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Tag: defense

  • FA-50 Fighter Jets: The Philippines Strengthens Its Defense

    On Tuesday, Philippine’s President Benigno Aquino III announced that two FA-50 fighter jets will be delivered to the Philippines from a manufacturer in South Korea. The announcement was made at the Philippine Air Force’s 67th anniversary with the theme “Soaring High for Peace.”

    The country is scrambling to look for ways to increase their defenses against the brewing territorial disputes with China regarding the South China Sea.

    The purchase of the fighter jets comes with the Philippine government’s attempt to strengthen its Air Force defenses. The two aircrafts are expected to arrive next year and the remaining 10 will follow after three years. Reports indicate that the Department of Budget and Management set aside the sum of $420 million to purchase the jets from Korea Aerospace Industries, which is the supplier of the jets.

    A look at the FA-50

    In addition to the fighter jets, the government is also looking to purchase other combat utilities such as range patrol aircrafts and radar systems. The government is also expecting 17 UHI helicopters to arrive this year.

    Aquino also took the time to thank the Air Force for their service during the Yolanda typhoon and the Zamboanga siege. “This is what we are celebrating today: professionalism, bravery, and stability in serving the country. These are the principles that we recognize in every unit, pilot, and personnel of the Philippine Air Force,” he said.

    With the acquisition of the fighter jets, Aquino said that the Air Force “can again defend our territory in a more effective way.” In addition, the Philippine Air Force will also be enhancing their pilots’ skills.

    The FA-50 fighter jet consists of an EL/M-2032 pulse-doppler radar, a longer radome, a bigger fuel capacity, tactical data link, and advanced avionics. Aside from being used in combat, the fighter jets will also be used in times of catastrophe, and for survey operations and training.

    Image via YouTube

  • Chicago Bears Land A Monster Free Agent

    Linebacker Brian Urlacher was a total defensive beast for the Chicago Bears for twelve seasons. No wonder his departure after the 2012 season resulted in one of the NFL’s worst defensive squads in 2014, ranking a dismal 30th in total defense. Chicago finished a mediocre 8-8 and missed the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years. Now, the Bears are making a splash in the free agency market.

    After losing Julius Peppers to the Packers, it was clear the Bears needed a stud defensive specialist to lead the team. Looks like Chicago found their man. They signed veteran defensive end Jared Allen, formerly of the Minnesota Vikings, to a four-year contract worth $32 million on Wednesday morning. The first two years of his contract and bonus are guaranteed. In turn, Allen will receive at least $15.5 million. The six-year player has been to the Pro Bowl four times and ranks 12th in the NFL (2nd among active players) with a total of 128.5 career sacks.

    Allen reached out to his former teammates, coaches, and the fans of Minnesota in a statement, “I can only hope that I have left with you all, with even a fraction of the positive support and impact you have had on my life, my foundation and my family. I am very excited about this next chapter in my career with the Chicago Bears and can’t wait to see what the future holds for us.”

    In addition to Allen, the Bears also signed Lamarr Houston, Willie Young and Israel Idonije in hopes of shoring up their defense moving forward.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Kevin Trudeau: Prosecutors Want 10-Year Sentence

    Kevin Trudeau, the TV pitchman known for touting his book The Weight Loss Cure They Don’t Want You to Know About could face 10 years in prison if prosecutors have their way. Convicted back in November for criminal contempt, he aired infomericals touting his book 32,000 times in violation of a court order.

    Defense attorneys believe Trudeau–who has served time before on similar charges–should serve less than two years.

    Federal prosecutors are determined, however, to put an end to his schemes, and they wrote a 41-page filing that suggests Kevin Trudeau would likely even cheat his fellow inmates.

    “He appears capable of nothing else,” it reads. “(Trudeau) is an unrepentant, untiring and uncontrollable huckster who has defrauded the unsuspecting for thirty years. (He) preys upon the sick who want to be made healthy, the poor who want to become rich.”

    The defense said in their own filing that, “Contrary to the view of Trudeau advanced by the government, he is a man who has consistently displayed kindness, generosity, concern for others.”

    Trudeau was convicted for making false claims about his latest book, and he then proceeded to tout it on infomercials, generating $39 million in revenue and $5 million or more in profit. The government is after him for not paying a previous $37 million judgement in a civil case, which he not only didn’t pay, but bragged about not paying.

    Consumer groups have long complained that Trudeau has no medical training whatsoever, yet believed he was educated enough to write books on health. The man who seemingly has an answer for everything came back with one for this complaint as well, saying doctors “are taught only how to write out prescriptions” for “poisons” and “cut out pieces of a person’s anatomy.”

    Kevin Trudeau is in jail pending his sentencing on Monday. Is he guilty of bilking consumers or do you think he and his books share previously undisclosed medical information that no doctors, hospitals or homeopathic practitioners have ever utilized instead?

    Image via YouTube

  • Defence Budgets to Rise, Shift Toward Middle East

    The global economic downturn that began in 2008 didn’t just affect consumer businesses. The effects of the recession reached all the way to the most sacred of government spending initiatives – military spending. Global defense budgets have been falling since 2009.

    Now, with many economies recovering, defense budgets are back on a rising trajectory. Market research firm IHS today released a report predicting that defense budgets in 2014 will rise year-over-year. The IHS report estimates that global defense spending will hit $1.547 trillion this year, up 0.6% from the $1.538 spent last year.

    The report also shows that much of the increase in defense spending will come (like the consumer tech market) in emerging economic markets. China, Russia, and countries in the Middle East are all set to significantly increase defense spending in the coming years while western nations are predicted to continue seeing defense budget decreases.

    “We have seen a rapid acceleration of defense spending in the Middle East since 2011,” said Fenella McGerty, senior analyst at IHS. “Four of the top five fastest growing defense markets in 2013 were Middle Eastern countries. If we stretch to look at the top 10 fastest growing markets, six of the 10 were in the Middle East. Oman and Saudi Arabia in particular have seen rapid growth of over 30% between 2011 and 2013. Since 2011, Oman’s defense budget has now increased by 115%, from $4.7 billion to $9.2 billion in nominal terms.”

    Image via U.S. Department of Defense

  • Montae Nicholson, A Four-Star Safety, Commits To Michigan State

    As if the Spartan defense was not good enough this year, Michigan State has gained another star for their team next year.

    Montae Nicholson is a four-star recruit from Pennsylvania, and as the No.1 prospect in his home state, it is a big gain for the Michigan State Spartans.

    Coming off of one of their best seasons in many years, this is big news for the Spartans. Nicholson had plenty of other offers from some of the top schools including Pittsburgh, Oregon, Florida State, and Virginia Tech.

    It certainly says something about the recent reputation of the Spartan defense, and the way the Spartans performed this year, when a player chooses Michigan State over Florida State.

    Florida State is a team that is being predicted to win the national championship, and has the recent Heisman Trophy winner with Jameis Winston.

    Montae Nicholson made the announcement at his school on Thursday, and to the surprise of many people, he made the verbal commitment to be a Spartan. He is expected to official sign with the team in February.

    Nicholson is a four-star safety by Scout.com, while he has also played cornerback, and is open to the possibility of playing wide receiver for Michigan State. He is ranked as the No. 21 safety in the country, and the No. 4 player overall in Pennsylvania by Scout.

    Brian Dohn, a recruiting analyst for Scout.com spoke highly of the young player when saying “Nicholson is athletic and strong. He can cover sideline to sideline and has good ball skills. At The Opening over the summer, he showed good cover skills and the ability to break on the ball, and his ability to close is a big asset.”

    He will join an already outstanding defense that easily beat Michigan earlier this year, and prevented them from scoring a touchdown. The Spartans also beat Ohio State, removing them from national championship consideration, and sent the Spartans to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1988.

    At 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, Montae Nicholson is set to be one of the best in the 2014 recruiting class. The Rose Bowl berth for the Spartans was a nice bonus, but he said it was not the deciding factor. The Spartans will meet Stanford for the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

    Image via Youtube

  • Reuters: Pentagon Bookkeepers Wasted $8.5 Trillion

    Earlier this summer, Reuters authors Scot J. Paltrow and Kelly Carr conducted an investigation into the Pentagon’s payroll practices; in their report, the authors alleged that an unbelievable level of dysfunction is causing financial hardships for soldiers. Today, the news does not get any better as Reuters published a second expose, this one even meatier than the first.

    The second part of the Reuters investigation, written by Scot J. Paltrow, claims that every month, soldiers working for the Defense Finance Accounting Service insert bogus payment numbers into their bookkeeping — in an effort to match the military’s books with the Treasury’s.

    The practice is referred to as “plugging,” and one naval officer, Linda Woodford, told Reuters that she spent the last 15 years of her career inserting those fake numbers into the books. “[A] lot of times there were issues of numbers being inaccurate… We didn’t have the detail … for a lot of it,” she said.

    The supervisors of the DFAS, far from disapproving, were actually expected to approve each plug, sometimes thousands of them in a single month. The Treasury would send the books back if the numbers didn’t match.

    Reuters discovered that the practice of plugging is actually standard operating procedure, and that DFAS is hardly the only military accounting firm to be responsible; apparently, Pentagon record keeping is so terrible, that making stuff up to fill in the blanks is just another day at the office.

    The Defense Department’s 2012 budget was $565.8 billion (larger than the next 10 largest military spenders combined). As to whether that money actually reached its intended destination, we will never know.

    “Reuters has found that the Pentagon is largely incapable of keeping track of its vast stores of weapons, ammunition and other supplies; thus it continues to spend money on new supplies it doesn’t need and on storing others long out of date,” Paltrow writes.

    One example of poor supply practices: between 2003 and 2011, the U.S. Army lost $5.8 billion in supplies as it moved equipment between regular units and reserve units.

    Because of the Pentagon’s sheer ineptitude, it is the only government agency that refuses to comply with the law requiring an annual financial audit of every government organization. A sum of money greater than China’s economic output from yesteryear, $8.5 trillion, has been given to the Pentagon since 1996. That amounts to over $25,000 per living person in the United States.

    The story is far from a cheerful anecdote, but if you’re still interested, check out the full report here.

    [Image via YouTube]

  • State Beats Michigan Thanks To Spartan Defense

    Michigan State was able to bounce back from their embarrassing loss to Michigan last season, and with an excellent defensive effort, Michigan State beat Michigan in East Lansing on November 2nd.

    The defense was certainly the key to the game, and the spartan defense prevented Michigan from scoring a touchdown throughout the game, holding them to only 6 points, which all came in the first half.

    The game ended with a final score of 29-6. The two teams came into the game with Michigan ranked #23 and Michigan State being ranked #24, but it seems that this game put Michigan in their place, assuring that the Spartans are the better team this year.

    The game was deadlocked at 6-6 for part of the first half, looking like it would be a totally defensive game like the one they played in 2012 that ended 12-10, but that changed quickly. While the defense of Michigan State continued to shine, Michigan slipped up and allowed 23 points to be scored following the 6-6 tie.

    Pat Narduzzi, the defensive coordinator knows how important it is when State beats Michigan, and is willing to do whatever it takes to get his defense to get the job done. He didn’t want them getting stupid personal foul penalties and admitted that there was one, but he delivered a strong statement when saying, “We’re going to bully people — that’s the game of football.” The Michigan State defense did come out as the bully yesterday and completely shut down the Michigan offense, showing fans who the better team in Michigan truly is.

    This game that resulted in State beating Michigan was a very important one for both teams, and especially Michigan State, who remains undefeated in the Big Ten. The likelihood of the team advancing to the Big Ten championship is looking even better after the win, and a record of 8-1, and their only loss coming to Notre Dame.

    As if the scoreboard show for a defensive effort was not enough, Michigan State’s defense was able to beat Michigan down so hard that they ended up with -48 rushing yards by the end of the game, which of course was their worst output in the history of Michigan’s football program. Their previous low came in 1962, when the Wolverines were held to minus-46 yards by Minnesota.

    This time when State beats Michigan also marks the most lopsided win in the series since a 34-0 victory in 1967. In yesterday’s game quarterback Connor Cook was 18 for 33 and passed for 252 yards, also running for one touchdown.

    Michigan State is often a team that is overlooked in college football, but after they beat Michigan, they have a remaining schedule that consists of Nebraska, Northwestern, and Minnesota, and a chance to go undefeated in the Big Ten.

    Image via Youtube

  • DARPA Just Spent $26M… On Anti-Missile Laser Beam

    According to an article in Military & Aerospace Electronics, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has given a total of $26 million in contracts to two U.S. defense companies to research a more efficient anti-missile defense system.

    Northrop Grumman’s Aerospace Systems division in Redondo Beach, CA will receive $14.6 million while Lockheed Martin’s Mission Systems and Training division in Akron, OH will receive $11.4 million as a part of Project Endurance. Both are engaged currently in the development of laser weapons that could successfully protect aircraft from missiles.

    Project Endurance initially sprung out of DARPA’s Excalibur program, an effort to reduce the size of optical laser arrays by at least 10 times, making it more feasible to load both manned and unmanned aircraft with a missile defense system.

    The idea for a pod-mounted laser that can fit on a plane is hardly a new one. Boeing built a tricked-out 747-400 freighter plane that it called the Airborne Laser, which was sold for scrap last year.

    At the time, researchers believed that a giant plane fitted with a megawatt laser could simply fly ovals around a combat zone and, with clever targeting, could render most ballistic missiles inert before they were fired. At-the-time Defense Secretary Robert Gates scrapped any plans the Air Force may have had to build a second one, saying “The [Airborne Laser] program has significant affordability and technology problems, and the program’s proposed operational role is highly questionable.”

    Boeing’s weapon design was a chemical iodine laser, or COIL, that was fired through the nose of the plane accompanied by two solid state lasers to lock on and control the beam. Here’s a picture of what it looked like; the tracking laser is on top, while the larger laser is on the nose, charging up.


    [YouTube]

    DARPA’s latest designs are a bit smaller and less cumbersome by leaps and bounds. However, they are the first to admit that the size limitations are affecting the power output of their laser. By combining two different types of laser systems (diode lasers and fiber laser amplifiers), DARPA hopes to increase beam efficacy by between 30 and 50 percent.


    [DARPA]

    “To produce a weapons-grade system, however,” Excalibur program manager Joseph Mangano writes, “[the laser’s] output power must be increased without introducing additional optical phase noise and modal instability.” Basically, they won’t be aiming for a Boeing-sized megawatt laser, but a couple hundred kilowatts might be enough to get the job done.

    [Main image via DARPA]

  • Jared Allen Will Remain With The Minnesota Vikings

    Jared Allen, who is one of the top defenders for the Minnesota Vikings, was on the verge of a trade earlier this afternoon. As the trade deadline approached, Allen, along with other players around the league all went up for grabs essentially, as other teams made offers for select players.

    Allen is a defensive end, and is a high demand player, as he has played in a total of five Pro Bowls in his career. Every team was calling each other up and trying to make a deal as the trade deadline was quickly approaching. The Vikings have had a hard time this season, and might feel that with getting rid of Allen for some future picks, they could turn their team around easier.

    The trade deadline was officially on Tuesday, October 29 at 4 p.m. and Allen, along with superstar tight-end Tony Gonzalez, and several others were on the trade radar as the time drew near. It was originally reported that the Seattle Seahawks had an interest in the veteran defensive end, and in return the Vikings would want a second-round pick.

    ESPN analysts and sports agents around the nation continued to send conflicting reports about Jared Allen’s future throughout the day. The Seahawks were just the first team to get in on the action, with the 49ers jumping in later, although it was later stated that the 49ers have no interest in a trade for Allen.

    Well, after all of the back and forth with the Seahawks, 49ers, and surely other teams that were interested in the veteran as well, Allen will be staying in Minnesota. He will become a free agent after this season, and if he leaves Minnesota as a free agent next spring, the Vikings they could get a mid-round compensatory pick in the 2015 draft in return.

    Jared Allen is the the team’s most productive defensive lineman, and in the 2013 season he has 4.5 sacks. The 32-year-old veteran out of Idaho State has 121.5 in his career.

    Image via Youtube

  • Denver Broncos Rally To Win, Despite Slow Start

    The Denver Broncos finally lost last week after seeming to be unstoppable, and it seemed as if they were going to face a similar fate this week. Peyton Manning charged in with all his power and led the Broncos to victory, by scoring 38 points in a row in order to beat the Redskins at home.

    Although the Broncos lost last week, they started the season off 6-0 with very impressive wins, giving Peyton Manning the best start for any quarterback in the history of the NFL. They have clearly come to win this season, and while some fans may have been fearing for their hopes of doing so during the game yesterday, Manning made sure it happened and completely controlled the end of the game.

    This game was also an important one for the Denver Broncos as well as the Redskins since it marked Redskins coach Mike Shanahan’s return to Denver, where he spent 14 seasons coaching the team with great success. Even though the Redskins led 21-7, the defense of the Broncos truly stepped up, preventing them from scoring again.

    Broncos coach John Fox said of the defensive stance, “I think without a doubt that was our best defensive outing. The Washington Redskins came in here with the No. 4 offense in the National Football League, so I thought [the defense] responded great.”

    While Peyton Manning and the offense of Denver Broncos have been the story all year, the defense really showed up during this game and completely shut down the Redskins after they put up their 21 points early in the game.

    The defense even knocked down Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III 15 times, including one that forced him to leave the game with a knee injury. He gave many fans a scare after leaving in the fourth quarter, when he was replaced by Kirk Cousins, who proceeded to throw two more interceptions.

    Despite the impressive start by the Denver Broncos, these last two games have proved that they are capable of at least giving their fans a scare. The Broncos currently have a record of 7-1, due largely to the outstanding play of Manning, and will face off against the San Diego Chargers in week 10.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UinmAoe7elU


    Image via Youtube

  • Dominique Easley, Florida DT, Out For The Season

    Dominique Easley, a football player for the Florida Gators has been plagued with a season ending injury. It appears that the injuries at Florida just continue to pile up, as their struggles continue in the 2013 season. Easley, a senior from Staten Island, NY is a defensive tackle for the team and a key member of the defense. This news comes just days after their starting quarterback, Jeff Driskel, was injured in their game against Tennessee, an injury that will keep him out for the rest of the season as well.

    It was reported that Easley “tweaked” his knee during the team’s practice on Tuesday, an injury that appeared to be serious at first. It only got worse from there, after it was reported that it was a torn ACL on Wednesday evening. In the 2013 season, Easily has recorded five tackles, including two for loss, during his first three games of the season, according to Sports Illustrated. He is also a large part of the Florida defense and will be certainly be missed throughout the rest of the season. Florida’s defense currently ranks second in the nation in total defense, allowing only 212.3 yards per game.

    Florida coach Will Muschamp made a statement saying that Easley will be forced to have season-ending surgery. He was also quoted saying “Obviously, it is hardest on Dominique. We are disappointed for him, but we will be there for him every step of the way through his surgery and rehab process.” The Gators play in the SEC, where it is easy to argue that they play in the most competitive conference in the league filled with powerhouse teams like Alabama, LSU and plenty more. He also tore the ACL in his left knee in November of 2011, but was able to make a comeback last season, and become one of the stars of the team, states ESPN.

    Florida’s fans are certainly not happy about the situation and vented their thoughts on twitter.

    He contemplated leaving leaving Florida for the 2013 draft, but decided to stay in the hopes of improving his spot in the draft and possibly being able to lead Florida to a SEC championship. After the season-ending injury, those results are unlikely to happen, but the same thing could have happened if he left for the NFL as well. With Easley out, Florida is likely to replace him with junior Leon Orr and senior Damien Jacobs. Their next game is on Saturday night against the Kentucky Wildcats.

    Image via Youtube

  • Bold Move: Lawyer Demands Phone Records from NSA to Prove Client’s Innocence

    Bold Move: Lawyer Demands Phone Records from NSA to Prove Client’s Innocence

    This is either the most brilliantly executed defensive move I’ve heard about in quite some time, or possibly the most ill-conceived air-grab since my buddy asked to read his wife’s texts “to prove she’s getting them ok.” Only time will tell.

    Another question to remand to the future historians – what’s the deal with the NSA’s recently revealed phone data collection program? Massive invasion of privacy? A necessary, albeit heavy-handed tactic in the ongoing fight against terrorists?

    I don’t know. I have opinions, but I don’t know. One thing I do know is that June 12th, 2013 will always be remembered as the day one defense attorney first turned the tables on the NSA’s no-longer-secret surveillance program.

    This is beautiful, really. Marshall Dore Louis, attorney for Florida’s Terrance Brown, has decided to use recent revelations to his avantage. “Oh, NSA, I hear you’re spying on all of our phone calls. Well, how bout you let me see what you found so I can prove my client’s innocence”* – or something like that.

    According to the Sun-Sentinel, Brown is one of five men accused of robbing a series of armored trucks making cash deliveries to banks a few years ago. The prosecution has been using phone records to prove that the men were all nearby when the robberies occurred.

    Well, the only problem is that prosecutors have been unable to obtain records for Brown during the period before September, 2010 (when at least one of the robberies took place). You see, Brown’s carrier, MetroPCS, simply doesn’t keep records that far back.

    But wait a minute. Louis says he wants those records to exonerate his client by proving he was nowhere near the area of the robbery at Lighthouse Point in July, 2010.

    “Who has extensive phone records on American citizens? Aha! The NSA of course! I just heard about that on the news.”**

    “The president of the United States has recognized this program has been ongoing since 2006…to gather the phone numbers [and related information] of everybody including my client in 2010,” Louis said.***

    He has a point. Imagine if this ploy actually worked. Seriously. Imagine it. Imagine lawyers all over the country asking the NSA to help prove their clients’ innocence.

    Imagine the NSA laughing and saying no. That’s a lot easier to imagine, I guess.

    ————

    * I don’t know what Mr. Louis was thinking. This is what I would have been thinking.
    ** Once again, I assume he must’ve had this train of thought. Just go with it, please.
    *** He really said that – in court on Wednesday.

    [Image via gadgetdan, Flickr]

  • Robotics Industry To Create 1 Million New Jobs

    Robotics Industry To Create 1 Million New Jobs

    According to the International Federation of Robotics, increasing use of robots will create 1 million new jobs in the next 5 years. The announcement is based on a study, “Positive Impact of Industrial Robots on Employment,” conducted by the market research firm Metra Martech. Many of these jobs will relate to engineering, software and manufacturing, as robots are primarily associated with assembly, service and defense.

    Still, Jon Bornstein, manager of the Army Research Laboratory’s Robotics Collaborative Technology Alliance states, “a wide array of skills is necessary to develop these robotics systems.” Some of these skills mentioned, like aerospace engineering, psychiatry and biomedical engineering, are a bit less obvious. “Even with a very basic example, such as a vacuum cleaner, you need a mechanical engineer for design, an electrical engineer for the controls, a computing engineer for the software, a biomedical engineer to understand the human factors, and an aerospace engineer to provide critical performance,” states Henrik Christensen, director of the Center for Robotics and Intelligent Machines at Georgia Institute of Technology. Bornstein also points out, “we also employ a large number of psychiatrists. We want a robot to have a mental picture of what people are doing around it.” Psychiatrists can also gauge human/robot interaction, to optimize productivity. And perhaps tweak and modify Asomiv’s 3 Laws of Robotics.

    No matter where you look in the robotics industry, things are expanding. “I just see unbounded growth,” says Matthew Mason, director of the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. “And it will be growing for a long time.” This all sounds good right now, but it seems like the advancement of robotics in the workforce would eventually begin to actually take jobs away.

    Sure, biomedical engineering psychiatrists might have something to do, but it seems like clerks and waiters might eventually be having a hard time.