...but close. From Military.com headlines: Killer robots which can change their shape to squeeze under doors and through cracks in walls to track their prey are moving from the realms of science fiction to the front line in the fight against terrorism. The US military has signed a GBP 1.6m deal with a technology firm to design robots which are intelligent enough to work out how to wiggle through small spaces to reach their target. The action film, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, featured a seemingly unstoppable killer robot played by Robert Patrick. The machine was made from liquid metal and could change its form to slide under doors and walk through iron bars. America's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) and the Army Research Office has awarded the contract to iRobot, which has developed other robots for the military. They want scientists to come up with a design for a tiny robot able to move under its own power and change shape so it can get through gaps less than half an inch wide. The US administration has not said what it wants the robot to do but its specification says: "Often the only available points of entry are...

Its top company officials are arrested, it made shoddy vests that had to be recalled and there's the constant fog of controversy hovering around them, but when the business sector is so small for body armor, it's tough to take your solicitation elsewhere. That's why the Pentagon announced July 3rd that once again Point Blank Body Armor has been awarded an $86 million contract for Army "improved outer tactical vests." This comes about a year after the Army awarded the first series of contracts to Point Blank and Specialty Defense Systems at the initial launch of its IOTV. Let's hope there's no more recalls or crass profiteering from that infamous (to some) company. -- Christian...

The Pentagon announced late last week that it had received the delivery of the 10,000th Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle to its facility in South Carolina where the various electronics and other components are installed before being shipped to Iraq or (strangely) Afghanistan. The rapid response by the Department of Defense to protect the warfighters reached a major milestone today when the 10,000th Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle rolled off the assembly line and into government hands. In February 2008 the MRAP program office, headed by Marine Corps Systems Command, recorded its 5,000th MRAP vehicle acceptance. That milestone was reached less than a year after the Secretary of Defense Robert Gates made MRAPs the DoD's top acquisition priority. Since then, the program has advanced at near-unprecedented speed, doubling production of the life-saving vehicle in just over four months. Gates said, "This is a significant achievement. This program has gone from zero to ten thousand in just about a year and a half. These vehicles have proven themselves on the battlefield and are saving lives." You know I've been critical of the MRAP rush, but this is a truly significant achievement in many ways for the Pentagon and they...

Yeah, I know...it's the day before the July 4th holiday. A three-day weekend is just one whistle blow away. But when you're killing time waiting for the 5 o'clock release, be sure to join us for a Defense Tech first: a live online interview with DoD Buzz Editor Colin Clark....

Okay folks, I have an idea... In a first for Defense Tech, I'd like to set up an online, virtual interview with the new editor of our recently-launched sister site: DoD Buzz. For 30 minutes, beginning at 1500 EDT July 3 we'll have a moderated chat session with Colin. He'll be able to answer your questions in real time and give you some deeper insight into his recent scoops, including the botched tanker deal, the flap over Wynne/Moseley/Gates and Schwartz, satellite launches and intelligence community intrigue. Now, I know all you DT readers will be on your best behavior, but in case you're not, I'll be able to nix any inappropriate questions or comments. Seriously, I thought this would be a cool opportunity for you all to meet Colin and ping him on what's "Buzz"ing around DC in the defense and acquisition biz...And if this works well, I'll set up some more like it with defense officials, industry types and analysts. So be sure to tune in here at 1500 (that's 3:00pm for you civilian types) tomorrow to chat with Colin catch the DoD Buzz live! -- Christian...

The Air Force wanted to send the F-22 to the Middle East and Defense Secretary Robert Gates nixed the plans, citing the strategic danger from the deployment if it were misread by Iran, among other factors. This comes from a single usually reliable source with knowledge of Air Force policy and operations. Then-Air Force Secretary Mike Wynne sent a memo to Gates last December in which he made the recommendation, as well as laying out several major arguments for Air Force budget requests for the F-22 and bomber research and development, according to our source. Central Command had approved the deployment request and we understand several Arab governments were also supportive of the Air Force effort. The main opposition to the request, we hear, came from Ryan Henry, principal deputy to the undersecretary of Defense for policy, who worried that Iran would interpret the deployment of the countrys most capable fighter as a regional escalation at a time when rumors were sweeping the region that the US was planning strikes against Irans nuclear facilities....

There's a behind the scenes battle going on between Pinnacle Armor, the Air Force, the National Institutes for Justice and the Army. You'll remember that a year ago the Air Force debarred Pinnacle after it found that the company had pumped up the ballistic capabilities of its SOV 2000 armor claiming it was Level III compliant when it wasn't. This ban of Pinnacle products came on the heels of the Army's very public outing of Dragon Skin test results conducted by Army ballistics experts and witnessed by Pinnacle president Murray Neal himself. But after the dust cleared, the tenacious Neal waged his own battle against the debarment, filing suit and compiling evidence that he claims shows Army testers forging test result documents and intentionally painting Dragon Skin in a bad light to the Air Force. I spoke with Neal about this at length, and while I'm skeptical that the Army is resorting to lying and forging documents, there are some things that definitely look fishy about this case....

Cyber attacks from individuals, organized crime, extremist groups, terrorists as well as nation states pose a significant threat to the national security of the United States. While many believe that this is a government issue, closer analysis of the problem suggests otherwise. Any computer that is not properly protected can be compromised and used as a weapon against the system owner, businesses and our economy, the nation's infrastructure or in some rare cases our defenses. Personal, business and government systems are constantly under attack and the frequency and sophistication of the attacks is rapidly increasing. The number of new computer systems threat skyrocketed nearly 570 percent from those identified in 2006. According to one 2007 computer security study, the average annual loss reported by U.S. companies increased by nearly 210 percent to $350,424 (per occurence) in 2007. The top three primary sources of loss were financial fraud, losses due to computer virus and system penetration by outsiders. About 20 percent of the companies reporting security incidents said they have fallen victim to targeted malware attacks. Nearly 1.2 million different pieces of malware have been identified and reside in the malware repository. Malware is software designed to infiltrate or damage...