Throughout the ages, bad guys have loved bunkers, whether they’re in Nazi Germany or Jihadist Iran. With good reason: the suckers are hard to find, and even tougher to blow up. Even the most bleeding-edge, experimental bunker-busters can penetrate, at most, 10 meters down.
Which is why the Air Force is considering a new approach: teams of foot-long “subterranean vehicles” with new-fangled ways to dig.
A subterranean vehicle could engage these types of targets in an effective manner, avoiding both collateral damage and unnecessary risks to our troops. It could be deployed a safe distance from the target and autonomously navigate itself to the target while detecting, identifying, and then avoiding buried obstacles such as pipes, wires, boulders and even other buildings. This vehicle would be able to penetrate the surface either through deployable techniques or on its own.
But “conventional digging techniques” will not get the job done, the Air Force warms. “Its more likely that a revolutionary approach to digging, involving biologically inspired and/or unconventional physical and chemical approaches, would provide better results.“
General Dynamics, for one, already has a digger, derived from nature: the Worm, a 30-inch long, two-and-a-half-inch-wide “combination of hydraulic packers and cylinders” designed to inch its way through soil. It’s made to wiggle through 500 feet on earth in about 20 hours.
The Air Force thinks “a system of vehicles” could prove to be a better solution, however, with “each [machine] performing a different task.“
Phase I of the “Subterranean Warfare” effort “should establish the ability to penetrate the surface and continue to navigate at least one meter below the surface.” After that, it’s time to “develop, test and demonstrate an operable prototype.“
UPDATE 10:38 AM: Now, of course, conspiracy theorists and comic book fans will tell you that such diggers are almost laughably redundant. To fight underground, all you have to do is find one of the secret passageways to the Hollow Earth, they’ll say. And bring enough troops to deal with the Mole Men, naturally.
UPDATE 2:54 PM: Some of those kooky types might believe in Hollow Earth theories, David Hambling sniffs. But as any real, serious Mulder-in– training will tell you, the Air Force “already operates its own fleet of underground tunnelling machines, digging out all those secret bases to store all the UFOs and stuff.” Why, just look at the evidence, to the left. I mean, there’s no chance it could have anything to do with item #4 on this list.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
When I read things like the “Hollow Earth Theory” it is comforting to know that the internet is open to all levels of sanity.
How could we have been so blind? Osama is obviously hiding on the inner surface.
Mole Men? Bah. It’s the CHUDs, man. They’re the ones you have to watch out for.
I don’t really buy the inner earth stuff.
But I gotta admit I have always had a real hard time believing that these MULTI MILLION DOLLAR tunnel machines are just veered off and left after the tunnel is dug. Seems to me the best place to have a top secret facilaty would be one you had easy access to Train/Truck ect.. and could be accessed without much chance of being discovered mixed in with everyday traffic (unless you were counting the traffic in out 24/7, very very hard) unlike a remote base above/below ground the resuply trails give it away and if below the ventalation shafts. Best place to hide somthing is in plain sight.
How many major cities have tunnels? hmmm
The _AIR_ Force is doing this? I just find that weird. And “subterranean warfare”?.. So anti-subterranean warfare would be ASTW?
The picture posted to the article is a picture of a SUBTERINE, yes a play on the word submarine. It is constructed without out blades for digging. It uses nuclear radiation to melt the earten rock. It is capable of digging at 1-1.5 MILES a day. That is correct. 1-1.5 MILES!!! At that rate it is very conceivable that the US Airforce has and operated underground military facilities around the Continental United States.
The United States Patent is on file with the US patent office approximately 1975 give or take a few years. Before the use of the Subterine it was tough going on a large dig and the convental way was with a large Hughes borring machine using diamond headed boring rings. 500 ft max. Imagine what they can do now with thnology we have now.
Something to think about
Look up info on the late Phillip Schneider.
I have worked on development of several things that I can only guess what the whole machine would do. A dirtplane, why not! There is enough evidence to encourage theories which might indicate the mantle or parts of it are multiphasic elastics composed of carbon, water and silicone covering an iron core. Lots of perhaps here: Oil being constantly produced, earth flooding from the subterranean, massive hollow areas… lots of dirt for thought!
I have had a hard time with the hollow earth theory till now. It seems that I need to research a little more on this subject. I never gave much interest to the subject till this article. Most things later ring true that the government tries to ridicule. It sounds ridiculous even to me but I now really need to ..no pun intended do some digging
Everybody put away your tinfoil hats. That digger was part of the MX (Peacekeeper) missile project. They investigated NUMEROUS methods of deploying the missiles and that digger was simply that- a tunnel boring machine. No, not a nuclear powered digger for moving missiles all over the world. JHC.
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