Latest news with #Viens
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
RI lawmakers consider legislation aimed at safer storage of firearms
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — A bill that would tighten penalties for gun owners who don't properly secure their weapons is moving through the Rhode Island legislature. During Tuesday night's House Judiciary Committee meeting, the bill was amended to be called 'Dillon's Law,' which is named after Dillon Viens, a Johnston teen who was killed three years ago. Dillon's Law is an effort to increase the length of time a person would serve for having an unsecured firearm from a misdemeanor with a non-mandatory one-year sentence, to a felony with five years in prison. Viens was 16 years old when he was shot and killed while hanging out with friends in a Cedar Street home in 2022. The incident resulted in the arrest of the homeowner, Marios Kirios, who was not home at the time. He was charged with improperly storing a firearm. Another 16-year-old was also charged with manslaughter. BACKGROUND: Johnston man charged in teen's shooting death faces judge Detectives searched Kirios' home and found five unsecured firearms inside, including the one used to shoot Viens. The bill was passed by the committee last year, but ultimately didn't make it through the Senate. It now heads to the full House for consideration. Download the and apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch or with the new . Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Business Wire
28-04-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Recoverable Loitering Munitions Are More Cost- and Mission-Effective Than One-Way Attack Drones, Says New Teledyne FLIR Defense Whitepaper
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In a new whitepaper, Teledyne FLIR Defense, part of Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:TDY), says that emerging cost-effective precision strike solutions that can be safely recovered and reused offer a strong alternative to more commonly deployed 'One-Way Attack' or First Person View (FPV) drones. 'Recoverable loitering munitions offer small fighting units a big advantage when they can train more efficiently, deliver precision effects on the battlefield, and yet be able to reuse a system when target conditions change up to the last second.' Share In the new paper, USE IT, DON'T LOSE IT: The Case for Recoverable and Reusable Loitering Munitions, FLIR Defense argues that newer, advanced loitering munition unmanned aircraft systems (LMUAS) are better suited to support operations in the 'atmospheric littoral.' An emerging strategic concept, the atmospheric littoral describes the very low-altitude airspace (up to several hundred feet above ground level) which, if controlled, can significantly enhance the ground maneuver of combat units. The paper highlights the total ownership cost of FPV and legacy loitering munitions currently on the market. Most systems are single use, so whether they successfully hit a target or not, they are a spent cost. These types of munitions are more expensive and complicated to train with, operate, and maintain, compared to recoverable LMUAS that can be safely brought back if target conditions change, or fitted with an inert payload for training exercises. The whitepaper also explains how newer recoverable LMUAS, such as the FLIR Defense Rogue 1™, can deliver greater precision strike capability to warfighters at the tactical edge. Rogue 1's patented gimballed warhead allows users to 'point' and deliver its munitions far more accurately, so that the lightweight system can disable armored platforms by targeting vulnerable spots on the vehicle. Increased precision makes up for the reduced payload capacity of the VTOL airframe compared to larger, fixed-wing platforms that can deliver heavier payloads but with less accuracy. 'Recoverable LMUAS offer small fighting units a big advantage when they can train more efficiently, deliver precision effects on the battlefield, and yet be able to reuse a system when target conditions change up to the last second,' said Dave Viens, vice president of US Business Development at Teledyne FLIR Defense. 'As our 'Use it, Don't Lose It' whitepaper points out, the atmospheric littoral has quickly become the key battlespace warfighters must control – and dominate – to defeat our enemies in modern conflicts. 'We believe the critical technologies embodied in the Rogue 1 lethal UAS offer distinct advantages to traditional 'one-way' FPV drones, giving combat units the edge they need to control the atmospheric littoral,' Viens added. Other key points in the paper include: 'One-Way Attack' and 'First Person View' drones often suffer from major operational disadvantages across the battlespace, particularly in terms of cost, training, use case DEV/OPS, lethal effect, and precision. Recoverable and reusable loitering munitions not only reduce capital expenditure and training cycles but also optimize mission success. Military-grade quadrotor loitering munitions equipped with state-of-the-art fuzing solutions and precision payloads are ideally suited to satisfy emerging demand signals at the tactical edge. Next-generation technologies, including ML/AI tools such as Aided Target Recognition (AiTR), will open up more possibilities for loitering munitions in the near future. Click here to download the new Teledyne FLIR Defense whitepaper, USE IT, DON'T LOSE IT: The Case for Recoverable and Reusable Loitering Munitions. About Teledyne FLIR Defense Teledyne FLIR Defense has been providing advanced, mission-critical technology and systems for more than 45 years. Our products are on the frontlines of the world's most pressing military, security and public safety challenges. As a global leader in thermal imaging, we design and build sophisticated surveillance sensors for air, land and maritime use. We develop the most rugged, trusted unmanned air and ground platforms, as well as intelligent sensing devices used to detect chemicals, biological agents, radiation and explosives. At Teledyne FLIR Defense we bring together this expertise to deliver solutions that enable critical decisions and keep our world safe – from any threat, anywhere. To learn more, visit us online or follow @flir. About Teledyne Technologies Teledyne Technologies is a leading provider of sophisticated digital imaging products and software, instrumentation, aerospace and defense electronics, and engineered systems. Teledyne's operations are primarily located in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Western and Northern Europe. For more information, visit Teledyne's website at
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill would rename Sakonnet River Bridge in honor of Tiverton soldier killed in Iraq War
Family and platoon mates of the late Staff Sgt. Christopher Potts, a Tiverton resident and Rhode Island National Guardsman killed in action in Iraq in 2004, are seen at a Feb. 6, 2025, hearing on a bill seeking to rename the Sakonnet River Bridge to honor Potts. (Screenshot/CapitolTV) More than a dozen veterans and their family members showed up at a Thursday hearing of the Rhode Island House Committee on Special Legislation to support a bill that would rename the Sakonnet River Bridge after a fallen soldier. Three supporters offered spoken testimony for bill H5051, led by Westerly Democrat Rep. Samuel Azzinaro, which would rename the bridge connecting Portsmouth and Tiverton to the Staff Sergeant Christopher Potts Sakonnet Bridge. Azzinaro, a retired National Guardsman who chairs the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, said the bill came to him via the House Veterans' Affairs Advisory Council. One of the supporters was retired Command Sgt. Maj. Raymond Viens, who served alongside Potts, a Tiverton resident and National Guardsman killed in action in Iraq in 2004. 'We're not here to diminish the service or the sacrifice of any other service member, any of our brothers and sisters that also paid the ultimate price,' Viens, who served as Potts' platoon sergeant, told the committee. 'We're here to advocate on behalf of our soldier who we feel made the ultimate sacrifice, but in doing so, saved lives.' Potts 'died because he found something he was not supposed to find,' according to Viens. That something was a weapons cache stocked with ammo, guns, rockets, mortars, artillery rounds, IED timers and more. Iraqi insurgent groups at the time were splintered, Viens said, but the cache served as a hub for these guerilla fighters — and as a danger for U.S. soldiers who may have been traveling nearby, like Potts, who often patrolled the area. 'He found this, and they found him and they executed him,' Viens said, adding that Potts was killed alongside the platoon's medic. 'Not a firefight. Executions.' 'We think that by him finding this cache — it was the largest cache in Iraq at the time — it put a damper on the insurgents' operations against us and saved a lot of lives,' Viens continued. Potts was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Combat 'V' and the Purple Heart. Former President George W. Bush met with members of his family in 2007. Terri Potts, his widow, was at the committee meeting Thursday. It's not the first time lawmakers have wanted to rename the Sakonnet River Bridge. It's not even the first time lawmakers have wanted to name the bridge after Potts. When the original Sakonnet River Bridge was slated for replacement way back in 2008, the opportunity arose to give the new bridge a new name. In 2009, former Democratic Rep. Amy Rice of Portsmouth wanted to name the bridge after the town's colonial founder, Anne Hutchinson. The same year, Rep. John G. Edwards, a Tiverton Democrat, rallied to have the bridge named after Potts. Edwards soon retooled the bill to call the bridge the 'Veterans' Memorial Sakonnet River Bridge,' for all the fallen soldiers of Portsmouth. Neither bill succeeded, nor did a 2011 resubmission by Edwards for the Veterans Memorial branding. The new bridge finally opened in 2012, under its old name: the Sakonnet River Bridge. Viens testified to the committee that a tribute to Potts is even more pressing, given that an existing dedication might soon be erased. A scoreboard at Pottsy Field in Middletown has sported the fallen soldier's name since 2006, but an ongoing development project supported by the town could reshape the park and surrounding land. 'They're going to build condominiums, and that scoreboard is coming down,' Viens said. 'And so there's not going to be anything left in the state that shows his sacrifice.' The scoreboard is still up for now. Matt Sheley, a spokesperson for the town of Middletown, said that Pottsy Field is still standing on West Main Road, near the town's public library. 'It's used periodically by various community groups for events like flag football games and practices,' Sheley said in an email. But change is certainly planned for the area. Sheley said that 'a trio of local developers' want to build a mixed-use 'centerpiece for the community' where the field and a number of adjacent lots currently stand. The land, which occupies 600 through 740 West Main Road, is located on a busy artery of Aquideneck Island furnished with businesses. The town signed a 99-year lease for the land with the developers last October, according to The Newport Daily News. The developers want to construct commercial and residential properties. Sheley said the developers are still going through the permit process, and appeared most recently before the town's planning board on Wednesday. 'At this point, no new construction has been permitted or happened at 600-740 West Main Road,' Sheley said. 'All of the existing uses remain 'as is' until the project secures the necessary permits and permissions.' The Pottsy Field sign can still be seen from the road. Potts himself played on the field in a men's softball league, according to a 2022 article in The Newport Daily News, when the development project was already emerging. A family member interviewed at the time said that if the field were moved to a new location because of the project, it probably wouldn't be the same since Potts hadn't played on it. The Committee on Special Legislation is tasked with proposed laws not covered by any of the House's usual specialty areas like health or education. As is standard for new legislation, the committee held Azzinaro's bill for further study. Following the public comment, Azzinaro thanked the bill's supporters for attending, and encouraged them to submit written testimony to the House. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
