EADS Defence & Security launches a further revolutionary cryptographic solution to the Ectocryp Family

Launch of ECTOCRYP Steel, a single point fill cryptographic solution developed by EADS Defence & Security (DS) and was selected for the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft.

The benefits of single point fill technology are now available to the wider cryptographic market through ECTOCRYP Steel.

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Russia to start flight tests of 5th-generation fighter by year end

A Russian deputy prime minister said Monday that flight tests of a fifth-generation fighter will start in Russia by the end of 2009.

"By the end of this year, the plane will rise into the air and flight tests will begin," Sergei Ivanov told journalists after a shipbuilding meeting in the Far East, adding that serial production will start in 2010.

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New Pattern Found in Prime Numbers

In a recent study, Bartolo Luque and Lucas Lacasa of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid in Spain have discovered a new pattern in primes that has surprisingly gone unnoticed until now. They found that the distribution of the leading digit in the prime number sequence can be described by a generalization of Benford’s law. In addition, this same pattern also appears in another number sequence, that of the leading digits of nontrivial Riemann zeta zeros, which is known to be related to the distribution of primes. Besides providing insight into the nature of primes, the finding could also have applications in areas such as fraud detection and stock market analysis.

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Wi-Fi to Go, No Cafe Needed

Imagine if you could get online anywhere you liked — in a taxi, on the beach, in a hotel with disgustingly overpriced Wi-Fi — without messing around with cellular modems. What if you had a personal Wi-Fi bubble, a private hot spot, that followed you everywhere you go?

Incredibly, there is such a thing. It’s the Novatel MiFi 2200, available from Verizon starting in mid-May ($100 with two-year contract, after rebate). It’s a little wisp of a thing, like a triple-thick credit card. It has one power button, one status light and a swappable battery that looks like the one in a cellphone. When you turn on your MiFi and wait 30 seconds, it provides a personal, portable, powerful, password-protected wireless hot spot.

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Active RFID Tag integrates temperature sensing capability.

GAO Tek's Active RFID tag with temperature sensor (GAO127003) is specifically designed to collect and transmit temperature data in real time in addition to identification and location of items. It is commonly deployed in applications such as cold logistics or medicine transportation.

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Bell's HTR: Tiltwing + Rotors

Thanks to sharp-eyed Steve Trimble at the Quad-A show, and his The Dew Line blog, we now know about Bell Helicopter's Hybrid Tandem Rotor (HTR) concept.

According to Steve's interview with Bell's exec VP for government programs Robert Kennedy, the HTR could achieve a forward speed of 225kt, compared with around 170kt for a conventional helicopter and more than 300kt for the V-22 tiltrotor.

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LockMart Tests Systems On Desert Hawk III Unmanned Aircraft System

Lockheed Martin has successfully completed flight testing of a new signals intelligence (SIGINT) payload and a next generation wing design that will provide enhanced capabilities for the company's small Desert Hawk III (DHIII) Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS).

Lockheed Martin's current DHIII is an open architecture system that consists of three key components: a light-weight, hand-launched, rugged air vehicle with a number of snap-on payloads (Plug and PlayloadsTM); a portable ground station; and a remote video terminal.

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Captive Flight Test Moves NLOS-LS Closer To US Navy Live Fire Testing

NetFires has conducted the second captive flight test of the Non Line-of-Sight-Launch System Precision Attack Missile (PAM).

NLOS-LS provides the warfighter with immediate, precise and responsive fires on high-payoff targets with real-time target acquisition and battle effects. It is also one of the key Littoral Combat Ship mission modules.

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Americanized/Modernized Polish wz. 88 Tantal AK-74 5.45×39mm Tactical Rifle/Carbine

If you’d like a more traditional platform for the 5.45×39mm Russian cartridge, than the Smith & Wesson (S&W) M&P15R semi-auto AR-15 tactical carbine, the April 2009 issue of Special Weapons for Military & Police (SWMP) (Gun Buyer’s Annual #74) also has an article by Charlie Cutshaw on a Interarms Polish wz. 88 Tantal AK-74S semi-auto Kalashnikov AK-74-type 5.45mm tactical rifle/carbine that’s been upgraded with some distinctly American tactical rifle/carbine accessories to create an bring it “into the 21st century” and create an Americanized AK-74, if you will.

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RQ-4 Euro Hawk UAV Cleared for Takeoff

The Euro Hawk project aims to produce an RQ-4 with additional capabilities in signals intelligence collection (SIGINT), as well as its native ground surveillance capabilities. An MoU was signed in May 2006, followed by a firm system development contract in February 2007.

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