Technical Stew

From the article:

"One day, high above Arizona, we were monitoring the radio traffic of all the mortal airplanes below us. First, a Cessna pilot asked the air traffic controllers to check his ground speed. 'Ninety knots,' ATC replied. A twin Bonanza soon made the same request. 'One-twenty on the ground,' was the reply. To our surprise, a navy F-18 came over the radio with a ground speed check. I knew exactly what he was doing. Of course, he had a ground speed indicator in his cockpit, but he wanted to let all the bug-smashers in the valley know what real speed was 'Dusty 52, we show you at 525 on the ground,' ATC responded. The situation was too ripe. I heard the click of Walter's mike button in the rear seat. In his most innocent voice, Walter startled the controller by asking for a ground speed check from 81,000 feet, clearly above controlled airspace. In a cool, professional voice, the controller replied, 'Aspen 20, I show you at 1,742 knots on the ground.' We did not hear another transmission on that frequency all the way to the coast."
Blackbird Pilot Speaks!

Personally, I'm torn.

As a former Marine, I am of the opinion that the military should really limit the times they use non-lethal force. There is a time and place for non-lethal, but when you get right down to it, the military is in the business of breaking things and killing people (giving the other son-of-a-B the chance to die for his country).

On the other hand...COOL!

HEAT 'Em UP!

We are reading about the UAVs in Iraq and Afghanistan all the time, but now it is clear that these vehicles are also being used domestically as well.

With that in mind, Defense Industry Daily has put together a short primer on the technology.

Gizmodo looks at a new shirt from the military. It's got the digital camo pattern and has properties that make it "anti-microbial" and flame-resistant. My company makes both sorts of chemicals, but I have no idea if we're involved. The IR identification tags would seem to be the most useful feature. Apparently it allows you to be identified as a friendly from a distance by someone using an IR sight. Unforunately is seems like you have to wear cheap Oakley knock-offs for it to work.