MetaFilter posts tagged with defense and military

Beyond war and crisis

Abiezer — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 06:02:06 -0800

Sustainable Security is a website launched this month by the Oxford Research Group "to be an important platform for promoting a better understanding of the real threats to global security in the 21st century and the policies that should be implemented to address those threats at their root cause." It highlights "four interconnected drivers of global insecurity: climate change; competition over natural resources; global militarism; and poverty and marginalisation. Prof. Paul Rogers makes the case for a rethink of the security paradigm.

"Ships currently have no defense against a ballistic missile attack."

Keter — Wed, 27 May 2009 13:46:47 -0800

The aircraft carrier, a majestic and grand symbol of American naval might... susceptible to swarming small-boat assault and weak against ballistic missiles, nevermind an anti-ship ballistic missile. Is it time to reevaluate the role of the aircraft carrier in a modern naval strategy?

That was too close: RAF Tornado comes within 30ft of mid-air collision

nthdegx — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 02:54:15 -0800

That was too close. RAF Tornado comes within 30ft of mid-air collision.

Lockheed Martin's Multi-Kill Vehicle

odinsdream — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 18:51:43 -0800

Lockheed Martin's Multi-Kill Vehicle.

Global Domination: The Missing Manual

scalefree — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 10:32:05 -0800

Learning from history's mistakes? In the summer of 2002, the Pentagon's Office of Net Assessment (ONA), run for 35 years by a man nicknamed Yoda, published an 85-page report titled "Military Advantage in History" (PDF). Drawing on Sun Tzu, Jared Diamond and Roman historian Titus Livius, the book analyzes the rise & fall of the empires of Alexander the Great, Imperial Rome, Genghis Khan, and Napoleon's France and attempts to plot a course for a Pax Americana that can avoid the pitfalls that led to the collapse of those earlier kingdoms. (via)

It sounds a lot like science fiction.

dsquid — Tue, 12 Jul 2005 05:25:25 -0800

It sounds a lot like science fiction. It moves at the speed of light and it can penetrate walls. The U.S. military has firepower that uses electromagnetic energy to blind, stun or kill targets. Defense contractors are eager, but the weapons are not yet being deployed.

Scientia est Potentia

mystyk — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 13:43:26 -0800

The Intelligence Resource Program from the website of the Federation of American Scientists is a lovely nugget of information about the intelligence field. It has intelligence budget data, threat assessments, imagery information, and more. But, in a little-known unlisted directory you can find intelligence and security related .pdf manuals for all four combat branches of the DOD and even a few others. Check it out, and don't worry because everything there is technically unclassified, it's just hard to find.

"And the 'Soldier Kicking Asshat of the Month' award goes to..."

insomnia_lj — Fri, 27 May 2005 08:41:39 -0800

"And the 'Soldier Kicking Asshat of the Month' award goes to..." Rep. Duncan Hunter (R - San Diego), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, who stripped a bipartisan-approved amendment out of the defense budget which would have given America's 1.1 million reservists the ability to pay $75 a month / $233 per family for healthcare insurance. Hunter claimed that the extra cost would blow the DoD's budget. The cost? About $770 million a year over five years... approximately .0018% of the yearly defense budget, or about 2/3rds the cost of a single stealth bomber.

Off-the-shelf-robots?

fixedgear — Wed, 09 Mar 2005 01:41:57 -0800

$127 Billion Army Modernization Project Sidesteps Oversight. A nice story about how a system designed to streamline simple and small commercial purchases is being used to avoid congressional oversight while spending $127 Billion USD in taxpayer funds.

The Wild Geese Fly Again?

Leege — Tue, 11 Jan 2005 21:05:45 -0800

Red, White and Blue Dogs of War Just found this story in The Nation about a decision by the Bush administration to hire Aegis Defense Services to protect U.S. diplomats in Iraq. The trouble is, its boss, ex-British Lt. Col. Tim Spicer, who is responsible for actually starting a coup in Papua New Guinea in 1996, among other things. Perhaps Bush, the free market disciple, is beginning to think that he needs to hire some mercs to make up for all the reserve and Guard guys quitting. If the Army needs more help and advice, they could hire this or that homegrown "consulting firm."

Hello Son of Star Wars - Goodbye Low Earth Orbit

y2karl — Tue, 29 Jul 2003 19:58:18 -0800

Weaponizing Space
The Case Against
Four Myths about Space Power - From Parameters, US Army War College Quarterly
Star wars could make space unusable

mediareport — Tue, 10 Sep 2002 09:06:50 -0800

"All this costs money. It costs more than we have." One year ago today, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warned of a "subtle and implacable" adversary whose "brutal consistency...stifles free thought...and places the lives of men and women in uniform at risk." It wasn't freedom's obvious foes; he was referring to waste in the Pentagon. The DOD uses so many different financial systems and interfaces it won't have auditable books for another five to 10 years. It still manually enters purchases made with electronic purchase cards. It fires whistleblowers who call attention to shady missile defense deals. And every year, it completely loses track of a quarter of the world's biggest military budget.

homunculus — Mon, 22 Jul 2002 13:06:55 -0800

The pursuit of permanent military supremacy. "The question facing all Americans, therefore, is whether the expenditure of hundreds (later thousands) of billions of dollars to defend against hypothetical enemies that may not arise until thirty or forty years from now is a sensible precaution, as contended by the President and Defense Secretary, or whether it eventually will undermine US security by siphoning off funds from vital health and educational programs and by creating a global environment of fear and hostility that will produce exactly the opposite of what is intended by all these expenditures."

bclark — Thu, 27 Sep 2001 13:43:42 -0800

The Few, The Proud, the Geeky "U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has called for the creation of the technology equivalent of the National Guard: 'That's what I'd like to propose. What this country needs is essentially a technology equivalent of the National Guard: a National Emergency Technology Guard - NET Guard - that in times of crisis would be in a position to mobilize our nation's information technology, or IT, community to action quickly, just as the National Guard is ready to move during emergencies.'" Akk! Volunteer geeks on patrol!

kliuless — Sat, 01 Sep 2001 05:01:17 -0800

Percent of World Military Spending. The US and its allies dwarf the rest of the world in what it spends on defense. On the one hand I see the need to bring overwhelming force in a conflict and I think just having it is in itself stabilizing. But I can also see money and resources put to better use elsewhere (e.g. healthcare, education, basic research) the effects of which I think might even do more to affect global peace and prosperity than any loss that may obtain from a reduced defense budget. (other Thoughts of the Fortnight by J. Bradford DeLong including this draft he presented with Larry Summers! at the Fed symposium in Jackson Hole :)

kliuless — Sun, 15 Jul 2001 12:29:11 -0800

Bull's Eye! $100 million well spent or the first steps on the road to hell? (via matt drudge)

goto11 — Fri, 08 Jun 2001 19:09:40 -0800

It worked in the Super Bowl... it can work as our military strategy!

The main quote in this article is, "I think our allies need to look at the Baltimore Ravens. They'll realize good defense wins. A good defense is one which adjusts to the times. A good defense is modern. A good defense is clear."

So let's build lots of missles!