US jet intercepts ballistic missile for first time:
A US F-16 fighter used an air-to-air missile to destroy a sounding rocket in its boost phase for the first time this week in a test of a new missile defense concept, US spokesmen said Tuesday.
The system -- named the Net-Centric Airborne Defense Element (NCDE) -- breaks new ground in that it would arm fighter aircraft or drones with missiles fast enough to intercept a ballistic missile as it lifts into space.
The aircraft would have to get to within a 100 miles of the launch site to catch the ascending missile in the first two to three minutes after launch. (cont..) http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=071204233530.iix59uhf&show_article=1&image=large
The system -- named the Net-Centric Airborne Defense Element (NCDE) -- breaks new ground in that it would arm fighter aircraft or drones with missiles fast enough to intercept a ballistic missile as it lifts into space.
The aircraft would have to get to within a 100 miles of the launch site to catch the ascending missile in the first two to three minutes after launch. (cont..) http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=071204233530.iix59uhf&show_article=1&image=large
Marines Request 'Long-Range Blow Torch' for Iraq;Seek 'Psychological' Edge by Roasting Foes with Laserhttp://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/12/military-reques.html
Exactly one year ago today, the First Marine Expeditionary Force in Iraq signed off on an "urgent operational need" for an airborne tactical laser that could, in the words of the formal request, create "instantaneous burst-combustion of insurgent clothing, a rapid death through violent trauma, and more probably a morbid combination of both."
Although the request is based on the technology of the Advanced Tactical Laser, a chemical laser integrated on an AC-130 gunship, the request suggests that a laser weapon could eventually be put on other aircraft, such as drones or, as the picture shows, the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor craft. (Photoshop can quickly solve all engineering challenges.)
According to the Marines' laser request, obtained by DANGER ROOM, this so-called Precision Airborne Standoff Directed Energy Weapon (PASDEW) wouldn't just be an improved killed machine. It would also have particularly devastating psychological effects. Such weapons, when used against people, "can be compared to long range blow torches or precision flame throwers, with corresponding psychological advantages for [Coalition Forces] CF."
In other words, the lasers don't just kill people, but they kill people in really gruesome, frightening ways -- particularly because the beam from such weapons, like the Advanced Tactical Laser, is invisible to the human eye. That means you could have three guys standing around, and one of them suddenly burst into flames. (cont…)
U.S. Army Plans FCS Force-Shaping Experiments
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=3228065&C=america
The U.S. Army is planning a set of war games to help determine the right mix of conventional and Future Combat System-equipped forces to handle various missions.
“We will do work on the organizational composition of brigade combat teams [BCTs]: current BCTs, FCS BCTs,” said Rickey Smith, director of the Army Capabilities Integration Center-Forward, TRADOC. “We will give FCS spinouts to some BCTs and see how much better they become.”
Starting in early 2008 and running for several years, the simulations will be run at the Battle Lab Common Simulation Environment, White Sands Missile Range, N.M., and involve troops and gear at at least four bases around the country.
“We are working on full-spectrum operation that includes conventional attacks and irregular operations in major combat such as counterinsurgency,” Smith said. “For a given experiment, we can conduct force-on-force simulation from White Sands and have real-time connection with fires from Fort Sill, [Okla.]; maneuver from Fort Benning, [Ga.]; logistics from Fort Lee, [Va.]; and aviation from Fort Rucker, [Ala.].” The exercises will seek to determine, among other things, how FCS’ new sensors and weapons affect the amount of troops required to hold an area.
“Can we cover a larger area with fewer people?” Smith said.
These will be the latest in an increasingly sophisticated set of war games intended to shape FCS doctrine and tactics. An earlier set took place in 2006, and grew out of experiences after the Iraq invasion. (cont…)
Technology conference powers down (update)
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123077903
12/4/2007 - ORLANDO, Fla. (AFPN) -- More than 500 exhibitors set up various displays to show off their cutting-edge technology to American military members the last week of November at the Interservice Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference at the Orange County Convention Center here.The latest in simulation and virtual reality from all over the world merge each year at this conference, the largest technology exhibition of its kind anywhere. "The goal of the conference is to share with (military and industry) and other government agencies the types of expertise that is out there in modeling and simulation from learning how to fly an airplane to driving a tank (and responding to) emergency situations and medical situations," said June Taylor, the director of the 677th Aeronautical Systems Group at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Officials from the 677th AESG helped sponsor this year's conference. Together, military and industry professionals demonstrated how simulation technology is rapidly becoming indispensable to human learning for all situations. Military and industry leaders are also learning from each other. Events such as natural or man-made disasters can be predicted in a simulation and modeled in advance. Authorities can now learn from the virtual world how best to plan for the real thing. (cont..)
Japan bolsters missile shield around Tokyo
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/04/asia/japan.php
TOKYO: Japan has deployed two missile defense detachments and plans major drills around Tokyo and its first sea-based interceptor test off Hawaii this month, underscoring its missile race with neighboring North Korea and China.
The moves cap a decade-long effort by Tokyo, with the strong backing of Washington, to create the region's most advanced ballistic missile defenses.
Defense Ministry officials said Japan was installing its second PAC-3 Patriot missile defense system at an air base just east of Tokyo. The first was set up west of Tokyo in March, and nine more will come online around the country by March 2011.
The deployment comes as the Defense Ministry is planning to conduct antiballistic missile drills throughout the city, testing for communications obstacles or other problems in the surrounding areas.
The drills - the first of their kind - reportedly involve trucking missile launchers and troops from their bases on the outskirts of Tokyo into several highly populated districts, including a shopping and entertainment area and a site near the Imperial Palace.
Japanese media have reported the drills will take place over the next month, but officials would confirm only that preparations are under way and the drills "should be held soon." (cont..)
Hospital conducts pandemic flu drill (TX)
http://www.mywesttexas.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19081532&BRD=2288&PAG=461&dept_id=475626&rfi=6
Some 800 Midland Memorial Hospital employees are learning how to cope with a flu pandemic this week
The event, conducted in cooperation with the Midland Health Department and Midland Emergency Management System, is put together the Hospital Emergency Incident Command Center. It will last until Wednesday.
The drill is not interrupting hospital services. The scenario has the bug making its way to Midland through a National Guard unit returning home from a mission in the Middle East and to the Permian Basin via a 15-year-old Odessa boy who has gone to visit his father in Seattle, where the virus has cropped up from missionaries returning from Southeast Asia.
"This is basically a paper drill. We're looking at our communications to see how we would handle supplies, food, water, the staffing situation. We actually started this slowly last Monday," Val Sparks, hospital infection prevention and control employee health coordinator, said. (cont..)
NGA and Lockheed Martin Work to Improve Delivery of Geospatial Data to Users http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/NEM09803122007-1.htm
HERNDON, Va., Dec. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and Lockheed Martin are working to streamline and speed the delivery of critical maps, imagery and other geospatial data to users worldwide. The Demand-Based Geospatial Intelligence (DBGI) program is an automated supply chain management system that allows users to request and access geospatial data in the format and delivery method of their choosing.
US Ship Caused China 'Grave Concern'
BEIJING (AP) - China said Tuesday it expressed "grave concern" over the USS Kitty Hawk's passage through the politically sensitive Taiwan Strait on its return to Japan. (cont..)
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