Research
Virtually
any kind of organization needs research. In fact, our clients have
ranged from two-person offices to massive operations and include private
firms, publicly-traded companies, non-profits, publishing houses and
both military and intelligence agencies.
The kind of research performed ranges from learning how to resolve a
technical problem to
ascertaining how to get the outside world to pay atention to -- and come
to understand -- what your organization offers. The scope and duration
of projects varies as well. We will help for a few hours or a few years.
And don't worry if you are involved in a field or a technology that is
new to us; it is not the pre-existing knowledge that makes us
successful. Rather, it is our willingess, creativity, and focussed
ability to ferret out information, to analyze it, and then to form for those who need to
understand or to work with it.
So, how can we help you?
Contact Us
Selected Projects
Saving
the Stories of Retired CIA Operatives
Hollywood keeps turning out movies and TV shows involving spies but
few of those efforts bear much resemblance to the real world of the
intelligence operative. An ongoing project at Landfall Research is saving
the stories of retired U.S. intelligence officers. These stories, however,
are real and most have never been written down, let alone published.
Examples include the major who was relocated to Greenland after
mishandling classified materials; the CIA operatives who revealed Russian
spies in the Congo and found themselves in front of a shot gun blast; and
the secret weapons cache discovered in Venezuela that President Kennedy
was to tell the country about but never made the speech. [Complete
and being reviewed by the CIA] Another piece, "A
Tale of Two Semi-Submersible Submarines" was a joint research project
that was published by the CIA's newsletter Studies in Intelligence
in 2014 and is available for download from cia.gov.
How
to Solve Windows 7 Crashes in Minutes
Few problems with a
Windows PC are as frustrating as the dreaded "Blue Screen of Death" (BSoD/crash);
yet no matter how much the OS has been refined over time, BSoDs
still occur. Making matters worse, the data that comes from the crash
files are little more than Greek to most users, even very technical ones.
Solving this for the readers of Network World Magazine required research
into the meaning of some of that data, how to use a cryptic tool
known to programmers as a "debugger", and how to be sure that the PC is
properly set up to generate the needed data files. Only then could the
article be written. One year later, that very article won a Gold Award in
international journalism competition.
[Published in 2011:
Read the article]
The Correct Course for Compass Call
Congress needed to know how to vote on a $1.7B USAF program known as "Compass Call". The program is based on the need for assured electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) control in military operations (think radar, targeting, communications, and navigation) which requires the ability to exploit all forms of transmission and reception that pass through it while denying the same to one’s adversary. Since 1983, Compass Call has met that need through its small force of 14 EC-130H aircraft, jam-packed with electronic warfare (EW) equipment to disrupt enemy command and control (C2), thus limiting adversary coordination and force management. However, the combination of this now aged fleet and the advancement of adversary capabilities
has rendered Compass Call unable to continue its mission without overhaul. As a result, the program is in the early stages of rebirth through the possible use of a new Gulfstream G550 airframe. The result of this research summarizes the program to date, addresses strengths and weaknesses of the new platform, and recommends the future course of Compass Call. [Submitted to Congress in 2018:
Read the paper]