Army Works to Ensure Homemade Bombs Don't Escape the Gaze of 'Vader'

Army Works to Ensure Homemade Bombs Don't Escape the Gaze of 'Vader' | Danger Room | Wired.com: "Three years ago, the U.S. military began testing a new drone-mounted sensor designed to auto-spot and track people from 25,000 feet, perfect for searching out insurgents planting improvised bombs in Afghanistan. It gave the sensor the most ominous of names: Vader. And now it looks like the Army has Vader poised to strike.



Vader is short for “Vehicle and Dismount Exploitation Radar,” and the sensor first showed up in Army flight tests in 2009. Now the Army is looking to award a three-year contract to keep Vader’s systems working. That includes engineering support for the sensor’s hardware and software; spare parts and testing tools; training services; and unspecified “materials for updating, maintaining, and sustaining” Vader’s sensor payload."