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Military
What would happen if your town got nuked?
By Loz Blain
21:03 June 28, 2009 PDT
Not that it's particularly likely, but as long as nuclear bombs exist, there's the chance - however slim - that one might go off somewhere near you. This little Google Maps overlay might be a bit morbid, but it's also pretty fascinating. It shows you the heat, pressure and fallout spread of a range of different nuclear bombs detonating anywhere in the world. It's particularly sobering to get a sense of the scale of the devastation caused by the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs in World War 2 - and then see how tiny those bombs are compared to the USSR's enormous Tsar Bomba, the biggest nuke ever detonated. Read More
XM-25: The US Army's first smart shoulder-fired weapon
By David Greig
03:16 May 27, 2009 PDT
The XM25 Individual Air Burst Weapon is looking likely to be the shoulder-fired weapon of choice for the US military to kill or neutralize hidden targets. Due for field test this summer, the lightweight XM-25 "smart weapon" uses High Explosive Air-Burst (HEAB) munitions that can be programmed to detonate at a precise point in the air without the need to impact, spelling trouble for elusive targets, be they behind a wall, inside a building or in a foxhole. Read More
Laser detection system for unearthing hidden tunnels
By David Greig
17:15 May 10, 2009 PDT
For some time now, the Defence Department has been looking for technology that can be carried by small ground vehicles, or unmanned aircraft, to detect underground tunnel activity. This took a step closer to reality with the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency awarding the Raytheon Company a USD$19 million contract to develop a technology that detects tunnels and buried landmines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Read More
Smiths Detection rolls-out handheld chemical and biological agent detectors
By Darren Quick
02:27 May 5, 2009 PDT
It may be a sad reflection of the times we live in, but there’s a growing worldwide demand for devices capable of detecting chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRNE) threats. Detecting such threats in a laboratory environment is all well and good, but to really save lives such detection needs to be carried out at the site of the threat. That means a detection device that offers lab quality results with a portable form factor - both qualities that Smiths Detection promises in its range of threat detection systems now being rolled-out worldwide. Read More
Oshkosh delivers MRAP vehicles for testing
By Darren Quick
19:29 May 4, 2009 PDT
The success of MRAP (Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected) vehicles in saving lives from IED (Improvised Explosive Device) and ambush attacks has seen the US Marine Corp scrambling to accelerate the rate of production by awarding contracts to multiple companies. Oshkosh Defense has now delivered three production-representative MRAP All Terrain Vehicles (M-ATVs) to the U.S. Army’s Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland for military evaluation. Read More
Metal Storm completes first shoulder firing of MAUL shotgun
By David Greig
23:51 April 30, 2009 PDT
Metal Storm's MAUL ultra-light shotgun attachment has joined the company’s 3GL grenade launcher in achieving certification for safe shoulder-firing. MAUL, which stands for Multishot Accessory Underbarrel Launcher, mounts under the barrel of a combat weapon including the M-4 and M-16 rifles and is capable of firing a range of lethal and non lethal munitions using the company's computer-controlled, electronic ignition system. Read More
The soldier helmet that pinpoints enemy snipers
By David Greig
00:28 April 30, 2009 PDT
Imagine being able to pinpoint an enemy shooter in difficult terrain with such deadly accuracy that you can see whether they are kneeling or standing and not only what kind of weapon they are firing but the caliber too. Well, engineers at Vanderbilt University's Institute for Software Integrated Systems (ISIS) have developed such a system by turning soldiers' combat helmets into "smart nodes" in a wireless sensor network. Read More
Autonomous Rotorcraft Sniper System packs .338-caliber rifle controlled by Xbox 360 pad
By Paul Evans
00:43 April 29, 2009 PDT
Late last year reports surfaced of a modified radio controlled helicopter equipped with a .45 caliber hand gun, including a video of the RC copter doing target practice with live ammunition (see below). It seems the US Army have been thinking along the same lines, except this version carries a .338 caliber sniper rifle. Read More
The Carl Gustav Recoilless Rifle - 60 years and still going strong
By David Greig
18:30 April 23, 2009 PDT
In the world of military technology, new weapon capabilities quickly supersede the old. With the United States expenditure for the 2009 fiscal year at US$515.4 billion, it's rare to find a very old weapon still cutting it with the best on the battlefield, but the Carl Gustav recoilless rifle (CG) has proved the exception to this rule. First produced in 1946, the Carl Gustav remains in widespread use today. Read More
Researchers developing portable E-Bomb
By Paul Evans
23:24 April 22, 2009 PDT
High-power microwave (HPM) bombs that use an enormous electromagnetic radio pulse to disable computers, electronics, vehicles, guided missiles and communications while leaving people and structures unharmed have been under investigation in research labs for a number of years. Until recently these weapons have been impractically large at over 3.5 meters long, but researchers at Texas Tech University have now built a self powered device with U.S. Army funding that measures 15 cm in diameter and only 1.5 meters long, making it small enough to be considered portable. Read More
ONR demonstrates new counter-mine cloaking technology
By David Greig
00:07 April 22, 2009 PDT
Naval mine strikes are cited as the root cause of almost 4/5ths of U.S. Navy ship casualties occurring since 1950, so any device that either detects mines or cloaks the ship to avoid detonation will aid in the reduction of these alarming statistics. This new technology developed by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) consists of a high temperature superconducting (HTS) degaussing coil which acts to form a cloaking device which eliminates the magnetic signature of the ship. This interferes with undersea mines' ability to detect and detonate when a large magnetic field – like the one created by a ship – comes within close proximity. Read More
SFC Portable Fuel Cell lightens the soldier's load
By Mick Webb
17:58 April 21, 2009 PDT
Soldiers operating in remote locations face a considerable heavy equipment burden, a significant proportion of which can be attributed to the need for a portable power supply. Fuel cells are seen as a key solution to this problem and the JENNY system, which has just been commercially released for defense applications by German mobile power application company SFC Smart Fuel Cell, promises to reduce weight by around 80% compared with lithium-ion batteries. Read More
Boeing to develop Free Electron Laser for US Navy
By David Greig
05:42 April 21, 2009 PDT
Boeing has won a U.S. Navy contract worth up to $163 million to develop the Free Electron Laser (FEL), a weapon system that the company says "will transform naval warfare in the next decade by providing an ultra-precise, speed-of-light capability and unlimited magazine depth to defend ships against new, challenging threats, such as hyper-velocity cruise missiles." The envisioned level of precision would enable U.S. Navy ships to deliver nonlethal or lethal force to targets with power and minimal collateral damage. Read More
High-level concerns flagged over Chinese naval weapon
By David Greig
23:11 April 19, 2009 PDT
After years of speculation, details are beginning to emerge of a "kill weapon" developed by the Chinese that is capable of targeting and destroying US aircraft carriers. The Dong Feng 21 anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) can carry a warhead big enough to inflict significant damage on a large naval vessel, such as a supercarrier, with a single strike. The missile employs a complex guidance system, using low radar signature and a maneuverability that makes its flight path unpredictable. This increases the odds that the missile can evade tracking systems to successfully reach its target. It is estimated that the missile can travel at mach 10 speed and reach its maximum range of 2,000km in less than 12 minutes. Read More
AA-12 combat shotgun
By Loz Blain
02:50 April 3, 2009 PDT
Assault rifles are all well and good, but when you really need to tear a person to pieces, nothing fills the air with metal quite like a combat shotgun. And for those times when a regular combat shotgun isn't generating enough flying body parts, connoisseurs turn to what must be the most outrageously devastating hand-held anti-personnel murder machine in existence: the Atchisson Assault Shotgun, or AA-12. Fully automatic and drum-fed, the AA-12 fires five 12-gauge shotgun shells per second, with extreme reliability and so little recoil that strong men can shoot it Arnie-style with one hand. And if that hail of hot buckshot isn't enough to make both shooter and target need a change of underpants, consider this: it has been developed in conjunction with the FRAG-12 - a new type of shotgun cartridge in which each round is a small, flighted high explosive or fragmentation grenade accurate up to 175 metres. Read More
Miltary grade 100 Kilowatt Solid-State Laser produced
04:24 March 23, 2009 PDT
Star Wars-style laser weapons have taken another step closer to reality with Northrop Grumman reporting that it has produced a 105 kilowatt (kW) light ray from an electric laser in the final demonstration milestone of Phase 3 of the U.S. military's Joint High Power Solid State Laser (JHPSSL) program. At this energy level such a "weapons grade" laser would be capable of taking out cruise missiles, rockets and artillery from land, sea and airborne platforms, but Han Solo won't be slipping this still hefty device into his side holster anytime soon. Read More
The Incredible HULC: Lockheed Martin unveils exoskeleton technology
By David Greig
00:34 March 12, 2009 PDT
The use of an exoskeleton to improve the performance of humans in various situations including the military is a hot topic in the media and leads the imagination to all sorts of possibilities. It has the potential to deliver extraordinary strength and endurance to the wearer possibly changing the face of modern warfare. As part of the further development of exoskeleton technology for military scenarios, Lockheed Martin recently introduced the Human Universal Load Carrier (HULC™) exoskeleton at the Association of the United States’ Army Winter Symposium in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Read More
BAE delivers new Mine Resistant All-Terrain Vehicles
By David Greig
20:34 March 2, 2009 PST
With the increasing use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in the Iraq War and in other theater operations, continued focus is being placed on protection of soldiers and vehicles. To this end, BAE Systems has delivered two different M-ATV (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All-Terrain Vehicles) prototypes to the U.S. Government for two months of testing and evaluation. The new prototypes - the USC M-ATV and the GTS M-ATV - are lighter and more mobile than first-generation MRAP’s while providing comparable protection from roadside bombs. Read More
Mortar Stowage Kit brings automation to the battlefield
By Mike Hanlon
14:21 March 2, 2009 PST
Automation offers many advantages regardless of what you're doing, but on the battlefield, it can quite literally be a lifesaver. One of the many interesting exhibits at last week's AUSA Winter Symposium was the M326 120-mm Mortar Stowage Kit. The highly-automated, trailer-mounted system makes it easier for soldiers to quickly set-up and take down a M120 Mortar system on the battlefield, and apart from reducing a physically gruelling team job to the press of a button, the end result is astonishingly quick. The M326 uses an electrical/hydraulic system to hoist the fully assembled 300-pound M120mm Mortar into and out of its trailer and the process is now so quick that soldiers can emplace, fire and stow the system and be on the move again in less than three minutes. Read More
Protonex Soldier-Worn portable power management systems
By Kyle Sherer
14:57 February 22, 2009 PST
Smaller, lighter, and easier to configure than previous models, Protonex' new line of power managers reduce the amount of batteries soldiers have to carry into the field and streamline the recharging of electronics. The latest line feature six configurable power ports and provide troops with greater and easier access to man-packable equipment such as the Defense Advanced GPS Receiver, the Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radio, the PRC-119 radio system, Night Vision, BB 2590 batteries, PDAs and solar blankets. Read More
The electric cannon delivers shells over 200 miles at Mach 5
By Mike Hanlon
13:16 February 18, 2009 PST
Think of the electromagnetic railgun as an electric cannon which uses electrical energy instead of chemical propellant to launch projectiles at hypervelocities. First conceived nearly a century ago, the concept was investigated by Germany during WWII, but has really only stepped out of science fiction and into reality in the last 12 months. With shells travelling at Mach 5 on impact, and accurate to within five metres at a 200 mile range, such weapons maximize the damage they do through kinetic energy, and hence don't need explosive payloads. Accordingly, they are ideal for naval warfare as they minimise the risk to warships which do not need to carry explosive warheads or propellants. Earlier this week, the US Office of Naval Research (ONR) awarded a USD 21 million 30-month contract to BAE Systems for the detailed design and delivery of an Innovative Naval Prototype (INP) Railgun. As previously warned, if the Daleks don't get here soon, they'll have a serious fight on their hands. Read More
IBM patents bullet-dodging technology
By Mike Hanlon
15:08 February 15, 2009 PST
IBM has retained the Number One Plate Holder's title at the US Patent Office for 16 years straight, with 2008 issuances greater than Microsoft, HP, Oracle, Apple, EMC, Accenture and Google combined. On February 3 it astounded even seasoned patent watchers when it filed a patent for bionic body armor which not only recognizes a bullet has been fired, but delivers a shock to the target's appropriate muscles so they step out of the bullet's trajectory. Read More
Metal Storm 3 Shot Grenade Launcher Certified
By Mike Hanlon
02:39 February 4, 2009 PST
February 4, 2009 Defence technology specialist Metal Storm has successfully certified its semi-automatic 3GL grenade launcher as a safe shoulder-fired weapon. Metal Storm’s weapon technology uses computer-controlled electronic ignition and a system of stacked projectiles, to achieve a light, small non-mechanical gun with a very high firepower to weight ratio. The three-shot 40mm grenade launcher is light and compact enough to attach as an accessory to an assault rifle, while also providing a three-shot, semi-automatic firing capability, effectively trebling the reactive grenade firepower of an infantry squad. Read More
Laser-equipped ground vehicle used to shoot down UAV
16:26 January 28, 2009 PST
January 29, 2009 Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are now a well established tool in modern warfare, having proved their worth in both in reconnaissance and increasingly, combat roles. As with all weapons however, this success might not be viewed so glowingly if you happen to be on the receiving end. In developing ways to combat the threat of UAV platforms, Boeing has demonstrated for the first time that a laser equipped Avenger ground combat vehicle can shoot down a UAV. Read More
DAGR video released
By Mike Hanlon
22:19 January 9, 2009 PST
January 10, 2009 A few days ago we wrote about the ongoing success of the DAGR semi-active laser guidance kit that turns dumb 2.75-inch/70mm rockets into guided rockets with accuracy comparable to that of the precision-strike laser-guided HELLFIRE II missile. DAGR is being developed by Lockheed Martin to fill the gap between unguided rockets and the HELLFIRE weapon system by providing a precision-strike, air-to-ground weapon for lightly-armored high-value targets close to civilian assets or friendly forces, while limiting collateral damage. We reported on the first live warhead ground launch test of DAGR in which it maintained a perfect 12-for-12 success rate in contractor-funded flight tests. Here's the video - note how the Rocket penetrates the van and reaches the centre before exploding. Read More
Celeste H Calabro
- July 5, 2009 @ 22:20 UTC
