Military USB Flash Drive for Commercial Purposes

It's not a secret that the world we live in is full of gadgets that are continuously improving, changing and mutating. No doubt everything is made in a way to satisfy our (customers') needs. In the field of high-tech a special place is reserved for USB Flash Drives. These gadgets are continuing getting smaller and their capacity is increasing with geometrical progression. Today's market includes USD drives of various sizes, shapes, colors and functions. Apart from the storage capacity a USB needs to be durable so to protect the information stored on it.

A company called R&D Electronics seemed to have done more than it was actually needed. However its USB Drive really impresses. The name of the device is “IronDrive” and its main advantage is the ability to resist high temperature, shock, vibration, caustic agents, electromagnetic impulses and most importantly – nuclear stresses. The drive was developed for both military and commercial purposes.

Being highly resistant the developers state that the drive retains the “hot pluggable” feature that all standard USB Flash Drives have, excluding the fragility of an ordinary USB connector.

IronDrive weights 5.8 ounces, which is about 162 grams and it is four inches long. The diameter of the drive is 1.6 inch. Originally this USB Flash Drive was developed for the United States army and Marine Corps for the HIMARS launcher, this being a new generation weapon. R&D Electronics created the device under the license from Lockheed Martin Corporation.

IronDrive is able to exceed testing requirements of MIL-STD-810F as well as Nuclear Effects Testing to MIS-30225. It also meets testing requirements of 9G's Shock Testing. The drive rates for -40 C and +85 C Operating and -55 C to +95 C Storage. IronDrive is available with 32 MB to 4 GB storage capacity.

The device is highly reliable because, as its developers say, its write/erase phase can resist 5 million cycles. For security the drive supports Encryption Provision of: DES/3DES, SHA-1, RSA, AES. The developers of the drive applied a Military Connector so to provide a physical layer of security.

R&D Electronics started as a small business in 1980. It provided electronic equipment as well as mechanical assemblies to the government of the United States and prime contractors.