AF buys Avenger armed drone; biggest and fastest yet

An Avenger drone is seen here in flight. It was designed to carry 2,000-pound bombs, as well as missiles, cameras and sensor packages. (Chad Slattery, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems /December 30, 2011)

By W.J. HenniganDecember 31, 2011

The Air Force has bought a new hunter-killer aircraft that is the fastest and largest armed drone in its fleet.

The Avenger, which cost the military $15 million, is the latest version of the Predator drones made by General [...]

December 31st, 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Category: All | Leave a comment

US cost in Libya nears $1 billion

Families wave as the USS Bataan Amphibious Ready Group leaves Norfolk, Va., to join the effort in Libya, which is costing the U.S. tens of millions of dollars daily. / STEVE EARLEY / THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT / AP

WASHINGTON — Stretched thin by two wars, the U.S. military is spending upward of $1 billion in an international assault to destroy Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s air defenses [...]

March 24th, 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Category: All | , , , , , , , , , , , | Category: All | billion">Leave a comment

Financial Bombs All Over the World

by MisterBig

Military bombs are classified by weight: 500-, 750-, and 1,000-pound bombs. Financial bombs have interesting labels such as CDO (collateralized debt obligations), ABS (asset backed securities), and CDS (credit default swaps). While they sound exotic and sophisticated, when put in everyday language, a CDO is simply debt sold as an asset. And CDS, or swaps, are simply a form of insurance.

Since the insurance industry is strictly regulated, and the [...]

January 15th, 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Category: All | Leave a comment