Air Force's new tool: 'We can see everything'

Air Force's new tool: 'We can see everything'

www.washingtonpost.com

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/83237aa3d913.jpg[/atsimg]

Gorgon Stare is being tested now, and officials hope it will be fielded within two months. Each $17.5 million pod weighs 1,100 pounds and, because of its configuration, will not be mounted with weapons on Reaper aircraft, officials said. They envision it will have civilian applications, including securing borders and aiding in natural disasters. The Department of Homeland Security is exploring the technology's potential, an industry official said.

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The system, made up of nine video cameras mounted on a remotely piloted aircraft, can transmit live images to soldiers on the ground or to analysts tracking enemy movements. It can send up to 65 different images to different users; by contrast, Air Force drones today shoot video from a single camera over a "soda straw" area the size of a building or two.

Interesting stuff i wonder how effective it would be at covering a city like London, with millions of people squashed into such a small area and lots of tall buildings?

www.washingtonpost.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

wondering what the vulnerabilities would be with this that distort the pictures it would want to have a really good security system if the images are transfer wireless back to base or on the field can the enemy pick up the freq and ears drop

reply to post by xmetalgear


vulnerability would be a laser beam.

of some kind.

Thats fabulous. How long before this begins its tour of duty in the U.S. The pattern is becoming quite obvious. Iraq and Afghanistan are the testing grounds. Track and trace, its all part of the new "freedom" initiative.



I recall when they said that the LRAD weapons would only be used overseas...

Once the freq is learned a simple rf grid will defeat its ability to transmit data. I could blanket half a state with an overpowering rf carrier and nothing would work over the air. Course they have means of pinpointing the source of such a carrier too so transmitting such over a battle area would be an invitation for a missle, probably the first missle.

A ham radio, large linear, and omni directional antennea have many uses, a directional antennea would be more rifle like and less effective over a broad area. You'd need a modified radio probably as they probably use high freq stuff but a few seconds glancing at a spectrum analyzer would tell you just what freq they are using in the area.

reply to post by nickoli


Frequency hopping with changing encryption keys is standard in military communications.

It wouldn't be easy at all.

Originally posted by MikeboydUS
reply to post by nickoli

 

Frequency hopping with changing encryption keys is standard in military communications.

It wouldn't be easy at all.

I'm sure your correct,it wouldnt be easy. It probably wouldnt be overly hard either but for security reasons I'll shut my big trap. Loose lips sink ships.

reply to post by nickoli


A fellow commo geek perhaps?

However you are quite correct in the assertion that it would not be at all easy.
I am familiar with the feeds in question, and yes the tech is quite sophisticated in it's security.

reply to post by blood0fheroes


I used to enjoy clandestine radio operations and older tube gear. I am retired now,seems the .gov doesnt enjoy a citizens ability to communicate across borders and oceans unliscensed.

Kinda freaked me out when my house was used for war games by f-16s without my prior knowledge such fun was gonna take place! Nothing like seeing two jets screaming down on your house,specially when you live in a wide open area. Ah the fun, but alas I do enjoy freedom so I put the gear away and moved on.

Interesting article. Big Brother's new crow's nest.

"If you look into the not-too-distant future, what these technologies will allow us to do is remove more and more ground forces and replace them with sensors where we normally would have to rely on people going somewhere to find something out," he said.

They envision it will have civilian applications, including securing borders and aiding in natural disasters. The Department of Homeland Security is exploring the technology's potential, an industry official said.

Sounds like we will get to have these in our own country protecting us from those home-grown domestic extremists who hate freedom so much!

Give me a break...

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together. - President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1961

Such great potential for security and protection.

Such great potential for abuse.

So with this technology, all the enemy needs to do is ambush a squad with one of these uplinked laptops and they too can have an over-view of the battlefield? Or hack into the system? Or destroy the drone and render several enemy soldiers and enemy strategy useless?

The more complicated weaponry becomes, the easier it is for the enemy to use it for their advantage.

Originally posted by nickoli
Once the freq is learned a simple rf grid will defeat its ability to transmit data. I could blanket half a state with an overpowering rf carrier and nothing would work over the air.

Frequency hopping can avoid that problem.

MIJI maybe a valid concern against another well equipped military, but all of the hotspots in the world today are in areas where it is unlikely to be of concern.

Frankly the tech described doesn't seem that interesting. We've had predator drone capabilities well over a decade. I guess the big deal now is the data can be fed to single person right in the area.

Considering 'rag heads' and 'camel jockeys' have already stuffed the predators up with jamming and other methods, this one shouldn't be much harder.

I must say I get a good kick outta some basic knowhow and cunning defeating your usual technological juggernaut. The Serbians made the Yanks waste millions of dollars of weaponry on microwave ovens. KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid!

reply to post by Freedom_is_Slavery


They've had this technology for quite some time except it does'nt work underground deep inside bunkers

Just an update on this - they recently did a test and the results were not good.

New drone spy cameras fail Air Force test: study

The test found the system was "not operationally effective" and "not operationally suitable," it said.

The quality of the video images was often poor or delayed, while footage from multiple cameras created gaps between pictures from each camera, the report said.

The system also had a serious technical problem that produced inaccurate coordinates for a particular location, raising the possibility of a strike on the wrong target.

The report said "an unpredictable software error generates a faulty coordinate grid" rendering location information "inaccurate and inconsistent."

So - its back to the drawing board to work out the bugs and kinks. However, it isn't unusual to find problems with the first tests of any new technology or system. However, the military still feels confident they can meet the deployment schedule. If they can or if it will be another delayed and over-budget project remains to be seen.