Kites for military surveillance?

Here's a novel idea: the Helikite.  The concept is to use a small helium balloon to lift a kite into the air which carries a surveillance, radio retransmission, or sensor package, allowing the wind to keep the package aloft without requiring the large amounts of helium the larger aerostat "blimps" need to keep a sensor package aloft.

Apparently the British have been experimenting with these "Helikites" with some success; I have to admit that aside from the bit of weather dependency, it appears to be a cheap and simple solution for problems like radio retrans compared to some of the US approaches based on UAVs and mega-blimps. 

Memorial Day Tap Too

Today is the United States Memorial Day holiday, a day to remember men and women who died while serving in the US Armed Forces. 

The bugle call "Taps" will be sounded at cemeteries and memorials all across the US today, and celebrates its 150th year of use with the US Army this July.  Here's a brief history of that famous bugle call whose origins were in the Civil War.  

From the Department of Defense Military Funeral Honors website:

          Of all the military bugle calls, none is so easily recognized or more apt to render emotion than Taps. Up to the Civil War, the traditional call at day's end was a tune, borrowed from the French, called Lights Out. In July of 1862, in the aftermath of the bloody Seven Days battles, hard on the loss of 600 men and wounded himself, Union General Daniel Adams Butterfield called the brigade bugler to his tent. He thought "Lights Out" was too formal and he wished to honor his men. Oliver Wilcox Norton, the bugler, tells the story, "...showing me some notes on a staff written in pencil on the back of an envelope, (he) asked me to sound them on my bugle. I did this several times, playing the music as written. He changed it somewhat, lengthening some notes and shortening others, but retaining the melody as he first gave it to me. After getting it to his satisfaction, he directed me to sound that call for Taps thereafter in place of the regulation call. The music was beautiful on that still summer night and was heard far beyond the limits of our Brigade. The next day I was visited by several buglers from neighboring Brigades, asking for copies of the music which I gladly furnished. The call was gradually taken up through the Army of the Potomac." 
          This more emotive and powerful Taps was soon adopted throughout the military. In 1874 It was officially recognized by the U.S. Army. It became standard at military funeral ceremonies in 1891. There is something singularly beautiful and appropriate in the music of this wonderful call. Its strains are melancholy, yet full of rest and peace. Its echoes linger in the heart long after its tones have ceased to vibrate in the air.         
                      - from an article by Master Sergeant Jari A Villanueva, USAF. 

Master Sergeant Villanueva's full article, "24 Notes that Tap Deep Emotions", can be read at the West Point Taps page.  He has much additional information at www.tapsbugler.com.

For a bit more history, and to hear the famous call, watch this excerpt from a History Channel presentation, which includes the famous notes played at President John F. Kennedy's funeral:

The moment of silence for remembrance will be held at 1500 hours local today, followed by the playing of Taps.

Army issues Safety of Use Message for polymer rifle magazines

Military.com has a Matt Cox article up titled "In Reversal, Army Bans High Performance Rifle Mags." In short, the Army's Tank-Automotive Life Cycle Management Command (TACOM) has issued a Safety of Use Message specifically directing the force not to use un-approved rifle magazines, including the popular Magpul PMAG. There are a few errors in the article related to ignorance of the subject which I'll correct, as this article allows me to highlight some common misperceptions about equipment development and the military supply system...

Click to read more ...

Soldiers prefer LSAT Machine Gun to M249 in user eval

From a press release at Army.mil ... the Army has concluded a user assessment of the Lightweight Small Arms Technologies (LSAT) lightweight machine gun at Fort Benning, and concluded that soldiers preferred it to the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon.  Nineteen soldiers participated in the two week experiment which inlcuded firing 25,000 rounds of ammunition, and the overwhelming majority of the soldiers participating preferred the new weapon, favoring its light weight, controllability, and ease of use. Quote:

Fifteen of the 19 Soldiers who participated stated that, if given a choice, they would rather take the LMG to war over the M249.

The study also revealed a significant reduction in the time it took the Soldiers to zero the LMG compared to the M249 SAW. Zeroing the weapon means customizing it for a more accurate shot since each weapon is unique and no two are exactly the same.

The Soldiers had to qualify on a known distance range with both the SAW and the LMG. One Soldier repeatedly failed to meet qualification standards while firing the SAW, but passed on the first try with the LMG.

Compared to the M249 SAW, the light machine gun is 21.5 pounds (41 percent) lighter for the gunner, and there is a 12 percent reduction in ammunition volume. This decrease in weight was evident when all the Soldiers maneuvered the woodland obstacle course faster while carrying the LMG versus the SAW.

The results are, frankly, unsurprising.  Two two week assessment consisted of a typical series of assessment tests, which include range and field firing as well as movement exercises designed to assess the ability of the soldier to maneuver with the weapon (for example, execution of assault and obstacle courses).  The weight difference alone would have resulted in LSAT getting a good grade, and other performance benefits aside.

The value here is that it should clear the weapon for a Forward Operational Assessment in Afghanistan.  Living with the weapon for a couple of months in typical combat conditions with regular long-term exposure to environmental factors -- being sent back to the arms room at the end of the day -- will be the real test of the suitability of the concept.  As I've predicted before, I think that will go fine; the real obstacle to overcome is in cost and producibility, not operational value.

Memorial Day eBook Deal!

In honor of Memorial Day, I'm making the Smashwords eBook editions of my books available free.  Smashwords has formats that support most eReaders available today (though for some, you may need to download additional software -- like an ePub reader for the Barnes & Noble Nook).

For Soldier / Geek: An Army Science Advisor's Journal of the War in Afghanistan, follow the link and enter coupon code LF95M at checkout to receive a 100% discount.

For Weapons of the Zombie Apocalypse, follow the link and enter coupon code WW85J at checkout to receive a 100% discount.

Coupon codes will be good for today through 29 May, so don't delay.  Happy reading, and be sure to give a thought for those who have sacrificed in the defense of your nation.

Military Academy Cadets Win Rapid Equipping Force Grand Challenge

From Army.mil ... four cadets from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point have been recognized for a project they contributed to the Army's Rapid Equipping Force, winning that organizations first-ever "Grand Challenge" competition.

Cadets Jacob Baxter, Luke Grant, Isaac Melnick and Jake Young designed a system to heat water for showers by scavenging waste heat from existing generators.  Given the large number of generators the military deploys with, this is a great concept for improving the use of oeprational energy by trying to get the most out of every drop of fuel and putting all of that generated waste heat to use.

More details at the link above.

Great work, guys!

Hand grenades: no more "Pull pin and throw"?

An engineer at Picatiny Arsenal is making improvements to the fuze design of the venerable M67 fragmentation grenade designed to make the grenade both safer and easier to use for left-handed throwers, who currently have to hold the grenade upside-down to pull the pin and throw it properly...

Click to read more ...

RDECOM Command Sergeant Major OEF Interview

The Army Technology Live blog has an interview up with the Research, Development, and Engineering Command Command Sergeant Major, Command Sgt. Maj. Lebert Beharie, discussing his recent trip to Afghanistan. An interesting excerpt:

Click to read more ...

Commercial or military spec?

I'm often asked why the military doesn't develop and deploy things faster.  "Wouldn't it be cheaper/easier/quicker," I'm asked, "to just buy something commercially available?  Why does the military try to make its own equipment instead of just buying an existing product?  Why Nett Warrior and not just an off-the-shelf Android phone?"

Well, lots of reasons --  military unique capability, for starters.  That's obvious.  But I had an experience the other day that demonstrates why military specifications are often required that drive up time of procurement, cost, and complexity:

I left my smartphone (brand to remain nameless) in my car for the day, by accident.  It was in the glove compartment, not in direct sunlight or plain view.  The car was parked in a shady area that would be in sunlight by noon.  Peak air temperature for the day was about 80 F at around 1600.  When I got to my car after work, it was hot inside, but not so hot that it ws uncomfortable to sit on the black seats or touch the black steering wheel.

The phone, however, did not function -- "Temperature error" was all it said when I turned it on.  It had overheated and took a good 15 minutes to cool down before it functioned again.  Not a big deal for a commercial device, but imagine that you needed that phone to call for artillery fire or medical evacuation, on a 110 degree day in southern Afghanistan, when the radio had been sitting inside an armored truck baking in direct sunlight so that it reached 140 F inside.  You want the phone to work when you turn in on regardless of temperature.  And of course you want it to work when cold, if it gets wet, if you drop it, if you accidently smack it with your rifle ...

It doesn't take long to see why it is hard to use commercial technology standards in a lot of military applications.

For want of a nail

According to a report at the NavyTimes, a catastrophic $2.2M mishap that damaged the drive system of the guided missile submarine USS Georgia which caused it to miss a deployment supporting operations against Libya was the result of a lost bolt.  From the NavyTimes article:

According to the command investigation, obtained by Navy Times through a Freedom of Information Act request and signed by Vice Adm. John Richardson, head of Submarine Forces, the bolt was accidentally left in Georgia’s gear housing during a routine inspection in December as a result of inadequate preps and oversight for the annual reduction gear inspection.

“This was an avoidable mishap,” Richardson wrote in his July 19 letter closing the investigation into the first known instance of main reduction gear damage on a submarine in three years. “Had watch-standing principles of integrity, formality, procedural compliance, level of knowledge, questioning attitude and forceful backup been responsibly adhered to and executed, this incident would not have occurred and the ship would have deployed on time.”

Reminds me of an old saw on attention to detail:

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.