Thom Patterson writes for CNN:

Here's how Air Force special ops might use them: The commander of USAF special ops, Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold, said last September that by 2020 he wants them on C-130J Ghostrider gunships for landing zone protection.
The laser weapons would take out possible threats like enemy vehicles, or disable infrastructure such as cell towers.

I saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens last night (more on that coming in an article later) so laser weapons seem an appropriate story to share today.

8 May 2013 // 14:01

DARPA and deep learning

This article by Daniela Hernandez at Wired is well-done and fascinating. However, this bit most caught my eye:

Half of the $100 million in federal funding allotted to this program will come from Darpa — more than the amount coming from the National Institutes of Health — and the Defense Department’s research arm hopes the project will “inspire new information processing architectures or new computing approaches.”

Make no mistake: the US military wants intelligent killing machines.

7 May 2013 // 11:30

Air Force sexual assault prevention officer charged with sexual battery

Disgusting. Anything less than dishonorable discharge and jail time will be an insult to victims and to this country.

Joe Ross

Laser-armed fighter jets by 2020

DARPA and deep learning

Air Force sexual assault prevention officer charged with sexual battery