“TOXIC” PATENT FOR ANTI-​​TANK ROUNDS

The U.S. mil­i­tary has been tan­gling for years with envi­ron­men­tal­ists and Gulf War I vet­er­ans over depleted ura­nium (DU). The Pentagon uses the stuff in anti-​​tank war­heads, because it’s denser than lead. But many groups have claimed that DU is behind a range of ill­nesses, includ­ing the mys­te­ri­ous “Gulf War Syndrome.” The Defense Department has con­sis­tently denied this.
Intrepid Defense Tech reader Darius has dug up the Army’s 1981 patent appli­ca­tion for what appears to be the anti-​​armor muni­tions. And it may give some ammu­ni­tion (ouch!) to those opposed to DU. According to the appli­ca­tion, the warhead’s “lethal frag­ments may be made of… chem­i­cally toxic debris.”

August 11th, 2003 | Uncategorized | Comments Off Both comments and pings are currently closed.