Defense & Security Technology

It's been a long-held assumption that dolphins are amongst the smartest animals on Earth. I say 'assumption' not because I intend to degrade the dolphin's intelligence, but because their genuine cognitive abilities are still in debate. Some reports speculate that dolphins are more intelligent than humans, and bottlenose dolphins have exhibited the ability to watch television, recognize themselves in a mirror and understand numbers. However, much of the same research also suggests that a dolphin's intellect may be heavily based on mimicry. And while a well-developed neocortex -- found in both humans and dolphins -- is considered a good indicator of an animal's problem solving abilities, it is by far from animal law.

While a dolphin's exact level of cognition is up in the air, it's clear that dolphins are at least amongst the most intelligent non-primate animals. They display spectacles of complex play and understanding of the physical laws of their marine environment, as seen in the dolphin blowing bubble rings at right. How could I compose a blog post about dolphin intelligence without mentioning Flipper? Though Flipper is indeed fictitious, his role was satisfied by several dolphins whose unique abilities were combined to fulfill the character (except for the voice, which is actually a kookaburra). Though Flipper was a pet, his general duties included patrolling Coral Key Park and Marine Reserve, splashing people who made puns, and saving (low intelligence) characters from sharks.

As you may already know, the U.S. Navy has been harnessing the intellect of dolphins since 1960. The U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program in San Diego, Calif., trains dolphins and sea lions to provide ship and harbor protection, mine detection, and equipment recovery. Dolphins are valued for their echolocation, and sea lions for their excellent underwater hearing and low-light vision. This program was declassified in the 1990s when the Soviet version of the marine mammal program was closed, and it consists of five teams of porpoises and accompanying trainers:

• MK4 and MK7, whose dolphins identify and mark sea mines.

• MK8, whose dolphins find safe ship routes in enemy territory.

• MK6, who use both dolphins and sea lions to protect harbors from human swimmers.

• MK5, who locate lost equipment by the use of sea lions.

The U.S Navy claims it has never trained these animals for the purpose of attack and that its standard of care for the animals is extremely high. This is in contrast to the Soviet program, which suffered from funding problems for its killer dolphins before finally being sold to Iran in 2000.

Like many things in the 21^st century, the dolphins' and sea lions' jobs are being replaced with machinery. Entering 2017, the USNMMP will begin to phase out the program in favor of less expensive aquatic drones. The primary replacement of the program will be the Kingfish UUV, which will hunt sea mines, conduct search operations, patrol harbors, and destroy wayward ordinance.

The Navy likens its use of porpoises to the tactical dogs carried by the Army, but there is no current plan to replace K9s in military use despite many years of development. In every instance so far, the biological nose of a dog has beat technological imitations. And recently dolphins training off the California coast accidentally found a neat piece of history - one that was likely to have been overlooked by a UUV.

One dolphin found a Howell torpedo, which for its time was a revolutionary weapon. It was the first torpedo which could follow a route without leaving a wake. Its 11-feet-long brass construction was powered by a 132-pound flywheel which was spun to 10,000 RPM before launch. It had a 400 yard range and traveled at 25 knots. Only 50 of them were made by 1889 before another manufacturer improved upon the design. The one found last week is only the second remaining production model.

The Navy admits that dolphins will still serve after 2017, as their abilities cannot be completely pantomimed by robots. Dolphin guards will likely remain stationed at submarine bases in Georgia and Washington. The main issue is the expense of keeping the dolphins. To keep them healthy and trained, a team of vets and handlers is needed almost round-the-clock. A long series of specialty enclosures, hoists and other equipment means further operational expenses. Estimates place the current budget of the program at $20 million annually.

I remain skeptical that the dolphin program will be completely erased by the end of the decade. I feel that there are certain functions accomplished by sentient creatures that just cannot be repeated by drones or other machinery. All technology aside, there is just something cool about dolphins helping protect the American people

Resources

(Images credits: All About Dolphins; X Air Forces; Wikimedia; Tumblr)

L.A. Times - Navy dolphins discover rare...

Wikipedia - U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program

BBC - Robots replace costly US Navy mine clearing dolphins

When I was a young lad, I had the privilege of being a mate on a 17^th century replica sailing ship. I'll keep the name of the vessel withheld, but in the course of an autumn I enjoyed New York Harbor and the Jersey coast underway by power of sail and wind. It was one of the few incredible academic experiences offered by my inner city school.

However, as a preteen and a student, my duties were undemanding. In shifts: keep watch for floating debris; steer the helm; night watch; climb the masts; check ropes for faults; galley duty; cleaning; and finally the segue for which I'm searching - take measurements. Here is where I learned the meanings behind fathoms and knots, two nautically-specific units of measure.

The U.S. remains one of the few nations to measure water depth in fathoms. Originally, one fathom was the length of rope between a sailor's outstretched arms where he would tie a knot. The sailor would then tie off a lead and cast the line overboard to provide an estimate of water depth. Today, the fathom has been standardized as six feet.

The knot, as you might have guessed, also pertains to a count of binds in a rope. A line was tied to a triangular piece of wood and thrown behind the ship; the wood would remain stationary while the vessel sailed onward. Over the course of 28 seconds the line extended from a reel, and these lines had knots placed every 47 feet 3 inches. The sailor would record the number of knots for a numerical representation of vessel speed. Why 47 feet and 3 inches in 28 seconds? It's a ratio of traveling 6,080 feet (nautical mile) in 3,600 seconds (an hour); or one nautical mile per hour.

Of course, these measurements are useless without something to measure, and very boring without something fast to measure. In 1978, Australian Ken Warby piloted the Spirit of Australia to 275.98 knots (317 mph), a record that stands today. This record has lasted 35 years in large part due to the 85% fatality rate of attempts to set the watercraft speed record. It's a dangerous game of physics, engineering, and courage.

What could be more extreme? Consider the speed record for submarines.

A submarine is never going to be able to attain the 276 knots achieved by Ken Warby; fluid mechanics just doesn't work that way. Yet there is clearly value in having submarines that can attack navy fleets and abscond from the scene. The Soviet K-222 Papa-class submarine had a maximum speed of 44 knots, which is blistering fast for underwater boats. This submarine also required a titanium hull to account for the damage caused to the hull by its speed. The K-222 was dismantled in 2010 after over 20 years in reserve service.

But a new generation of engineers and military experts are dreaming up innovative, high-speed vehicles capable of more than doubling the pace of the K-222, and it relies on the property of supercavitation to achieve this goal.

Around the same time as the K-222's production, Soviet engineers began production of the Shkval torpedo. This torpedo and its variants travel at 200 knots -underwater - by the use of supercavitation. Supercavitation is the process where the torpedo envelopes itself in a bubble of gas and water vapor to significantly reduce drag. In the Shkval toperdo's instances, the kerosene and high test peroxide rocket engine provide exhaust gases and vapor which expand around the torpedo. The only part of the weapon that actually contacts water is the nose cone which is especially designed to deflect water at wider angles than a typical torpedo. The result is a torpedo which is actually used to combat other torpedoes, as well as more conventional targets. Russia remains the only nation to have an arsenal of supercavitating torpedoes, though Iran has been developing one since at least 2006. There are some limitations to these torpedoes however, as they can only be shot in a straight line.

Now, American marine engineers are constructing two crafts that utilize supercavitation to enhance the Navy's mobility.

In 2011, the U.S. Navy released photos of its GHOST prototype, a vehicle claimed to be subject to 900 times less drag than a typical vessel. This craft functions similarly to a catamaran, as two hulls suspend the structure of the boat above the water. In this instance, the GHOST has gas turbines that envelop the hulls in exhaust gas. GHOST is designed to provide an extremely-mobile deterrence in littoral combat zones and around the perimeters of battle fleets, though there isn't any word on its production or induction to service.

Also in development in recent years is the Underwater Express, a ship commissioned by DARPA. This program calls for a supercavitating submarine that is controllable at speeds of 100 knots. Travelling underwater at a high speed has significant tactical and logistical advantages, but General Dynamics' Electric Boat is still working on the project. After a few years of updates regarding the Underwater Express, the media seemed to altogether forget about the multimillion dollar research, even though initial tests were planned for 2010/2011. Media requests to Underwater Express's program director have not been returned, but if/when they are, I will update this entry appropriately.

Regardless of the current feasibility of supercavitating ships and subs, it's clear that militaries worldwide are interested in having the fastest, most capable strike capabilities - and unlike the surface speed record, it's unlikely to be 35 or more years until superspeed submarines are a reality.

Resources

(Image credits: Ship Wiki; Roots Web/Ancestry; Pakistani Defense Forum; Business Insider; Aviation Week)

Aviation Week - Run Deep, Run Very Damn Fast

Wikipedia - VA-111 Shkval; Supercavitation

Defense Industry Daily - All Aboard the Underwater Express!

IIAI - Underwater Express...

GizMag - Prototype GHOST military watercraft claims a world's first

It's easy to poke fun at North Korea. They're the little brother of South Korea that wears a plastic bucket on his head, only to tell you it's an army helmet and that he demands to be taken seriously.

Kim Jong-Il, the late leader of the country, was: the largest individual importer of Hennessy cognac; a western film buff and self-described auteur; an amazing golfer who accomplished about four holes-in-one each game; a composer of operas; the inventor of hamburgers; a fan of personal waterslides. I could go on and on. His recently-enthroned son Kim Jong-Un can be just as eccentric. Last week he and Dennis Rodman became best friends forever.

It's not just the eccentric leaders that turn North Korea into a mockery; Hollywood has done its share. The film Team America depicted Kim Jong-Il as a slurring puppet, and--though I love this sitcom--the long-running show M*A*S*H made light of the Korean War, a war that claimed between 570,000--960,000 lives (to be fair, M*A*S*H was actually a social commentary on Vietnam).

Despite these jokes, North Korea needs to be taken seriously as it has become increasingly belligerent in the international community. In recent years they've sunk a South Korean warship and shelled South Korean territory. Most troubling, it conducted another nuclear test and released a video of a Korean man dreaming of an America in flames from a North Korean attack. This past Monday, North Korea took the step of revoking the armistice between it and the South, meaning the sides can continue the hostilities of their never-ended war.

That same Monday, U.S. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said, "I can tell you that the United States is fully capable of defending against any North Korean ballistic missile attack." And while I like to believe my government when they say they can defend me, Popular Science recently disputed their capabilities to do so, saying America's missile defense was "flawed" and "troubled." PS cites a lack of testing and design limitations, and while many of their assertions are right, they don't paint the full picture of the U.S.'s anti-missile operations.

Deployed in 2011, Israel's Iron Dome is a missile defense system meant to protect Israeli citizens from rockets fired by Hamas, the Islamist government of Palestine. In 2006, Hezbollah of Lebanon killed 44 Israeli citizens with a barrage of 4,000 short-range rockets. This prompted Israel to develop a missile-defense system with 30% of the $1 billion in funding coming from America. March 2012 was the first time the entire Iron Dome network was able to be intensively tested by continuous rocket fire, and by November defense officials were quoting Iron Dome's rocket interception rate as 85% successful.

Iron Dome is a three-piece system consisting of radar units, a control center, and launchers. The radar unit is placed along the front lines to detect launches and begin tracking the rocket. The detection unit predicts the trajectory of the warhead and uploads this information to a battlefield management and control center, who initiate an Iron Dome launch if it's determined that the rocket targets a populated area. Each system can protect approximately 150 square kilometers, making them very effective in metropolitan areas.

The most notable limitation when applying this technology to the U.S. homeland is its area coverage. While effective for Israel, it's a nation similar in size to the state of New Hampshire, or about 1/474^th of the land area of the U.S. At the moment, Israel does not have hermetic coverage, nor likely will it ever. Also, while Iron Dome is great for short-range rockets, the kind of long-range missile needed for North Korea to reach American shores won't be intercepted by Iron Dome. Rather, a ballistic missile defense is required, such as the Aegis system currently deployed on some American warships. Some officials warn that budget cuts have left the Aegis system underdeveloped and understaffed, as noted by PopSci.

A ground-based missile defense system is optimal, but the U.S. is unwilling to obtain permission from the international community to use the Arrow anti-ballistic missile system it co-developed with Israel in the 1990s. The resistance of the American military to innovate new defenses, while funding other more proven technologies, leaves American soil vulnerable to a ballistic missile attack. There must be some comfort in knowing that North Korea delivering a nuclear warhead by missile remains just outside their technical grasp, even if by only a few years. Heck, North Korea can't even develop an original propaganda video, instead relying on altered footage stolen from video games (and copyrighted music, like Michael Jackson's 'We Are the World').

So while Iron Dome, Aegis and Arrow are not failsafe missile protection programs, it's not long before the U.S. has--and needs--a ballistic missile defense like Ronald Reagan's 'Star Wars'. If/when hostilities begin again, the Korean Demilitarized Zone (which is awesome for Tigers, by the way) will be defended against by the some of the best technology the U.S. and its allies can offer. I can only hope that if the war spreads to North America, that the U.S. has the best technology to defend itself.

Resources

(Image credits: NBC News; CBC; Rafael Defense Systems; Global Security; Wired)

PopSci - The U.S. Says it Could Stop a North Korean Missile. How?

Wikipedia - Kim Jong-il; Aegis Ballistic Missile System; Arrow (Israeli missile);

Rafael - Iron Dome datasheet (.pdf)

Time - Iron Dome: A Missile Shield That Works

Washington Post - North Korea releases another propaganda

Is humankind a naturally peaceful, accepting and tranquil species, or are we prone to aggression, isolation and war? While there isn't really an answer to such a question--and I'm not intending to invoke philosophical debate-- this dichotic inquiry has led to many engineering innovations in our world.

Bridges bring people together; fences keep them apart. Weapons manufacturers build the most lethal, high-tech, precision cluster bombs ever in existence, but military planes are as likely to deliver food and care packages as they are death from above. Historians refer to global security post-World War II as 'The Long Peace' due to the relative apprehension of countries to engage in all-out wars. In his upcoming book The Better Nature of Our Angels, psychologist Steven Pinker asserts that humanity is likely to eradicate war one day, perhaps sooner than we expect.

But when the designs of weapon engineers lie stagnant and dangerous on the battlefield, as is the case with landmines, it becomes the job of another engineer to clear these implements once the battles have ceased. And while there are no academic qualifications, combat engineering units are relied upon to build bridges, roads and fortifications; implement camouflage and communication networks; and in the following instance, ensure that leftover ordinance doesn't maim a young child as he retrieves a far-flung soccer ball.

According to the UN, landmines kill 15,000 to 20,000 people each year, of which almost 80% are civilian since accurately mapping war-torn regions is an imperfect science. While militaries will lay mines and remove a portion of the enemy's mines, once the fighting ends so do their demining operations. The burden falls on communities to deal with unexploded and indiscriminate mines. Though 161 parties have signed the 1997 Ottawa Treaty to ban mine warfare, over 110 million mines remain planted in 70 countries around the world. A large number of these mines reside in third-world and rural areas, threatening the lives of millions who do not have access to mine-clearing equipment. Previously, their best method of mine detection was letting the livestock graze someplace new for the day. Fortunately, humanitarian organizations and scientific communities have done their best to provide unique and cost effective demining methods.

While metal detectors have been the status quo of the Little Green Plastic Army, they are deficient when mines are plastic in construction and they also yield 1,000 false positives for every mine. As such, mechanical methods of demining usually involve exploding the mine with the use of heavy-duty machinery.

Flails and tillers are mounted on high-capacity tractors which are remote controlled or even operator-driven. Just like the garden equipment, they churn the top layer of soil and detonate the mine. They have hardened tools to keep the equipment from sustaining serious damage during an explosion, and cab and motor compartments are well armored. When the machine finds a landmine the result is a large explosion that is concentrated towards the front of the machine, and they are epically cool to watch. In similar fashion, many robots have been developed which use ground penetrating radar, metal detection, stereo vision cameras, or other methods to identify landmines. Robots do not usually explode the mine but instead mark it with spray paint.

Other, less mechanical means of demining are typically very accurate, but also require human intervention. Dogs are well-regarded in their sense of smell, and with this sense they can detect explosives buried beneath the Earth's surface. However, a dog's enthusiasm varies by day, and they can become exhausted and ineffective, in hot climates like Africa and Asia. So while a dog is heavy enough to trigger a landmine, a rat is not, and has become the favored animal for working in minefields.

"Rats are intelligent, and they like to learn new things," Jared Mkumbo told a Time reporter in 2008. Mkumbo, a Tanzanian rat trainer, praised the African giant pouched rats for their loyalty and sense of smell. Not only are the rats accustomed to the climate, but they are inexpensive to procure, train, raise and transport. The rats work for food, so they can be given to different handlers. Finally, the rats are light enough so that they do not accidentally detonate a mine, and even scratch over the mine to indicate its presence. The Dutch news program Humanwire did a report on Hero Rats.

The future of detecting landmines with the biological gifts of a species seems even more far-fetched than using rats. The bodies of the honey bee absorb chemicals that it has been in recent contact with, and a sensor inside a hive can determine if TNT is one of those chemicals. Researchers train bees to associate the smell of TNT by placing food nearby. Once they've learned that TNT smells like food, each bee is outfitted with an RFID tag. By tracing the bee's flight path, researchers can estimate landmine locations. The mustard plant Arabidopsis thaliana turns red under harsh conditions, and a Danish biotech company has genetically engineered the plant to only change color when in the presence of the NO that leaks from landmines and IEDs. Finally, using bioengineered bacteria has proven to be a viable way searching hundreds of acres in just a few hours. The bacterium fluoresces under UV light when near TNT.

While researchers take the time to improve other demining methods, such as nuclear reactions and acoustic measurement, the people of Cambodia wonder every time they leave their home for a walk if they'll return. It's a speculation Aki Ra, a child soldier-turned-blue collar mine deactivator. Aki Ra's disassembly process is harrowing, to say the least (no really, watch the video I just linked).

While the world has noticed how reckless and dangerous landmines can be, they will continue to pervade the goodwill established by the Ottawa Treaty as long as the world's largest military powers continue to stockpile them. Of the 10 largest militaries in the world (China, USA, India, North Korea, Turkey, South Korea, Pakistan, Iran, Egypt, Vietnam), none of them have signed the treaty. While most of these countries concern themselves with nuclear weapons, one of the world's most deadly weapons remains unaddressed.

Resources

(Image credits: White Oliphaunt; Handicap Int.; Spider Pic; Armed Forces Int.; Giant Hamster; Sandia; ICRC)

Time - The Landmine-Sniffing Rats of Mozambique

Wikipedia - Demining; Ottawa Treaty

UN - Demining

Armed Forces Press - Researchers Abuzz About Bees...

It's long been said that surprise is one of the best weapons on the battlefield. The Ancient Chinese essay the "Thirty-Six Stratagems," often attributed to Sun Tzu, outlines its effectiveness: "In any battle the element of surprise can provide an overwhelming advantage."

This has been the prevailing logic of warfare since prehistoric raiding parties , but until the 19^th Century one area of battle technique was glaringly surprise-deficient: uniforms. The French wore scarlet tunics, the British wore 'redcoats', and those Yankee rebels wore blue. These aren't exactly the most subtle colors for marching through forests and fields, are they?

The reasoning is that before rifles, firearms were too inaccurate at distances where camouflage would be effective. Pretty much you're going to identify soldiers 100 yards away no matter what color or outfit they wear. As guerilla warfare dwindled British troop numbers during the American Revolution, and the development of rifling led to a significant increase in longarm performance in the 1800s, officers realized that colorful uniforms with shiny buttons not only felt really silly but also got you killed. By the turn of the 20th Century most major armies had adopted colors associated with their theaters. Notable camouflage designs have been developed since, sometimes to the chagrin of the personnel it's meant to protect.

Julius Caesar is credited with the first recorded use of camouflage for a battlefield advantage. He ordered reconnaissance boats off the coast of Britain painted Venetian blue during the Gallic Wars. Unfortunately, camouflage techniques for ships were ignored until World War I, when the use of U-boats and airplanes required concealment from enemies at distances. This gave birth to the infamous dazzle camouflage in U.S. and U.K. warships, where the intention was not to hide but rather confuse. (This type of camo also seems really silly.) Military leaders admitted that it would be difficult to hide the outline of ship, but that it was possible to baffle observers as to the direction, speed, type and size of the ship. This relied on the use of visual rangefinders for targeting and its effectiveness has been debated. It was used to lesser extent in World War II, where radar and sonar deemed such patterns obsolete.

Flash forward to 1984, where Lockheed engineers design the Sea Shadow (pictured left), an experimental U.S. warship to test innovations in ship control, structures, automation, seakeeping, and signature control. The Sea Shadow's designs proved to be invalid for a variety of reasons, and it is currently being dismantled in Suisun Bay, Calif. However, Sweden has produced some radar-evasive ships with its launch of the Visby-class corvettes (at right) in 2000. Five naval vessels have composite construction and angular designs, eliminating its radar detectability and heat signature by 99%.

Of course, intriguing camo designs are not limited to naval forces. The woodland pattern soon became the go-to troop pattern for NATO countries in the 1980s, and a desert variation was later adapted as well. These patterns were rather aesthetically appeasing--at least in comparison to what replaced it. In 1996 Canadian Forces introduced a digital camouflage design that was intended to simulate the pale boundaries of textures from a distance. With colors blending seamlessly, the CADPAT (Canadian Pattern) was determined to be extremely more effective at concealing troops. The U.S. Marines were quick to adopt their own variation of digital camouflage in 2001, while praising its updated and unique look.

There has been some harsh criticism of digital camouflage however, especially as branches have tried to develop a be-all, end-all camouflage design. Since 2004, the U.S. Army has spent $5 billion on a digitized design that has "failed in every environment." In an attempt to outfit expensive gear in a single, neutral camo pattern the army developed Universal Camouflage. However, the design clashes with every other pattern in service and testing has determined the pattern actually makes soldiers more visible when overused. The army outfitted servicemen and women with this design before testing even concluded. This demonstrates the delicate nature of camouflage pattern design: patterns must be exclusive enough to avoid recognition, but diverse enough to operate in multiple environments. Today the U.S. Army is implementing Multi-Cam, a well-regarded pattern in use in several other nations.

What does the future of camouflage design hold? For the best answer, we need to look at the past.

Allegedly, military interest in invisibility has existed since at least 1943. According to some reports, the U.S. Navy conducted an experiment based on Albert Einstein's Unified Field Theory--that was designed to make physical matter invisible. Docked in the Philadelphia Naval Yards in 1943, the U.S.S. Eldridge was supplied with peculiar equipment. In the first experiment the ship vanished into a cloud of greenish fog; in the second experiment the Eldridge teleported from its mooring and appeared off the coast of Norfolk, only to reappear in Philadelphia moments later. In both experiments the ship's crew members are reputed to have gotten extremely sick. Some suffered from mental illness or nausea, while others found body parts atomically-fused to the ship's metallic superstructure. These events were undertaken as part of Project Rainbow, a known program to reduce radar cross sections in the 1950s. However, The Philadelphia Experiment is largely considered to be a hoax.

Active camouflage is an area of heavy interest and it, in a sense, actually makes items invisible. The idea is that cameras identify an item's surroundings and a cloaking device mimics what an observer would expect to see. Active camouflage exists as a proof-of-concept and new technologies are promising a holographic cloak. For now, active camouflage exists to conceal tanks and vehicles when viewed by infrared. Dubbed Adaptiv, hexagon panels are attached to the vehicle and hide the object's heat signature. These panels emit a new outline of a nonthreatening object such as a car or large rock. The manufacturer claims that it can conceal vehicles at less than 500 meters.

Camouflage is a relatively recent battlefield invention and its effective lifespan will be just a few hundred years. Eventually wars will be fought at distances where visual identification will no longer be required. As we enter an age of smart bombs and bullets, making items invisible to targeting systems has become much more essential. There may even be a day were people completely abstain from the front lines. We're not there yet though, and safeguarding the world's freedom fighters is not a mistake worth making-even if the U.S. Army's $5 billion may detract.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to put on my ghillie suit and hang out in the bushes for a few hours.

Resources:

Image credits: Wired; Twisted Sifter; Wikimedia; Paisley and Patterns; Milidroid; Alem da Imaginacao; Army Surplus World

Wikipedia - Military Camouflage; Philadelphia Experiment; Active camouflage; Adaptiv; Sea Shadow; MARPAT

Popular Mechanics - The Evolution of Camouflage; The Pentagon's Convoluted Search for Better Camouflage

Gizmodo - U.S. Army's Pixellated Camo Uniform is a $5 Billion Failure

Underground, hulking relics from an era of nuclear mutual assured destruction, missile silos are icons of a generation conceived amidst the 'Soviet Scourge'. Nuclear war wasn't believed to be possible; rather inevitable. Today missile silos are largely obsolete, as weapon guidance systems and bunker buster ordinance have deemed their defense outmoded, and as the communist threat has diminished.

Of course, our nuclear existence would not be possible without some military engineering. Immense underground silos stretching several hundred feet underground with accompanying control stations and living quarters had to be built under utmost secrecy. Silos were built in clusters away from population centers and remote parts of Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Nebraska and New York were the lucky locations.

As many sit abandoned and decrepit, others have been purchased for residential or commercial use. A silo in the Adirondacks of New York has been turned into a private airstrip and luxury home (and is currently yours for just $750,000!) Another was turned into a factory to assemble swimming goggles. A school district in northeast Kansas turned a silo into Jackson Heights High School.

Many missile silos were abandoned within a decade; an enormous waste when silo construction tabbed upwards of $100 million apiece. Actually, silos--as well as the following examples--are ideal likenesses of any military: powerful, awe-inspiring, and improvident.

U.S. Navy Reserve Fleet

Following the impressive production of vessels for World War II, the U.S. Navy had over 2,000 ships it needed to decommission--but not dismantle. The result was a series of reserve fleets in various locations around the U.S. Today, ships in U.S. 'ghost fleets' total around 200.

Useful ships are kept in a preservation status and are outfitted with minimal crews. These ships are intended to be service-ready within a timeframe--from four to 20 days--and are typically of tactical value. Ships have dehumidifiers strategically placed onboard to prevent oxidation, as well as anodes on the hull to create a DC current electric field. The S.S. Wright, a former Marine Corps helicopter ship, was activated from its Baltimore mooring to assist in relief operations in New York after Hurricane Sandy earlier this month.

Other ships are left to rot and rust, and urban explorers take pride in their abilities to document the fall of these warships. As Californian officials learned, rusting ships are enormous contaminants. It's estimated that some 21 tons of toxic paint had flaked off ships anchored in Suisun Bay, and since 2010 a $38 million dismantling project is underway. By 2017, all ships will be removed. You might think that creating artificial reefs out of the ships is easier or cheaper; it's not. Environmental risks still need to be removed and dismantled ships can provide some compensation from scrap metal.

Less than 55 ships sit in the bay, and probably under intense security, right? Wrong. Last year a photographer spent time sneaking aboard ships and capturing the decay. More troubling is the fact that the Soviets have their versions of mothball fleets, except in greater number, with much more decay, and some with nuclear components that Russia has never deactivated, nor intends to.

U.S. Air Force Aircraft and Missile Storage

Missile silos fell out of favor after a few short years of service and many ballistic missiles needed a location for dismantle, repurpose or storage. Officials chose the 309^th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARC)--already home to thousands of surplus aircraft following World War II.

Located near Tucson, Ariz., the facility stores over 4,400 military and government aircrafts in the dry, alkaline and elevated environment of the Mojave Desert. Though similar in function to the Naval Reserve, these planes are largely corrosion free. Many have been disassembled or used for parts, but many more planes remain intact, with avionic systems and mechanical components saved by oversized plastic bags. For every dollar invested in the site, AMARC turns a profit of $10-$20, making it one of the most profitable government programs to date. This is largely accomplished by selling planes to allies, or demilitarizing planes and selling them to companies.

AMARC also helped fulfill the U.S.'s behalf of the START I treaty, where 365 B-52s and many ICBMs were dismantled. Security is well-kept at the site, but tours are available through a nearby museum, and a quick check of Google Earth reveals a number of identifiable aircraft.

Johnston Atoll

A remote island 860 miles west of Hawaii, the island served as a major airstrip during Pacific military operations from the 1930s until the 1990s. Notably, the island's size was increased 12-fold from 1942 until 1964. It has been suggested that such construction cost as much as $20 billion, which seems excessive considering the island's main focus eventually became a testing ground for nuclear and chemical weapons.

The island was originally in dispute between the U.S. and the Hawaiian Kingdom (and we all know how that turned out) due to the valuable deposits of bat turds on the island (no, really.) The atoll served as a refueling station for aircraft and submarines through World War II, and later became heavily contaminated from the amount of biological weapon testing conducted. By 1963, the island was strictly a testing ground, and in 2003 the base was finally closed after large quantities of PCBs, PAHs, dioxins, nerve gas, and Agent Orange were incinerated. The base had finally outlived its usefulness.

Today the base remains abandoned, but it is frequented by curious sailors and research teams.

It's easy to see why the above military expenditures were abandoned. Though at one point necessary, they've become eyesores and blemishes in a global environment that praises process control and fiscal efficiency. While you may hate to learn that your tax dollars at one point paid for the above, it's important to identify that many militaries have taken the initiative toward a more financially responsible future, and in one instance have even begun turning a profit.

But money is not part of the allure of these derelict designs and machines. Rather, that lies in the sublime sense that American engineering and innovation has kept this country a nation of liberty, and that as these magnificent designs decay quietly, so too might our sense of security provided by America's foremost engineers.

Resources

Images credits: MissileBases.com; DPR Barcelona; Scott Haefner; Wikipedia; Cracked; Global Security; Visualisable

Titan I Epitaph - Missile Silos

AMARC Experience

Wikipedia - Missile launch facility; 309th AMARC; National Defense Reserve Fleet; Johnston Atoll

NY Times - Old Missile Silos: A Burden for Buyers