Predictions
OPINION

7 Tech Predictions for 2019

Though it’s a year shy of the big decade marker, 2019 looks to be one of the most exciting and most important years for the tech industry in some time. Thanks to the upcoming launch of some critical new technologies, including 5G and foldable displays, as well as critical enhancements in on-device AI, personal robotics, and other exciting areas, there’s a palpable sense of expectation for the new year that we haven’t felt for a while.

Plus, 2018 ended up being a pretty tough year for several big tech companies, so there are also a lot of folks who want to shake the old year off and dive headfirst into an exciting future. With that spirit in mind, here’s my take on some of what I expect to be the biggest trends and most important developments in 2019.

Prediction 1: Foldable Phones Will Outsell 5G Phones

At this point, everyone knows that 2019 will see the “official” debut of two very exciting technological developments in the mobile world: foldable displays and smartphones equipped with 5G modems. Several vendors and carriers have already announced these devices, so now it’s just a question of when and how many.

Not everyone realizes, however, that the two technologies won’t necessarily come hand-in-hand this year: we will see 5G-enabled phones and we will see smartphones with foldable displays. As of yet, it’s not clear that we’ll see devices that incorporate both capabilities in calendar year 2019. 

Navy

The US Navy's carriers have a gaping hole in their defenses against a growing threat, and drones may soon fill it

The return of great-power competition has the US military refocusing on the potential for a conflict with a sophisticated adversary whose submarines can sink the US's supercarriers.

Defense experts are increasingly concerned by a resurgent Russian undersea force and by China's increasingly capable boats.

But the centerpiece of the US Navy's fleet has a decade-old gap in its submarine defenses, and filling it may require new, unmanned aircraft.

During the Cold War and the years afterward, aircraft carriers had fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters for anti-submarine-warfare operations. For much of that period, the fixed-wing option was the S-3 Viking.

Introduced in 1974, the turbofan S-3 was developed with Soviet submarines in mind. It replaced the propeller-driven S-2 Tracker, carrying a crew of four. It wasn't particularly fast, but it had a 2,000-mile range and could stay airborne for up to 10 hours to hunt submarines.

Airport security

10 Strange Items the TSA Found in People's Luggage in 2018

Every year, the TSA screens about 700 million travelers across nearly 450 airports. That’s more than 2 million passengers each day. And while most people pass through security checkpoints without incident, a handful of travelers are stopped every day—sometimes for attempting to lug some truly bizarre items to their departing gate.

Thanks to the TSA’s Webby-winning Instagram account—made famous by the agency’s late social media guru Bob Burns, who passed away in October—officials have kept track of the wackier things airport security agents saw in 2018.

...2. A FAKE BOMB

It might resemble something Wile E. Coyote would have concocted—and it may be 100 percent fake—but it’s still not allowed through security at Chicago O’Hare International Airport. Anything that remotely resembles a weapon will cause intense security checks. (In this case, the security checkpoint was closed for 19 minutes, inconveniencing countless passengers.)

Military industrial complex

How women took over the military-industrial complex

From the executive leadership of top weapons-makers, to the senior government officials designing and purchasing the nation’s military arsenal, the United States’ national defense hierarchy is, for the first time, largely run by women.

As of Jan. 1, the CEOs of four of the nation's five biggest defense contractors — Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and the defense arm of Boeing — are now women. And across the negotiating table, the Pentagon's top weapons buyer and the chief overseer of the nation's nuclear stockpile now join other women in some of the most influential national security posts, such as the nation's top arms control negotiator and the secretary of the Air Force.

It’s a watershed for what has always been a male-dominated bastion, the culmination of decades of women entering science and engineering fields and knocking down barriers as government agencies and the private sector increasingly weigh merit over machismo.

And, as Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson told POLITICO, it's also the result of "quieting that little voice in your head that doubts whether you can do that next job or take on that special assignment."

Seismic security

Yellowstone WARNING: NASA's emergency plan to slow supervolcanoes WON'T work - here's why
Last August, it was reported by the BBC that NASA believes the “most viable solution” to the possibility of the Yellowstone supervolcano having a catastrophic eruption would be to drill several miles down into the volcano’s magma pool to pump down water at a high pressure. The drill would not touch the magma due to the risk of sudden depressurisation setting the volcano off, but would sit just above. The £3 billion idea gained traction as Yellowstone was ranked a ‘high-risk’ volcano but the US Geological Survey.

But one of the world’s foremost volcanologists, Professor Stephen Sparks of Bristol University, has stated that the plan won’t even work.

When asked by Express.co.uk whether he thought the plan was feasible, he simply replied: “No.”

Laughing, he continued: “No.

“It’s surprising, I’ve read that report myself.

“I don’t think its a scientifically viable option.”

His conclusion is bad news for the potentially apocalyptic outcome of an eruption at Yellowstone.

Dr Sparks explained that a volcanic winter would be dire for our existence as a species.

He elaborated: “If there was one it would have an enormous global impact. It would have dire consequences for food security, for trade and for a short time, a few years, there would be a deep freeze.

“There would be enormous climate effects.

“A very big eruption puts a lot of pollution into the atmosphere that reflects the sun’s radiation away from the Earth.

Cybersecurity

Hackers Threaten To Reveal "Secret" Data Linked To 9/11 Attacks

 A hacker group has threatened to reveal "secret" data related to September 11 attacks in the US after claiming to have got access to a large cache of confidential files.

In its announcement published on Pastebin, the group known as The Dark Overlord pointed to several different insurers and legal firms, claiming specifically that it hacked Hiscox Syndicates Ltd, Lloyds of London, and Silverstein Properties, the Motherboard reported on Tuesday.

"Hiscox Syndicates Ltd and Lloyds of London are some of the biggest insurers on the planet insuring everything from the smallest policies to some of the largest policies on the planet, and who even insured structures such as the World Trade Centers," the group said in the announcement.

The group threatened to reveal the documents unless the victims pay them an undisclosed ransom fee in Bitcoin.

While it is not clear what exact files the group has got access to, it is trying to capitalise on conspiracy theories around the 9/11 attacks.

"We'll be providing many answers about 9.11 conspiracies through our 18.000 secret documents leak," the group tweeted on Monday.

Intel gathering

CIA Chief Pushes For More Spies Abroad; Surveillance Makes That Harder

CIA Director Gina Haspel spent much of her career overseas and undercover — and she wants more CIA officers doing the same.

In her one public speech since becoming head of the spy agency, Haspel said her goal is to "steadily increase the number of officers stationed overseas. That's where our mission as a foreign intelligence agency lies, and having a larger foreign footprint allows for a more robust posture."

But doing this isn't easy. It's always been a challenge to protect the identity of American spies and the foreign sources they work with, said Jonna Mendez, who used to be the chief of disguise at the CIA.

"We would de-Americanize you," said Mendez, author of the forthcoming book The Moscow Rules, about the work she and her husband, fellow CIA officer Tony Mendez, did during the Soviet era.

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity trends 2019

With the cyber security industrial complex in full swing and good business for all the major players, from governments and state sponsored groups, to criminal attackers and the vendors as well as their shareholders, we wonder what horrors this dystopian hell world will spew forth next.

It was arguably 2017's devastating WannaCry and NotPetya ransomware variants that brought cyber security into mainstream focus, taking it from the idea of banking scams and into the realm of hobbling hospitals and businesses that depended on critical systems with real-world physical consequences.

Then 2018, just as GDPR came into effect, brought with it data breach after data breach, affecting millions of customers across industries, including customers of household names like Reddit, Facebook, Uber, British Airways and the Marriott hotel chain.

But it won't be just consumers that pay the price of these incidents. When GDPR was implemented in May this year, the regulation meant companies that were found to have allowed a breach due to malpractice would face hefty fines.

State-sponsored breaches or attacks continued throughout the year, and it will be intriguing to see where these 'advanced persistent threat' groups head next - perhaps further underground, according to some commentators.

National security

A national security agenda to rebuild American leadership

The new Congress has an opportunity to lay the groundwork for the revival of American global leadership. For the past decade, Congress has overseen a depletion of our diplomatic capacity. As the State Department was squeezed under an austerity budget, money was thrown at the Pentagon, putting more on the shoulders of our military. This has left American foreign policy badly out of balance and poorly equipped to confront the challenges of a rising power competition in a changing world. Moreover, the Trump administration has created openings for our adversaries by turning the United States away from its role as a force for democracy and instead stoking nationalism and authoritarianism.

Lawmakers must rebalance American foreign policy and reinvigorate American global leadership. Doing so will require Democrats to not only fill the immense task of conducting rigorous oversight over the Trump administration, such as examining its mismanagement of the State Department and its foreign conflicts of interest, but also by presenting an affirmative vision of American foreign policy. Congress does not need to wait until 2020 to make the United States more secure and to put in place the early building blocks of a progressive foreign policy. Here are three major areas Democrats can start building out an affirmative agenda.

Climate security

What the Believers Are Denying

For two years, they formed a community of experts, about 1,000 in all, including 300 leading climate scientists inside and outside 13 federal agencies. For two years, they volunteered their time and expertise to produce the Fourth National Climate Assessment.

There is no parallel process to tackle the questions I study; there is no ongoing national racial assessment mandated by a law summarizing the impact of racism on the United States, now and in the future. Still, I can relate to these climate scientists.

From U.S. national assessments to the global assessments of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, climate scientists have been pumping out warnings for decades. Each warning about what will happen if there is not “substantial and sustained reductions in global greenhouse-gas emissions” has been more dreadful than the last. I can relate to their continuous stand on scientific certainty, their continuous travel toward scientific discovery, and their quest to cultivate and defend humanity from humanity. “I’m for humans,” the climate scientist Andrea Dutton recently tweeted.

The first volume of their Fourth National Climate Assessment, released last year, concluded that there is “no convincing alternative explanation” for global warming other than “human activities, especially emissions of greenhouses gases.” 

Military

New in 2019: Is an even bigger military pay raise on the way?

Troops saw lawmakers approve their biggest pay raise in a decade in 2018. And the next boost could be even bigger than that.

Continuing a trend in recent years, the pay raise for 2020 is expected to again rise thanks to the improving economy and the expected increase in civilian sector wages. Based on the current federal formula, troops should see a 3.1 percent pay raise in January 2020, up 0.5 percent from the 2.6 percent raise that goes into effect this January.

If that holds, it would mark the fifth year that troops saw a bigger pay raise than the previous year. But actually getting the money depends on Congress and the White House.

President Donald Trump has signaled support for maintaining strong military pay, but he has also discussed trimming the total Defense Department budget by tens of billions of dollars to help reduce the federal deficit.

Pentagon planners could reduce their spending plans without touching the annual pay raise, but the salary increases have been an easy target for savings because of the large effects even small changes can make.

Dropping the pay raise by 0.5 percent — which leaves troops with a large paycheck but not necessarily one that keeps up with civilian wages — can save up to $3 billion over five years for the Defense Department.

Weapons

Russian army to be reequipped with Iskander-M missile systems in 2019 - Defense Ministry

The missile troops of the Russian Ground Forces will be fully reequipped with the Iskander-M missile systems in 2019, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

"In 2019, the process of reequipping the missile troops of the Russian Ground Forces with the Iskander-M missile systems will be completed. In accordance with the state defense order, the manufacturer will hand a unit of the Iskander-M systems over to the Western Military District," the statement reads.

The Iskander-M ballistic missile systems are capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 500 km, destroying multiple-launch rocket systems, long-range artillery guns, aircraft and helicopters at aerodromes, command posts and communications centers. The complex is capable of outmaneuvering any air defenses.

About 200 new types of weapons will be tested at the Kapustin Yar range in Russia’s southern Astrakhan Region in 2019.

"In 2019, about 200 new types of weapons are planned to be tested, which is commensurate with the 2018 number and half as many as in 2017," the statement reads.

Military

‘You’re not some p-ssy sitting on the sidelines’ & other Mattis-isms: Secretary of Defense edition

Jim Mattis is widely regarded in military circles as one whose reputation borders on the mythological.

Battlefield tactics, quiet-mannered calculations and noteworthy quotes — so many in number they could fill an entire CVS receipt from top to bottom — has elevated the retired Marine general into the pantheon of Marine Corps demigods alongside legends like Chesty Puller, Carlos Hathcock, Dan Daly and Smedley Butler.

And while his time as President Donald Trump’s secretary of defense exuded a slightly more toned down “Chaos,” as such a position warrants, his tenure in the administration was not without a few memorable statements — “Mattis-isms,” as many affectionally refer to them.

With Jan. 1 being Mattis' first day off the defense secretary job, we decided to recap a few of the best Mattis moments that emerged during his tenure.

“YOU’RE NOT SOME P-SSY SITTING ON THE SIDELINES”

Shortly into his tenure as SECDEF, Mattis visited with sailors at Washington state’s Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor to personally tell the young men and women in attendance what their military service means.

Always comfortable in his natural service member habitat, Mattis didn’t sugarcoat his appreciation.

Energy security

Why Turning Nuclear Fusion Into A Disruptive And Feasible Project May Require Private Entrepreneurs Like Elon Musk

...In a nutshell, the new way to facing the challenge of producing inexhaustible energy discovered by MIT scientists would imply taking care of the excess heat generated by fusion power plants using superconducting magnets that keep the hot plasma typically formed by deuterium (which can be obtained from all sorts of water) and tritium (which can be produced in the reactor with lithium) “from coming into contact with any part of the chamber” hence protecting it from a fundamental harm.

The new private endeavor has the following timeline. First, over the next three years, with financial support coming from ENI and others, efforts will be directed towards development of those magnets. Second, within the next 15 years, a new experiment will be built using those devices. The experiment will produce 100 MW of heat enough to power a small town. If everything goes right, it would be possible to put in place almost immediately the first nuclear fusion electric power plant with twice as much capacity similar “to that of most modern commercial electric power plants.”

This appears to be in sharp contrast with ITER’s critical path that aims at having the first nuclear fusion demonstration plant ready in 2035 and perhaps commercial implementation on the power grid not earlier than 2055 or 2060.

Biometric security

Hackers use a fake wax hand to fool vein authentication security

Vein authentication, a biometric security method that scans the veins in your hand, has been cracked, reports Motherboard. Using a fake hand made out of wax, Jan Krissler and Julian Albrecht demonstrated how they were able to bypass scanners made by both Hitachi and Fujitsu, which they claim covers around 95 percent of the vein authentication market. The method was demonstrated at Germany’s annual Chaos Communication Congress.

While imprints of fingerprints can often be left behind on surfaces just by touching them, vein patterns cannot, and are considered to be much more secure as a result. However, this wasn’t a problem for the researchers, who were able to copy their target’s vein layout from a photograph taken with an SLR camera modified to remove its infrared filter.

Although constructing the wax hand eventually only required a single photograph and a construction time of 15 minutes, getting to that point took 30 days and over 2,500 test photos. Even the demonstration didn’t go entirely to plan; the researchers had to put one of the scanners underneath a table to stop the hall’s light’s from interfering with the hack. However, now that the method has been proven to work, other researchers will likely build upon it to create a process that’s more efficient and reliable.

Privacy security

Google wins lawsuit, can continue to use facial recognition tech on users without consent

A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit that alleged Google’s nonconsensual use of facial recognition technology violated users’ privacy rights, allowing the tech giant to continue to scan and store their biometric data.

The lawsuit, filed in 2016, alleged that Google violated Illinois state law by collecting biometric data – as biologically unique to users as fingerprints – without their consent. The data was harvested from their pictures stored on Google Photos.

The plaintiffs wanted more than $5 million in damages for “hundreds of thousands” of users affected, arguing that the unauthorized scanning of their faces was a violation of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, which completely outlaws the gathering of biometric information without consent.

Gun control

Washington bans anyone under 21 from buying assault rifles

Washington on Tuesday joined a handful of other states that ban anyone under 21 from buying a semi-automatic assault rifle after voters passed a sweeping firearms measure in November that has drawn a court challenge from gun-rights advocates.

The ballot initiative seeks to curb gun violence by toughening background checks for people buying assault rifles, increasing the age limit to buy those firearms and requiring the safe storage of all guns. Only the age-limit portion of the measure goes into effect on Jan. 1; the rest becomes law on July 1.

Kristen Ellingboe, a spokeswoman for the Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility, said the initiative was one of the most comprehensive gun-violence prevention measures to pass in the United States. It specifically targeted "semi-automatic assault rifles" in response to mass shootings across the country, she said.

"We've seen that assault rifles are the weapon of choice for mass shootings, and when they're used, more people are killed and injured," Ellingboe said.

Espionage

Meet Putin’s American Prisoner, Paul Whelan

The American arrested in Russia and accused of being a spy is a former cop and retired Marine, who once described having contacts in law enforcement agencies around the world through his work as a global security chief for private companies

Paul Whelan, 48, of Michigan, is also an avowed Russophile who first visited Moscow over a decade ago, when he made a point of befriending Russian soldiers, calling them on his website “the sneaky Russians who had kept the western world at bay for so long.”

Whelan’s brother, David, confirmed to the Daily Beast on Tuesday that he was the man in custody on espionage charges. In a statement first issued to CNN, David Whelan said the family lost contact with Paul on Dec. 28, “which was very much out of character for him even when he was traveling.”

Health security

Books are good for your brain. These techniques will help you read more.

Reading books can exercise your brain and even boost your emotional intelligence. Despite this, about a quarter of all Americans haven’t read a book in the last year and our overall book-reading time is on the decline.

In the new year, it’s time to buck this trend. But how do you find the time to read full-length books—and why should you bother in the first place?

Why you should embrace books

Science has found that reading is essential for a healthy brain. We already know reading is good for children’s developing noggins: A study of twins at the University of California at Berkeley found that kids who started reading at an earlier age went on to perform better on certain intelligence tests, such as analyses of their vocabulary size.

Other studies show that reading continues to develop the brains of adults. One 2012 Stanford University study, where people read passages of Jane Austen while inside an MRI, indicates that different types of reading exercise different parts of your brain. As you get older, another study suggests, reading might help slow down or even halt cognitive decline.

Economic security

Brace Yourselves: A Crash Is Coming

I know we are in the midst of a joyous time of year, but that doesn’t mean the world has stopped turning. And the start of 2019 brings us to a critical moment. We’re on the brink of the third wave crash.

Let’s take a gander at recent history: First, there was the 1980’s savings and loan crisis. Then, in 1987, the stock market crashed, and the Dow Jones index lost 23% of its value. The next major event was the dotcom bubble and subsequent crash from 1999 to 2000. And the most recent event was the global financial crisis in 2007-08, which was triggered by the subprime mortgage crisis and collapse of the U.S. housing bubble. I’m leaving out a few smaller ones in between, but those are the true highlights (or lowlights, really) of the crash cycle in the past forty years.

Essentially, the economic cycle is longest period of tranquility took place during the 1990s when the economy went an entire decade without a down cycle. That was a rare—and glorious—decade.

As you can see, it’s been 10 years since the last major event—if history repeats itself, we’re due for a crash. And soon. That is if we’re not already seeing the needle headed toward the bubble.

Let’s examine the evidence: Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 are up for their worst December performance since 1931, when stocks were battered during the Great Depression.

December is typically a very positive month for markets. The Dow has only fallen during 25 Decembers going back to 1931.

Terrror threat

ISIS may be down but not out -- Here's what the US needs to do in 2019 to combat terrorists and keep us safe

As we head into 2019, America’s decades-long fight against the global jihad continues. The names and players shift, but the enemy is consistent in its desire to push an oppressive and violent version of Islam worldwide.

The U.S. military had a good year in 2018, with some impressive victories – especially against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. But we must also take into account the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan and some other regional groups that have made their presence felt.

President Trump campaigned on a promise to destroy ISIS and its caliphate, and it’s fair to say that goal has been achieved. He gave members of our military the hunting license they needed, and along with our coalition partners they destroyed ISIS’ center of gravity and physical state, but not every adherent to its ideology.

The hard part now will be ensuring that the conditions that allowed ISIS to form are not repeated. This will require major outreach and support of the Sunni tribes in both Iraq and Syria.

National security threats

The 5 greatest threats to national security in 2019

We are growing more prosperous, and new technologies, medicines, and ideas are making our lives better. Still, the world remains dangerous. Here are five top threats to America in 2019.

1) A conflict with China over the South China Sea 
Although President Trump and President Xi Jinping of China have a good personal relationship, tensions between our two nations are significant and growing. Aside from any economic developments, there is real potential for a military conflict between the U.S. and China in 2019. If conflict breaks out, it will almost certainly focus on the South China Sea. Determined to construct an imperial empire based on control of sea lanes and to attain a veto over the political choices of his neighbors, Xi is exerting an aggressive military posture. While the U.S. is challenging these efforts with increasing naval and air patrols through the contested areas, a miscalculation or Chinese escalation could lead to a broader conflict. It is crucial to note here that Xi is determined to see China lead a new post-American international order. He will not back down easily, nor shy from risks.

2) North Korea brinkmanship 
I believe that U.S.-North Korea tensions will escalate this year. While Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are likely to hold another summit, the North Korean leadership is indicating that it is unlikely to offer meaningful concessions. The absence of those concessions will mean that the U.S. can offer no sanctions relief to Pyongyang...

War on terror

Iraqi warplanes strike Islamic State leaders in Syria: military

Iraqi warplanes hit a meeting of Islamic State leaders near Deir al-Zor in Syria on Monday, destroying the building they were gathered in, the military said in a statement, without giving further details about the militants targeted.

The statement said F-16 fighter jets carried out the raid around al-Sousa village in eastern Syria, as “30 leaders from Daesh (Islamic State) gangs” met in the building.

The strike came a day after Iraq’s government hinted at greater involvement for its armed forces in Syria as the U.S. begins withdrawing troops from the country.

Iraq fears that Islamic State militants in Syria will try to cross the border, and analysts warn of increasing insurgent-style attacks in both countries.

Baghdad has carried out several air raids in Syrian territory with the agreement of President Bashar al-Assad. Its army and Shi’ite paramilitaries have reinforced at the border in recent months.

Immigration security

12 migrants found on beach as UK mulls more Channel patrols

Police picked up a group of 12 migrants found on a beach in southwestern England as top British officials met Monday to discuss the increasing numbers of people attempting to cross the English Channel from France to England.

The British government agency that oversees immigration said nine men, two women and a 10-year-old child were in the group, who reported being Iranian. The people received health checks and were turned over to immigration officials for interviews, the Home Office said.

A surge of Channel crossings in recent weeks prompted Home Secretary Sajid Javid to call a crisis meeting with top officials from Britain's Border Force and National Crime Agency and senior government officials.

Javid said afterward that the government planned to put two more Border Force ships on patrol in the English Channel to protect both the lives of migrants making the risky journey and Britain's borders.

Crime

Chicago sees decline in murders, other violent crimes for second straight year

Chicago recorded fewer murders in 2018 than last year, authorities said Monday, a tally that marked the city’s second year of declining homicides after a surge of violent crime in 2016.

The Chicago Police Department said there was a 27 percent decline in murders in 2018 from 2016 — approximately 557 murders this year — when the city recorded a staggering 762 homicides.

There were 648 murders in Chicago in 2017, the department said in a news release.

The department also recorded declines in shootings, robberies, burglaries, car thefts and car-jackings in 2018, the release said. It did not say whether rapes had fallen or increased.

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson has previously saidthat “emboldened offenders who acted without a fear of penalty from the criminal justice system” were behind the 2016 crime spike.

Climate security

Extreme weather in 2018 was a raging, howling signal of climate change

Just off the top of his head, climate scientist Kevin Trenberth can recount many of the weather disasters that hit the planet in 2018. Record rainfall and flooding in Japan, followed by a heat wave that sent tens of thousands of people to the hospital. Astonishing temperature records set across the planet, including sweltering weather above the Arctic Circle. Historic, lethal wildfires in Greece, Sweden and California, terrible flooding in India, a super typhoon with 165-mph winds in the Philippines, and two record-setting hurricanes that slammed the Southeast United States.

“Climate change is adding to what’s going on naturally, and it’s that extra stress that causes things to break,” said Trenberth, a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo. “It takes the experience well outside anything that’s been experienced before. It crosses thresholds. As a result, things break, people die, and things burn.”

There is no single metric for measuring extreme weather globally and comparing 2018 with previous years. The American Meteorological Society puts out an annual report on extreme weather, but it just published the 2017 results and won’t issue its report on 2018 until late next year.

But it was definitely a hot and perilous year. Perhaps most striking were the temperature extremes.

Aerospace

The future of war: Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky reveal radical SB>1 Defiant 'supercopter' that will be the fastest helicopter in the world (and replace the Blackhawk AND Apache)

When it enters service, the Defiant will carry a crew of four and a cabin equipped for up to 12 combat-ready troops or eight medevac litters.  

There will also be an attack variant that shares a common fly-by-wire drivetrain and many other systems, but has a different composite fuselage and is much more heavily armed.

'Designed for the Army’s attack and assault missions as well as the Marine Corps long-range transportation, infiltration and resupply missions, the SB>1 DEFIANT is uniquely suited to provide the warfighter with unmatched capabilities for the U.S. Military’s various missions,' the firms said.

'The primary advantage that Defiant's going to offer over a traditional helicopter is, it's got twice the speed, two to three times the range, and is just an extremely maneuverable and agile platform,' said retired Marine Maj. Frank P. Conway, Sikorsky's experimental test pilot for both the SB>1 and the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor, when the concept was first unveiled.

He called the Defiant 'a very hot, sexy aircraft.' 

Sikorsky, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, and Boeing are partners on SB>1 DEFIANT, as well as Future Vertical Lift Medium.

The Defiant would cruise at 250 knots and hover at altitudes of 6,000 feet.