Mil-Tech » Weapon

General Atomics wins $40M to scale military laser

Artur Nowak — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 13:29:03 +0000

The US Department of Defense has awarded General Atomics’ Aeronautical Systems division a $39.8 million contract to further develop a high-power laser weapon, with the ultimate goal of integrating the system within tactical aircraft.

The High-Energy Liquid Laser Area Defense Systems (HELLADS) program has been under development through funding from the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for several years, and now appears close to reaching its target output of 150 kW.

According to DARPA’s fiscal year 2012 budget estimate document, the detailed design of a ground-based 150 kW demonstrator was completed last year, while two unit cell module designs have shown an output power exceeding 34 kW. Based on those unit cell results, the next key step is to produce additional laser modules and connect them to deliver the targeted 150 kW output.

More > http://optics.org

China official denies cyber war with U.S.

Artur Nowak — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 13:09:19 +0000

There is no cyber warfare taking place between China and the United States, a senior Chinese official said, after weeks of friction over accusations that China may have launched a string of Internet hacking attacks.

The two countries might suffer from cyber attacks, but they were in no way directed by either government, Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai told a small group of foreign reporters ahead of a meeting with U.S. officials in Hawaii this weekend.

More > http://nbbusinessjournal.canadaeast.com

China says no cyber warfare with U.S.

Artur Nowak — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 19:31:56 +0000

There is no cyber warfare taking place between China and the United States, a senior Chinese official said on Wednesday, after weeks of friction over accusations that China may have launched a string of Internet hacking attacks.

UK Developing Cyber-weapons, Armed Forces Minister Admits

Artur Nowak — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 08:38:08 +0000

The U.K. Government is developing a “toolbox” of Internet cyber-weapons that could be used to attack other countries, Armed Forces Minister Nick Harvey said in an admission that the military now treats the Internet as a battlefield like any other.

Harvey’s rationale for a policy of cyber-offense during an interview reported in The Guardian newspaper was that cyberspace was no different to any other field of combat, and imposed the same strategic demands.

More > http://www.pcworld.com