• New strategy for UAVs: emulate the soaring approach of peregrine falcons

    UAVs could fly for longer using less power if they copied the counter-intuitive flying patterns of peregrine falcons, say researchers; falcons, instead of spiraling in one direction to stay with a single thermal, constantly change the direction of their spirals

  • Nuclear power faces waste, weapons proliferation problems

    New report concludes that nuclear power will continue to be a viable power source but that the current fuel cycle is not sustainable; due to uncertainty about waste management, any projection of future costs must be built on basic assumptions that are not grounded in real data; the “once-through” policy, mandated by the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act, creates a lot of highly radioactive waste; reprocessing and recycling of spent fuel lessens the waste problem, but significantly increases the risk of weapons proliferation

  • U.S. military looking for sturdier, more survivable UAVs

    The U.S. military is looking for sturdier, more survivable UAVs; the military regards the airspace over Pakistan and Afghanistan as “permissive environment” — and it wants UAVs to be able to do their work in what it describes as “contested airspace”

  • UAVs to be used by divorce lawyers?

    UAVs will soon be used for missions away from the battlefield: tracking celebrities, unfaithful lovers, wildlife, “If the Israelis can use them to find terrorists, certainly a husband is going to be able to track a wife who goes out at 11 o’clock at night and follow her,” said New York divorce lawyer Raoul Felder

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  • Israel unveils UAV combining aircraft, helicopter capabilities

    The UAV combines the capabilities of an aircraft with helicopter-like hovering, a tilt-rotor propeller, and a fixed-wing vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) system, which enables a runway-free takeoff and landing on an unprepared area

  • Statue of Liberty will close for one year for security upgrades

    The Statue of Liberty will be closed for about a year on 12 October 2010 for security work; the $26 million dollar project will add fire-proof staircases, elevators, and exits

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  • India to build a hunter-killer UAV fleet; UAVs will come from Israel

    India is set to augment its fleet of reconnaissance UAVs with killer-hunter UAVs; the Indian military has been impressed with the effectiveness of the UAV campaign against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and wants to adopt the same approach to India’s problem with Muslim terrorists; Israel, which sold India the intelligence-gathering drones, will be the source of the attack UAVs as well

  • Cyber espionage targets UAV manufacturers

    A report tracking cyber-espionage — and cyber-industrial espionage — against U.S. defense contractors finds an intriguing trend: targeting UAV technology; UAVs are likely to remain a principle target of foreign collection activities, particularly given the growing market in UAVs, the report notes

  • Hearing to be held on lack of chemical plant inspections

    There are about 15,000 chemical plants in the United States; 6,000 of them were supposed to be inspected by DHS to make sure their security protocols comply with the current Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards program, or CFATS, but only 12 have been inspected

  • As more U.S. embassies come under threat, ATG Access’ bollards offer a solution

    ATG Access offers bollards to meet every security level required and has products impact-tested at 30, 40, and 50 mph with vehicles ranging from 7.5 ton up to 18 ton; the company says that the latest addition to the product family is a fixed bollard that will dead-stop a 7.5 ton truck traveling at 50 mph; what is more, the foundation of the company’s bollards is just 150 mm; with a foundation of only 20 cm (8 inches) deep — typical bollard requires 1.5 m (5 feet) — ATG’s shallow mount can be installed on pavements, on top of bridges, or in locations where other ordinary products may be impossible to install