In the past, some Democrats in Congress might have questioned the propriety of selling high-tech weapons to a government noted for its conservative social policies.

FORBES: Obama Makes Arms Sales A Key Tool Of U.S. Foreign Policy

As a benign example of how transatlantic teams can stimulate competition in high-tech weapons making, defence analysts cite the fierce competition to supply Britain with an air-to-ground surveillance system.

ECONOMIST: Platform envy

The collapse of the oil price, which may not have ended yet, means the government must cut the costly state benefits it showers on its citizens, and spend less on high-tech weapons.

ECONOMIST: Abdullah and the ebbing tide

And the recent hostage rescue simulation -- which used live ammunition and high-tech weapons -- was part of more than a year of training to prepare for the Summit of the Americas, which will draw 33 heads of state and government from across the Western Hemisphere to Cartagena, Colombia, this weekend.

CNN: Colombia steps up security for summit

But the package falls short of the heavy weapons and high-tech equipment sought by the rebels.

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It is well-known that big tech companies are spending billions amassing patent portfolios and wielding them as competitive weapons against each other and their smaller challengers.

FORBES: Oracle Vs. Google And A New Kind of Patent Troll

As the Inside Out programme discovers tonight, there is a high-tech means of identifying stricken trees using equipment originally designed for checking war zones for chemical weapons.

BBC: The heartbreak of watching the slow death of ash trees

But its 16 authors, led by Michael Ladisch, a biological engineer at Purdue University, reckon that high-tech chow will, within the next 25 years, protect troops from attack by biological weapons, insulate them against cold weather and even make them visible to their commanders by satellite.

ECONOMIST: A new report speculates on army rations of the future