For years, India has focused its efforts in space on practical applications -- using satellites to collect information on natural disasters, for instance. But India is now moving beyond that traditional focus and has planned its first manned space mission in 2015. The ascendancy of India's space program highlights the country's rising ambitions on the world stage, as it grows economically and asserts itself in matters of diplomacy. [More]
Military Refines a 'Constant Stare Against our Enemy' — Juian E. Barnes —The Los Angeles Times — Nov 01, 2009
The Pentagon plans to dramatically increase the surveillance capabilities of its most advanced unmanned aircraft next year, adding so many video feeds that a drone which now stares down at a single house or vehicle could keep constant watch on nearly everything that moves within an area of 1.5 square miles. [More]
Russia Expands Its Chemical Arsenal, Exposing Treatys Faults — David Hambling —Wired Danger Room — Nov 01, 2009
Russia and other countries are continuing to expand their chemical weapon arsenal despite being signatories to the 1992 Chemical Weapons Convention. A new report highlights the weaknesses in the existing treaty by showing how it fails to cover research into non-lethal chemical weapons or newer chemical compounds (ex. binary weapons) that weren't conceived of at the time of the treaty. [More]
An arms race in space is an "historical inevitability" -- according to an interview with Xu Qiliang, a senior Chinese air force commander -- marking an apparent shift in Beijing's opposition to weaponising outer space. [More]
A Revolution Once More: Unmanned Systems and the Middle East — Peter W. Singer —Future Horizon — Oct 31, 2009
Peter Singer looks at how the latest revolution in technology and war or the robotics revolution is impacting centuries-old conflicts in the Middle East. [More]
Jamais Cascio warns that augmented reality technologies could be misused to further the already crippling levels of political polarization in society. [More]
Russia hopes nuclear ship will fly humans to Mars — Vladimir Isachenkov —Associated Press — Oct 28, 2009
Russia should build a new nuclear-powered spaceship for prospective manned missions to Mars and other planets, the nation's space chief said Thursday. [More]
In the last few years, patterns in brain activity have been used to successfully predict what pictures people are looking at, their location in a virtual environment or a decision they are poised to make. The most recent results show that researchers can now recreate moving images that volunteers are viewing - and even make educated guesses at which event they are remembering. [More]
US, China Militaries Talk More: Does that Make World Safer? — Peter Ford —Christian Science Monitor — Oct 27, 2009
After a long spell of barely disguised animosity, American and Chinese military chiefs are seeking to put their relations on a more cordial footing, in line with ties between their civilian bosses but experts caution not to expect too much from China in terms of transparency about their military affairs. [More]
U.S. military officials increasingly worry that U.S. satellites are vulnerable to airborne assault, or even mere accident, in the Southern Hemisphere which has become something of a blind spot for military space tracking systems. [More]