A scientist with the Aeronautical Development Establishment told Defense News that the flight test of the aircraft — also referred to as the Stealth Wing Flying Testbed, or SWiFT — took place to demonstrate its of ability to take off, climb in altitude, cruise midair, navigate to waypoints, descend and land autonomously.
He noted that the next step is to develop a proven autonomous combat surveillance platform. The scientist spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
The 1-ton SWiFT platform is powered by a Russian NPO Saturn 36MT turbofan engine. The platform had completed taxi trials in September 2021.
Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) has blocked dozens of malicious domains and websites used by hack-for-hire groups in attacks targeting high-risk targets worldwide.
Unlike commercial surveillance vendors whose tools are deployed in attacks by clients, hack-for-hire operators are directly involved in attacks and are usually employed by a firm offering such services. In some cases, they can also be “freelance” threat actors.
They’re hired for their hacking skills by clients who lack them or who want to conceal their identity if the attacks are detected and investigated.
An Israeli military technology startup called Camero-Tech has unveiled a radar-based device that it claims allows soldiers to literally “see through walls,” Insider reports, raising significant questions about surveillance and privacy.
The Xaver 1,000 is a futuristic gadget that can give intelligence units “an unprecedented situational awareness 3D visual picture,” according to the company’s website, and has the ability to detect “live objects (static or dynamic) behind walls and building obstacles.”
That means tactical teams could soon get a highly detailed picture of what’s going on behind a variety of obstructions, allowing them to prepare ahead of breaching urban environments.
Lauded for its compelling action sequences and exhilarating portrayal of next-gen aerial dogfighting, Top Gun: Maverick has quickly become a monumental success at the box office. But the producers couldn’t have done it without leveraging the expertise of some of the world’s foremost experts in all things aerospace, and that includes tapping into the minds of Lockheed Martin Skunk Works engineers to craft their physics-bending Darkstar hypersonic jet.
Without wanting to give away any of the plot’s specifics, the Darkstar aircraft features early in the film as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (played by Tom Cruise) carries out his duties as a test pilot for the US Navy. The futuristic fighter jet is a jaw-dropping introduction to the hyperreal aesthetics of the film, but may also strike a familiar chord with aviation enthusiasts due to a likeness to one of history’s most revered aerial vehicles, the SR-71 Blackbird.
When looking for some expert assistance in creating the Darkstar aircraft, the film’s producers were pointed in the direction of Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works division, responsible for the SR-71, its forthcoming successor the SR-72 and the U-2 spy plane. This collaboration created a new outlet for expression for Skunk Works clandestine conceptual designers, in the sense that this particular aircraft design was one they could share with the world – as conceptual designer “Jim” explains in this video.
You’re on PRO Robots and in this issue we’re going to talk about the best military drones of the 21st century. Today, more than 100 countries are developing military drones, constantly innovating to make them faster, more powerful and smarter. Drones are used for reconnaissance, surveillance, target detection, munitions delivery, and enemy strikes. The vehicles can fly autonomously or be operated by an operator, return to the base or play the role of a kamikaze. See an overview of the best military drones and trends in the development of combat drones in one video!
Telegram, a leading encrypted messaging and social media application, has been compromised by Russia, according to a NATO-backed assessment.
“Telegram is not really as it used to be,” Janis Sarts, the director of NATO’s Strategic Communications Center of Excellence in Riga, Latvia, told the Washington Examiner. “I do have reasons to believe that there is not full integrity. … Certainly, I would not see it as a secure platform.”
The messaging service, founded in Dubai by a Russian tech titan who has clashed with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s surveillance apparatus,rocketed to global popularity in 2014 as one of the first applications to offer users the ability to communicate on an encrypted line. It proved valuable to Belarusian protesters who denounced President Alexander Lukashenko’s self-declared victory in a 2020 presidential election, but a warning about the program has begun to circulate among Western officials.
Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) says that state-backed threat actors used five zero-day vulnerabilities to install Predator spyware developed by commercial surveillance developer Cytrox.
In these attacks, part of three campaigns that started between August and October 2021, the attackers used zero-day exploits targeting Chrome and the Android OS to install Predator spyware implants on fully up-to-date Android devices.
“We assess with high confidence that these exploits were packaged by a single commercial surveillance company, Cytrox, and sold to different government-backed actors who used them in at least the three campaigns discussed below,” said Google TAG members Clement Lecigne and Christian Resell.
A Massachusetts company says it could help stop shootings like the Tops massacre in Buffalo. Its surveillance product is increasingly popular — and, critics say, problematic.
