Military capable flash drive revealed by Adata

Memory maker Adata has introduced a new USB flash drive that meets the US MIL-SPEC military standards, and includes bundled software to complement a durable physical casing.

Specifically, the new Adata S0007 flash drive meets the US MIL-STD-810F-514.5C-3 guideline, which ensures the drive can meet certain vibration and shock standards.

The drives have the following storage capacities: 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB. All of the drives weigh a massive 13.6 grams. Adata made the S0007 waterproof for 20 minutes up to 1-meter in water, with a strong rubber outer casing.

Adata includes a Microsoft Windows 7 installation DVD that can be used as a bootable partition on PCs and notebooks. Norton Internet Security 2010 software with a free 60-day trial, along with software and data backup will be bundled on the drive.

Despite having strong physical security features, the drive is USB 2.0 instead of USB 3.0. Adata did increase USB 2.0 speeds slightly, with 30MB/s read and 8MB/s write speeds, but I still find it disappointing USB 3.0 wasn’t included.

Official pricing information and a release date remain unknown.

Providing products that meet military requirements opens up the company to sell the flash drives to the government — and use it as a marketing gimmick to attract new customers.

There has been increased importance in encrypting flash drives and making them more durable so they can withstand additional punishment. For regular users just transporting data on flash drives or portable HDDs, it’s important to consider encrypting information to prevent it from being easily accessed if lost or stolen.

Kingston has a DataTraveler flash drive with 256-bit AES encryption, and the makers behind the famed Swiss Army knife also developed a new ultra-secure drive.