A Freedom of Information request reveals that aerial drones are rife with expensive technical problems. The aerial disasters described draw attention not only to the technical limitations of drone warfare, but to larger conceptual flaws inherent in such operations. Launched and landed by aircrews close to battlefields in places like Afghanistan, the drones are controlled during missions by pilots and sensor operatorsoften multiple teams over many hoursfrom bases in places like Nevada and North Dakota. They are sometimes also monitored by screeners from private security contractors at stateside bases like Hurlburt Field in Florida. (A recent McClatchy report revealed that it takes nearly 170 people to keep a single Predator in the air for 24 hours.) Nick Turse: The Crash and Burn Future of Robot Warfare ( via Warren Ellis )

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Crew of 170 people needed to keep Predator drone airborne for 24h

Because humanity is determined to have an apocalypse this year one way or another, scientists have moved the nuclear doomsday clock forward a minute to 11:55. Quick — we should probably make out while there’s still time! “No way, you smell like booze.” Yeah but you’re uuuuugly . “It is five minutes to midnight. Two years ago [when the clock was reversed to 6-minutes to midnight], it appeared that world leaders might address the truly global threats that we face. In many cases, that trend has not continued or been reversed. For that reason, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is moving the clock hand one minute closer to midnight, back to its time in 2007.” So yeah, apparently world leaders aren’t addressing global threats and that’s why they moved it forward. Or — OR — was it because the drive-thru girl at Taco Bell got my order wrong and I threatened “to blow this shithole planet up like Alderaan”? I was honking my horn and yelling, people might’ve heard! Doomsday Clock moves 1 minute closer to catastrophe [cnet] Thanks to sam, Patrick88 and Karen, who don’t care when the world ends as long as they get 24 hours notice. Me? Four hours and a stomach full of boner pills.

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Doomsday Clock Inches A Minute Closer To Midnight

Behold, the fearsome Japanese War Tubas, used as “acoustic locators” by the Imperial Army. War Tubas

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Imperial Japanese Army acoustic locators: Let loose the tubas of war

This is a video of Battlefield 3 being played in real life from the same guys that brought us Team Fortress 2 in real life . This one focuses on the role of the medic and the power of the defibrillator . The production value is pretty high. I mean, just look at that guy. He’s on fire. I remember the first time I caught fire. Hit the jump for the worthwhile video.

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That Guy’s On Fire: Playing Battlefield 3 IRL

Geert Matthys, research and development manager at Barco , a Belgian company specializing in high-definition projectors and displays, gives an explanation inside a fully immersive 360-degree flight simulator in Kuurne October 11, 2011. Barco has unveiled what company executives claim is the ultimate fighter jet training tool designed to reproduce reality exactly as a pilot sees it. The dome is the first flight simulator to give trainee pilots a full 360-degree view of the world as they conduct virtual missions, said Barco. More photos below . Related story here at Reuters . (Photos: REUTERS/Yves Herman)

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Top Gun: new 360-degree flight simulator for fighter jet pilots unveiled

Note: Larger shots of each poster after the jump, high-res versions available at the artist’s site. This is a small series of Super Mario propaganda posters from Bowser’s camp encouraging Mushroom Kingdomites to join his reptilian republic against his plumber enemies. Two f***ing plumbers! You have thousands of loyal (albeit dumb as question blocks) subjects and you can’t even manage to kill two measly pipe-layers? That’s some sad shit, Bow-Bow. Maybe you should, I dunno, give up on marrying the princess and settle down with a nice koopa troopa. “NEVER — PEACH WILL BE MINE!!” Dude — she doesn’t even like you. That makes you a creeper. Have you ever considered pursuing Birdo? She got that crazy-ass mouth, I’m just sayin! Hit the jump for closeups of each poster and a link to the artist’s website with even higher-res versions and 11″x17″ versions for sale ($30 apiece/$80 for all four).

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Calling All Koopas: Mario Propaganda Posters

This is the remote-controlled Digger D-3 “flail tank “. It’s the latest and greatest (read: explosive-proof) of Digger mine-detonators, which have been around since WWII. Basically, it’s steered around on the battlefield like a giant R/C car tank while it wails on the ground with a rotating drum of 10-pound hammers on chains, setting off anything explosive it comes in contact with. God what I’d give to drive that thing around town. The ten pound hammers spin wildly on the bar, digging up to 8 inches into the dirt as they strike. Heavy armor protects the tank if a mine explodes, and any damage to the hammers or chains is easily repaired in the field. I love it. Granted I’m sure we could invent some sort of robotic mine detector or an orbiting satellite that could locate and detonate land mines from space with a powerful laser beam, but I miss the the good old days when the answer to everything was “just beat the shit out of it.” *eying mangled printer* Haha, you know what I’m talkin’ about! Hit the jump for a video of the D-3’s predecessor (cleverly named the D- 2 ), in action.

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The Latest And Greatest Landmine Detonator

Geekologie Reader and photojournalist with balls at least 5x the international average (and 8x that of Geekologie Readers), David Adams was actually in Libya for the Battle of Sfett Hill (of trunk-tank fame ), and took a bunch more footage of the fighting (and makeshift weapons used). It, uh, really makes me thankful to be sitting in a quiet, florescent-lighted office. This battle took place on 6/6/11. The rebels from Qalaa and Zintan were successful in removing Gaddafi forces from Sffet Hill. The rebels use many makeshift weapons to get the job done. One of the more interesting weapons I’ve heard about, but haven’t seen yet, is a 14.5mm gun with two grad rocket tubes mounted on the side. Also, I had to take a pee break in the middle of the fight. sorry. Video by Colin Summers and David Adams. Colin used a GOPRO mounted on his nikon while I used a canon 7d for video. Not gonna lie, David, I would’ve just pissed my pants. And not because I’m some sort of hardcore photojournalist afraid of missing a moment on film, but because I would’ve just been pissing my pants in fear the entire time. And crying. Lots of crying. HARD. Hit the jump for the holy smokes.

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Libyan Truck-Mounted Tank Cannon: Now With More Truck-Mounted Weapon Friends

Not gonna lie, probably wouldn’t wave my hand in front of it for less than $20. Seen here looking at least partially constructed out of tin-foil, the Navy has made a breakthrough in the laser department , creating a free-electron laser (FEL) capable of producing a sustained 500 kilovolt beam OF TOTAL DESTRUCTION (the previous record was 320kV, and four years ago was an embarrassing 10kV). Which, while impressive, is nowhere near as badass as the 1,100kV laser I’m working on. “Uh, did you invent that just so you could say, ‘TURN IT UP TO ELEVEN…HUNDRED’?” Yes, yes I turn it up to 1,100% did. The new technology will allow the Navy to utilize the powerful “death ray” to burn up incoming missiles or punch holes in an enemy vessel’s hull. “Five hundred [kilovolts] has been the project goal for a long time,” says George Neil, the FEL associate director at Jefferson Labs. “The injector area is one of the critical areas.” The free-electron laser is one the U.S. Navy’s highest-priority weapons programs. The future of weaponry rests in “fighting at the speed of light and hypersonics,” says Rear Adm. Nevin Carr, the Navy’s chief of research. “We’re fast approaching the limits of our ability to hit maneuvering pieces of metal in the sky with other maneuvering pieces of metal.” So, give it to me straight: is a superlaser capable of burning through 20-feet of steel a second covered under my second amendment right to bear arms? Kidding — why would I want bear arms?! They’d probably be covered in honey and bee stings! Hit the jump for a 6:45 dozer of a video about the technology.

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Serious PEWS: New Navy Superlaser Can Burn Through 20 Feet Of Steel Per Second

This is a 3:30 war movie made entirely with cardboard weaponry . It’s incredibly well made though. Granted not as good as Saving Private Ryan or Band of Brothers , but if you expected it to be you obviously have zero grasp on reality. This video took about a month and a half of planning, making cardboard guns, filming, and editing. Really COol! Make this video, you will need: - 254 program crashes - 427 manual frames to rotoscope - 59 layers of sound effects - a BUTTLOAD of cardboard and box cutters - and a katamari That’s, uh….that’s a lot of program crashes. Maybe you should, oh I don’t know, CONSIDER SWITCHING TO A MAC. Kidding, don’t do that. Or should you? Let the flamin’ begin! Hit it for the action-packed video.

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In A World With No Metal: Cardboard Warfare