Special Operations

Gadgets

Wearable Antenna for Soldiers Won’t Make Them Look Like Ant Warriors

6:00AM April 14, 2008 | Addy Dugdale

Five years in the making, Pharad’s wearable antenna is aimed at troops in covert operations, and, I guess, undercover cops and agents. Waterproof and flexible, the wearable antenna, which is made out of dielectric material, supports and is aimed to be integrated into body armour vests and helmets, and there’s even a snug-fitting undershirt that wouldn’t look out of place on one of Bouncy’s backing dancers, which you can see below, alongside more information.

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Cars

Skyhook Surface-to-Air Human Recovery System Looks Like Craziest Ride Ever

12:30AM January 22, 2008 | Jesus Diaz

Ah, 2008, you are being a cool year so far, but not as cool as 1958, when the Fulton Air Surface-to-Air Recovery System started to operate: attach yourself to a helium ballon using a nylon cable capable of sustained 4,000 pounds, shoot it into the air and wait until a cargo plane grabs you and takes you into dangerous areas. If you are a special operations soldier, that is. The system began its life as a variation of another crazy scheme used by special-ops in World War II. Then, instead of a helium balloon they used a pair of poles, which were then grappled with a plane towing cable and hook. At the beginning of the 50s, Robert Edison Fulton Jr.—an inventor working for the CIA— thought about using a weather balloon and a nylon line. More »