This isn't the first time that the DoD is using PS3 consoles for supercomputing. In fact, these 2,200 units are going to be added to an existing Linux cluster of 336 PS3s used by the United States Air Force. According to Justification Review Documents, the purchase is all about getting the best value out the DoD's budget:

With respect to cell processors, a single 1U server configured with two 3.2GHz cell processors can cost up to $8K while two Sony PS3s cost approximately $600. Though a single 3.2 GHz cell processor can deliver over 200 GFLOPS, whereas the Sony PS3 configuration delivers approximately 150 GFLOPS, the approximately tenfold cost difference per GFLOP makes the Sony PS3 the only viable technology for HPC applications.

I'm all for balancing cost and features, but isn't it just a bit curious that someone thought to save on upgrading the supercomputer just after Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was released? [Ars Technica via Boing Boing]

The Death and Taxes poster shows every single expense according to the president's 2010 budget request. The circles you see here are proportional in size to their actual weight in the total budget. Each of the figures include the percentage change compared to 2009.

Defense spending is more or less the same, only increasing by 2%. And still, everything else looks minuscule.

Since your budget for buying posters is probably minuscule too, you can get a 50% discount if you buy two or more posters if you are a Gizmodo reader. Just enter "gizmodo" as your discount code when ordering. [WallStats]

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Program manager Todd Hylton is aiming for "an approximately 10-gram aircraft that can hover for extended periods, can fly at forward speeds up to 10 meters per second, can withstand 2.5-meter-per-second wind gusts." Right now, though, the teeny robobird can only fly for about 20 seconds at a time. But with some hard work, some day we will produce a robotic hummingbird that will strike fear into the hearts of our enemies. Wait, is fear the right word? [Wired]

In a recent briefing, the Department of Defense laid out its new plans: Smaller and far more precise UAVs with badass names like "Suburb Warrior" and "Sniper" that will hunt in groups, rather than just blowing suspected hideouts to pieces with Hellfire missiles. The Suburb Warrior, for example, is designed to fire volleys of mini-missiles in tight formation, which makes a nice change from previous missiles that often demolished entire city blocks.

Unfortunately, these new UAVs should see production in about five years, by which time who knows what kind of battles we'll need to fight—or who'll be leading the Pentagon. But it's a step in the right direction, that's for sure. [Esquire]

The Joint Strike Fighter, also known as the F-35 Lightning II Fighter, is the most costly project in Pentagon history, so it's a little bit problematic that some spies scampered in and nicked an unknown, but undoubtedly large, quantity of data without getting anywhere near caught. The cyber-spies encrypted the data on its way out, so nobody's really sure where they came from or where the data went, but some IP addresses have been tracked to China, prompting a little bit of back-and-forth between the DoD and the Chinese government.

A Pentagon report issued last month said that the Chinese military has made "steady progress" in developing online-warfare techniques. China hopes its computer skills can help it compensate for an underdeveloped military, the report said.

The Chinese Embassy said in a statement that China "opposes and forbids all forms of cyber crimes." It called the Pentagon's report "a product of the Cold War mentality" and said the allegations of cyber espionage are "intentionally fabricated to fan up China threat sensations."

Though the most valuable information, including data on the F-35's flight control and sensors, is inaccessible (stored on non-networked computers), nobody's really sure exactly what happened, and nobody, from the manufacturers to the researchers to the Pentagon's press team, wants to talk about it. It's a pretty alarming read, check it out. Wall Street Journal, image also via WSJ

Combine that with the fact that high-end Predator pilots are severely fatigued from round-the-clock duty, and you can see why the DoD is making this move. It would expand the fleet of armed UAVs and make them cheaper to operate overall. Sure, the thought of 18 or 19 year old pilots fresh out of basic behind the controls of these machines is a bit unsettling—but it's not like this would be the first time the US threw a teenager into battle. Plus, we are taking about unmanned vehicles looking for specific, high-value targets. There is probably less chance of major incidents involving friendly fire or civilian casualties. [Inside Defense via Danger Room]

The audit also uncovered that the most significant of these lapses involved the DoD's handling of London-based weapons maker BAE Systems. According to the report, DSS failed to collect the company's internal audits—information that is crucial to determining potential weaknesses at the plant. The DSS responded saying that they have "a thorough and fundamentally sound facility inspection process which was only marginally diminished by the failure to systematically collect, analyze, and retain BAE's required reports" and that they have "taken action to resolve this shortcoming." However, a recent House Armed Services Committee hearing revealed that the DSS has been significantly understaffed for some time. Currently, around 750 people work for DSS and a rep claimed to be short staffed by "well over a hundred" persons.

So rest easy folks. Once again, you can be secure in the knowledge that our government has everything under control. UPDATE: BAE systems has responded to claims that their facility is not secure stating that "there is no basis whatsoever for that conclusion." [Wired]

Ten defense systems, to the tune of $100 million in products over the next four years, use P.A. Semi's PWRficient processor. On Monday, P.A. Semi told its customers they were being acquired and couldn't guarantee chip supplies anymore. (Brings us back to the problem of obsolete tech in the military.)

It's possible the licensing issues could get worked out to maintain supply "on an end-of-life basis" but in that same statement, P.A. noted that their buyer (Apple) wasn't interested in their products or roadmap, just their IP and engineering skills. Which means Apple has no interest in anything their currently making or about to make, despite Blam's reasonable assumption that was the case. So it's all about their design chops, or they really are just a bargaining chip. [EETimes via GigaOM]

The proposal is for the bat to be just six inches in length, weigh only four ounces and use just one watt of power, backed by a lithium-ion battery, which could be charged by not just solar energy, but wind energy and random vibrations as well. The bat's intended goal would be to run surveillance ops and relay data in realtime, including sights and sounds from minicams and mini-microphones, but also radiation and poison gas readings.

The UMich grant consists of $10 million over five years, creating the U-M Center for Objective Microelectronics and Biomimetic Advanced Technology (dubbed "COM-BAT"—pun intended). The focus is to shrink down many electronics that while currently available would only be good if the US Army wanted, say, a 12-foot spy-bat. Not too stealthy.

For energy recovery, UMich will work to develop "quantum dot solar cells," making current solar cells twice as nice. The bat's autonomous navi system will be 1,000 times smaller than current systems, and that much more energy efficient too. The comms system will be shrunk to one-tenth the current size, too. You can see how all of this shrinkage will have positive impact outside the bionic-bat community as well. [UMich via Ubergizmo]

The key characteristic of the femtosecond laser is the fact that it uniquely can hit its target without burning anything in the surrounding areas. According to Robert Tzou, head researcher and chairman of the department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, this could mean the end of nasty chemotherapy:

"If we have a way to use the lasers to kill cancer cells without even touching the surrounding healthy cells, that is a tremendous benefit to the patient. Basically, the patient leaves the clinic immediately after treatment with no side effects or damage. The high precision and high efficiency of the UUL allows for immediate results."

"With the laser, we can melt a very thin strip around titanium micro- and nanoparticles and ultimately control the porosity of the bridge connecting the bone and the alloy. The procedure allows the particles to bond strongly, conforming to the two different surfaces."

Here are the technical requirements:

The complete power system must weigh 4kg or less and provide a minimum of 1920Whr. The power system must operate continuously for 96 hours. During the 96 hours of operation the system must operate: (1) continuously (i.e., 24 hours a day); (2) at partial power; (3) for a number of periods of high power of up to 200W for 5 min; (4) in a non-air breathing mode in a sealed container for a time to be determined; (5) be attitude or vertical orientation and motion independent; (6) provide output voltages of 14V and 28V. The system must attach to a vest and operate while worn. The government will provide connectors for the equipment on the course with additional cables, outlets, etc.

Contest Page [DDR&E via Defense Tech]

Stiletto Experimental ship with carbon fiber M-hull design tops 50 knots (60mph) [gizmag]