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io9The Suicide Rate Among Female Veterans Is “Obscenely High”
Male suicides outnumber female in every country on Earth, usually by a lot. In the U.S., men kill themselves around four times as often as women. But results of a newly published study reveal America’s female veterans commit suicide at nearly six times the rate of other women—a rate that approaches that of male veterans. … Continued
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Tech NewsSploidFascinating visualization breaks down how the Roman army was organized
Legionary. Century. Centurions. Cohorts. Legions. These are all terms for a certain group or type of Roman soldier. This rather interesting break down of the Roman Army shows how the army was organized, how Roman citizens were Legionaries and non-Roman citizens were Auxiliaries and how those soldiers were grouped together. You can learn a lot … Continued
By Casey Chan -
Tech News
The Army Is Finally Releasing Its New, Old Camo Design
It’s been more than a decade since the Army adopted its first pixelated camo pattern—it was the start of the Iraq War, and the blocky digital pattern seemed to signal a new era of futuristic warfare. One problem: It didn’t work. At all. The fast realization that this pattern didn’t work led to something called … Continued
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Tech News
Some Knucklehead In the Pentagon Accidentally Shipped Live Anthrax
Some bonehead at an Defense Department lab accidentally shipped live anthrax spores to government and commercial recipients through a commercial shipping service. What a goof! They were supposed to be shipments of dead anthrax spores, but there was a mix-up. A lab in Maryland already received the package of potentially fatal biological weapons. Labs in … Continued
By Kate Knibbs -
Tech News
Tiny Lasers on Microchips Could Help Self-Driving Cars “See” The Road
Since self-driving cars don’t have drivers, the cars have to perceive their surroundings themselves. Lidar is a great option—it’s like radar but with lasers instead of radio waves—but it’s big and pricy. However, a new kind of lidar from DARPA could change that. DARPA, the U.S. Department of Defense’s emerging tech branch, announced the new … Continued
By Bryan Lufkin -
ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
U.S. Air Force Certifies SpaceX for Military Space Missions
The U.S. Air Force has announced that SpaceX is now certified to launch military and spy satellites. That means that the United Launch Alliance, a joint effort between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, no longer holds the monopoly on national security space missions. The news, announced late yesterday, comes after two long years of negotiations between … Continued
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Tech NewsThe Air Force Can Use an Electromagnetic Pulse to Kill Enemy Computers
One of the US Air Force’s most high-tech weapons is a tool that can’t hurt people — but it kills electronic devices. The CHAMP (Counter-Electronics High-Powered Microwave Advanced Missile Project) is a computer-frying device that emits a strong blast of targeted microwave energy that can take down enemy data centers and infrastructure without blowing anyone … Continued
By Kate Knibbs -
Tech NewsSploid
Neat photo shows a US Navy sailor inside a F/A-18 Hornet afterburner
It looks like the entryway to a portal. Or like the pod of some spacecraft. But it’s a US Navy sailor checking out the afterburners of a fighter jet. The US Navy: “Aviation Machinist’s Mate 3rd Class Ryan Draper, from Palmdale, Calif., inspects an F/A-18 afterburner in the jet shop aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier … Continued
By Casey Chan -
Tech NewsBoondoggle HQ: The $25 Million Building in Afghanistan Nobody Needed
This is a story about how the U.S. military built a lavish headquarters in Afghanistan that wasn’t needed, wasn’t wanted and wasn’t ever used at a cost to American taxpayers of at least $25 million. From start to finish, this 64,000-square-foot mistake could easily have been avoided. Not one, not two, but three generals tried … Continued
Megan McCloskey and Vince Dixon - ProPublica -
Tech News
The Pentagon Wants Special Ops To Carry DNA Scanners
The United States’ most elite soldiers have been collecting DNA samples from suspected terrorists for years. But because analysis normally takes three weeks, it’s been a pretty useless chore. Now, however, U.S. Special Operations Command is testing a machine that can do it in 90 minutes. Get ready for advanced biometric warfare. The basic idea … Continued
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Tech News
The Air Force’s Secretive Space Plane Just Launched Again
The U.S. Air Force’s unmanned X-37B shot off into space for the fourth time today. The extreme secrecy shrouding all three previous missions have fueled plenty of conspiracy theories. But for once, we actually have some inkling of what the X-37B will do. Before the launch, officials actually revealed two of the experiments onboard, which … Continued
By Sarah Zhang -
Tech NewsSploid
Kick ass photo of a M1 Abrams tank blasting its cannon like a fire beast
It’s not only the fire breathing blast that’s cool in this photo of a M1 Abrams firing its 120mm smoothbore cannon, it’s also the dirt rising from the ground and the dust that surrounds the tank like a forcefield. There is so much power in one picture. US Marines: An M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank … Continued
By Casey Chan -
Tech News
Government Report: Military Drone Pilots Don’t Get Enough Training
The U.S military is increasingly making use of drones rather than manned aircraft. But a new report from the Government Accountability Office suggest that many drone pilots don’t get enough training. The report suggests that pilots in both the Air Force and Army struggle to keep their flight training up-to-date. It explains that “most pilots … Continued
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Tech News
This Rural County Is Getting Rich Manufacturing Drones for the Military
Los Angeles is ground zero for movies, San Francisco for tech. And it looks like Klickitat County, Washington is the country’s hub for unmanned aerial vehicles. According to Quartz, median income in the outdoorsy pear-growing county rose 23% between 2010 and 2013, thanks to the drone industry. Only five other counties saw faster growth, all … Continued
By Bryan Lufkin -
Tech News
BAE’s New Goggles Roll Together Night Vision and Thermal Imaging
In the dark, soldiers have two options if they’re to see: night vision or thermal imaging. Both have their advantages and disadvantages—but now, BAE’s new goggles mean there’s no need to choose. Usually night vision goggles are used to understand the immediate environment—they amplify the small amounts of available light—while thermal imaging is used to … Continued
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Tech NewsWhat It Feels Like to Shoot With the Military’s Experimental Smart Scope
You’ve probably never fired an M4 carbine. Until a couple weeks ago, I hadn’t either. But at a recent DARPA demo day, I loaded a magazine (also a first for me), snuggled up to the deadly assault rifle, and looked through one of the most technologically advanced smart scopes ever built. Then I pulled the … Continued
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Tech NewsWatch DARPA’s Scary Self-Guided Bullets Swerve to Hit Moving Objects
Military researchers at DARPA have been developing ammunition which can change its path in mid-air to ensure it always hits its target. Now, it can even correct itself mid-flight to hit a moving target. The Department’s Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance (EXACTO) is a .50 caliber bullet that maneuvers itself as it travels through the air. … Continued
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Tech NewsSploid
Bold profile photo of the F-35 makes it look like a future space fighter
The F-35 Lightning II is a comically expensive fighter jet with a host of problems but one thing you can’t deny: it can sure look badass. Like badass in the being able to see a glimpse of the future today badass. Like badass as in this flying killer machine totally looks like it’s from a … Continued
By Casey Chan -
Tech NewsSploid
Paratroopers fill the sky in awesome photo
Here’s a really cool photo showing US Army and British paratroopers jumping out of C-130J Super Hercules airplanes in a line at Fort Bragg. It was the largest jump exercise in 20 years at Fort Bragg and there are so many paratroopers filling the sky that it looks like a floating human wall (okay, a … Continued
By Casey Chan