Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Monday, November 24, 2008
LRAD
LRAD’s decibels deter attackers
24 November, 2008 06:07:00 Capt.-David-Hare
"Damn, that hurt," I blurted out after experiencing an LRAD 500 demonstrated by Doug Morrison of Drum Cussac.
Morrison held a demonstration of the LRAD (Long Range Acoustic Device) at Derecktor Shipyard’s parking lot in South Florida for Capt. Greg Drewes of M/Y Predator and Klaus Jackson of M/Y Fortunate Sun. When I heard about the demo, I secured an invitation to experience the LRAD system firsthand.
My first knowledge of acoustical deterrence came from a CNN newscast in 2005 when the cruise ship Seaborne Spirit used it to deter pirates off the coast of Somalia. It worked marvelously well.
My mentor and friend Capt. Charles Hacker of M/Y Avia always has the system on deck and in stand-by mode when he transits the Red Sea. (To date, he has not had to direct the system at any incoming targets.)
The LRAD is a highly directional, long distance (500 meters) acoustical array for clear, intelligible hailing, notification and unmistakable warning. The audio program is on an MP3 platform and can be programmed with virtually any language spoken on the planet. So, if one is transiting the Red Sea, you can use the local dialect then change the program for transiting the South China Sea to that region’s spoken language.
The verbal message warns an incoming vessel to stand down, turn around and stay away or harm will come to them. After the verbal message, a deeply piercing, bone-chilling, ear-splitting, high-pitched warble sound emits from the speakers in a highly directional pattern. The person assigned to the LRAD uses a site, much like on a rifle, to point the acoustic signal directly at the incoming vessel. No human can withstand the sound without ear protection.
The LRAD fills a critical capability gap that was exposed after the attack on the USS Cole in 2000. The system is used to communicate, at safe ranges, and to determine the intent of the incoming vessel. It provides a highly effective and immediate non-lethal defense enhancement.
Human hearing occurs in two dimensions, frequency and intensity. The LRAD is optimized for a frequency of 2,000 hz, the frequency humans are most sensitive to. At 145 db the sound is substantially louder than a military jet at take off. This enables the operator to initially control a hostile environment without weapons or can provide the extra minutes to broadcast an alert and implement lock-down procedures.
Additionally, if trained marksmen are on board, it provides the clear understanding that if the oncoming vessel does not do a 180-degree turn, lethal force may be the only deterrent. Once the operator establishes that intent, deterministic rules of engagement can be employed.
The LRAD is not a total solution, but it does allow the crew more time in which to react if a hostile vessel continues to approach the yacht.
For example, in June 2004, the LRAD was used in Bahrain 410 times, according to U.S. Navy data. Of those, 338 times or 82 percent of the time, approaching vessels immediately diverted.
With more than 400 LRAD units deployed worldwide, the LRAD 500 is a sleek, compact choice for providing an unmistakable warning to an unknown incoming vessel.
At 26 pounds with a 20-inch diameter, anyone onboard can operate the system.
The LRAD 500 can be powered from 90 to 240 vac, 50 to 60 hz, drawing a continuous 2 amps. And the LRAD housing can be ordered in white, tan or gray.
I certainly desire "The Sound of Force Protection" in the form of an LRAD 500 on board my next transit of the Red Sea, South China Sea or the coast of Northern South America.
Capt. David Hare is a megayacht captain actively seeking his next command. Comments on this story are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com . If you have discovered a product or service that could help other yacht crew, drop us a line.
LL
Friday, July 11, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Pilots Urge Government Alerts On Laser Incidents
Pilots Urge Gov't Alerts on Laser Incidents
Thursday , January 06, 2005
ADVERTISEMENT
WASHINGTON —
Officials with airline pilots unions say the government should be doing more to alert them to incidents involving lasers (search) and to provide guidance about how best to protect themselves against beams that can blind.
At least eight recent incidents involve lasers being pointed at aircraft cockpits as they approached for landings. No one was hurt and all the aircraft landed safely.
Denis Breslin, an American Airlines captain, said pilots learned about the incidents only through the news media. He said the government should have a way to alert pilots so they can take precautions.
"Pilots want a generalized warning and training. I think that's not too much to ask," said Breslin, first vice president of the Allied Pilots Association (search).
Dennis Dolan, the top security coordinator for the Air Line Pilots Association (search), the largest pilots union, said pilots need to find out about recent incidents in their preflight briefings so they can prepare to react if confronted by a similar event.
Federal Aviation Administration (search) spokeswoman Laura Brown said the agency is very concerned about the safety of pilots, passengers and the rest of the flight crew. "We're putting the finishing touches on fresh advice for pilots," she said.
An FAA study released in June found that most pilots subjected to a laser flash in a simulator reported temporary visual impairment and brief distraction.
Of the hundreds of cases in the past in which airplane cockpits have been illuminated by lasers, none resulted in an accident, the study said.
The study concluded that "a laser attack could be quickly deployed and withdrawn, leaving no obvious collateral damage or projectile residue, and would be difficult to detect and defend against." A laser that's powerful enough could blind flight crews, resulting on a crash, the study said.
The FBI and Homeland Security Department (search) sent a memo to law enforcement agencies last month saying evidence indicates terrorists have considered using lasers as weapons. But federal officials have found no evidence the current incidents are part of a terrorist plot.
Breslin said pilots have some guidelines for what to do if hit with certain kinds of lasers. For example, if they see a red or green light, they can shield their eyes.
Different protections are used for different kinds of lasers, and pilots want to know what they are, he said. Ultraviolet beams, for example, can be filtered out with sun shades.
Shaoul Ezekiel (search), Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor emeritus of laser science, said a "pulse" laser that emits a short burst of light is especially dangerous because there's no chance for pilots to look away.
"For pulse lasers, you haven't got a chance," Ezekiel said. "All it takes is one blast and it's too late."
Putting louvers on the windscreen could reduce the probability that a laser would blind a pilot, he said.
John Nance, a former pilot and aviation safety consultant, said military-grade lasers can actually punch through the back of the retina and kill the victim by causing a cerebral hemorrhage.
Nance said he is concerned that some of the recent laser incidents could be terrorists testing laser equipment in preparation for an attack.
"They'll be looking to blow out the eyes of a pilot," he said.
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Thursday , January 06, 2005
ADVERTISEMENT
WASHINGTON —
Officials with airline pilots unions say the government should be doing more to alert them to incidents involving lasers (search) and to provide guidance about how best to protect themselves against beams that can blind.
At least eight recent incidents involve lasers being pointed at aircraft cockpits as they approached for landings. No one was hurt and all the aircraft landed safely.
Denis Breslin, an American Airlines captain, said pilots learned about the incidents only through the news media. He said the government should have a way to alert pilots so they can take precautions.
"Pilots want a generalized warning and training. I think that's not too much to ask," said Breslin, first vice president of the Allied Pilots Association (search).
Dennis Dolan, the top security coordinator for the Air Line Pilots Association (search), the largest pilots union, said pilots need to find out about recent incidents in their preflight briefings so they can prepare to react if confronted by a similar event.
Federal Aviation Administration (search) spokeswoman Laura Brown said the agency is very concerned about the safety of pilots, passengers and the rest of the flight crew. "We're putting the finishing touches on fresh advice for pilots," she said.
An FAA study released in June found that most pilots subjected to a laser flash in a simulator reported temporary visual impairment and brief distraction.
Of the hundreds of cases in the past in which airplane cockpits have been illuminated by lasers, none resulted in an accident, the study said.
The study concluded that "a laser attack could be quickly deployed and withdrawn, leaving no obvious collateral damage or projectile residue, and would be difficult to detect and defend against." A laser that's powerful enough could blind flight crews, resulting on a crash, the study said.
The FBI and Homeland Security Department (search) sent a memo to law enforcement agencies last month saying evidence indicates terrorists have considered using lasers as weapons. But federal officials have found no evidence the current incidents are part of a terrorist plot.
Breslin said pilots have some guidelines for what to do if hit with certain kinds of lasers. For example, if they see a red or green light, they can shield their eyes.
Different protections are used for different kinds of lasers, and pilots want to know what they are, he said. Ultraviolet beams, for example, can be filtered out with sun shades.
Shaoul Ezekiel (search), Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor emeritus of laser science, said a "pulse" laser that emits a short burst of light is especially dangerous because there's no chance for pilots to look away.
"For pulse lasers, you haven't got a chance," Ezekiel said. "All it takes is one blast and it's too late."
Putting louvers on the windscreen could reduce the probability that a laser would blind a pilot, he said.
John Nance, a former pilot and aviation safety consultant, said military-grade lasers can actually punch through the back of the retina and kill the victim by causing a cerebral hemorrhage.
Nance said he is concerned that some of the recent laser incidents could be terrorists testing laser equipment in preparation for an attack.
"They'll be looking to blow out the eyes of a pilot," he said.
SEARCH
Click here for FOX News RSS Feeds
Advertise on FOX News Channel, FOXNews.com and FOX News Radio
Jobs at FOX News Channel.
Internships At Fox News (Summer Application Deadline is March 15, 2007)
Terms of use. Privacy Statement. For FOXNews.com comments write to
foxnewsonline@foxnews.com; For FOX News Channel comments write to
comments@foxnews.com
© Associated Press. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Copyright 2008 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved.
All market data delayed 20 minutes.
Friday, June 27, 2008
The Army's Telepathic Ray Gun
The Army’s Telepathic Ray Gun A newly declassified report details the Defense
Department's mind-control weapons concepts
By Megan Miller Posted 03.21.2008 at 12:17 pm 3 Comments
What we imagine the telepathic ray would look like: Photo by Erin Silversmith The U.S. Defense department has tested some spooky weapons, but those involving mind control and telepathic attack may be near the top of the list. A newly declassified 1998 document released under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act (download the pdf here), describes potential weapons for crowd control, such as a microwave gun that could beam words directly into people’s ears, and an electromagnetic pulse that causes epilepsy-like seizures.
Related Articles
The Top-Secret Warplanes of Area 51
The Army's Robot Sherpa
The Smell of War
Tags
Military, Aviation & Space, defense department, mind-control, weapon The report also discusses a weapon that can heat a victim's body internally, producing an artificial fever. It is unknown whether the fever-inducing technology was actually tested, but the report notes that the equipment needed "is available today" and that the resulting fever would keep a victim incapacitated for "any desired period consistent with safety."
In an interview with New Scientist, Steve Wright, a UK security expert at Leeds Metropolitan University, warned that such technologies could be used for torture. "The epileptic seizure-inducing device is grossly irresponsible and should never be fielded," He said. "We know from similar artificially-induced fits that the victim subsequently remains 'potentiated' and may spontaneously suffer epileptic fits again after the initial attack."
Department's mind-control weapons concepts
By Megan Miller Posted 03.21.2008 at 12:17 pm 3 Comments
What we imagine the telepathic ray would look like: Photo by Erin Silversmith The U.S. Defense department has tested some spooky weapons, but those involving mind control and telepathic attack may be near the top of the list. A newly declassified 1998 document released under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act (download the pdf here), describes potential weapons for crowd control, such as a microwave gun that could beam words directly into people’s ears, and an electromagnetic pulse that causes epilepsy-like seizures.
Related Articles
The Top-Secret Warplanes of Area 51
The Army's Robot Sherpa
The Smell of War
Tags
Military, Aviation & Space, defense department, mind-control, weapon The report also discusses a weapon that can heat a victim's body internally, producing an artificial fever. It is unknown whether the fever-inducing technology was actually tested, but the report notes that the equipment needed "is available today" and that the resulting fever would keep a victim incapacitated for "any desired period consistent with safety."
In an interview with New Scientist, Steve Wright, a UK security expert at Leeds Metropolitan University, warned that such technologies could be used for torture. "The epileptic seizure-inducing device is grossly irresponsible and should never be fielded," He said. "We know from similar artificially-induced fits that the victim subsequently remains 'potentiated' and may spontaneously suffer epileptic fits again after the initial attack."
NanoNose
QualSec enters $2 billion homeland security market
NORTH LOGAN, Utah, 20 June 2008. QualSec has entered the homeland security market, with the development of the NanoNose, the next generation in electronic nose threat-detection devices. Utilizing its patent-pending ROder technology, QualSec is creating a handheld electronic device that can detect explosives, communicable diseases, and hazardous materials in real time with instant read out of the threat and its level of concentration in ambient air.
Estimates of the homeland security market, both domestically and internationally, have been estimated at $2 billion annually.
QualSec is based at the Utah State University Innovation Park, located in North Logan, Utah. Utah State University is a leader among research institutions, with a strong presence in homeland security product development as well as agricultural and food service quality control.
Links referenced within this article
the homeland security market
http://mae.pennnet.com/display_article/321049/32/ARCHI/none/ONEWS/1/Homeland-security-forecast-indicates-increased-funding-for-threat-detection-technology/
threat-detection devices
http://mae.pennnet.com/display_article/151289/32/ARCHI/none/ONEWS/1/Eurotech-to-Develop-Handheld-Explosives-Detection-Device/
Find this article at:
http://mae.pennnet.com/display_article/332318/32/ARTCL/none/EXECW/1/QualSec-enters-$2-billion-homeland-security-market
Copyright © PennWell Corporation.
NORTH LOGAN, Utah, 20 June 2008. QualSec has entered the homeland security market, with the development of the NanoNose, the next generation in electronic nose threat-detection devices. Utilizing its patent-pending ROder technology, QualSec is creating a handheld electronic device that can detect explosives, communicable diseases, and hazardous materials in real time with instant read out of the threat and its level of concentration in ambient air.
Estimates of the homeland security market, both domestically and internationally, have been estimated at $2 billion annually.
QualSec is based at the Utah State University Innovation Park, located in North Logan, Utah. Utah State University is a leader among research institutions, with a strong presence in homeland security product development as well as agricultural and food service quality control.
Links referenced within this article
the homeland security market
http://mae.pennnet.com/display_article/321049/32/ARCHI/none/ONEWS/1/Homeland-security-forecast-indicates-increased-funding-for-threat-detection-technology/
threat-detection devices
http://mae.pennnet.com/display_article/151289/32/ARCHI/none/ONEWS/1/Eurotech-to-Develop-Handheld-Explosives-Detection-Device/
Find this article at:
http://mae.pennnet.com/display_article/332318/32/ARTCL/none/EXECW/1/QualSec-enters-$2-billion-homeland-security-market
Copyright © PennWell Corporation.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
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