Weapons

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

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

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

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 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

Lockheed Martin has promised that its fifth gen F-35 fighter will allow pilots to “do things that were previously considered impossible, and to think things that were previously unthinkable.” Almost two years after its maiden flight, the F-35 Lightning II has reached another development milestone – supersonic flight. Test pilot Jon Beesley accelerated the F-35 AA-1 to Mach 1.05, with a full internal load of dummy weapons.  Read More

Northrop Grumman has delivered the first production-line high-power, solid-state laser to the US Air Force. Called Vesta II, the transportable 15kW device is an add-on to the Joint High Power Solid State Laser (JHPSSL) program and will be used as a "testing device for lethality, atmospheric propagation, long-range imaging and laser weapon applications". The push-button laser is a further step towards the 100kW power level goal set by the U.S. military for combat purposes which will see weapons capable of shooting down rockets and missiles.  Read More

March 25, 2008 Designed and engineered by a retired Navy SEAL, ArmoRight™ is a lightweight body armor system for use in marine environments that combines protection from from handgun, rifle and shrapnel threats with neutral or positive buoyancy capabilities.  Read More

October 4, 2007 The Boeing Company, working with industry teammates and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, has successfully completed a missile defense flight test resulting in the intercept of a target warhead to demonstrate the capability and reliability of the nation's only defense against long-range ballistic missiles.  Read More