Rapid Fire 2011-06-18: DIY Satellite Tracking

• During his speech to introduce the Department of Defense’s operational energy strategy Deputy Secretary William J. Lynn says his department accounts for 80% of the federal government’s energy use. Reports also show that each soldier currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan consumes 20 gallons of fuel a day, compared with one gallon during World War II.

• Following the incoming Defense Secretary’s recent assertion that ‘the next Pearl Harbor’ may be a cyber-attack, DoD Buzz outlines some of the problems the Department of Defense’s new cyber-strategy is likely to encounter.

• With just two days to go to the beginning of the Paris Air Show, speculation continues to mount over the content of talks between Safran and Thales.

• The President and CEO of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) says the company is ready to privatize to assist its pursuit of a larger share of the global aerospace and defense market.

• After a few weeks of speculation regarding China’s fifth generation fighter program, the Peoples’ Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) aircraft carrier makes a timely return as new photographs suggest that construction trailers are being moved away from the vessel.

• Danger Room reports on how two Frenchmen have modified telescopes and video cameras to create a do-it-yourself satellite tracker.

• And staying with the do-it-yourself theme, Defence Watch reveals a Canadian man’s attempts to rebuild an Orenda Iraquois engine that once powered the Avro Arrow CF-105.