Pentagon Funds Spider-Man Tech for Real-Life Wall Crawlers | Danger Room | Wired.com

Posted by Matt in February 4th, 2010 | no comment

Published in Military Tech, Adhesive Bond, Beetles, Cannonball, Capabilities, Chemical Engineers, Cornell, Crawlers, Danger Room, darpa, Human Flight, Pentagon, Ray Vision, Rope Ladder, Sci Fi, Spider Man, Superman, Surprise, Top Priority, Verticals, X Ray

A team of chemical engineers at Cornell have created a palm-sized device that could one day turn troops into human wall crawlers, using an adhesive bond inspired by beetles.
No surprise that Darpa, the Pentagon agency often inspired by sci-fi, is behind this one. They’ve been funding superhero efforts for years, from Superman X-Ray vision to [...]

High-Tech Guns: Digital Revolvers, Koosh Bullets and Triple-Tasers | Danger Room | Wired.com

Posted by Matt in January 30th, 2010 | no comment

Published in Off-Topic, Bullets, Consumer Electronics Show, Danger Room, Electronic Safety, German Firm, Gun Lovers, Guns, Hunting, Koosh, Las Vegas, Limited Edition, Outdoor Trade, Pistol, Revolvers, Sands Convention Center, Shipping, Shot Show, Warning Light, Wristwatch

Not long after the smoke from the Consumer Electronics Show cleared, thousands of gun lovers converged upon the Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas for the Shooting Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show. It was loaded with techie stuff, too.
This year, the highest-tech gun belonged to Armatix. The German firm has an electronic safety that [...]

Pentagon Report Calls for Office of ‘Strategic Deception’ | Danger Room | Wired.com

Posted by Matt in January 26th, 2010 | no comment

Published in Military, Conclusion, Danger Room, Defense Science Board, Dsb, Intelligence Communities, Pentagon, Pentagon Panel, Pentagon Report, StrategicDeception, Surprise

The Defense Department needs to get better at lying and fooling people about its intentions. That’s the conclusion from an influential Pentagon panel, the Defense Science Board (DSB), which recommends that the military and intelligence communities join in a new agency devoted to “strategic surprise/deception.”
Pentagon Report Calls for Office of ‘Strategic Deception’ | Danger Room [...]

Afghan Drone War Spikes Under McChrystal | Danger Room | Wired.com

Posted by Matt in January 14th, 2010 | no comment

Published in War, Ackerman, Afghan War, Afghanistan, Air War, Civilian Casualties, Cutting, Danger Room, Deaths, Drone, General Stanley Mcchrystal, Munitions, Old School, Propaganda, Sky, Spencer, Spikes, Strikes, Taliban, United Nations, War Room

Since taking over as top commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal has dramatically scaled back the traditional air war, cutting in half the number of munitions dropped from the sky. The unmanned air war, however, has escalated under McChrystal’s watch, reports Spencer Ackerman. Since July 2009, there have been 89 drone strikes in Afghanistan, compared [...]

How a Plugged-In DC Think Tank Published a General’s Brutal Intel Critique | Danger Room | Wired.com

Posted by Matt in January 12th, 2010 | no comment

Published in Military, American Security, Danger Room, Geoff Morrell, Intel, Intelligence Officer, Michael Flynn, Military Circles, Pentagon, Pentagon Officials, Pentagon Spokesman, Press Secretary, Repor, Reuters, Robert Gates, Scathing Critique, Secretary Of Defense, Secretary Of Defense Robert Gates, Spy Agencies, Think Tank, Venue

In military circles, the talk all week has been about how and why the top intelligence officer in Afghanistan wound up publishing a scathing critique through a small-but-influential think tank. Now, we’ve got the answers.
When Maj. Gen. Michael Flynn published his tough assessment of the military’s spy agencies in Afghanistan, it caught Pentagon officials by [...]

Putin: We’ll Overwhelm U.S. Missile Shield. (But Thanks for the Concessions, Barack!) | Danger Room | Wired.com

Posted by Matt in December 29th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Russia, Balance Of Power, Concessions, Danger Room, Maximum Leader, Missile Defenses, Missile Shield, moscow, Nuclear Arsenal, Nuclear Warheads, Offensive Systems, United States, Vladivostok Russia

Shouldn’t we should be taking this as a challenge from Russia? Isn’t it time to increase our nuclear arsenal and develop new nuclear warheads?
Now Putin seems to be floating a few ideas about restoring the “balance of power” in the world. On a visit today to Vladivostok, Russia’s [maximum leader] premier said Moscow “must continue [...]

CIA’s Lost Magic Manual Resurfaces | Danger Room | Wired.com

Posted by Matt in December 4th, 2009 | no comment

Published in general, Central Intelligence Agency, Cia, Cold-War, Concealment, Danger Room, LOST, Magic, Renowned Magician, Signals, Trickery

At the height of the Cold War, the Central Intelligence Agency paid $3,000 to renowned magician John Mulholland to write a manual on misdirection, concealment, and stagecraft. All known copies of the document — and a related paper, on conveying hidden signals — were believed to be destroyed in 1973. But recently, the manuals resurfaced, [...]

Pentagon: Zombie Pigs First, Then Hibernating Soldiers | Danger Room | Wired.com

Posted by Matt in December 4th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Military Tech, Afghanistan, Amp, Battlefield, Danger Room, darpa, Golden Period, Mad Science, Massive Blood Loss, Medical Advances, Odds, Pentagon, Pigs, Plummet, Preclinical Studies, Research Idea, survival, Triage, Undead, War Fighters, Zombie

Around half of U.S. troop fatalities are caused by blood loss from battlefield injuries. Now, with another 30,000 troops deploying to Afghanistan, the Pentagon is pushing for medical advances that can save more lives during combat. The Defense Department’s latest research idea: Stop bleeding injuries by turning pigs into the semi-undead. If it works [...]

Russia: We’ll Nuke ‘Aggressors’ First | Danger Room | Wired.com

Posted by Matt in October 14th, 2009 | 1 comment

Published in Russia, Admission, Arms Reduction, Bloc, Danger Room, Exercises, Iran, kremlin, Military Activities, Moscow Russia, NATO, Nuclear Weapons, Nuke, Obama, Reduction Treaty, Swipe, United States

The United States and Russia may prepping to negotiate a new strategic arms reduction treaty after President Obama declared a “reset” in relations between Moscow and Russia. But Patrushev, apparently, didn’t get the memo. In the interview, he takes a swipe at the United States and NATO, saying that the alliance “continues to press for [...]

Gates Hints at More Secret Nuke Sites in Iran | Danger Room | Wired.com

Posted by Matt in October 6th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Iran, Bob Gates, Cnn, Danger Room, George Washington, George Washington University, Hillary Clinton, Iran, iranians, Nuclear Program, Nuke, Secretary Of Defense, Secretary Of State, Sounds, United States, University Forum

Does Bob Gates know about more secret Iranian nuclear sites? It certainly sounds like it.
Speaking alongside Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last night at a CNN/George Washington University forum, Gates addressed a wide variety of topics, the Secretary of Defense dropped what seemed to be a big hint that the United States knows much more [...]