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The Aerospace & Defense Blog

Welcome to The Aerospace & Defense Blog. This is where our staff recount tales of the strange, the weird, and the otherwise offbeat. We could put news here, but we have the rest of our Website for that. Enjoy our scribblings, and feel free to add your own opinions. You might also get to know us in the process. Proceed at your own risk.

The haunting bugle call Taps is 150 years old this summer

The Navy's solid-state laser weapon

High-performance embedded computing (HPEC) gaining market traction, but its definition remains elusive

Did I say $114 million mistake? I meant $351 million.

Continuing the conversation

Lockheed Martin experimental stealth surface vessel to be scrapped after yielding valuable technology

Air Force competes in National Collegiate Cyber Defense competition

Will Intel 3rd Generation Intel Core processor make a big splash in embedded computing applications?

The $114 million mistake

Iran under attack once again

High-performance computing for rugged mobile military applications is becoming a hot design issue

Is the U.S. getting ready for conflict?

Historic obsession about the Titanic sinking 100 years ago wipes Bread and Roses strike from popular memory

The future of UAV technology aims high

Conference combo

We can thank a self-absorbed Congress for hurting national defense if deep automatic defense cuts happen

Securing the military network

FAA's impending rule on small UAVs may usher in a new era of civil aerial warfare

Boeing and Airbus both claim victory in WTO Appeal? That can't be right...

The defense industry may be adjusting to a new age of financial austerity

What's up with all the anti-tamper technology?

Effects of 2013 DOD budget cuts already being felt with program cancellations

Top ten technologies the U.S. Army's Rapid Equipping Force is looking for

AUSA Winter 2012

Iranian Nuclear Program Under Attack (again)

Your best insight into the DOD budget implications for the military and aerospace electronics market

Railgun technology getting closer to reality

Iranian Nuclear Program Under Attack (again)

Vying for air refueling tanker work

Two years later, Navy is on track for big upgrades to shipboard networking and C4ISR

Prosthetic Limbs

Security for Android hand-held devices is top priority for real-time software companies

Can machines truly understand language?

Revamped M&AE and Avionics Websites offer topic centers to get readers exactly what they want

The Terminology of Military Technology

The Terminology of Military Technology

Latest Pentagon guidance may bode well for military technology development and research

The battle for Internet security

Saber rattling in the Persian Gulf drives home importance of shipboard missile defense

Southern California sites all deserve recognition for their contributions to aviation history

North Korea's new leader

Commercial satellite photo reminds us that China is a future global aircraft carrier power

How did that get there? How Iran may have obtained their new UAV

Let's hope anti-tamper technology is real, as one of the most advanced UAVs falls into Iranian hands

A Naval Academy class ring gives mute testimony to disaster at Pearl Harbor 70 years ago today

Quadruped robot nearing release

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

Customizable communication

Federal spending cuts: can't anybody here play this game?

Video Games as Military Education

Great Reason To Get To Munich This Spring: Avionics Europe to Explore New Frontier of Air Traffic Management

Airbus prevails over Boeing in Dubai Air Show passenger jetliner sweepstakes, but no Paris-like blowout

The role of the smartphone on the digital battlefield

An update on the Avionics Europe conference and expo March 21 and 22 in Munich

The best defense is...

The politics and interpretation of DOD's Technology Readiness Assessment (TRA) guidelines

Space geeks rejoice: NASA news abounds

Knowledge is Power

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

Boeing: A giant awakens

Guns, guns, guns

Business aviation: a boon to corporate 'fat cats' or job creator for the local community?

No power, no content: the October snowstorm from Hell

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

An exclusive look into the editorial mission of Military & Aerospace Electronics (and a renewal reminder)

NBAA 2011, Social, Mobile and the Year of the iPad

Notable NASA news dominates desktop

An open letter to GPGPU-based embedded computing providers

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

New to NBAA

Aerospace and defense electronics industry consolidation proceeding at a rapid pace

Drones don't kill people, people kill people

Help Wanted: NASA seeks astronauts

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

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

When real life user interfaces begin to emulate video games

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

At sea in an ocean of military equipment, vehicles and components

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

The economy and what it means for the defense industry

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

Launch of 737 MAX restores competitive balance between Boeing and Airbus for narrow-body jetliner market

More meaningless posturing over "automatic" cuts in the defense budget

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

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

Today's laser weapons buzz may mean military deployment will be sooner than we think

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

Congress, once again, flips the bird to the Pentagon over plans to cut wasteful spending

Wire news feeds a big hit on Military & Aerospace Electronics, Avionics Intelligence Websites

NVIDIA acquires Icera, so what's this got to do with military embedded computing?

BittWare Anemone processor could make FPGAs as popular as general-purpose processors in embedded computing

Are we on the verge of a new era of technological innovation?

Army set to kick off M3TD chemical-detection program with RFP due in May

Army officials sing praises of UH-72A Lakota at Army Aviation show this week in Nashville

AMC/AEEC attendance up as avionics engineers are bullish on market

Firing on Fort Sumter, which sparked the American Civil War, happened 150 years ago today

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

Are low-profile, quick-turnaround military contracts replacing the traditional procurement process?

Maybe aviation market is turning around

Pilot training taking backseat to new avionics, says Avionics Europe keynote

Tsunami and Earthquake in Japan, bully confrontation video, point to the virtues of self-reliance

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

CompactPCI Serial could do for PCI what VPX did for VME

Convoy combat training

Rockwell Collins says Army committed to networking the warfighter despite smaller DOD budget request

JTRS is poorly named, it's more of a computer network than a radio

Chinook C47F pilots loving their glass cockpit

Chinook CH-47F pilots loving their glass cockpit

Redesigned Military & Aerospace Electronics Website helps you see more, and see it fast: www.militaryaerospace.com

Video first look: how General Dynamics proposes to create an air-deployable WIN-T tactical communications node

DOD budget request for 2012 is out; procurement and UAVs are up, RDT&E is down, overseas military ops see drastic cuts

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

Even the most rugged electronics can come in small packages

IED blow up your vehicle? No problem with the Thales MSCCS communications system

Defense primes gives suppliers marching orders to lobby Congress to preserve aerospace and defense jobs

The Army likes contractors who are on time and on budget

Managing thermals in Army helicopter cockpits

Army still exploring synthetic vision technology

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

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

Projected cuts in military spending: DOD budget enters the land of make-believe

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

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

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

Security holes are everywhere even in secure virtualization systems, says Green Hills Software CEO

Revealing the flight plan of Santa; what else are we giving potential terrorists?

Thank you to all that serve

FACE consortium tries to succeed where others have failed in crafting open-systems avionics computers

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

U.S. defense officials may be getting serious about crafting defenses against EMP attack

Miniaturization of electronics, theme at AUSA

Could we someday see a rugged iPad?

AUSA annual meeting, fun and crowded as usual

Neil Armstrong on being there

Maritime nuisance: unmanned surface vessels designed to harass enemy submarines

Owning my own jet vs. flying commercial

Fiber laser technology is common critical enabler in precision-engagement projects at Lockheed Martin

Battlefield tours: a new twist on the golf game to build business relationships

Freescale may be rethinking its commitment to AltiVec technology in its latest QorIQ family of processors

Ada is not nearly as dead a language as Latin

Archie Bunker, counter-terror expert

September 17: It's still known as America's bloodiest day

Executive layoffs at Boeing, Lockheed Martin signal tough times ahead

Is your embedded system supplier "board agnostic?"

I wanna go to UAV school

Robot convoy

AUVSI traffic in Denver steady, but it lacks DC excitement

Thermal management name change good move for Parker, Spraycool

Manned or unmanned aircraft ... is there a choice?

UAV ground control systems follow-up

Most serious DOD information warfare attack may have happened two years ago in the Middle East

Ghosts of embedded computing past: it's about time Curtiss-Wright pulled up stakes and found new digs

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

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

Working the Farnborough air show, backwards and in high heels

Ryan Reynolds as the Green Lantern: I think I have an idea what he's talking about

Is there anyone out there who isn't a world leader?

Soldier systems focus on infantry technology to achieve the mission and get the fighters home alive

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

DARPA wants electronic warfare systems that learn from their mistakes to keep pace with the latest communications technology

Embedded computing information for aerospace and military embedded systems all in one place

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

The junkyard space satellite

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

Flying car fantasy looks like it could become reality

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

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

Oil spill: could modified sonar help detect concentrations of undersea oil threatening wildlife and tourism in Gulf of Mexico?

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

The Dork's guide to pragmatism, epistemology, and removing that blasted heat from electronic systems

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

Redesigning an established Website turns out to be a cornucopia of frustration

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

Decades later, Lakehurst, N.J., is still blimp central for the U.S. Navy

Electronics cooling and thermal management: these are the crucial issues that will make network-centric warfare and the digital battlefield a reality

NextGen in the mid-term

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

Going back in time on the USS Cassin Young

With big upgrades, the enhanced Military & Aerospace Electronics Website just keeps getting better

Parts obsolescence: it's the problem with COTS that just won't go away

Aer Lingus vs. US Airways

DSP performance of the Intel Core i7 microprocessor: the hits just keep on coming

Conformity with military airborne systems crucial for SESAR integration

Market outlook positive among Avionics Europe attendees

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

Does the Green Lantern superhero read Military & Aerospace Electronics?

The 2011 DOD budget is out, and the news is good

Ridge and Franks: Celebrate Presidents' Day, donate to Flight 93 memorial

Another kind of Oscar race

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

E-networking revolution highlighted 2009

E-networking revolution highlighted 2009

Tiger Woods: please, just make it all go away

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

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

Guest blog: Navy demonstrates value of military cloud computing during recent naval exercise

Heat is buckling the flight decks of Navy ships; this looks like a job for the thermal management experts

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

COTS, COTS, COTS, COTS

COTS, COTS, COTS, COTS

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

DOD contracting: it's quiet out there; too quiet

David Jensen joins Avionics Intelligence

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

Editor at large

DVT: Not just in M-ATVs

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

The #milaero online community and the stream of Twitterness -- it's all about you

Very cool helicopter avionics technology showcased at AUSA

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

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

Electronic flight bag -- a taboo phrase?

Test and measurement systems designers leave rugged computers to the experts

Remembering the lessons of 9/11

Attendees at London defense show have positive attitude

Kudos to Kamen, kids, and contractors

Business lessons from an MIT professor

GE and Fanuc call it quits

UAVs sharing civilian airspace

Unmanned systems show was buzzing

Unmanned systems show is buzzing

End of Altivec PowerPC digital signal processing chip spells headache for Serial RapidIO designers

Planes aren't selling

F-22 program shot down

F-22 demise premature?

Future Combat Systems: too big to fail, or too juicy a target to succeed?

Paris exhibitors credit military market for stability

Making up for lost time

Are they watching us?

Paris exhibitors credit military market for stability

Last day no-shows in Paris

Aeronautics not just space

Avionics display trends in Paris

Commercial aircraft market holding steady

Raining in Paris

Cold fusion, hot topic

Suppliers training primes

Talking next-generation avionics and ATM technology in San Diego

North Korea's nuclear test and missile defense

Take time...and perhaps see Terminator

NASA 2010 budget request shows increase over 2009

Good timing for human space flight

Finally, a 2010 DOD budget; now Congress can get to work

Thank you conference advisory board members

What the web tells us

Military electro-optics business appears steady

Aviation industry downturn may have a silver lining for jetliner avionics manufacturers

Aerospace and defense technology market gets a vote of confidence

Win some, lose some

Hacking into the Joint Strike Fighter program

VME embedded computer industry buries the hatchet over VITA 46 VPX standard ... for now

Potential F-22 cancellation may hurt military avionics suppliers

Rest in peace Harry Kalas

When you're considered an 'industry expert'

Bye bye F-22

Networking in Minneapolis

If you want your baggage fly Northwest, not Delta

Where's the DOD budget request?

Optimism in tough times

Needing reform

Troubles dividing the VME board industry could have been avoided

Editor at large, locally

Not a bad time to travel

Hijacked by hackers

Military market a bright spot for avionics suppliers

Loving the digital age

Blogging on avionics

Another helicopter program with cost overruns

In support of illegal aliens (sigh)

Flight delays and respect

Happy birthday, President Lincoln

Newcomers to defense biz will face ITAR headache

Hey Kid! Mean Joe is still the best

Laser companies prove to be attractive acquisition targets of prime defense contractors

Superbowl excitement

Kaching!!!

The flub heard 'round the world

How much will President Obama spend on defense technology?

A different kind of economic growth

Impressive tour, depressing tale

Hail to the geek

Putting NASA in bed with the Pentagon

Obama's pick of Leon Panetta for CIA chief not such a surprise

Obama actions, rhetoric, give defense electronics industry a sigh of relief

Pledge for positivism

Waiting for Philadelphia

Ah yes, now I remember...

Fighting over journalists

Living like a pioneer in the wake of Northeast ice storm

Quick turnaround in wartime

Times are tough, pants are tight

IITSEC, fun show

Giving thanks where it is due

Love covering space

Bright spots in bleak economy

Will democratic administration be good for defense electronics funding?

The past is present as U.S., allies gird for battle with Somalia pirates on the high seas

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

Freedom isn't free, but the free market economy should be

Thank you to those who serve

Distractions done, camaraderie and change to come

Election night

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

Troops trending toward McCain

Mil-aero side effects

Recommending "Jawbreaker"

A time to remember, hopefully fondly

Phillies up 3 games to 1!

A few thoughts from AUSA

Taxpayers unwittingly fund excess

Business as usual

Get it done already

Bailouts and pirates and bombs! Oh, My!

Get out of your comfort zone

Financial meltdown and bailout: how much is left for defense spending?

Bitter about the bailouts

Beating the airlines

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

Boeing machinists strike: cons, and pros?

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

More on media bias

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

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

FEMA follies and aid antics

Government response to Gustav appears better than Katrina

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

Loving Labor Day

Looks like Curtiss-Wright is ready to grow again; set to acquire VMETRO

Network with an industry knowledge base

Some days I wish my Nissan could fly

Fly me to the moon: manned vs. unmanned space missions

Radical Islam is one step closer to acquiring nuclear weapons

Achieving immortality in space?

Some truce: Russia continues invasion of Georgia

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

Fibre Channel going strong in storage applications

Russia invades Georgia: an Archduke Ferdinand moment?

To join or not to join? That is the (silly) question.

Long or short?

Strut your stuff

Middle-age microprocessing

Funding for laser weapons research growing

Space market strong for ICs

Are unmanned passenger vehicles the future?

Red Sox shut out the Twins

100+ channels

History revisited

Privacy and technology

Technology firms tap military knowledge, experience

Today's military simulation displays more compact and cost effective

Are you radioactive?

Open invite

New power semiconductor technology may be living up to its initial promise

Audience participation encouraged

Wordtrack?

USAF shake-up

Remember when...

Sayonara, USS Kitty Hawk

Memorial Day weekend

In life, and COTS supplies, there are no guarantees

PennWell buys Avionics conference and exhibition

Watch this space

Shop online for counterfeit parts

Aircraft market strong, globally anyway

PA Semi acquisition main buzz at Critical Embedded Systems Media Fest

Send us your industry videos

Homeland security market steady

Internet video adoption

Still addicted to a crazy game

Deeply embedded in mil-aero

Strengthening the mission of putting buyers and sellers together

Xpantivirus attacks

Parallel courses and the value of renewing old friendships

On my way to San Jose

Resetting the bar on power semiconductors

Fire your own NLOS cannon

Musings on the schizophrenic defense market

M&AE: Investing in & building community

Touchy subjects

West coast editor stretches legs, reach

Another view: time to consider the human dimension of using robots in warfare

Laser links: the foundation of future broadband tactical networking

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

Military radio communications designers need to build a better mouse trap

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

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

Java, anyone?

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

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

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

Destroyer diplomacy: USS Cole brings symbolic punch to tense Middle East

Autonomous arms race: gentlemen, start your robots

Rule-based expert system may help forecast terrorist behavior and attacks

New materials may yield safer, more power-efficient battery power

Could analog architectures be the next Big Thing in electronics design?

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

Indian Ocean becoming a hotbed of sophisticated submarine activity

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

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

2009 DOD budget: a safe plan in the president's last year

Real heroes: take a moment today to remember Abraham Lincoln

Real intelligence, or artificial intelligence; you be the judge

Infrared-obscuring smoke: let the electro-optical wars begin

Power-efficient chips and body heat may combine to make some battery applications obsolete

The future of network-centric surveillance

Laser-pitting technology may yield more opportunities for advanced camouflage

Military tactic of the 21st century: make the enemy believe he's at peace

Brrr ... Bring on the Spring!

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

Defense spending: the economic beacon of hope?

Sick of the COTS acronyms yet?

The elusive laser target designator spot; are filters the answer?

Thanks, Raytheon: radar technology applied to enhanced oil recovery

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

Fight or flight? Military research may tip the balance

To use, or to utilize, that is the question

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

In praise of the armored combat earth mover

Defense technology never really goes out of style

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

Signal processing expert: the day when imagination, not technology, is our chief limitation

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

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

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

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

Pentagon's 'Internet in space' appears headed for trouble

It's a dangerous world, even for Santa Claus

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

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

Military eyes MEMS weapons detonators that could be fabbed on IC lines

Army organization to harvest the best videogame graphics for computer simulation

AWACS and Hawkeye flight crews soon may disappear into the pages of history

The weekend blog: worldwide electronics sales show serious signs of cooling off

Dousing political fires with armored combat vehicles

Taking care of constituents, and bringing home the bacon

Stealth-detecting bistatic radar is back in the news

The weekend blog: Is aerospace industry optimism on solid ground?

The touch of history: remembering the USS Arizona

Heat-exchanger cooling at the chip and board level

Spintronics: a new kind of electrical current?

Nukes, or no nukes?

Too early to declare Iran a regional submarine threat

Not a game: the next World War to play out on the Internet

He said, she said?

Gives new meaning to 'Letter to the Editor'