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Congress blocks purchase of more Microsoft combat goggles
The US Congress opted not to approve the purchase of more Microsoft combat goggles for the US Army. Instead, it’s allocating funds for Microsoft to develop an updated version.
GM will make an Ultium battery pack prototype for the US military
The Defense Department hopes to electrify tactical military vehicles.
Democrats urge federal agencies to ditch Clearview AI's facial recognition tech
Multiple departments are said to be using the controversial tech for 'domestic law enforcement' reasons.
Microsoft wins 10-year contract supplying AR tech to the US Army
America's ground-pounders of tomorrow will soon be equipped with custom-built HoloLens headsets as part of a decade-long contract worth nearly $22 billion between the Department of Defense and Microsoft, the Pentagon announced Wednesday.
Pentagon says Microsoft still deserves $10 billion JEDI cloud contract
After an internal investigation, the US Department of Defense (DoD) announced that is standing by its decision to award the $10 billion JEDI cloud computing contract to Microsoft and not Amazon.
Amazon and Microsoft are trash talking each other over a DoD contract
Amazon claims that Microsoft was only awarded the $10 billion JEDI contract by the DoD due to political pressure. Microsoft is fighting back, though.
Pentagon probe can’t confirm Trump interfered with the JEDI contract
After a months-long saga over whether President Trump’s “personal vendetta” cost Amazon a $10 billion Pentagon contract, the Pentagon’s inspector general said it found no evidence that the decision to award the cloud-computing contract to Microsoft was the result of interference from President Trump, Bloomberg reports. While this could clear the way for Microsoft to resume work on the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract, some will likely find the probe inconclusive.
The Pentagon wants to catch rogue drones in nets
The Pentagon already has permission to shoot drones out of the sky if they're deemed a threat, but it's not stopping there. The Department of Defense (DoD) has signed a contract with Fortem Technologies for what the company calls Drone Hunter, an AI-enabled drone that can chase down, catch and retrieve rogue drones using a net.
Amazon claims Trump's 'personal vendetta' cost it $10 billion Pentagon contract
Last month, Amazon said it would formally challenge the US Department of Defense's decision to award the $10 billion JEDI contract to Microsoft, instead of Amazon Web Service (AWS). The lawsuit, unsealed today, reveals the details behind Amazon's argument. The company claims that "AWS was the consensus frontrunner" and that not only was the Pentagon's decision based on "egregious errors on nearly every evaluation factor," it was "the result of improper pressure from President Donald J. Trump."
After Math: Everything's coming up Disney
It's been a big week for Disney. The company finally launched its streaming platform, Disney+, to great fanfare. At the same time, Star Wars: Fallen Order, another Disney-owned IP, launched on Friday for the PC and consoles. But who has time for video games when there's nearly 70 years of nostalgia to consume?
Pentagon puts $10 billion contract on hold after Trump criticizes Amazon
The Pentagon has temporarily halted its $10 billion cloud-computing competition after President Trump suggested that the bid might be rigged in favor of Amazon. The process will now be reviewed by new Defense Secretary Mark Esper, and a spokesperson said that "no decision will be made on the program until he has completed his examination."
Pentagon officials can view classified material on special tablets
The Department of Defense (DOD) is testing out the use of tablets for viewing classified documents and videos. In a statement, the Defense Information Systems Agency said that the year-long pilot program would provide senior DOD leaders with 8-inch tablets, the first of which was given to the DOD's acting chief information officer, John Zangardi, in May.
DoD shows off its first successful micro-drone swarm launch
The US military is no stranger to drone development. Over the past few years we've seen everything from unhackable robot helicopters to harbor-defending pontoon platoons -- including the the means to combat them -- come out of DoD research efforts. On Tuesday, the DoD showed off its latest advancement in drone technology when it released video of the first successful aerial deployment of the Perdix swarm drone.
US Army wants bullets that turn into plants over time
The US military may not seem like the greenest of organizations, but if rising seas and temperatures produce worldwide chaos, they're the ones that have to deal with that shit. Now, the Department of Defense is trying to tackle environmental problems caused by spent bullets and casings on its firing ranges by using composite materials laced with seeds.
The USS Zumwalt can't afford its own $800,000-per-round ammo
The USS Zumwalt, America's newest stealth destroyer packs some impressive firepower but there's just one problem: the US Navy can't afford the ammunition for the vessel's 155-millimeter Advanced Gun Systems. These weapons are designed to fire a GPS-guided shell, dubbed the Long Range Land Attack Projectile, up to 60 miles where it strikes with unprecedented accuracy. What's more, the Zumwalt can lob up to ten of these shells every minute. But while the LRLAPs are quite lethal, they're also ludicrously expensive at $800,000 a pop.
The robots of war: AI and the future of combat
The 1983 film WarGames portrayed a young hacker tapping into NORAD's artificial-intelligence-driven nuclear weapons' system. When the hit movie was screened for President Reagan, it prompted the commander in chief to ask if it were possible for the country's defense system network to be compromised. Turns out it could. What they didn't talk about was the science fiction of using AI to control the nation's nuclear arsenal. It was too far-fetched to even be considered. Until now.
DARPA's developing a data network that connects squadrons even when jammed
DARPA issued a Broad Agency Announcement solicitation for a new program called Dynamic Network Adaptation for Mission Optimization (DyNAMO) which aims to keep America's manned (and unmanned) combat aircraft connected even if enemy forces attempt to jam their communications. But that's not as straightforward as it sounds. US aircraft are additionally hindered by the fact that many of the platforms operate on incompatible radio networks using different encryption schemes. And while the DoD has already developed specialized data-link gateways to act as universal translators between them, the gateways' bandwidth is limited.
The Army wants to protect its bases with gun turrets, not guard towers
Maintaining perimeter security in a forward operating base (like Bagram "Rocket City" AFB in Afghanistan) is a full time job. In fact, it normally takes teams of four to six soldiers to man each weapons system on the perimeter over a 12 hour shift. But with a new prototype perimeter protection system currently being tested at Fort Bliss, Texas, a single soldier sitting safely within the command bunker -- instead being of up on the wire -- can potentially do the work of 10.
Pentagon shuts down Joint Chiefs' email network
The Department of Defense reportedly shut down an unclassified email system on Tuesday after detecting "suspicious activity" over the weekend, according to CNN. The network served General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as a number of civilian contractors. The Pentagon refused to release many details about the attack, even what the "suspicious activity" was; instead downplaying the hack as a run-of-the-mill cyber attack that caused minimal damage.
ICYMI: An accident impeding big rig, hoverbikes and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-620778{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-620778, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-620778{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-620778").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: The hoverbike of your Star Wars dreams is actually being built but sad faces all around, it's being made for the U.S. Department of Defense before you suckers get to try it out; too many car accidents in Argentina inspired Samsung to make a digital display on the back of semi trucks to show other cars what's happening on the roadway with front-facing cameras; and researchers built a boat that gives lower fuel consumption based on a design change that mimics a part of a whale's tail.
