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The Army could save hydrogen cars from a premature death
Over the past 25 years, hydrogen fuel cells (HFC) have been the butt of countless jokes in the automotive industry. Many critics see the technology as something long in the works that will never have a future. It's seen some spotty progress over the past decade, existing alongside compressed natural gas vehicles. But in terms of public perception, HFCs are still on the fringe compared with plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles. In 2016, the Los Angeles Times reported that Toyota expected to sell 3,000 of its $60,000 Mirai sedans by the end of 2017 -- and that was an optimistic forecast, mind you. In contrast, Tesla racked up over 232,000 preorders for its all-electric Model 3 sedan in just 24 hours, and Toyota crossed 3.9 million in global sales for the Prius in February.
Facebook group hosted naked photos of women soldiers
Private Facebook groups can be valuable discussion areas for like-minded people, but they can also promote toxic behavior in the wrong circumstances. The Center for Investigative Reporting has revealed that the US' Naval Criminal Investigative Service is looking into a Facebook group, Marines United, that was used by soldiers in the US and UK (including the Marine Corps, Navy Corpsman and Royal Marines) to share naked photos of servicewomen. While the group has had some above-board discussions, according to one anonymous veteran, it has been dominated by "creepy, stalker-like" photography, revenge porn and the vile talk to match. Over two dozen of the women were identified by their names and positions.
Senators ask for info on Trump's smartphone use
When he isn't addressing matters of national security amongst diners at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Donald Trump is reportedly using an unsecured Android phone for official communications. That's of great concern for more than a few reasons and two prominent Democrat lawmakers want the Department of Defense to address why it's happening.
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.
US military worries it will lose the AI war
It took a while for the US military to bolster its defenses against cyberattacks, and it looks like there's a similar deficit when it comes to artificial intelligence. A new Defense Department report says that the country needs to take "immediate action" to speed up its development of AI war technology. Academic and private research on AI and autonomous tech is well ahead of American forces, the study says. There's a real chance that we could see a repeat of what happened in cyberwarfare, where the US was focused so heavily on launching attacks that it left itself off-guard.
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.
Pentagon wants more people to hack its websites and networks
The Department of Defense's Hack the Pentagon program was apparently so successful, the agency has decided to extend and develop new initiatives for it. Similar to Facebook's, Twitter's and Google's bug bounty projects, Hack the Pentagon paid white hackers for the vulnerabilities they discovered on the department's websites. It ran from April 18th until May 12th, 2016 and doled out over $70,000 in rewards. However, the initial run only covered five public-facing online properties -- defense.gov, dodlive.mil, dvidshub.net, myafn.net and dimoc.mil. The department believes that the concept will also "be successful when applied to many or all of DoD's other security challenges."
US pours $160 million into making tissues and artificial organs
Getting a viable organ transplant is a real problem. There are only so many donors to go around, and the organs that do show up might be tossed out if they're not used within a matter of hours. The US government isn't satisfied with this state of affairs, though. As part of a broader effort to reduce organ waiting lists, it's unveiling $160 million in public-private investments for a new Advanced Tissue Biofabrication Manufacturing Innovation Institute. The organization will develop techniques for repairing and replacing tissues that could lead to artificial organs. Simply speaking, you wouldn't need someone to donate an organ -- doctors could either fix damaged parts or transplant an artificial organ created on demand.
The government spends billions maintaining archaic IT systems
It's one thing when an automaker or maybe a school uses incredibly old equipment to keep its internal systems afloat, but when it's the federal government that's another matter entirely. Case in point: The United States Government Accountability Office recently released a report stating that President Obama's IT budget request for the 2017 fiscal year was $89 billion. And a bulk of it is for keeping legacy tech running.
The military is taking cyber warfare a lot more seriously
Following the rather embarrassing revelation that the Pentagon has no idea who'd be in charge in the event of a cyber attack comes word that the military is stepping up its cyber warfare game. So much so that cyber is joining the ranks of other combatant commands like those dedicated to specific regions (Pacific, Europe, Africa, Middle East) and those focusing on spec-ops, transportation and nuclear forces, according to Defense One. Currently, cyber warfare sits as a "sub-unified command" under the U.S. Strategic Command and this move would apparently make the group faster and aid in more successful missions.
DARPA's 'Improv' initiative crowdsources solutions to DIY terrorists
The quality gap between technology available to the Department of Defense and regular citizens is rapidly shrinking -- just look at UAVs. While that's a good thing for hobbyists, it also enables terrorists (either external or home-grown) to craft increasingly sophisticated devices and weapons, like IEDs, which is why DARPA launched its "Improv" initiative on Thursday.
Pentagon has deployed military drones in the US
If you were skeptical that the US military would only fly its drones in combat zones, your suspicions were well-founded -- although the situation isn't as bad as you might think. A recently published Department of Defense report has revealed that the Pentagon deployed spy drones in the US for non-military missions between 2006 and 2015. There were "less than twenty" of these flights, and the Department maintains that all of them obeyed laws restricting the use of these drones at home. While the document doesn't say what happened on those flights, the current policy forbids spying on US residents.
Pentagon competition dares you to hack its websites
The US military already tests the security of its networks, but it doesn't feel that's enough in an era when cyberattacks are a constant reality. It's starting up an experimental competition, Hack the Pentagon, that invites private citizens (carefully screened, of course) to hack public Department of Defense websites. While the government is keeping sensitive systems off-limits, this will hopefully identify vulnerabilities that in-house experts wouldn't catch.
Feds change up how they do background checks after OPM hack
The White House is taking steps to prevent another massive security breach that can compromise the information of future federal employees. It plans to replace (and absorb) the Office of Personnel Management's background check division with a new one called the National Background Investigations Bureau. If you recall, the intruders that infiltrated OPM's network last year took millions of people's fingerprints, SS numbers, bank info and other personal details. NBIB will still be part of OPM, but it will be led by a presidential appointee. Plus, the data it collects won't be kept within its offices anymore.
Eight top-secret aircraft that definitely aren't UFOs
Since its establishment in 1955, the Groom Lake airfield at Edwards Air Force Base—better known as Area 51—has hosted the development of some of the most exotic and advanced aircraft the world has ever seen. These so-called black projects, named for their ultra-classified nature, have produced planes like the SR-71 Blackbird, which is still the fastest and highest-operating aircraft ever built (that we know about); the F-117 Nighthawk, the world's first stealth attack aircraft; and the RQ-170, a mysterious and seldom-seen aerial reconnaissance UAV.
Government testing smart parachutes that stay on target
GPS is not foolproof -- especially on the modern battlefield, where electronic warfare systems can interfere with the satellite guidance. And when packages miss their mark, soldiers often have to venture into hostile territory to retrieve them. That's why the US Army is developing a joint precision airdrop system, or JPADS, that guides equipment towards its target using only visual cues.
DARPA is developing an unjammable communications chip
Electronic warfare (EW) techniques -- from killing missiles with microwaves to downing drones with radio interference -- have become an integral part of modern wars. This issue is exasperated by the fact that both sides in a conflict must also compete for the finite spread of interference-free wireless spectrum with which they operate their multitude of wireless devices. To maintain American fighting superiority over the likes of China and Russia, both of whom are considered "near peers" in terms of EW combat capabilities, DARPA has developed an ultrafast chip to convert analog wireless signals into digital ones in record time.
America's first penile transplants will be for war veterans
Arms and legs aren't the only appendages that American servicemen lose to IEDs but, thanks to a pioneering surgical technique, injured soldiers will soon have the option of replacing their war-damaged wedding tackle. A team of surgeons from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine announced on Sunday that within a year (more likely, just a few months) their facility will begin performing penis transplants. American veterans will be their first patients.
Pentagon launches cybersecurity exchange to combat hackers
The Department of Defense is taking a number of steps to up its cybersecurity game, Terry Halvorsen, the Pentagon's Chief Information Officer recently told a reporters breakfast hosted by The Christian Science Monitor. "There's not a time when I'm not being attacked somewhere in the world," Halvorsen said. "We're looking to industry to help us solve some specific areas." To that end, the DoD has begun assigning its civilian personnel to 6-month tours of private cybersecurity companies, such as Cisco, as well as inviting employees from those firms to help train its personnel to defend the DoD's networks against hacks.