Lifeboat Foundation

Ice-nine is a fictitious alternative structure of water that is solid at room temperature. When a crystal of ice-nine contacts liquid water, it becomes a seed crystal that makes the molecules of liquid water arrange themselves into the solid form, ice-nine. Felix Hoenikker’s reason to create this substance was to aid in the military’s plight of wading through mud and swamp areas while fighting. That is, if ice-nine could reduce the wetness of the areas to a solid form, soldiers could easily maneuver across without becoming entrapped or slowed. (Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut) Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat%27s_Cradle

Jim Rickards uses ICE 9 in his latest work “The Road to Ruin” to warn investors of a potential ICE 9 event in which the financial system literally freezes up in a domino type event as he describes in a recent interview:

Excellent idea! but we need to point the weapons away from earth to shoot down Asteroids / bad aliens and form The Earth Defense Directorate. (The Earth Defense Directorate is the ficticious unified military command of the planet Earth in the 25th century. (Buck Rogers) It encompasses both ground forces (who wear white uniforms and use traditional army ranks, such as Major and Colonel) and a naval force which operates Earth’s starships (such as the Searcher) and whose officers and crew wear blue uniforms and have naval ranks.)

The U.S. military is preparing for IRL Star Wars.

The United States Air Force may become a sort of space cop in the not-too-distant future.

An off-Earth economy cannot truly take off unless moon miners and other pioneering entrepreneurs are able to operate in a safe and stable environment, said Air Force Lt. Col. Thomas Schilling, of Air University.

Continue reading “Next Job for US Air Force: Space Cop?” »

Big Dog marches again.

The US Marine Corps is preparing to resume testing on its four-legged robot, “Spot.”

A project of the Corps’ Warfighting Lab, the dog-sized device is slated to re-enter developmental testing in the fall.

Continue reading “See Spot Run, Again: Marines Resume Testing on Quadruped Robot” »

The West is searching for a new edge on the battlefield through advanced military technology. [b]Benjamin Sutherland[/b] goes inside the quest…

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. — The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command announced the successful completion of the Factory Acceptance Test for the 60kW Spectrally Combined High Power Solid State Fiber Laser program March 16.

During the testing conducted last week, the laser demonstrated a sustained power of 57.5kW for a duration of 200 seconds with good beam quality. This level exceeds the contract threshold for success, and with the addition of three more channels planned before delivery, power will exceed the 60kW program objective.

This important technical milestone represents the first successful demonstration of a high power fiber laser at this power level for defense applications. After delivery, the laser will be integrated with the High Energy Laser Mobile Test Truck where it will be used in test environments to support analyses and studies related to warfighting applications.

Continue reading “SMDC announces 60kW laser test successful” »

Legal frameworks, regulations and standards under the topic Defending the Core.

2017 will focus on the fundamental aspects of cyber security with a theme of Defending the Core. The 9^th International Conference on Cyber Conflict will be held in Tallinn from May 30 through June 2, 2017.

CyCon is organised by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence. Every year, over 500 decision-makers and experts from government, military and industry from all over the world approach the conference’s key theme from legal, technology and strategy perspectives, often in an interdisciplinary manner.

Continue reading “Cycon: Taking place in Tallinn from May 30th to June 2nd 2017 2017 will cover issues ranging from international cooperation and conflict in cyberspace to technical challenges and requirements” »

BRUSSELS NATO plans to spend 3 billion euros ($3.24 billion) to upgrade its satellite and computer technology over the next three years as the Western military alliance adapts to new threats, a senior official said.

Seeking to deter hackers, and other threats including Iranian missiles, the investments underscore NATO’s recognition that conflicts are increasingly fought on computer networks as well as in the air, on land and at sea.

A senior official at the NATO Communications and Information Agency said the plans include a 1.7-billion-euro investment in satellite communications to better support troops and ships deployed across the alliance, as well as aiding the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or drones.

The U.S. Army has been testing this lightweight, speedy tank for years. Now it’s on sale to the public. 😬.