Twitter War Erupts Between Israel and Hamas During Gaza Strikes

                                                      (Image Credit: IDFSpokesperson/Twitter)

As the Israeli Defense Forces waged a military campaign on Hamas targets in  Gaza today, a different kind of war unfolded on Twitter between the two groups.

“We recommend that no Hamas operatives, whether low level or senior leaders, show their faces above ground in the days ahead,” said a tweet from the @IDFspokesperson account today. The tweet followed news that the Israeli attack had taken out Ahmed Jabari, the chief of staff of the Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades and leader of the military wing of Hamas.

Read More: Israel Assassinates Hamas Commander

Hamas launched mortars in retaliation,  but also fired back on Twitter.

“Our blessed hands will reach your leaders and soldiers wherever they are (You Opened Hell Gates on Yourselves),” said a tweet from the @AlqassamBrigade handle that was directed to the Israeli Defense Forces Twitter.

Throughout the day, the warring groups used their Twitter accounts to provide real-time updates about the military action. The IDF account even broke the news of Jabari’s death on Twitter and quickly posted a video of the strike that was said to have killed him.

“Hamas continues to try to kill Israeli civilians. So far today, the Iron Dome has intercepted 17 rockets fired from #Gaza,” another update said, referring to the missile defense system installed with the help of the U.S.

Meanwhile, the militant unit of Hamas said it had shelled numerous Israeli bases.

“Al Qassam hit Isnad Sofa base with 6 mortars in response on assassination of its leader,” a recent update said, as the Twitter war continued well into the evening.

Source : abcnews[dot]go[dot]com

Safer sorties: Fighter pilots get ‘X-ray vision’ with new Striker helmet

A new kind of helmet developed by UK-based defense contractor BAE Systems gives fighter pilots 'X-ray vision', enabling them to see outside the aircraft in every direction, including through its solid metal hull.

With anti-aircraft weaponry becoming ever more sophisticated, fighter pilots need all the help they can get to secure their safety, with split-second decisions making the difference between dinner back at base and a life-ending fireball.

To help better inform those life-and-death decisions, UK-based defense contractor BAE Systems has developed a new kind of helmet that allows pilots to see outside the aircraft in every direction, even through its solid metal hull.

The Striker helmet uses augmented reality technology to give pilots better-than-ever views of their surroundings.

Images displayed to the pilot via the special helmet are captured by cameras placed over the outside of the fighter plane. Three sensors located inside the cockpit work with a number of flashing LED lights located on the helmet to determine precisely where the pilot is looking, allowing the system to feed the appropriate images back to the pilot via the visor, in real time.

Explaining to the BBC how the helmet works, BAE’s Alan Jowett said, “If a pilot wears a Striker helmet – which is essentially a helmet with an integrated display – when he sees something on the ground he can just turn his head, put a symbol across on to the point of interest, press a button, and the system will calculate the object’s co-ordinates. The aircraft can then turn its sensors, cameras or weapons in that direction – so it allows a dialog directly between the plane and the pilot.”

The helmet-mounted displays (HMD) provide pilots with images unavailable on the traditional head-up displays (HUD), which only communicate limited data, such as altitude, speed and direction. HUDs also show targets, though for these the pilot needs to move the plane into position before a weapon can be fired.

HMDs made their debut in the 1990s, and are constantly being updated with the latest technology in an effort to keep one step ahead of the enemy.

According to the BBC, the new helmet is already being used by fighter pilots in a number of countries, but up to now only during training missions.

As you would expect, the Striker helmet was put through its paces before pilots started wearing it. The wind test, for example, looked at how the helmet deals with a sudden 600 knot wind blast after a pilot ejects from a plane. The video below gives more details on the new helmet, and takes a closer look at its rigorous testing procedures.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com