SDFM The Business of Defense
-
A U.S. official said yesterday, they notified the Dutch authorities early on that they had no derogatory information on two men, both of Yemeni origin, who had suspicious items in their luggage. Still the Dutch were not satisfied. A major concern was the fact that one of the men and his luggage with contained suspicious items were headed to separate locations. Analyst say that is a classic sign of either a system test or compartmentalized attempt to slip prohibited items aboard an airplane.
September 01, 2010 -
August 30th and September 1st Advocate on matters concerning agency-wide technology policy and programs.
August 31, 2010 -
The Department of Veterans Affairs is launching a third pilot program with the aim of improving the delivery of Veterans health information, while also moving the Department closer to getting a Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record in place for every veteran. An Indianapolis VA Medical Center will partner with the large Indiana Health Information Exchange to start securely exchanging electronic health records using the Nationwide Health Information Network. Similar to other pilots being conducted in Norfolk and San Diego, health care providers in the public and private sectors will be able to electronically share the health information of participating vets receiving health care at the Indianapolis Center. The Indianapolis pilot program will run through the end of 2012.
August 30, 2010 -
Traditional surveillance cameras can be a great help to law enforcement officers for a range of missions, including canvassing a crowd for criminal activity, or trailing a terrorist. But there are shortfalls, like a loss of visual contact with the rest of the scene when zooming in on a specific point of interest. A new video surveillance system being developed now by the Department of Homeland Security\'s Science and Technology Directorate called the Imaging System for Immersive Surveillance (or ISIS) takes new camera technology - and real-time image-stitching - and bolts it to a ceiling, mounts it on a roof, or fastens it to a truck-mounted mast. A unique interface then allows the user to maintain a full field of view, while a focal point of choice can be magnified. Like a fisheye lens, ISIS sees v-e-r-y wide. But, whereas a typical fisheye lens distorts an image and can only provide limited resolution, video from ISIS is perfectly detailed, from edge-to-edge.
August 30, 2010 -
The Department of Homeland Security has embarked on a project to develop an advanced sensor system for monitoring shipping containers from their point-of-storage to release in the maritime supply chain. The Advanced Container Security Device (or ACSD) is a small unit that attaches to the inside of a container and monitors all six sides for any intrusion or the presence of human cargo. If the device detects such an intrusion or presence it transmits alarm information through the Marine Asset Tag Tracking System to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The ACSD will also build in a standard plug-and-play interface so that other security or commercial sensors (such as those measuring radiological, chemical, or biological factors) can be easily integrated through a standard interface. 40 prototype systems have been delivered, tested and evaluated. This fiscal year, the project plans to remedy shortfalls discovered during prototype testing and put improvements in place.
August 30, 2010 -
A team from the 45th Space Wing has successfully launched the first Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite with the mission of providing secure, protected communications capability across a wide spectrum of military mission areas, including land, sea and air warfare. Undersecretary of the Air Force Erin Conaton calls the launch \"historic.\" Its benefits, he says, will be felt in special operations, strategic nuclear deterrence, strategic defense, theater missile defense and space operations and intelligence. The 45th Space Wing\'s mission is to assure access to - what they call - the higher frontier and to support global military operations by delivering space effects that protect and defend the nation through global vigilance, reach and power.
August 30, 2010 -
An expected flood of retirements in the technology industry is leading U.S. aerospace and defense companies to step up their support for educational programs that will encourage students to pursue technical careers. A study by Aviation Week magazine found that, among companies with more than 100,000 workers, 19 percent of employees are now at retirement age, and that the figure will jump to more than 30 percent by the end of 2012. In reaction, companies like Raytheon are sponsoring student robotics competitions and forming partnerships with technical schools in an effort to address the expected shortage of workers trained in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The problem hits home for aerospace and defense companies especially, as many engineering jobs in the field are only open to U.S. citizens.
August 30, 2010 -
A little wax and soap will help build electrodes for cheaper lithium ion batteries. According to a study in an August issue of Nano Letters, a new one-step method will allow battery developers to explore lower-priced alternatives to popular lithium ion-metal oxide batteries. Consumers use them in everything from cell phones to toothbrushes, and they\'re being tried in automobiles. But, most lithium ion batteries available today are designed with an OXIDE of metal such as cobalt, nickel, or manganese which are relatively heavy and expensive. Scientists with the Department of Energy\'s Pacific Northwest National Lab have been experimenting with cheaper metals and the more stable phosphate in place of oxide. Researchers say, paraffin can provide a good medium in which to grow lighter, cheaper electrode materials.
August 30, 2010 -
Human clinical testing has begun of a vaccine to prevent infection by the mosquito-borne dengue virus. The vaccine was developed by scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and is undergoing clinical study at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. With increasing infection rates, and the discovery of dengue fever in parts of Florida, finding a way to prevent dengue infection has become a priority for the Institute. About 2.5 billion people in over 100 countries worldwide live in areas where they are at risk of dengue infection, and currently there is no vaccine to prevent infection, or any drug treatment for those who become infected. Dengue virus infects about 50 million to100 million people. It accounts for 25,000 deaths annually; most of them in children.
August 30, 2010 -
One government agency is attempting to re-invent computing. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency - or DARPA - has started the Ubiquitous High Performance Computing program to create a revolutionary new generation of computing systems they hope will overcome limits to the way computers are evolving now. Increasing the performance of computers has been driven by - what\'s been dubbed - Moore\'s Law, the doubling of transistors that can be placed on an integrated circuit every two years. But, gains in performance will be limited by significantly greater power consumption, and programming complexity issues. The DARPA program will work to develop radically new computer architectures and programming models that are 100 to 1,000 times more energy efficient. The program directly addresses major priorities expressed by the President\'s \"Strategy for American Innovation\".
August 30, 2010 -
Scientists with the Environmental Protection Agency have collaborated with the Department of Energy to develop new water quality software that enhances a local water system\'s ability to know when it\'s been intentionally, or unintentionally, contaminated. It assists both agencies in meeting goals connected to homeland security. Utilities can use the Canary software - in conjunction with a network of sensors - to quickly detect contamination, more accurately assess when and how to respond, and then issue warnings to customers if necessary. The software can help detect chemical and biological contaminants, including pesticides, metals, and pathogens. Canary is available worldwide as a free software tool to drinking water utilities. The software is currently being used by more than 600 users in 15 countries.
August 30, 2010 -
You may have seen or heard about the movie Transformers and the military theme in the movie. It may soon be more than a movie. For several years now the Pentagon has been looking into flying cars. Now they\'re working on a flying humvee. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has chosen two companies to participate in project Transformer. It\'s a fully automated four-person vehicle that can drive like a car and then take off and fly like an aircraft to avoid roadside bombs. Lockheed Martin and AAI Corp., a unit of Textron Systems are moving to the next stage.
August 30, 2010 -
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner says Virginia officials should keep up the fight against the closing of a defense command in Norfolk. According to the Associated Press, the Virginia Democrat also suggested a different tack during a stop in Portsmouth on Thursday. He said Virginia officials should convince the Pentagon that it makes military and economic sense to keep the Joint Forces Command in Hampton Roads. Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced this month he wants to close the command, which employs some 6,000 military and civilian workers.
August 30, 2010 -
The former chief of U.N. nuclear inspections worldwide, told Le Monde newspaper that Iran has stockpiled enough low-enriched uranium for 1-2 nuclear weapons. But Olli Heinonen, said it would not make sense for it to \"cross the bomb-making threshold with such a small amount\". He also said Iran\'s uranium reserve still represented a \"threat.\" Pentagon officials told Congress last spring Iran could produce enough highly enriched uranium for a one nuclear weapon in as little as a year.
August 30, 2010 -
While GSA feds think about how to make federal buildings greener, they\'re going to be doing it from outside their own offices.
August 30, 2010