U.S. Military Working to Produce Drones the Size of Insects

War Evolves With Drones, Some Tiny as Bugs (New York Times):

Two miles from the cow pasture where the Wright Brothers learned to fly the first airplanes, military researchers are at work on another revolution in the air: shrinking unmanned drones, the kind that fire missiles into Pakistan and spy on insurgents in Afghanistan, to the size of insects and birds.

The base’s indoor flight lab is called the “microaviary,” and for good reason. The drones in development here are designed to replicate the flight mechanics of moths, hawks and other inhabitants of the natural world. “We’re looking at how you hide in plain sight,” said Greg Parker, an aerospace engineer, as he held up a prototype of a mechanical hawk that in the future might carry out espionage or kill.

Half a world away in Afghanistan, Marines marvel at one of the new blimplike spy balloons that float from a tether 15,000 feet above one of the bloodiest outposts of the war, Sangin in Helmand Province. The balloon, called an aerostat, can transmit live video — from as far as 20 miles away — of insurgents planting homemade bombs. “It’s been a game-changer for me,” Capt. Nickoli Johnson said in Sangin this spring. “I want a bunch more put in.”

From blimps to bugs, an explosion in aerial drones is transforming the way America fights and thinks about its wars. Predator drones, the Cessna-sized workhorses that have dominated unmanned flight since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, are by now a brand name, known and feared around the world. But far less widely known are the sheer size, variety and audaciousness of a rapidly expanding drone universe, along with the dilemmas that come with it.

…

“What it’s doing out here is nothing special,” said Dr. Parker, the aerospace engineer. The researchers are using the helicopter to test technology that would make it possible for a computer to fly, say, a drone that looks like a dragonfly. “To have a computer do it 100 percent of the time, and to do it with winds, and to do it when it doesn’t really know where the vehicle is, those are the kinds of technologies that we’re trying to develop,” Dr. Parker said.

The push right now is developing “flapping wing” technology, or recreating the physics of natural flight, but with a focus on insects rather than birds. Birds have complex muscles that move their wings, making it difficult to copy their aerodynamics. Designing insects is hard, too, but their wing motions are simpler. “It’s a lot easier problem,” Dr. Parker said.

In February, researchers unveiled a hummingbird drone, built by the firm AeroVironment for the secretive Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which can fly at 11 miles per hour and perch on a windowsill. But it is still a prototype. One of the smallest drones in use on the battlefield is the three-foot-long Raven, which troops in Afghanistan toss by hand like a model airplane to peer over the next hill.

DHS – Mexico: The Sinaloa Drug Cartel

The powerful confederation of Mexican DTOs known as the Sinaloa cartel controls the majority of Mexico’s marijuana and methamphetamine production and distribution, as well as cocaine trafficking from South and Central American producers into the United States across the U.S. southwest border.

The Sinaloa cartel conducts business with powerful U.S. gangs that largely control local drug distribution. As one of the most powerful cartels operating in Mexico, it has expanded operations throughout western Mexico and attempted to take control of new plazas from weaker organizations.

Arrests of high-level members have not fractured the cartel or caused infighting—as was the case with several of its rivals—likely because of the cartel’s stable revenue sources, decentralized structure, family-based culture, and geographic breadth, which all contribute to its preeminence.

Source: DHS

China Warned N.Korea Against Attacking the South

China Warned N. Korea Against Attacking the South

China clearly warned North Korea that South Korea would retaliate if the North carries out another provocation, President Lee Myung-bak said yesterday.

At a lunch meeting with members of the parliamentary Defense Committee, Lee said the Chinese government informed him that the comments were “delivered to North Korea,” according lawmakers who were there.

“President Lee said North Korea would not be able to carry out further acts of provocation and added that China officially notified our government that it would no longer help the North if it did that,” one committee member said.

China warns US to stay out of maritime spat

China on Wednesday warned the United States to stay out of the deepening territorial spat in the South China Sea and accused other countries in the region of provocation, a report said.

Vice foreign minister Cui Tiankai said neighbouring countries, including Vietnam, were responsible for recent incidents in the disputed waters and dismissed calls for Washington to play a greater role in resolving tensions .

“I believe some countries now are playing with fire. And I hope the US won’t be burned by this fire,” Cui was quoted by the Wall Street Journal saying.

Tensions between China and other rival claimants to the strategically vital waters — home to two potentially oil-rich archipelagos, the Paracels and Spratlys — have escalated in recent weeks.

The Philippines and Vietnam in particular have expressed alarm at what they say are increasingly aggressive actions by China in the disputed area, but Beijing has repeatedly said it was committed to resolving the issue peacefully.

US Senator John McCain on Monday called for Washington to expand military and political support to Southeast Asian nations to stand up to China over the increasingly volatile issue.

But Cui — speaking ahead of weekend talks in Hawaii with US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell on Asia-Pacific affairs — said Washington should limit itself to urging “more restraint and responsible behaviour from those countries that have been frequently taking provocative actions”.

“Some American friends may think the US can provide some help. We appreciate the gesture, but sometimes such help can only make things more complicated,” he was quoted saying.

Foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Tuesday China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea did not interfere with other countries’ right to travel in the hotly contested waters — but maintained its sovereignty in the area.

“China’s maintenance of sovereignty in the South China Sea and rising interest will never influence the freedom of navigation of other countries in the South China Sea,” Hong told reporters.

“There has never been a problem with freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.”

By Torsten Blackwood | AFP News – Wed, Jun 22, 2011

UK Banks Investigated for Enabling “Politically Sensitive” Money Laundering

UK watchdog probes two banks over money laundering (Reuters):

Two banks in Britain are being investigated for lax money-laundering controls and others are likely to be handling the proceeds of corruption and other financial crime, the financial regulator said on Wednesday.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) said it had referred two banks to its enforcement division for “serious weaknesses” in how they managed “high-risk” customers, including those whose public status made them vulnerable to corruption.

“We are considering whether further regulatory action is required in relation to other banks, and further cases may be referred for enforcement,” the FSA added as it published a review of how banks manage money-laundering risks.

In a damning report, the FSA said some banks appeared unwilling to turn away or exit very profitable business relationships, even when there appeared to be an unacceptable risk of handling the proceeds of crime.

FSA warns over lax bank controls (Independent.co.uk):

The City watchdog is considering punishing two banks after it found serious lapses in their checks on politically sensitive potential money launderers.

The Financial Services Authority said yesterday that some banks had risked handling criminal money rather than turn away business from wealthy high-risk customers.

The FSA said three quarters of banks sampled did not do enough to make sure customers’ wealth was legitimate and that they knew where the money was coming from.

UK FSA Acts On Alleged Money Laundering Errors At Banks (Dow Jones):

Two banks operating in the U.K. face fines and censure for allegedly failing to guard against possible customer money laundering, the U.K. Financial Services Authority said Wednesday, after a review of 27 banks turned up “serious weaknesses” in banks’ risk controls.

It said the two banks referred to its enforcement division had apparently not done enough to manage high-risk customers, and that it is considering action against additional banks.

In a separate case, the FSA last year fined Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) GBP5.6 million for breaking money-laundering rules requiring the thorough screening of customers and their payments against a U.K. sanctions list. RBS at the time said it brought the matter to the attention of the FSA and had improved its systems.

An FSA spokesman said he couldn’t comment on which banks are involved in the new cases. The study included eight major banks and 19 midsize and smaller banks, all with significant international activities that expose them to money-laundering risk.

DHS – Mexico: Sonora Based Threats to U.S. Border Security

Unclassified/For Official Use Only

DHS – Mexico: Sonora Threats to U.S. Border Security