The US Navy's quieter way to spy, the Ion Tiger, just bested its own 2009 flight record with a key assist from liquid hydrogen. The unmanned aerial vehicle had previously relied on 5000-psi compressed hydrogen for fuel, but for its latest flight test the Naval Research team swapped that out for a new cryogenic tank and delivery system that relies on the liquid stuff; a choice made for the element's increased density. With that one significant change in place, the craft was able to outperform its last endurance run of 26 hours and two minutes by almost double, lasting 48 hours and one minute in a flight made mid-April. Spying: it's not only good for the government, it's good for the environment, too.

Filed under: Robots

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Source: US Naval Research Laboratory

The US Department of Defense has taken the unusual step of singling out China's cyber-spying activities in its annual report. Though the government has tacitly chided such deeds before and even threatened sanctions, yesterday's document marks the DoD's first direct allegation of Chinese espionage. It said that hacks directed toward government and business "appear to be attributable directly to the Chinese government and military" for the purpose of "exfiltrating information" to benefit its defense and industry. The paper also highlighted China's "lack of transparency" with regard to its military, saying that expenditures on cyber-military operations and other defense spending were likely far in excess of the $114 billion it reported. Meanwhile, China denied the accusations, saying it was equally the victim of similar breaches, and suggested that the two nations work together to resolve the problem.

Filed under: Misc

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Via: BBC

Source: US Department of Defense