ENVG-III/ FWS-I: Point and Shoot Night Vision

Night Vision Goggles have provided American troops with important combat advantages, and the technology has continued to advance. The Army has moved to field Enhanced Night Vision Goggles, but soldiers complained about the first 9,000 or so. 2013 saw generation II ENVGs arrive, but the Pentagon is really excited about ENVG III, and that excitement goes beyond improvements in resolution. They’re so excited that they’ve just issued 9-figure contracts to 2 firms…

China Confirmed As RIMPAC 2014 Participant

• The international RIMPAC 2014 exercise will take place between June 26 and August 1 and involve 47 surface ships, 6 submarines, 200+ aircraft, and 25,000 people. China will participate for the first time, following an invitation extended by then US SecDef Panetta in 2012, though China’s defense ministry has mentioned this only in passing so far.

• Vietnamese officials say that Vietnamese naval ships and Chinese vessels have collided in the South China Sea, while the Philippines detained 11 Chinese fishermen accused of collecting endangered turtles.

• East Asia Forum: Indian Ocean could get choppy without regional security cooperation.

• Foreign Policy worries that it was a bad idea for the United States to test boost-glide weapons, thus leading China to pursue powerful conventional weapons that could one day threaten the continental US.

• India’s Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran has advised the government against blacklisting AgustaWestland, at least for now.