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US Military Develops P2P Wireless Network Sniffer

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the high-tech-warfare dept.

Merlin83 writes "As being reported on The Register, the US Military is developing a new system for monitoring enemy battlefield communication. Called WolfPack, each node is a 6"x4" cylinder, launched by missile or dropped from aircraft. Once the node lands, it stands up, extends its antenna and contacts other nodes. The nodes can also jam cellular communications by transmitting a signal themselves. "

14 of 299 comments (clear)

  1. RIAA by sik0fewl · · Score: 5, Funny

    I would've thought the RIAA would've been ahead of the US military on this one.

    --
    I remember when legal used to mean lawful, now it means some kind of loophole. - Leo Kessler
  2. Small and cylindrical? by ArmenTanzarian · · Score: 5, Funny

    Radar Tech: Sir! The radar, sir! It appears to be... jammed!
    Dark Helmet: Jammed... Raspberry!

  3. Can you... by hussain · · Score: 5, Funny

    ..hear me now? boom!

  4. P2P? by The+Bungi · · Score: 5, Funny
    [sgt] deploy the WolfPack
    [pvt] roger
    [pvt] stand by...

    aol_grl has joined #battlefield

    [aol_grl] h3y guyz!!!
    [aol_grl] 17/f/s
    [aol_grl] u wanna ch^7??
    [pvt] oh shit
    [sgt] get out of here bitch, we're trying to fight a war

    [aol_grl] aol_grl sends roses to sgt @-`,-`,--

    [aol_grl] dont b a poop mouth!!!

    [aol_grl] any1 now how2 make the mouse go faster??????
    [aol_grl] my pC is *really* sloooowwww
    [aol_grl] whatz wolfpack???
    [aol_grl] imagine a Beowulf cluster of those!!! hahahaha!!!
    aol_grl giggles madly

    sgt has left #battlefield
    pvt has left #battlefield

    [aol_grl]>>> guyz???
  5. Does it run Linux? by don_carnage · · Score: 4, Funny

    Each device, which runs on battery, should last approximately two months. When possible, devices can be recovered and reused. The cost of each is estimated at $10,000.

    $10,000??!! I bet there are plenty of Linux geeks around Slashdot that could do it for a fraction of that! ;^)

    --
    Wooden armaments to battle your imaginary foes!
    1. Re:Does it run Linux? by devphil · · Score: 4, Funny


      And the average /. reader is probably also cylidrically shaped, too, just like the canisters.

      When dropped from a height, if your first reactions are to stand up, contact other geeks, and begin finding local networks, then yes, Uncle Sam Wants You!

      --
      You cannot apply a technological solution to a sociological problem. (Edwards' Law)
  6. Dare I say it? by ivanmarsh · · Score: 4, Funny

    WAN-mines?

  7. Re:Not a smart move by krisp · · Score: 4, Funny

    Come on! this is the US military! Im sure they have some sort of safe guards against that sort of .. oh nevermind.

  8. what is it? by Lord_Dweomer · · Score: 5, Funny
    Officer: "Sir, it appears to be an Imperial probe droid."

    Commander: "That's it, everybody, shut down Kazaa, the RIAA has found our base!"

    --
    Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
  9. Can I meet the man in charge of naming these? by metalhed77 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Seriously, Operation Desert Storm, Tomohawk Missles, and now the Wolf Pack. Can't the army have more consumer friendly names with more pizazz.

    I nominate we rename it the Sniff 'n Shout. Or something in that vein

    --
    Photos.
  10. groovy by Biomechanoid · · Score: 4, Funny

    The nodes can also jam

    I was going to buy their music but after listening to it I think I will download it from KazAa in stead.

  11. Re:Guess they've figured out how to get around the by gregoryb · · Score: 4, Funny

    If someone else has similar jamming devices, doesn't the military's "workaround" involve pinpointing the device and then hitting it with a missle??

    Seems that they dealt with the GPS jammers Iraq was using by following this method in the past war. I've been unable to find references for that particular action, but I seem to remember discussing it in my signals class last spring.

  12. I'd steal em by photon317 · · Score: 5, Funny
    Units can stay powered for up to two months in the field, and can be later collected and re-used. Each node costs around $10,000.


    If I were a low-income thug and the US military invaded my country and sprayed the land with these things, I would probably run around and pick them up for resale. They start at 6x4 inches, but then they extend fins and an inflatable antenna, which should make them pretty easy targets to spot. And I bet to foreign military hands, they're worth more than the $10K they cost the US military. All things considered I could probably feed my family for 10 years by picking up 5 of them or so and selling them on the black market.
    --
    11*43+456^2
  13. Hmmm I know which country should get them first by mikerich · · Score: 4, Funny
    Any chance the US military could drop a couple of million coast to coast across the United States? Might get a decent mobile network that way.

    They could even claim it was 'field testing'.

    Best wishes,
    Mike.