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US Air Force orders up 2,200 more PS3s -- for thinking, not gaming
We were as surprised as anyone when the USAF threw down the cash for 300-odd PlayStation 3s back in March of last year, but what's more shocking is that it's now back for more -- seven times more, in fact. Already employing its PS3 cluster for research into high-def video processing, the Air Force Research Lab wants to expand its capabilities significantly and it seems that Sony's Cell processor is still its weapon of choice. We would use this opportunity to make a few jibes about lazy engineers upgrading their setups in time for Modern Warfare 2, but we're better than that. We'll also totally avoid noting that the US government's skimping on costs now is leading it to commit to an instruction set tailored specifically to the Cell processor, which contrary to the latest Xeons -- pricier though they may be -- is not guaranteed to keep updating in pace with the USAF's needs. Those are things we'll leave for someone who isn't afraid of death lasers and autonomous attack drones to say.
Boeing's air-to-ground laser test a success, and we have the video to prove it
Fans of future wars, heads up! What might at first blush look like a poorly placed roman candle is actually proof positive that Boeing's Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) is ready to do some damage. Sure, when we heard last month that the company's tests at the White Sands Missile Range were a success, we responded the same way that we always do: "video or it didn't happen." But now that we've seen it in action, we have one more question: When will its big brother, the 747-mounted ABL, get its day in the limelight? We'll keep you posted. [Via The Register]
Boeing's airborne laser finally blows something up
It's been a long haul marked by funding cuts and some important but rather unexciting tests, but it looks like Boeing's much-ballyhooed airborne laser has now finally actually blown something up, real good. According to Boeing and the US Air Force, that happened over the White Sands Missile Range on August 30th, when an C-130H aircraft equipped with the Advanced Tactical Laser (or ATL) locked on to an unspecified ground target and fired the 12,000lb high-power chemical laser to make the target disappear from the face of the Earth. That successful test seems unlikely to change the laser's place in the Defense Department's arsenal, however, which has already been scaled back significantly from the earlier, more ambitious plans for a whole fleet of aircraft equipped with the weapon. [Via Slashdot]
US Air Force says decision-making attack drones will be here by 2047
Leave it to the military to dream big. In its recently released "Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Plan 2009-2047" report, the US Air Force details a drone that could fly over a target and then make the decision whether or not to launch an attack, all without human intervention. The Air Force says that increasingly, humans will monitor situations, rather than be deciders or participants, and that "advances in AI will enable systems to make combat decisions and act within legal and policy constraints without necessarily requiring human input." Programming of the drone will be based on "human intent," with real actual humans monitoring the execution, while retaining the authority and ability to override the system. It's all still extremely vague, with literally no details on exactly how this drone will come into existence, but we do know this: the Air Force plans to have these dudes operational by 2047. We're just holding out to see what those "classified" pages are all about. [Warning: read link is a PDF] [Via PC World] Read -Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Plan 2009-2047
US Air Force looking to purchase 300 PS3s for cell processor assessment
What could the US Air Force need 300 PS3s for? Military training via Warhawk? Maybe they want to give the troops some recreational games -- some echochrome perhaps? Nope, none of the above. Instead, the USAF will be using the 300 40GB PS3 consoles to conduct a "technology assessment of certain cell processors." Apparently, the PS3 is perfect for the Air Force's research as it's the only hardware on the market that utilizes the specific cell processor characteristics they'll be needing, and it comes at a reasonable price. While we could think of multiple conspiracy theories about this research, we think we'll stay quiet and leave the speculations to you. Besides, right now we've got to tell the USAF that those 40GB PS3s won't be coming with four USB ports and Memory Stick slots like they have listed on the solicitation document. That is ... unless the military is getting a new 40GB model we've never heard about? Highly doubt that one.[Thanks Schoolimangooli! Via Digg]
Starfire Optical Range -- a death ray for science's sake
We're rather impressed with the US Air Force and their Starfire project. It's not every day you get to build a death ray on a desert hill in New Mexico and write it off as a scientific endeavor. The premise is that since the atmosphere diffracts light, messing up the view of ground-based optical telescopes, the Starfire shoots a laser 56 miles into the mesosphere and measures the distortion to adjust the telescope optics. Images from the Starfire are 40 times more accurate than regular, but the laser technology is coincidentally multi-purpose: "We don't hide the fact that it could help build an anti-satellite weapon," says the installation's chief, "if you choose to do it." Our thoughts exactly.