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Weapon
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
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
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
The Long Range Acoustic Device: pirate deterrent, crowd controller or soft drink seller?
By David Greig
01:14 April 10, 2009 PDT
When Somali pirates armed with RPGs attacked the luxury cruise ship Seaborn Spirit in November 2005 it wasn't armed troops or the threat of artillery that deterred the attack, it was sound waves. The ship was fitted with a clever bit of tech called the Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD), a system which can emit painfully loud sound frequencies that are concentrated in a narrow beam and easily direct them at a target, not unlike using a spotlight. LRAD was originally developed for enforcing safe zones around US military vessel, but as Gizmag's David Greig learns, the potential applications of the sometimes controversial technology go well beyond protecting assets on the water. Read More
Killing mosquitos with lasers
By Darren Quick
22:36 March 17, 2009 PDT
March 18, 2009 Mosquitoes have plagued mankind since time immemorial. For many they’re just annoying pests that leave an itchy reminder of their bloodsucking ways, but for much of the world’s population they’re carriers of deadly disease – malaria in particular. So far man’s efforts to combat mosquitoes have so far proved fruitless but the Wall Street Journal is reporting that researchers in the US are looking to take the battle into the space age by using lasers to kill the nasty little buggers. Read More
Bullet Flight 1.0.0 – the US$15 iPhone app for snipers
By Mike Hanlon
00:51 January 21, 2009 PST
The rapid advancement of technology on all fronts has yielded some fascinating mash-ups to make life easier for small groups of people with specific needs and the US$15 KAC Bullet Flight 1.0.0 iPhone app and rifle iPhone mount are a case in point – they are just perfect for the sniper/hunter. One of the many skills of the modern day marksman is mathematics – to measure or estimate the range, cross winds, and calculate the allowances needed for one shot to hit its target after travelling up to 2000 yards. Bullet Flight turns the iPhone into a handy, touch screen, ballistics computer using the iPhone’s accelerometer to calculate angles, providing highly detailed, very quick solutions out to 2000 metres. The KAC mounting attaches an off-the-shelf Otterbox ruggedising case. You can also download different weapon and ammunition profiles (it comes with three) and even subscribe to highly detailed weather and forecast information, not to mention listen to music whilst you await your quarry. BTW – this scares us to death! Read More
The Magpul FMG9 Netbook-sized Folding Machine Gun
By Mike Hanlon
18:41 January 5, 2009 PST
You can’t always judge a book by its cover and the Netbook-sized Magpul FMG9 is about as deceptive as they come. It looks like an industrial torch or a portable radio, and will fit in a girl’s handbag or the back pocket of a pair of jeans. One click later, the spring-assisted deployment mechanism snaps and you have a sub machine gun ready to fire. The innocuous FMG acronym stands for Folding Machine Gun and its small size and lightweight polymer casing belie its firepower - folded it holds 31 9x19 mm NATO rounds in a Glock magazine and although the prototype was only semi-automatic, a fully automatic version will almost certainly be available if production goes ahead. What’s the bet Q hands one of these to 007 in the next movie? Read More
The ultimate in zombie defense: the AR-15 semi-automatic with chainsaw bayonet
By Loz Blain
21:04 December 4, 2008 PST
The bayonet is largely a weapon of last resort - when the rifle jams, the ammunition runs out or the fighting gets to close quarters, you've still got something sharp and pointy to get the job done old-school. They've pretty much disappeared from today's more high-tech battlefields, but that doesn't mean there aren't mavericks out there still pushing the envelope - and we can't think of many inventions we've seen lately that would be more exciting to a 10-year-old schoolboy than this: the chainsaw bayonet. Whether you view this as blatant redneck idiocy or the coolest weapon in the world will largely depend on how much you enjoy wanton destruction - and if there's a more appropriate gun out there to be included in Gears Of War 3, we'd love to hear about it. Read More
Celeste H Calabro
- July 5, 2009 @ 22:20 UTC
