened. Hopefully it won't. Russia did bomb a number of military targets within Georgia (notably missing a tank base and hitting an apartment block on one occasion). But that has become a standard involvement procedure if you recall pre-W bombing of Iraq, for instance, or Serbia - we were not invading, merely "suppressing military targets".

And overall, it's deplorable to see people twisting everything so hard. All sides do it. Why can't it be seen for what it is? There are no angles in this conflict. There is an arrogant politician on Georgian side that has tried for years to sucker in western governments to help him to bring over by force separatist regions that do not desire autonomy. And against advice of his own allies he starts a gamble, in which a city is destroyed and countless lives are lost. And on the other side, a bitter, power hungry behemoth that will try to do whatever it can to upset Georgian alignment with the West.

Comment on Russia invades Georgia: an Archduke Ferdinand moment?

2011-12-16T05:02:31.119Z

Mrozek - South Ossetia is called "Samachablo" and you Russians have renamed it after 1921 invasion to Georgia in 1922 to "South Ossetia"

How can Georgia "invade" it's own teritory?
http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-65820#

natasha - That's what they tell you on Russian TV... But god damn it, read the Human Rights Watch reports... http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2008/08/28/georgi19712.htm
Russian soldiers were killing Chechens, Ingush and now are killing Georgians, have a mind of your own! Wake the fuck up!
Only 47 people have been killed in Tskinvali and 90% were armed bandits from North Caucasus.

Alexander Fedorov - READ The damn HRW report!

http://www.robertamsterdam.com/2008/08/pavel_felgenhauer_on_russias_p.htm

You Russians have NO shame at all! You murdered 50.000 Chechen children and now point fingers at the other and invade them? YIU ARE A PATHETHIC NATION!

Comment on Russia invades Georgia: an Archduke Ferdinand moment?

2011-12-16T05:02:31.493Z

There has been heavy propoganda on both sides, so it is nearly impossible to arrive at a reasonable amount of truth directly.

Indirectly, there are two things:

1) There have been two major conflict points: Ts'khinvali town, which was attacked by Georgians and Gori town, which was attacked by Russians.

Russian media claimed more than 1000 civilians killed in Ts'khinvali. Georgia claimed more than 1000 civilians killed in Gori.

There are horrible photos from Gori. Despite claiming the heavy casualties, Russian media has still so far been unable to produce similar evidence.

2) Russia extended its attacks on what is internationally recognized as Georgian territory, going even outside the original conflict zone.

This is called war, rather than peacekeeping as it was portreyed by Russian media.

Comment on Russia invades Georgia: an Archduke Ferdinand moment?

2011-12-16T05:02:31.821Z

Of course, we get the same Russian propaganda in the posts here. A sovereign country, that has Russians stationed on its OWN territory for years against its will, is now invaded. And the Russia apologists are now all out in force.

If we're worried about ethnic cleansing, what about CHECHNYA? Russians out of the CAUCASUS NOW!

Comment on Russia invades Georgia: an Archduke Ferdinand moment?

2011-12-16T05:02:32.257Z

God! Another American fearing the big bad Soviets ... grow up ... its not the Cold War any more, even the Cold War wasn't the Cold War, it was all a big American fantasy. Imagine, Americans criticizing Russia for protecting its borders while American soldiers occupy nations thousands of miles away and sell off their resources to the highest bidders. Oh, by the way, Ferdinand deserved what he got (though his wife didn't) and in the end Princip got what he was fighting for. Your misuse of historical allusion is as sad as your belief in the evil of foreigners.

Comment on Russia invades Georgia: an Archduke Ferdinand moment?

2011-12-16T05:02:33.069Z

It is Georgian army who killed more than 1000 Ossetian civilians (actually more than 1400 in just first 24 hours) and it was Georgians who was planning an armored blitzkrieg on South Ossetia. What kind of expert you are if you blindly believe in CNN propaganda?

Comment on Russia invades Georgia: an Archduke Ferdinand moment?

2011-12-16T05:02:33.365Z

Oh God, give me a break. Georgians are killing civilians and conducting ethnic cleansing in South Ossetia. The world must help the Ossets.

Comment on Russia invades Georgia: an Archduke Ferdinand moment?

2011-12-16T05:02:33.646Z

With this conflict erupting, John McCain stands out as the only clear choice for American voters. Why? Because he understands Vladimir Putin .

Comment on Russia invades Georgia: an Archduke Ferdinand moment?

2011-12-16T05:02:33.880Z

The only problem is that Georgia invaded Ossetia... the Ossets are not Georgians... and the Georgian army killed more than a 1000 civilians...
all of them Ossetians...

The Russians are no angels... but in this case it is Shaakashvili's immaturity is the problem... even Bush thinks so...

Comment on Long or short?

2011-12-16T05:02:34.270Z

I have a general feeling about many movies produced today that I think applies to this situation.

Most can reasonably cut about 30-45 minutes off of the final version, and still get the point across. However, if it's a good film, it doesn't matter if it runs two hours b/c you stay engaged.

The same holds true for articles. If you have something of importance to say, and are providing good information (not pseudo-sales drivel thinly veiled as editorial) then your audience will stay with you, if not, it becomes a drag.

(Although 3,000 words does seem a bit ambitious for any reader, what is that, like a book or something??)

There is def. a leaning towards brevity, but generate good ideas and the copy (whatever the length) will follow.

Comment on Are unmanned passenger vehicles the future?

2011-12-16T05:02:34.597Z

Naw, it will never happen. Elevators and airport trams operate in a totally segregated environment with no possibility of interaction with third parties, be they people, vehicles or obstacles. Aircraft and land vehicles, on the other hand, operate in extremely complex and unpredictable environments. I doubt passengers ever would be comfortable without knowing that a human would be there to back up the integrated electronic system, no matter how sophisticated, in case of malfunction in such a complex environment.

Comment on Are you radioactive?

2011-12-16T05:02:34.863Z

We all have some radioactive materials in our bodies other than medical treatments (Potassium 40 the most prevalant).

Regarding how to deal with medical treatments the US Customs and Border Protection have to deal with it already. People cross the boarders hot. CBP has to determine what is a threat and what is not.

Comment on Wordtrack?

2011-12-16T05:02:35.081Z

Definitely hadn't heard that one before. Should it even be a noun?

And, on the flip side of these new, ambiguous terms that people think they have to coin is the overuse of several terms as well, that are, in their own sense, just as vague.

Happened to come upon the Gobbledygook Manifesto shortly after reading your post yesterday (www.webinknow.com/2006/10/the_gobbledygoo.html) and the saddest part is, even though this was done in 2006, many of the terms are still being overused.

No wonder people are becoming numb to proper vocabulary and grammar. You know there?s trouble when your local weather reporter?s graphics depicts ?Moday? as sunny with a high of 83.

Oh, and I don?t necessarily think ?wordtrack? is techno-hip, it?s just seems plain silly.

Comment on Aircraft market strong, globally anyway

2011-12-16T05:02:44.722Z

Hi I just wanted to say that out of all the forecasts I read this seems to be most professional and accurate.

Nicely done.

Cant wait to read more.

Guy.

Comment on PA Semi acquisition main buzz at Critical Embedded Systems Media Fest

2011-12-16T05:02:46.610Z

John...the event was down about 40 attendees and about 8 exhibitors. That was my fault for moving it to May and changing location.

And, you did not mention VITA's new initiative, announced at the beginning of the conference : IOTSO (Innovate Outside Traditional Semiconductor Offerings). With the PA Semi mess, and the prediction that the present 450+ semi companies will consolidate into 50 or less in the next few years, we must take such action. Many of VITA's new standards efforts will concentrate on the IOTSO principle. Many of our recently released standards have also been focused on IOTSO.

Comment on PA Semi acquisition main buzz at Critical Embedded Systems Media Fest

2011-12-16T05:02:47.452Z

Maybe I'm just a bit old-fashioned. TOO.
Thanks for the update on the buzz, I missed this years event; travel and event overlaps. Critical Embedded Systems play a key role in driving the advancement of applications, the quick advancement of high speed fabrics with VPX and VSX are a great example or new technology and applications that scale to the job at hand. This is an important and unique event. RapidIO members in attendance tell me they too enjoyed the interaction.

Comment on Still addicted to a crazy game

2011-12-16T05:02:49.324Z

Good seeing you in Phoenix. I've lost too many balls to count but occasionally get lucky and find two good balls in place of the cheap ones I buy;)

Comment on West coast editor stretches legs, reach

2011-12-16T05:02:53.911Z

Welcome to Liberty Lake! We're glad you've joined us!

Military Electronics Editor Moves to Liberty Lake

Comment on Think you have an ITAR issue? Protect yourself, experts say

2011-12-16T05:02:55.814Z

Interesting article and as an electronic components distributor we run into this routinely. We often ask the primes to complete an end user certificate, particularly if the part has a military or dual use application. In most cases, they understand why we are asking for this info and it is rarely an issue. I would be hard pressed to even remember ever losing an order over it. Keep up the good work,
http//www.lasdefense.com

Comment on Think you have an ITAR issue? Protect yourself, experts say

2011-12-16T05:02:57.452Z

Doesn't the prime contractor have the prime responsibility for Export Control? So, if I purchase an ITAR item from a vendor, integrate it into a system, deliver the product in contravention to the ITAR, they can come back and slam the vendor? That seems so wrong in so many ways. Yes, slam me and the company I work for, but not the folks delivering parts within the law. That would be the same as the feds charging Winchester with accessory to murder because they made the bullet that killed somebody.

Comment on Now it's not just talk: VPX embedded computing starts racking up design wins

2011-12-16T05:02:59.699Z

With technologies such as VPX and Time-Triggered Ethernet (SAE AS6802) combined with VPXs Gigabit-Ethenret interconnect, there are very few limits for modular system-of-systems integration.

It is possible to design fault-tolerant distributed system which handle mixed criticality functions, video/audio, critical controls and non-critical open networking in one system. Very useful for design of mixed criticality systems based on COTS.

Comment on Chinese company doesn't operate the Panama Canal ... just both ends of it

2011-12-16T05:03:00.884Z

Chicken eating crow. Why not tell the Chinese checkered truth about the Canal the US built in Panama and handed over to China. Why back down into a watered down bold faced lie. A measley e-mail waters down the truth about the Chinese owned Panama Canal. Standing tall during war is not in the cards.

Comment on Chinese company doesn't operate the Panama Canal ... just both ends of it

2011-12-16T05:03:02.725Z

Hi, I would like to point out that, according to the treaty (ies) signed by Torrijos and Carter in 1977, if the Panama Canal is in danger due to war or any other similar acts, the United States has the priority over the Panama Canal to protect it if it is needed, the United States is therefore the potency providing security and protection to the Panama Canal. One treaty was signed to turn over the Panama Canal to Panama by 1999 and the second one grants the United States the priority to act and be present (as I recall it) in case of any danger to the Panama Canal.

Comment on Find me a safe harbor from 'forward-looking statements' ... please!

2011-12-16T05:03:04.317Z

Unfortunately, they are necessary as far as the lawyers are concerned.

When I first entered the PR world from the news side, I worked for a large multinational company that had just started the practice of running ALL news releases through the legal department because they had lost a lawsuit to a very small, garage shop. The subject of the suit was a statement in a new release the corporation had issued that stated it's new whatsis was the fastest watsis on the market. The garage shop was producing a whatsis that was actually faster. They sued and won. It set a precedent. From that time on, the corporation had to have it's lawyers approve all news release text because news releases had become official documents admissible in court.

There were two outcomes of that decision. The first was that there could be absolutely no absolute statements in news releases unless there was rock hard documentation to back them up. The second was that news releases started backing up in the attorneys' offices of every major corporation in the country. Something had to be done.

Thus, the safe harbor statements started showing up. That way, the absolutes could come back in, but they came with disclaimers written by attorneys, not writers.

If we were not such a litigious nation, we might not have this problem, but the reality is we are.

Comment on Back to the jungle: would U.S. intervene if war comes to South America?

2011-12-16T05:03:05.830Z

What if a war disabled the Venezuelan oil production? Are we see a lame duck tail wag its dog?

Comment on Back to the jungle: would U.S. intervene if war comes to South America?

2011-12-16T05:03:07.437Z

I think you are basing some of your speculations on the wrong data. Let's clear that the Panama Canal is NOT run by any company with Chinese ties. The Panama Canal is a government entity run by the democratically elected Government of Panama. You can access the Canal website at www.pancanal.com and browse around to get all the information about this wonder of the world. Remember that the Canal has no relationship with ports administration, in case that this is the source of your confusion.

Comment on Sorry, Boeing; European airframe to be new Air Force refueling tanker

2011-12-16T05:03:08.872Z

Thank you Darlene Druyan (look her up)

Comment on Sorry, Boeing; European airframe to be new Air Force refueling tanker

2011-12-16T05:03:10.276Z

Whats wrong with an American company like BOEING? Why don't we just shut down all American manufacturing. It's all about greed! Who cares about the American workers.

E H

Comment on Sorry, Boeing; European airframe to be new Air Force refueling tanker

2011-12-16T05:03:11.196Z

The American people and politicians simply will not accept the present outcome. So the decision will be reversed, although it is not yet clear how.

My bet: there will be a very thorough investigation, which will uncover be one or more procedural mistakes by the Air Force. (Nobody never makes any error or mistake, so here they will have been made too). In this case, these will be used to cancel the evaluation altogether or reverse the outcome. After the next round of evaluations, Boeing will win after all, albeit with a very small margin.

JWD Fransen

Comment on Autonomous arms race: gentlemen, start your robots

2011-12-16T05:03:12.928Z

I can hear the sounds of gears and miniature motors turning as I read the article. May the robots live on !
David Brockman, Utilytech Corp

Comment on Who knew that a satellite shootdown could cause such hand-wringing?

2011-12-16T05:03:14.785Z

Wow. What news reports were you reading??? The only ones I read were dry, boring technical essays!

Comment on Who knew that a satellite shootdown could cause such hand-wringing?

2011-12-16T05:03:15.346Z

That's the problem of being an administration with a major credibility problem. Even if there were political benefits to shooting down the satellite, why can't people even admit the possibility that a five-ton chunk of metal full of lethal fuel is better off destroyed before it hits the ground? The truth is always somewhere in-between.

Comment on Experiment demonstrates beam orders of magnitude more powerful than the Airborne Laser

2011-12-16T05:03:15.970Z

A note on the destructive power of this laser, and the comparison with the ABL:

In order to destroy something (break, melt, evaporate, ...) a certain minimal amount of ENERGY is needed. For example, melting 1 kg of iron (and prior to that heating it up from room temp. to the melting point) requires an energy input of roughly 1 MJ (million Joule), which is about 0.3 kWh.
Energy is power times time (a low power lasting for a long time can give as much energy as a high power which lasts only a short time). The 300 terawatt of this Michigan laser is an enormous power (all due respect!), but if we multiply that power by 30 femtoseconds we get 10 Joule, which can melt only 10 milligrams of iron...
The ABL is a continuous wave laser (in contrast to pulsed). Its 1 Megawatt of power must last for 1 second in order to yield the 0.3 kWh of energy needed to melt 1 kg of iron.

Comment on Experiment demonstrates beam orders of magnitude more powerful than the Airborne Laser

2011-12-16T05:03:17.140Z

For beam propagation in the atmosphere (the case for the Airborne Laser)there may be nonlinear optical effects for this pulsed laser which will severely limit the irradiance delivered to the target. It depends on the wavelength as well as the irradiance level and the pulse width. This pulsed laser may not be more effective than the current ABL COIL.

Comment on Market outlook positive among exhibitors at Components for Military and Space Electronics conference

2011-12-16T05:03:19.855Z

You might want to check out the DOD's 2009 budget request before you talk about shrinking research budgets. It looks like DOD actually wants to increase R&D spending next year slightly, from $76.88 billion in 2008 to $79.62 billion in 2009. Maybe it's not all doom and gloom after all.

Comment on Real intelligence, or artificial intelligence; you be the judge

2011-12-16T05:03:22.273Z

Would you want a computer necessarily to "learn" the job of a human air traffic controller. Might it not be better to look at the system from scratch.

To take an example. Let us say that away from major airports we have free flight. The control system will then be engaged in predicting conflict situations and resolving them.

Also most aircraft these days fly on autopilots. Why give oral instructions? Why not have digital transmissions that can be very much shorter? They could either feed directly into an autopilot and/or produce an instruction on the screen.

Comment on Real intelligence, or artificial intelligence; you be the judge

2011-12-16T05:03:24.083Z

The man get Tired and makes Errors, the Computer not!

Ive more trust to an human controlled Computer than too an human^^

Comment on Electromagnetic railguns and high-power electronics: you ain't seen nothin' yet

2011-12-16T05:03:25.674Z

John,
Good information on the EM Gun, but I wanted to add a few more technical details to help clarify the real problem with these systems that the Navy faces. As an electrical engineer who has worked on EM Guns, I have some expertise in this area.

The real power issue is with the pulse power system required to fire the weapon system. You can charge up the system every 12 seconds, but you discharge it in a matter of a few milliseconds. There are a couple of techniques to do this, but all of them are large, significantly complex, and have issues of long-term reliable operation. The least technically complex (in my opinion, and I say this because all methods are extremely difficult to implement) is a capacitor based system. The current baseline for energy storage in capacitor systems (from General Atomics presentation at IEEE PPC July 2009) is 2J/cc. Thus a 64MJ system would require a capacitor system approximately 32 cubic meters, assuming 100% packing density, which is not possible due to heat generation and maintenance issues. A more realistic number might be 50% packing efficiency, making the space requirement 64 cubic meters minimum. Even still, on board a ship, this is not a significantly large requirement for space.

All in all, this is an important capability that the military needs to continue to pursue. The capabilities that this system provides are tremendous, especially if you look at the current developmental budget being directed towards it. In FY10, the Navy was given approximately $37M for EM Gun and directed energy weapons. Compared to other weapon systems such as the $120M in FY 10 for the Airborne Laser, this is a relatively small investment. Although the EM Gun has been intermittently worked on since the 1980's, we are finally getting to a point technology wise, where a deployable system is possible (once again in my opinion) in the next 10 to 15 years if we continue to invest in this technology.

MAJ Brian Souhan, student, ILE Class 10-003, Ft Lee, VA
-The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not reflect official policy or position of the U.S. Army, Department of Defense, or U.S. Government.

Comment on Electromagnetic railguns and high-power electronics: you ain't seen nothin' yet

2011-12-16T05:03:27.437Z

This rail gun is a defense paradigm changing technology.

In theory, the absolute limiting value of electromagnetically launched projectiles is the speed of light or C. Obviously, according to special relativity, attainment of C for a projectile of finite rest mass would require infinite energy input. However given the absolute limits of C and infinite kinetic energy, there is lots of room for electromagnetic gun technology to improve.

Some theories that hold that there are absolute limits to the intensity of electric and magnetic field hold that such fields can achieve a maximum strength of about 10 EXP 55 Volts/meter and about 10 EXP 55 Tesla respectively. At these field levels, one cubic meter of space occupied by such a field would contain an electrical or magnetic energy 10 EXP 30 times greater than the entire mass energy content within the visible universe. Field levels greater than these in a pure vacuum might accordingly cause the vacuum to break down into single magnetic pole particles such as monopoles and perhaps other bazaar entities.

On a much more practical note, electromagnetic guns that would use solenoid highly conducting carbon nanotube materials with tensile strengths exceeding mild grade construction steel by a factor of 60 might enable magnetically propelled hardened steel projectile to reach tens of kilometers per second. The extreme tensile strength of these carbon nanotube materials might permit magnetic field strengths into the hundreds of Teslas in a repeatable manner.

In short, electromagnetic guns are an awesome technology. In a world where enemies of freedom would like to take down the U.S. and its allies, I see no problem morally with developing such systems, improving them, and deploying them. The horrible news about how Alqueda probably conned two innocent mentally retarded Iraqi women to carry bomb vests packed with dynamite and ball bearings which were detonated remotely to kill scores or market goers only reinforces my opinion for our need to keep a technological edge on our ruthless adversaries. We can aim for the ultimate goal of disarmament but even the late great Pope John Paul II said it is not practical nor feasible for the U.S. to disarm unilaterally. Our enemies certainly will not.

Thanks;

Jim Essig

Comment on Sick of the COTS acronyms yet?

2011-12-16T05:03:28.966Z

John, you dared us to write an entire paragraph entirely with military acroynms. My boss claims to have heard such a sentence during a meeting but the closest I can find is extracted from meeting minutes stating as an action that "SM47 now TEMO. Copy of UFR to be sent to FINS2b". The odd semblence of English crept it but nevertheless totally non-sensical to the uninitiated! Who needs encryption?

Comment on Sick of the COTS acronyms yet?

2011-12-16T05:03:30.510Z

Keld, the first time I heard the term KOTS was a few months ago in a meeting with an executive from Cisco Systems. I haven't seen it "defined" in print anywhere other than this blog and my previous article.

Thanks again for your comments. My response to your post and your second post were accidentally deleted by our webmaster, so I reposted mine. Please repost if you wish.

Comment on Sick of the COTS acronyms yet?

2011-12-16T05:03:31.883Z

This is interesting. Who originated the term KOTS (Kinda Off-The-Shelf). NOt that it is original, but I used this in a presentation 2 years ago unaware that it was a defined term. Just curious.

Keld Petersen

Comment on Open systems and industry standards: the Navy starts to get it

2011-12-16T05:03:33.271Z

This article makes several assertions that I find, well, just wrong. One, is that the Navy will become a technology "follower." Just wrong, the Navy and Marine Corps are always on the leading edge of what can be done better for our "war" business. What we envision as leaders of technology influences the industry. Secondly, don't sell the effort to go "open" systems so short. It was only until relatively a short time (in acquisition time) that we could take off the shelf components rugged and powerful enough for ships and field operations that allows us to become open systems procurers.

Comment on Fight or flight? Military research may tip the balance

2011-12-16T05:03:34.114Z

It is interesting that you have used a photo of a Scottish re-enactment group (The Queen's Own Royal Halberdiers, St. Andrews) here in California.
I was the drummer for the group and was actually in attendance at the event pictured, just behind the halberdiers.

Comment on Fight or flight? Military research may tip the balance

2011-12-16T05:03:34.941Z

Fear is a constant in combat,leadership is not and the soldier knows the difference and that's why he runs.

Comment on To use, or to utilize, that is the question

2011-12-16T05:03:36.126Z

Thank you for THAT posting! I have a Mil-Aero background but now find myself in a classroom, helping my young charges with science, English and math. I assure you, this sliver of a generation will not throw about the "utilize" word thoughtlessly! (I try to get them not to say "lay down" either...)

Comment on To use, or to utilize, that is the question

2011-12-16T05:03:37.577Z

From the American Heritage Dictionary on dictionary.com

"Usage Note: A number of critics have remarked that utilize is an unnecessary substitute for use. It is true that many occurrences of utilize could be replaced by use with no loss to anything but pretentiousness, for example, in sentences such as They utilized questionable methods in their analysis or We hope that many commuters will continue to utilize mass transit after the bridge has reopened. But utilize can mean "to find a profitable or practical use for." Thus the sentence The teachers were unable to use the new computers might mean only that the teachers were unable to operate the computers, whereas The teachers were unable to utilize the new computers suggests that the teachers could not find ways to employ the computers in instruction."

Further reading of entries reveals meanings equating to
"To put to use, especially to find a profitable or practical use for"

Just to muddy the waters further. But lest, I do agree with John. I was "raised" in the obfuscating Army back in the 80's, and then there was a huge push to simplify Army writing and just say what you mean, and not to try to impress your reader with your command of the English language and your ability to string together whole passages of fifty cent words.

Comment on To use, or to utilize, that is the question

2011-12-16T05:03:39.137Z

It goes far beyond this issue , John. My first week as a technical editor at a defense contractor, I ran across sentence in a report that said, "The RB impacts on the ellipsoid rather than the geoid sphere."

I went to the engineer and asked, "Does this mean the warhead explodes in the air, not the ground?"

"Yes," he said.

"Can I say that?"

"No," he explained.

And thus I was launched into the world of technical writing.

Comment on Will human sight be the worst casualty of future optical warfare?

2011-12-16T05:03:41.961Z

Interesting comments about the possibility of blinding people in war zones. I noticed that the cover photo of Military & Aerospace Electronics supplement Electro-Optics depicts a soldier with a belt fed weapon. The bullets are clearly visible as dum-dum rounds, illegal under the rules of land warfare. How'd that happen?

Comment on Defending against swarms of small, fast attack boats; now I know what they mean

2011-12-16T05:03:42.975Z

Dear John:

The small boat problem is not new, the US and israel faced with this problem in the 1960s. Back then Egypt sunk an Israli destroyer Eliath (sp?)with one small craft. This was an "over the horizon" OTH missle attack. Part of the solution of that problem was the development of a helo born OTH system mounted in a helocopter and associated sensors and communications deployed on destroyer and cruiser class ships.

Your news is a new sensor added to counter that threat. Kind of interesting we worked the front end of that problem almost 40 years ago and the capability to meet it, to a large degree, has been operational for over 30 years. Also, we have been improving on the cability for the last 30 years.

As an aside, we could have used the capability in Korea in the 1960s when North Korea used small boats to conduct a rain of terror against the South. This terrorism and the vietnam war were linked.

Comment on Radar technology to jump from microwave ovens to home heating systems?

2011-12-16T05:03:43.802Z

If the sole source of heating was microwave, then all inanimate objects in the home would be near outside temperatures, depending on ratio of heat emitting bodies to square footage of the home. If it's 0 degrees F outside, then inside air and objects might be 10-20 degrees F? Like tile floors, cutlery, dishes, telephones, vinyl or leather upholstery furniture, toilet seats?

Comment on What do the early election returns mean for military and aerospace technology?

2011-12-16T05:03:45.237Z

Nothing at this point. The presidental WanaBes are trying to get play in the big game. Anything that brings the voters and money to their camp is what is important.

Policy in the next aministration is going to be driven by the ecomomy and the war. Clearly the military is going to take a hit in 2010 no matter who gets in office. The big question is what is going to be the tradeoffs between more military personnel and technology.

Politically, the most dangerous times are ahead because too much focus is on terrorism and strategic concerns have all been pushed tio the bbackground. US strategic power is being sidelined and deminishing and others are building as they have budgets to build on. Russia, China, and others are moving forward to exrtend infuluence and power.

Comment on The poker-faced traveler; is there such a thing?

2011-12-16T05:03:45.627Z

And you asnwer this way in Israel at the airport departure check and you miss your flight...

Comment on The poker-faced traveler; is there such a thing?

2011-12-16T05:03:46.111Z

Actually, I think if you don't respond that way, especially in the US, then you are immediately suspect....or taking meds.

Comment on New Russian battle tank: it's beginning to look a lot like the '80s

2011-12-16T05:03:46.438Z

Well fellas, what if the T-95 has a 1,500 hp or significantly better, diesel engine, additional 1 tonne munitions load out, an un-refuelled range 3 times greater than any contemporary MBT, weighs considerably less than the 50 tonne battle weight limit and probably less than 45 tonne and is a battle field robotic controlled from an escorting attack helicopter ? Sounds fantastic doesn't it? Only thing is, if you know where to look, the evidence is out there about this and what else is in the pipeline. For a start and if you can find it somewhere, go have a look at issues 28 and 30 of Military Parade. Issue 28 announced the ability to manufacture a 1,500 hp diesel engine for the T-80UM1 BARS Tank along with the adoption of hydraulic drives the Black Eagle demonstrated at Omsk also had the hydraulic drive and intigrated suspension and most probably the hydraulic engine as well. Why do you think nobody could get closer than 500 metres during demos,it probably sounds so different up close they were worried people might ask questions. T-95 is probably the first deployed equipment with the integrated hydraulic power plant, drive line and suspension. TACOM wasn't interested in talking about this a long time ago or perhaps the Abrams would have been discontinued way back then and the American forces been equipped with it's own T-95. NERO

Comment on New Russian battle tank: it's beginning to look a lot like the '80s

2011-12-16T05:03:46.657Z

I think it all depends on whether you can foresee fighting a war in open territory again. Russia needs tanks to intimidate minority populations within their borders. But their tanks didn't do them a whole lot of good in Afghanistan.

Battle tanks are good for wars fought against massed forces, but that may be a bygone era. It's kinda like the redcoats marching a firing in formation against the colonial "terrorists" in 1776. Not a good idea to go into a field of battle while the enemy hinds behind rocks and trees.

Your point about personnel-less vehicles is well-taken, but what do we do when the battlefield is automated and all we are doing is blowing up automated vehicles with automated vehicles. Not much more effective than a video game, but much more expensive.

Comment on Could the Navy and Coast Guard use the same ship? Who knew?

2011-12-16T05:03:47.203Z

I believe there are some opportunities to do this, much like the country is doing with fighters. However, there are substantial differences needed for design for a short range vessel and long range vessel.

I would think that Coast Guard vessels need to be faster (at the cost of fuel efficiency) and require less storage for supplies since they are, in fact, coastal vessels.

Navy ships must have the storage for long deployment as well as the fuel efficiency.

I don't disagree with you, but I'm not sure that a ship builder and designer that specializes in one will be able to handle both. The issues may be more on the supply side than the demand side.

Comment on Could the Navy and Coast Guard use the same ship? Who knew?

2011-12-16T05:03:47.421Z

John,

This has been an ongoing discussion in recent US military history and most of it has to do with competition between the various branches of military. The Marines, Navy and Air Force often have very similar aircraft, but each wants their own version because, well, they are different branches. The Coast Guard and Navy do have very different missions, even though they often do similar things.
Yes, it makes a whole lot of sense to make one version and learn to use it in different ways, but you aren't considering male ego.
You are also not considering the fact that the industry making the stuff can make have more contracts, which looks better for the bottom line.
It's not just the military either. Boeing and Airbus make different planes for different countries.
Think of the last time you may have bought a car. You wanted a certain type of car with a certain type of propulsion, wheels, paint, interior, etc. Even though your lifestyle is similar to many other people, all of whom are driving different cars.
It really doesn't make sense to do it that way, it's just the way it is.

Comment on I'm learning something about you; yeah, I'm talking about you

2011-12-16T05:03:47.717Z

John,

Yes, it is a frustrating position to be a good blogger in a high tech world, but you have to remember that the audience you are talking to are not just shy, they are generally under mandate from their companies to not participate in blogging.

My particular frustration is on the PR side. There is less opportunity to get "ink" for clients now because the print world is contracting so rapidly. I've been pushing clients and potential clients to get into the blogging world, both as bloggers and commenters, to get their positions recognized. But the general response is "What's the ROI?" or "We're not ready to talk about that."

But that doesn't mean the blogging the journalists are doing are not valuable to the industry. You guys don't really have time to do the analysis and in depth reporting you once did. You don't have the time to sit down over coffee with reps from companies and build up relationships. But by throwing out these concepts on the blogs, you give us ideas about what you are interested in and how we can help you build stories.

For example, your cryogenic piece got me wondering about what was out there to keep onboard electronics cool. I discovered that there is the silicon-carbide semiconductor industry. It's been around for a couple of decades but is only coming close to being a profitable business model now.

The press generally has a better idea of what the market needs than do the marketeers in the tech industry. So if people like me can bring all three sides together (press, industry and market) than we can do alll do our job.

Keep it up, be patient. All will be as it should.

Comment on He said, she said?

2011-12-16T05:03:47.967Z

Courtney Howard, you do NOT sound like a guy. More important than the sound of your voice, however, is what you say with it. Trust me. You are doing very well. Having a strong voice in print as well in person is truly a good thing. Well done.

Comment on He said, she said?

2011-12-16T05:03:48.139Z

I listened to that Webcast live, and never once did I even think of Barry White. You just knock this stuff off, right now! Actually you have a great voice. Better than those other two clowns -- McHale and Keller

Comment on Radar technology to jump from microwave ovens to home heating systems?

2011-12-22T22:05:21.569Z

This story repeats the psyop disinformation that refutes the practical deployment of scalar electromagnetic radio requency weaponry capable of delivering precision-targeted energy of variable amplitude -- inducing a range of effects from mild heating to instant death. Look around at all those cell tower masts; this veteran reporter exposed two years ago that those ubiquitous masts house a radio frequency directed energy weapon system U.S. Patent 7629918, Raytheon) under operational control o Lockheed Martin, being used to silently assault, torture, impair, subjugate and harm extrajudicially targeted U.S. citizens -- in other words, an invisible government slow-kill torture matrix benignly described as "less than lethal." http://nowpublic.com/world/u-s-silently-tortures-americans-cell-tower-microwave-weapon

Comment on Russian T-95 main battle tank: could this combat vehicle be more formidable than we thought?

2011-12-28T17:21:08.769Z

Hello Gentlemen, Thank you for the well-writen, extremely and accurately frightening article. Just take our MBT (M1A2) basic components (and engines fuel consumtion) apart and compare all their advantages and disadvanges with the new MBT T-95. Especially when T-95 can be quickly produced in massive numbers - just like those good old T-34, T-54 and T-72 (which we still trying to extract information from) I do sincerely hope that we (as the US and the free world) keenly aware that not only the Soviet is playing this game but also the new-and-mighty Chinese land force as well. History WILL repeat much sooner than we think of and we may again find ourselves at the receiving end of the sharp spear just like the last time when the first Soviet tanks rolling into Budapest. Let's hope for the best but be prepared for the worse. Sincerely, Emile

Comment on The battle for Internet security

2012-01-10T01:13:35.950Z

OK, so the idea that funding and 'manpower' is an determining factor in the endurance of this reality of Anonymous uprising reveals a rather absurd level of ignorance on the part of the author of this post. Ignorance that is to say, at least in the realm of the capacities, malleability of tools and depth of commitment and motivation of those involved in Anon and related groups. Just the statement "I can only imagine it will end soon..." reveals the lack of understanding of history of asymmetrical conflicts and a seriously mistaken faith in the hubris of failing empires, as well as a total lack of understanding of the motives and passions behind the actions. An idea whose time has come....

Comment on The battle for Internet security

2012-01-10T15:43:55.078Z

Anonymous, funding and manpower are always a factor in conflicts, particularly when dealing with something that requires more education than simply fighting. Israel dumped lots of funding and manpower into learning the intricacies of cyber attacks and defense, and they are one of the most powerful forces in both security and offense in that field. Funding allows you to hire the best of the best, unless they are against what you are doing. NATO has resources Anonymous can't possibly match, that's a fact. Manpower is also important, even in hacking and particularly on the defensive side of it. They can hire all the white hats they need to look for vulnerabilities and beat attackers to the punch. All of the asymmetric conflicts that have been won by the weaker party did so because a gun means education and social standing no longer matter; your side has guns and you can use them to fight the other side with no training at all. They also had the tenacity to outlast (Vietnam, current insurgency in Afghanistan and Iraq), or outside funding (American revolution, countless government-funded uprisings). You can't ship a bunch of computers to people and expect them to start battling the government, education and training are required to participate. Anonymous has the advantage of operating without any laws, a common advantage in these sorts of conflicts, whereas governments have to deal with arrests, due process and building cases against those they catch. Anonymous can wreck havoc on whoever they would like without worrying about breaking their own rules. That's a big advantage when tracing attacks is difficult assuming competence on the attacker's side. It is, however, one of the few advantages Anonymous has. Anonymous does have a motivation and a well-managed public face if you dig deep enough. The desire for there to be no secrets in the government, something Anonymous seems to really be after, could even be considered a laudable goal. Currently their efforts to get Australia to adopt a bill of rights is one that anyone should be able to get behind, the means (only threats so far) are what people find to be disagreeable. I can only say that Anonymous has a lot to overcome if they do truly plan on changing the government, especially one that has, up until recently, been largely ignoring them as a threat. Anonymous and all the offshoots are the first of their kind, attempts to outright fight against governments through hacking. They have a unique brand of challenges to deal with, and it will be interesting to sit on the sidelines and see what happens.

Comment on The Terminology of Military Technology

2012-01-18T16:09:27.973Z

Way back in the day...I'm 77...when folks would ask what I did, my reply was "build war machines." Not PC, but we did speak the truth in English way back then...Back then was the late 50s through the 90s...

Comment on The Terminology of Military Technology

2012-01-18T16:57:43.007Z

agree 100%, war, and the things that happen during war, is very nasty way of doing things, that is what war is, the killing of other humans, and it should not be talked about in a way that makes it easier to swallow or PC.

Comment on The Terminology of Military Technology

2012-01-18T19:00:40.795Z

Life is full of euphemisms. If you are having trouble stomaching the vocabulary of the industry, are you working for the right publication?

Comment on The Terminology of Military Technology

2012-01-19T13:45:21.213Z

Wikipedia has a useful post on the subject of "Colateral Damage", technology has increasingly improved matters, and long may it continue to do so! Quote:- "...The U.S. military follows a technology based process for estimating and mitigating collateral damage. The software used is known as âFAST-CDâ or âFast Assessment Strike ToolâCollateral Damage."[9] When followed, this process dramatically reduces the amount of collateral damage in U.S. military operations, and also ensures high levels of political accountability. However, due to the realities of combat operations, the process is not always followed. [10] The U.S. militaryâs collateral damage estimation process is intended to ensure that there will be a less than 10 percent probability of serious or lethal wounds to non-combatants. [10] Less than 1% of pre-planned operations which followed the collateral damage estimation process resulted in collateral damage. [10] When collateral damage has occurred, 70% of the time it was due to failed âpositive identificationâ of a target, 22% of the time it was attributable to weapons malfunction, and a mere 8% of the time it was attributable to proportionality balancing - e.g. a conscious decision that anticipated military advantage outweighed collateral damage. [10] According to public statements made by U.S. government officials the President of the United States or the Secretary of Defense must approve any pre-planned ISAF strike where 1 civilian casualty or greater is expected...."

Comment on The Terminology of Military Technology

2012-01-19T14:06:05.356Z

Not all targets are humans. Not all enemy / adversary humans are targets. The bureaucracy of the defense establishment generates a lot of documents of stultifying length in the attempt to remove all doubt or chance of misinterpretation while still covering all the bases. Would anyone really prefer that every potential category of target be expressly listed each time a document references eliminating or killing a target? And let's not forget that eliminating a target does not necessarily mean destroying it. An adversary's aircraft can be damaged while still on the ground just enough that it cannot fly with out a critical spare part that the attacker knows is not available. This eliminates that aircraft from the order of battle, but does not destroy it. So how much more precise and detailed, and longer, would those documents have to become to cover all those bases? The alternative of using a generic statement that does the job clearly, concisely, and completely seems far preferable.

Comment on Can machines truly understand language?

2012-01-25T07:09:39.057Z

minimum english well reach to yours meaning know. edge others use best match sensetive language it again

Comment on Russian T-95 main battle tank: could this combat vehicle be more formidable than we thought?

2012-01-25T20:54:58.114Z

Blah Blah Blah Blah, The M1 is proven in balltel thanks bud.