Move over stock nature images, personal photos, and trippy ,
pre- installed moving scenes, screensavers just got way more useful.
Earlier this week, Life hacker shared a tool that allows users to use
live websites as their screensaver in just a few simple steps. Whether
it's your favorite cat-related Tumblr or the site beloved by curious
knowledge junkies everywhere, your away screen can now display what's
happening in real time out there on the world wide web.
To get it, download the Web View Screensaver program
posted by Github user liquid. Once installed, the program will present
you with a window like the one shown above, where you can add or change
the URL for a new screensaver. The preview will show how the page will
appear when your computer takes a nap, and there are other settings to
tweak the new gadget to perfection.
Life hacker came up with the smart idea to use one of Giphy's TV pages
as a screensaver so that the animated images can play automatically on
your screen. A weather site or news site would also be helpful; since
the program loads the screensaver from the URL, you can still see all
the updates even when we're not actively browsing.
The
Web ViewScreensaver program also works with GIF URLs and has sound
capabilities, so at the very least you can have a little fun with your
coworkers by using classic videos in the place of pretty pictures.
Its cool and amazing you get the latest web updates whether its music ,news ,videos or whatsoever while your offline.
Monday
WHATSAPP CAN QUOTE MESSAGES YOU WANT TO RESPOND TO
WhatsApp now has the ability to quote messages you want to reply to, which sounds especially useful for group chats with friends or family. Only problem is, it's unclear if everyone already has access to it. It first came out a day ago or so as an experimental feature for the Android app's beta version (v.2.16.118). However, we were able to quote messages on our stable apps (v. 2.16.6) for Android and iOS without having to update either of them. Note that we also didn't see a new update on iTunes or Google Play.
According to NDTV and some other sources, the Facebook-owned application already began rolling the feature out to the general public, so it's possible that you can already use it. To find out if you have access to it, simply press on the message you want to respond to for a few seconds until the action bubble/bar pops up. Next to star, trash, copy and forward is a new option that looks like the arrow typically associated with reply. Click that, and the message you want to quote will show up right above your text box like in the screenshots below. If you can't seem to make it work, try reinstalling your app or checking again in a day or two -- you might have it then
All the images and information from MSN.
Labels:
Tech
Saturday
TEN THINGS IMPORTANT THAT EVERY COMPUTER USERS SHOULD HAVE KNOWN TO DO.
There are certain things every one of us has to deal with when using a computer—and we don’t always deal with them in the most efficient ways. Here are 10 things that everyone can learn to keep their computer fast, safe, and easy to use.Most common is on how to set system back up,avoidance of viruses and also using computer shortcuts.
Keep your personal information and data safe and secure.
Unfortunately, the internet isn’t always a safe place, which means everyone needs to make sure they’re keeping their personal information safe. Make sure you use strong passwords,remove personal information from photos and files and never use open public networks without protections.
Important secure procedures you can undertake when your online for your safety are;
Use a password manager: We get it, you have a lot of passwords and you don't want to remember them all. Instead of reusing the same junky password, a password manager is a simple way to save them all securely.
Use two-factor authentication whenever possible: Two-factor authentication is a simple way to lock your computer to an account so you have to verify your identity when you log onto a different computer.
Shut down and unlink services you don't use: If you're the type to try out a lot of different web apps or mobile apps then you probably have a ton of passwords scattered around everywhere. When you decide you don't want to use a service anymore, remember to delete your account. This way, if the service is hacked you don't have to fumble around trying to remember your login information.
ADBLOCKplus; Adblock Plus isn't just an ad blocking extension, it also helps keep the likes of Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ from transmitting data about you.
GHOSTERY;Ghostery is an extension that's all about eliminating tracking cookies and plug-ins used by ad networks. With Ghostery installed, no advertiser can snoop on what you're doing online.
DONOT TRACK EXTENSION; Do Not Track is an extension that eliminates sites with Facebook and Google+ buttons from tracking you. By default, a data exchange happens when you visit a site with one of these buttons, even if you don't click on them. Do Not Track stops that from happening.
The above bolded extensions will help you in making safe browsing experience when using internet.
Easy find your lost or stolen gadgets
You never know when you might misplace your phone, laptop, or other tech, so set up some safeguards now. iPhone users can enable Find My iPhone, and Android users should enable the Android Device Manager, which allows you to track your phone if you lose it. Of course, you can always get a more check the video by following the below link.Sharing files between two computers
So you’ve got some files you want to give to your friend sitting next to you, but your flash drive has mysteriously gone missing. Well guess what? You don’t need it! It’s very easy to transfer a file between two computers over your wireless (or wired) network, whether it’s between you and a friend or between multiple computers you own. Here are our favorite ways to share files with a nearby computer, but if you want to share them between multiple computers in your house, Windows’ Homegroup feature is a great option.Keeping your computer in regular maintainance
Computer maintenance has gotten really confusing over the years. Between defragging, cleaning up temporary files, and other tasks, it’s almost like trying to maintain a car. Luckily, it’s gotten a lot
easier in recent years: you only really need to do one or two things to
keep your computer running fast and smooth. Check out our guides to Windows maintenance and Mac maintenance for more info and keep your PC running like new. And if your phone’s feeling a little sluggish, we have guides for iOS and Android, too.
Understanding routers, modems, and the other things that make up your
network can seem daunting, but there are a few basics that can fix most
problems that come your way.For the problem with most routers is overheating you can check the link as it follows showing some major ways to resolve the problem,http://lifehacker.com/5910788/why-do-i-have-to-keep-resetting-my-router-and-how-can-i-fix-it.But also you can boost up your wifi network if its speed is not fast enough and low range follow the link , http://lifehacker.com/5931743/top-10-ways-to-boost-your-home-wi+fi.Protecting your PC from viruses and spywares
Windows users have long known the pain of viruses and other malware, but the good news is it’s pretty easy to avoid.But its first important to know the differences between the viruses,trojan horse worms and other malicious wares.hen, install some good, free antivirus software to protect yourself . You can even get antivirus for your Android phone, if you so choose. But in the end, the best way to avoid viruses is to use common sense: don’t open links that look suspicious, don’t install programs from untrusted sources, and if a window pops up saying your computer’s infected, make sure it’s actually your antivirus software saying that and not a fake web page.Using of computer shortcuts.
The great thing about computers is that they can do a lot of things much
faster than a human. Say you’re looking for a specific word on a web
page. Instead of scanning it yourself, all you need to do is press
Ctrl+F and type the word you’re looking for. There are mountains of
shortcut like this, from pressing Ctrl+S to instantly save the file
you’re working on, Ctrl+P to print it out, or Ctrl+T to open a new tab
in your web browser. It may seem like more trouble than its worth at
first, but after you use a shortcut one or two times
you’ll wonder why
you ever did anything with the mouse.some important computer keys to be known .
Setting a system backup system
We all know we should back up our computers, but it’s always one of those things that you’ll set up “one day”. Setting up a backup only takes minutes, though, so you can do it right now
and forget about it until you need it—and when you do need it, you’ll
be glad you set it up. If you’re just backing up to an external drive,
you can just use the simple tools built in to your computer, like Windows Backup or Apple’s Time Machine.
However, that’ll only keep you safe if your computer fails. If you lose
your home in a fire, get all your gear stolen, or experience any other
kind of disaster, you’ll have lost all those important
documents, family photos, and other files forever. So, we recommend
using a service like CrashPlan to back up your computer online. That way, it can back up no matter where you are, and that data will be safe no matter what happens to your hardware.
Accessing your computer anywhere.
Ever go out with your laptop and realize you left something important on
your computer at home? One way to solve this problem is to use a
service like Dropbox, so your files are with you everywhere you go. However, it’s also handy to know how to use your home computer from anywhere. With a simple app like TeamViewer,
you can log into your home computer from another machine and use it as
if you were sitting right at your desk—whether you just need to grab a
quick file or access a program you don’t have elsewhere.
Keeping your PC away from a crap.
I love free apps. Who doesn’t love getting something for nothing? There’s just one problem: on the other side of that download link, every developer has to choose whether to charge money for their app, or offer it for free and find some other way to make money. And when we refuse to pay, we make that decision for them. We’ve created a demand for bundled crapware.
Ever wonder how that Yahoo toolbar got on your system, or why there’s so
much junk installed on your brand new machine? Crapware is a huge problem in the world of Windows, but that doesn’t mean you have to take it lying down. With the right tools and a little know-how,
you can avoid that crapware forevermore: just uninstall the stuff that
came with your system, and learn the ways companies trick you into
installing stuff you don’t want. You’ll keep that system nice and clean,
and beat the scammers at their own game.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VIRUSES , TROJAN , WORMS AND SOME OTHER MALWARE
The term computer virus is often used interchangeably with malware, though the two don't actually have the same meaning. In the strictest sense, a virus is a program that copies itself and infects a PC, spreading from one file to another, and then from one PC to another when the files are copied or shared.
Most viruses attach themselves to executable files, but some can target a master boot record, autorun scripts, MS Office macros, or even in some cases, arbitrary files. Many of these viruses, like CIH, are designed to render your PC completely inoperable, while others simply delete or corrupt your files—the general point is that a virus is designed to cause havoc and break stuff.
You can protect yourself from viruses by making certain your antivirus application is always updated with the latest definitions and avoiding suspicious looking files coming through email or otherwise. Pay special attention to the filename—if the file is supposed to be an mp3, and the name ends in .mp3.exe, you're dealing with a virus.
Spyware is any software installed on your PC that collects your information without your knowledge, and sends that information back to the creator so they can use your personal information in some nefarious way. This could include keylogging to learn your passwords, watching your searching habits, changing out your browser home and search pages, adding obnoxious browser toolbars, or just stealing your passwords and credit card numbers.
Since spyware is primarily meant to make money at your expense, it doesn't usually kill your PC—in fact, many people have spyware running without even realizing it, but generally those that have one spyware application installed also have a dozen more. Once you've got that many pieces of software spying on you, your PC is going to become slow.
What many people don't realize about spyware is that not every antivirus software is designed to catch spyware. You should check with the vendor to make sure the application you are using to protect you from malware is actually checking for spyware as well. If you come across a PC that is already heavily infected, run a combination of MalwareBytes and SuperAntiSpyware to clean it thoroughly.
Scareware is a relatively new type of attack, where a user is tricked into downloading what appears to be an antivirus application, which then proceeds to tell you that your PC is infected with hundreds of viruses, and can only be cleaned if you pay for a full license. Of course, these scareware applications are nothing more than malware that hold your PC hostage until you pay the ransom—in most cases, you can't uninstall them or even use the PC.
If you manage to come across a PC infected with one of these, your best bet is to Google the name of the virus and find specific instructions on how to remove it, but the steps are usually the same—run a combination of MalwareBytes, SuperAntiSpyware, and maybe ComboFix if you need to.
Trojan horses are applications that look like they are doing something innocuous, but secretly have malicious code that does something else. In many cases, trojans will create a backdoor that allows your PC to be remotely controlled, either directly or as part of a botnet—a network of computers also infected with a trojan or other malicious software. The major difference between a virus and a trojan is that trojans don't replicate themselves—they must be installed by an unwitting user.
Once your PC has been infected with the trojan, it can be used for any number of nefarious purposes, like a denial of service (DoS) attack against a web site, a proxy server for concealing attacks, or even worse—for sending out buckets of spam. Protection against trojans works the same way as viruses—make sure that your antivirus application is up to date, don't open suspicious attachments, and think long and hard before you try and use a downloaded crack for Photoshop examplified.
Computer worms use the network to send copies of themselves to other PCs, usually utilizing a security hole to travel from one host to the next, often automatically without user intervention. Because they can spread so rapidly across a network, infecting every PC in their path, they tend to be the most well-known type of malware, although many users still mistakenly refer to them as viruses.
One of the most famous worms include the ILOVEYOU worm, transmitted as an email attachment, which cost businesses upwards of 5.5 billion dollars in damage. The Code Red worm defaced 359,000 web sites, SQL Slammer slowed down the entire internet for a brief period of time, and the Blaster worm would force your PC to reboot repeatedly.
Because worms often exploit a network vulnerability, they are the one type of malware that can be partially prevented by making sure your firewall is enabled and locked down—you'll still need an updated antivirus software, of course.
rootkit: software designed to illicitly gain administrative control of the computer by surreptitiously modifying OS software. Rootkits usually hide themselves from detection by the same modifications to the OS.
Rootkits can be used to install other harmful software, to monitor user activity, to steal user data, or to steal computing resources.
Also, it's probably better to divide malware along two orthogonal axes: attack vector and payload.
Things like virus, Trojan horse, rootkit, phishing are attack vectors. Things like stealing user data and causing data loss are payloads.
But these can be avoided by running on the firewall on your browser that can protect you against the malwares.
..All images with Google.
Thursday
CHINA TO SEND NUCLEAR -ARMED SUBMARINE INTO PACIFIC TO AMID TENSIONS WITH USA.
China's Navy submarine which was longed for 3 decades |
The Chinese military is poised to send submarines armed with nuclear missiles into the Pacific Ocean for the first time, arguing that new US weapons systems have so undermined Beijing’s existing deterrent force that it has been left with no alternative.
Chinese military officials are not commenting on the timing of a maiden patrol, but insist the move is inevitable.
They point to plans unveiled in March to station the US Thaad anti-ballistic system in South Korea, and the development of hypersonic glide missiles potentially capable of hitting China less than an hour after launch, as huge threats to the effectives of its land-based deterrent force.
A recent Pentagon report to Congress predicted that “China will probably conduct its first nuclear deterrence patrol sometime in 2016”, though top US officers have made such predictions before.
China has been working on ballistic missile submarine technology for more than three decades, but actual deployment has been put off by technical failures, institutional rivalry and policy decisions.
Until now, Beijing has pursued a cautious deterrence policy, declaring it would never be the first to use nuclear weapons in a conflict and storing its warheads and its missiles separately, both strictly under the control of the top leadership.
Deploying nuclear-armed submarines would have far-reaching implications.
Warheads and missiles would be put together and handed over to the navy, allowing a nuclear weapon to be launched much faster if such a decision was taken. The start of Chinese missile patrols could further destabilise the already tense strategic standoff with the US in the South China Sea.
Last Tuesday, a US spy plane and two Chinese fighter jets came close to colliding 50 miles of Hainan island, where China’s four Jin-Class ballistic missile submarines are based. A fifth is under construction.
The two countries’ navies have also come uncomfortably close around disputed islands in the same region, and the chance of a clash will be heightened by cat-and-mouse submarine operations, according to Wu Riqiang, an associate professor at the School of International Studies at the Renmin University in Beijing.
“Because China’s SSBNs [nuclear missile submarines] are in the South China Sea, the US navy will try to send spy ships in there and get close to the SSBNs. China’s navy hates that and will try to push them away,” Wu said.
The primary reason Chinese military officials give for the move towards a sea-based deterrent is the expansion of US missile defence, which Moscow also claims is disturbing the global strategic balance and potentially stoking a new arms race.
The decision to deploy Thaad anti-ballistic interceptors in South Korea was taken after North Korea’s fourth nuclear test, and the stated mission of the truck-launched interceptors is to shield the south from missile attack.
But Beijing says the Thaad system’s range extends across much of China and contributes to the undermining of its nuclear deterrent. It has warned Seoul that relations between the two countries could be “destroyed in an instant” if the Thaad deployment goes ahead.
“No harm shall be done to China’s strategic security interests,” the foreign ministry declared.
Behind the ominous warnings is growing concern in the People’s Liberation army that China’s relatively small nuclear arsenal (estimated at 260 warheads compared with 7,000 each for the US and Russia), made up mostly of land-based missiles, is increasingly vulnerable to a devastating first strike, by either nuclear or conventional weapons.
Missile defence is not their only worry. They are anxious about a new hypersonic glide missile being developed under the US Prompt Global Strike programme, aimed at getting a precision-guided missile to targets anywhere in the world within an hour.
China is developing a similar missile but officials in Beijing fear that the Chinese nuclear arsenal is so small it could be almost completely wiped out without notice, with the few missiles launched in reprisal being destroyed in mid-air by US missile defences.
Without that capability to respond with a “second strike”, China would have no meaningful deterrent at all. The government of President Xi Jinping insists the country has no plans to abandon its “no first use” principle but military officials argue US weapon developments give it no choice but to upgrade and expand its arsenal in order to maintain a credible deterrent.
There seems to have been some discussion of moving to a “launch on warning” policy, to fire Chinese weapons before incoming missiles land and destroy them. That appears to be a minority view, however.
The dominant approach is to stick with the current deterrent posture, which relies on hitting back in a devastating manner once China has been attacked. The core aim is to have a second strike capacity that is “survivable” and “penetrative”. Submarines, on patrol in the ocean depths, fulfil the first requirement, they say.
It has tested a missile, the Ju Lang (Giant Wave) 2, for that purpose, and each Jin submarine can carry up to 12 of them. Partly to help penetrate US missile defences, China has in recent months also started putting multiple warheads on its largest missile, the DF-5, another development that has set alarm bells ringing in the Pentagon, where some analysts view it as the first step towards a massive nuclear armament drive aimed at obliterating the US arsenal.
Wednesday
THE GENERAL ATOMICS RQ1 - MQ1 PREDATOR
The General Atomic MQ-1 Predator is an American unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) built by General Atomics and used primarily by the United States Air Force (USAF) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Initially conceived in the early 1990s for aerial reconnaissance
and forward observation roles, the Predator carries cameras and other
sensors but has been modified and upgraded to carry and fire two AGM-114 Hellfire missiles or other munitions. The aircraft, in use since 1995, has seen combat in war in Afghanistan, Pakistan, the NATO intervention in Bosnia, Serbia, Iraq War, Yemen, Libyan civil war, the intervention in Syria, and Somalia.
Each Predator air vehicle can be disassembled into six main components
and loaded into a container nicknamed "the coffin." This enables all
system components and support equipment to be rapidly deployed
worldwide. The largest component is the ground control station and it is
designed to roll into a C-130 Hercules.
The Predator primary satellite link consists of a 6.1 meter (20 ft)
satellite dish and associated support equipment. The satellite link
provides communications between the ground station and the aircraft when
it is beyond line-of-sight and is a link to networks that disseminate
secondary intelligence. The RQ-1A system needs 1,500 by 40 meters (5,000
by 125 ft) of hard surface runway with clear line-of-sight to each end
from the ground control station to the air vehicles. Initially, all
components needed to be located on the same airfield.
The RQ1 is reinforced with ammunition Hellfire missile. The RQ-1 conducted its first firing of a Hellfire anti-tank missile on 16 February 2001; over a bombing range near Indian Springs Air Force Station north of Las Vegas, Nevada, an inert AGM-114C successfully hit a tank target. This led to a series of tests on 21 February 2001 in which the Predator fired three Hellfire missiles, scoring hits on a stationary tank with all three missiles. Following the February tests, the decision was made to move immediately to increment two of the testing phase, which involved more complex tests to hunt for simulated moving targets from greater altitudes with the more advanced AGM-114K version. The scheme was put into service, with the armed Predators given the new designation of MQ-1A. The Predator gives little warning of attack; it is relatively quiet and the Hellfire is supersonic, so it strikes before it is heard by the target.
On 16 February 2001 at Nellis Air Force Base, a Predator successfully fired three Hellfire AGM-114C
missiles into a target. The newly armed Predators were given the
designation of MQ-1A. In the first week of June 2001, a Hellfire missile
was successfully launched on a replica of bin Laden's Afghanistan Tarnak
residence built at a Nevada testing site. A missile launched from a
Predator exploded inside one of the replica's rooms; it was concluded
that any people in the room would have been killed.
MQ1 predator |
Hellfire missile |
The RQ1 is reinforced with ammunition Hellfire missile. The RQ-1 conducted its first firing of a Hellfire anti-tank missile on 16 February 2001; over a bombing range near Indian Springs Air Force Station north of Las Vegas, Nevada, an inert AGM-114C successfully hit a tank target. This led to a series of tests on 21 February 2001 in which the Predator fired three Hellfire missiles, scoring hits on a stationary tank with all three missiles. Following the February tests, the decision was made to move immediately to increment two of the testing phase, which involved more complex tests to hunt for simulated moving targets from greater altitudes with the more advanced AGM-114K version. The scheme was put into service, with the armed Predators given the new designation of MQ-1A. The Predator gives little warning of attack; it is relatively quiet and the Hellfire is supersonic, so it strikes before it is heard by the target.
MQ1 firing the Hellfire missile. |
- In February 2002, armed Predators are thought to have been used to destroy a sport utility vehicle belonging to suspected Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar and mistakenly killed Afghan scrap metal collectors near Zhawar Kili because one of them resembled Osama bin Laden.
- Mohammed Omar and mistakenly killed Afghan scrap metal collectors near Zhawar Kili because one of them resembled Osama bin Laden.
- On 4 March 2002, a CIA-operated Predator fired a Hellfire missile into a reinforced Taliban machine gun bunker that had pinned down an Army Ranger team whose CH-47 Chinook had crashed on the top of Takur Ghar Mountain in Afghanistan. Previous attempts by flights of F-15 and F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft were unable to destroy the bunker. This action took place during what has become known as the "Battle of Roberts Ridge", a part of Operation Anaconda. This appears to be the first use of such a weapon in a close air support role.
- On 6 April 2011, the Predator had its first friendly fire incident when observers at a remote location did not relay their doubts about the target to the operators at Creech Air Force Base.
- On 5 May 2013, an MQ-1 Predator surpassed 20,000 flight hours over
Afghanistan by a single Predator. Predator P107 achieved the milestone
while flying a 21-hour combat mission; P107 was first delivered in
October 2004.
THE RQ1 PREDATOR..
US MILITARY SIZE COMPARISON
The two minute video lines up US Military weapons from the smallest to the largest.The clip starts at the small end with a .45-caliber bullet, which
measures just 3.2 centimeters long, or about an inch and a quarter. Then
things get bigger, through grenades and guns, through drones and tanks,
through fighters and bombers until it reaches the macro end of the
military, the 1,100-ft. Gerald R. Ford class of aircraft carriers.
The best way to appreciate
the size difference between objects is just to lay 'em all out in a row
and behold. That's what this two-minute video does with the weaponry of
the U.S. military.
THREATS FROM RUSSIAN AND CHINA WARPLANES MOUNTS
WASHINGTON — Chinese and Russian warplanes have been increasingly aggressive intercepting U.S. military aircraft and patrolling near America’s West Coast, prompting the Air Force’s top combat officer to label their provocations one of his top worries.
Air Force Gen. Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle, who leads Air Combat Command, said in an interview with USA TODAY that meeting the challenge from the Russian and Chinese to flights in international airspace is essential but dangerous.
“Our concern is a resurgent Russia and a very, very aggressive China,” Carlisle said.
Both countries are intent on expanding their spheres of influence — Russia in eastern Europe and the Pacific with China focusing much of its effort over the disputed South China Sea.
“Their intent is to get us not to be there,” Carlisle said. “So that the influence in those international spaces is controlled only by them. My belief is that we cannot allow that to happen. We have to continue to operate legally in international airspace and international waterways. We have to continue to call them out when they are being aggressive and unsafe.”
The stakes are high. Aggressive intercepts of U.S. patrol planes run the risk of mid-air collisions that would escalate tensions among nuclear powers.
“Any accident that occurs while the U.S. military is playing cat and mouse with Russian or Chinese forces could escalate into a real fight,” said Loren Thompson, a defense industry consultant and military analyst at the Lexington Institute. “If it does, American victory is not assured, because U.S. forces are operating thousands of miles from home and the other side is near its main bases. Small confrontations can turn into big wars, and Russian military doctrine embraces the use of nuclear weapons to win local conflicts."
An increasing number have occurred in recent months, Carlisle said, with fighters from Russia and China buzzing perilously close to American military aircraft.
The Pentagon has denounced the hazardous intercepts for more than a year, although condemnation hasn’t halted the practice. On May 17, two Chinese fighter jets flew dangerously close to a U.S. Navy patrol plane over the South China Sea. China has been on a campaign to assert its sovereignty over the busy waterways, building artificial islands on reefs in the sea and establishing military bases. In late April, a Russian fighter pilot performed a “barrel roll” over the top of an Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance plane, Carlisle said, above the Black Sea.
There has also been an uptick in long-range bomber activity from the Russians in Eastern Europe and extending to flights off the U.S. West Coast, Carlisle said.
“We have seen an increase,” Carlisle said. “All the way down to the California coast. The number and frequency has increased.”
For China, the goal appears to be establishing control of the international airspace over the South China Sea. There are conflicting territorial claims among countries in the region with China upping the ante by establishing a military bases on artificial islands around the Paracel and Spratley Islands chains.
Carlisle expects that the Chinese will institute an Air Defense Identification Zone over a large portion of the South China Sea. Zones like these extend beyond a country’s borders in its national security interests. Aircraft entering such a zone are required them to identify and locate themselves. The United States has established them after consulting with neighboring countries.
The Chinese unilaterally set up an identification zone in the East China Sea in 2013. Carlisle expects a similar action soon in the South China Sea.
“Their expansion into the Paracels and the Spratleys is so they can declare it and then have the capability to enforce it, where they can do intercepts,” Carlisle said. “They are doing it outside of what could be consider the norms.”
Maintaining communication with the Russian and Chinese military is key to avoiding mishaps, Carlisle said. Training pilots to deal with intercepts will continue.
“As they become more aggressive, you run the risk of miscalculation,” he said. “You don’t know where that’s going to lead, or end.”
Monday
OBAMA LIFTS ARMS BAN HIS FIRST VISIT IN VIETNAM
Obama shaking hands with the Vietnam's president. |
Obama announced the full removal of the embargo at a news conference, saying the move was intended to step toward normalizing relations with the former war enemy and to eliminate a "lingering vestige of the Cold War."
"At this stage both sides have developed a level of trust and cooperation," Obama said, adding that he expected deepening cooperation between the two nation's militaries.
Obama is seeking to strike this balance with Vietnam amid Chinese efforts to strengthen claims to disputed territory in the South China Sea, one of the world's most important waterways.
Lifting the arms embargo will be a psychological boost for Vietnam's leaders as they look to counter an increasingly aggressive China, but there may not be a big jump in sales. Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang thanked Obama for lifting the embargo.
U.S. lawmakers and activists had urged the president to press the communist leadership for greater freedoms before granting it. Vietnam holds about 100 political prisoners and there have been more detentions this year.
The United States partially lifted the embargo in 2014, but Vietnam wanted full access as it tries to deal with China's assertive land reclamation and military construction in nearby seas.
Obama lifted decades-old ban on the sales of military equipment to the Southeast-Asian country. (Pictured) Obama (3rd from right), along with Secretary of State John Kerry (4th from right) and National Security Advisor Susan Rice (2nd from right), during a meeting with the Vietnamese president. |
Vietnam has not bought anything, but removing the remaining restrictions shows relations are fully normalized and opens the way to deeper security cooperation.
After three days in Vietnam, Obama heads to Japan for an international summit and a visit to Hiroshima, where he will be the first sitting president to visit the site of the first atomic bomb attack.
He arrived in Hanoi, the capital, late Sunday, making him the third sitting president to visit the country since the end of the war. Four decades after the fall of Saigon, now called Ho Chi Minh City, and two decades after President Bill Clinton restored relations with the nation, Obama is eager to upgrade relations with an emerging power whose rapidly expanding middle class beckons as a promising market for U.S. goods and an offset to China's growing strength.
Obama was greeted Monday by Quang at the Presidential Palace. Obama congratulated Vietnam for making "extraordinary progress." He said he hopes the visit will show a continued interest in strengthening ties in the years to come.
Obama will make the case for stronger commercial and security ties, including approval of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Trade agreement that is stalled in Congress and facing strong opposition from the 2016 presidential candidates.
The United States is eager to boost trade with a fast-growing middle class in Vietnam that is expected to double by 2020. That would mean knocking down auto, food and machine tariffs to get more U.S. products into Vietnam.
In Japan, Obama will attend a summit of the Group of Seven industrialized nations, where the uncertain global economy will be a top concern. They'll also grapple with a full array of world challenges, including the fight against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria and the refugee crisis in Europe.
Obama will finish his trip in Hiroshima, where the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb that killed 140,000 people, ushering in the nuclear age seven decades ago. Another bomb killed 70,000 in Nagasaki three days later.
Sunday
Russia's Putting Hypersonic Missiles on Its Battlecruisers
The blisteringly fast Zircon missile will give old battlecruisers new striking power
The Russian Navy will start sending so-called hypersonic missiles to sea as early as 2022. Capable of flying five to six times the speed of sound, the missiles will be carried by both aging battlecruisers and brand-new submarines, giving each the ability to quickly kill enemy ships.
Currently
in advanced stages of development, the Zircon anti-ship missile is
capable of flying at hypersonic speeds, between 3,800 to 4,600 miles an
hour. That's fast enough to travel from San Francisco to Washington,
D.C. in just over thirty minutes.
According to Moscow's state press, Zircon is undergoing
land-based testing and and is planned to enter production in 2018.
Zircon almost certainly builds upon Russian know-how in hypersonics,
learned during the the joint development of the Russian-Indian BrahMos hypersonic anti-ship missile. Brahmos has a maximum speed of Mach 2.8 and a range of about 180 miles.
Supersonic missiles |
The extreme speed of the
Zircon will make it very tough for navies to defend against. At 4,600
miles an hour, the Russian hypersonic missile will be traveling faster
than a mile a second.
Even if a defending ship were to detect an incoming Zircon at 100
miles, that leaves the ship just over one minute to shoot the missile
down.
Zircon's
striking range and warhead size are both currently unknown. Space
inside every missile is at a premium, with the high explosive warhead,
guidance system, engine and fuel all competing for room. The missile is
meant to fit inside the new 3S-14 shipboard missile silo system, which
can also fit Onyx and Kalibur anti-ship missiles.
The Little Tank Robot That Carries a Glock
THE DOGO |
The Dogo from General Robotics is a portable, tactical combat robot. We've seen that before. The big difference is that the Dogo is armed with a 9mm Glock pistol.
Dogo
weighs 26 pounds and can to climb stairs and other obstacles. It
trundles along at 2.5 miles an hour for at least two hours on one
battery charge. The operator gets a 360-degree view of the surroundings
via six video cameras, while another two cameras are sighted along the
pistol barrel.The Dogo can fire five rounds in two seconds. One advantage of having a robot of this size is that it is not thrown out by the recoil. It can accept a magazine with up to fourteen rounds, and the operator display shows how many shots are remaining. General Robotics claims the machine is so intuitive that a soldier can operate the robot after just a few minutes of training.
Some
additional features have been added for police use. One is full two-way
audio communication via microphone and speakers for conducting
negotiations remotely. In addition to the Glock, the Dogo can also carry
non-lethal weapons which are fitted in a standard Picatinny rail—pepper
spray and a dazzler module are mentioned.
The
Dogo is likely to be popular for exploring tunnels and other confined
spaces. In more open situations it's at a tactical disadvantage since
humans on two legs may be able to outmanuver the small, vulnerable bot.
This is probably the reasoning behind sending more than one Dogo at a
time, as you see in the video, so the second robot can cover the first.SEE THE VIDEO ON HOW IT WORKS AND OPERATES.
From PM.
MODERN RUSSIAN MILITARY VEHICLES THAT USA ADMITS TO RESPECT.
1) IMR-3M Obstacle-Clearing Vehicle
A vehicle built for heavy engineering in tough environments, it's hard
not to respect this road-clearing (or -creating) monster. The two-man
crew inside the vehicle can breach tree entanglements, blaze an 8-mile
trail in an hour and lift 2 tons with a telescoping arm that extends 10
yards. It's also prepared to survive a fight, with thick armor, masking
smoke and a machine-gun turret. Best of all, it's mounted on the chassis
of a T-90 main battle tank. It can also survive blasts from
explosives—the plow can clear pressure and magnetic-fuse mines—making
the vehicle an all-purpose brute.
9A52-4 Multiple Launch Rocket System
One hero of Russian history is the Katyusha, a wheeled vehicle from World War II that rained rockets on German troops and tanks. This modern version, a very lightweight rocket launcher mounted on a truck chassis, has a simple design but packs a wallop—the crew inside the cab fires 300-mm rockets with warheads that include incendiary, fuel-air explosive, cluster munitions or antitank mines. The one on display here features six reusable launch tubes, which can be reloaded by a separate vehicle, using a crane, within 8 minutes. While the four-axle truck it's mounted on is not ideal off-road driving, these systems are masters of the shoot-and-scoot; by the time counterbattery fires rain down, they have driven away. This air-transportable version of the popular Smerch rocket system was introduced in 2007 but still awaits an international customer.
Kasta 2E Radar
The Kasta is a great all-purpose radar system that can be used to track helicopters, cruise missiles and airplanes. Set this up for remote operation, and you've got a movable defense screen for virtually anything in the air or an air-traffic-control radar that can operate in any weather for up to 20 days. The radar here can cover about 90 miles, depending on the height of the antenna it is mounted on, and can be set up for action in 20 minutes. The Kasta is said to be resistant to enemy jamming. A newer version of this radar is a popular item on the international market and guards Iranian nuclear sites. The diesel engine fires up with a whine, and the old-school mechanical radar dishes spin, unlike newer electronic radar arrays.
1V13 Artillery Fire Command Vehicle
Even the most modern artillery shell or missile is useless without knowing where targets are located. This scrappy recon vehicle is made to operate, day or night, in the most miserable conditions possible to provide guidance to indirect fire coming from large and small formations, from the platoon to the battalion level. The 1V13s are studded with radios, laser rangefinders, navigation equipment and an aiming circle that provides the angle needed to correctly place a round. Once in position, the crew of six can set up to direct volleys of heavy fire within 15 minutes. The low profile and telescoping antenna are meant to protect the crew members as they sneak into position. The guys inside these things need to be close to the enemy to do their jobs—that takes bravery and good hardware, especially since they are favored targets of the enemies. Like almost all Russian military equipment, the vehicle was designed during the Soviet era and has been sold internationally and sporadically upgraded.
9A39 Launch/Reload Vehicle for the BUK M1-2
The BUK M1-2 Self-Propelled Launch System (called the SA-11 Gadfly by NATO) is tailor-made to spot and destroy aircraft and inbound cruise missiles. In this photo is an oft-forgotten part of the medium-range system—the reloader. The crane, bent in the front, hoists missiles onto nearby Gadflys. The system can't see for itself—it relies on other nearby vehicles carrying radar for targeting—but it can shoot and reload on its own. The missiles are radar guided and can reach Mach 3. These vehicles are sold all over the world, including in Pakistan, Egypt, North Korea, Syria, China and (arriving soon) Venezuela.
MIK-MKS Mobile Communications System
It takes a half-hour for the 100-foot mast of this vehicle to reach its
full height. But once it does, the MIK-MKS provides wireless broadband
access for 200 users using the four antennas atop the mast. Micran, the
company that makes the system in the Siberian city of Tomsk, can tailor
it for a variety of other communications uses, but the main purpose of
the system is for a single vehicle to connect a slew of dispersed units.
It's designed to be hardened against jamming interference from enemies
and rough conditions of Mother Nature, especially high winds.
TILTROTOR REPLACING THE BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER.
The Army's Black Hawk
helicopters lead a hard life. Over the next decade or so the Pentagon
will need to begin replacing the ubiquitous UH-60 medium-lift helos, and
when it does, it will require vertical lift with similar cargo carrying
capability to what it has now. And beyond that, what the Army really
wants is speed.
So
what's fast and can takeoff and land like a helicopter?
A tiltrotor.
Bell Helicopter is building a tiltrotor aircraft called the V-280 Valor
for the Army's Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator project, hoping
to win the contract for the Black Hawk's successor. Bell will pit the
Valor tiltrotor against the Sikorsky/Boeing-built SB-1 Defiant coaxial
rigid-rotor helicopter that features two rotors, one placed atop the
other.
The Valor achieves that speed and range via a tiltrotor design that
departs from the V-22 most notably at the wing. Instead of the complex,
forward-swept dihedral wing found on the Osprey, the Valor will use a
straight wing without dihedral. As with the Osprey, the wing is made of
carbon fiber but rather than being constructed using a time-consuming
carbon-fiber tape-strip layup, the Valor's wing is made using swaths of
carbon fiber. Vince Tobin says the difference is akin to having a tailor
made suit starting with thread only versus starting with bolts of cloth
V 280 Valor production |
Bell envisions a real production version of the Valor having an aerial
refueling capability, but has given the plane the ability to carry fuel
bladders in its fuselage. Like the Black Hawk, the Valor will be unpressurized, typically operating up to altitudes of 10,000 feet in cruise.
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