Imagine a weapon sailing over an enemy city or military target and effectively paralyzing all electronics in its wake while causing almost no physical damage? Sci-fi writers and military planners have dreamed of such things for years. The problem is, the electromagnetic pulse often associated with cooking electronic systems is usually generated by the detonation of a […]
Less-lethal
Theres just something so agro about a claymore mine. Tamp it into the ground, set a trip wire or a command detonation chord and clack one off when the bad guys get too close. Nothing like a spray of 700 ball bearings backed by C-4 to ruin your pursuers day. But in todays counterinsurgency fight, […]
When controversial new military tools are being rolled out, perceptions often matter more than reality. Take the Active Denial System, the millimeter-wave pain ray developed by the Air Force. The weapon’s effects are now pretty well understood by military researchers. But for the average person, it’s been nearly impossible to sort through the range of […]
Last week, the Defense Department showcased its “Active Denial System” or ADS At Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. Officially this system is still in “extended user evaluation” phase of an ACTD (advanced concept technology demonstration). They aren’t being produced in quantities to ship to Iraq, although I’m sure the troops there wouldn’t mind having a […]
The middle years of the Cold War were, in many ways, a Silver Age of bad weapons ideas — from nuclear bazookas to one-man “aerocycles.” But this has to be just about the worst I’ve heard yet: Developing “biological agents” — including ones that can lead to “inflammation of the brain, coma and death” — […]
