Weaponsblog

Fighting against terrorism has become a global issue, with so much advancement in weapons earth is no safe place to live. The scientist of Sandia National Laboratories are working hard on developing a next generation of screening devices that will identify hazardous and toxic materials even if concealed by clothing and packaging materials.

The development is based on terahertz (THz) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that lies between microwaves and infrared, and is aimed at developing a highly integrated miniaturized terahertz transmitter-receiver. The problem in developing such a powerfull device earlier was that the power generated for these device could only be generated from very bulky equipments like molecular gas lasers or free electron lasers.

The revolutionary development of terahertz quantum cascade lasers that use semiconductor sources has made the project feasible as these sources are capable of output powers in excess of 100 mW powered by a 9 volt battery and so reducing the size of the device equivalent to a baseball.

The development of this innovative technology is going under a three year project known as Terahertz Microelectronics Transceiver Grand Challenge and is in second yer of funding. Sandia University partners with MIT and some other only US institutions with ability to grow the unique semiconductor crystals such that they can be turned into operating terahertz quantum cascade lasers.

The task during the first year of projest was to develop components that could be combined to create an integrated THz microelectronic transceiver. Currently the team is developing the receiver, doing systems tests and exploring packaging requirements and expects to develop a working prototype of the device.

The device will be capable of monitoring and detecting hazardous and toxic materials even if concealed by clothing and packaging materials by sensing unique terahertz spectral signature of chemicals and then comparing them to terahertz spectral signature databases. Therefore, the device will find great applications in advanced communication systems, high-resolution radars and in detecting weapons and explosives.

Development of such a device will provide us with a foolproof solution to tackle terrorists.

Via: physorg

Normally we see that the weapons are made using gun powder and are costing more that a million dollars each.

Now the navy has developed a new kind of a missile that does not use gun powder for the blast and can reach incredible speeds. The secret behind these weapons which the navy is calling as the Railgun is the use of electricity instead of gunpowder.

The Railgun works by sending electric current along parallel rails creating an electromagnetic force so powerful that it can fire the projectile at whooping speeds.

These guns are also much safer than the other missiles in which a malfunction can make the missile explode in the ship only. The Railgun on the other hand is powered by electricity and can only be launched and cannot be misfired.

The prototype of the system that was tested was only an 8-megajoule device but the future weapons will be able to deliver more than 64-megajoules.

The Railgun fires the projectile to a distance of more than 200 nautical miles and that too with a speed of 380 mph.

Navy will also introduce a 32-megajoule version in June with the final 64-megajoule version in 2020.

Moreover other counterparts of the Railgun that is Tomahawk cruise missile costs around a million dollars whereas the Railgun projectile will have no gun powder so it will have a cost of just $1,000. The Railgun projectiles will also be equipped with a GPS system that will help in navigating it when it is in flight.

The only problem with the researchers is that the 64-megajoule device when launched will be under the force of more than a thousand G and the electronics will be damaged in the process. They will have to develop some other alternatives for the same.

The projectile when fired will literally go into space at the apex of its trajectory which will be around 95 miles above the surface of earth.

Still the Navy has around thirteen more years to develop more technology that can survive the extreme G-forces that the projectile will undergo during its flight as they have planned to introduce the fully developed version in 2020.

Via: fredericksburg

Army had earlier announced that all its soldiers will get a new uniform and they already started changing the uniforms in 2004 and had commented that all the soldiers will get the new uniforms by the end of this year.

The new uniforms have been digitally designed and are called as ACU or Army Combat Uniform. The only question that remains is that are these uniforms efficient in hiding the soldiers...?

The new camouflage pattern has been derived from the Marine Corps camo scheme. The design is bitmapped and the design is then directly printed on the nylon. According to the officials the ACU is good in hiding people if they are in a city or a desert.

The dress also has very low green color and can be easily spotted when the soldiers are in a place where there is some vegetation. At such places the soldiers are easily detectable and that can be risky for them.

Moreover the final choice for the uniform was made without any feedback from the soldiers.

Please leave some comments and tell us which uniform is much better.

Via: defensetech

You all must be very familiar with Laser weapons and must have seen some in sci-fi movies. But this is reality that we are talking about.

Two main companies that are going for the challenge are Raytheon and Northrop Grumman.

Raytheon has stated that their latest creation is a prototype solid state Laser Area Defense System (LADS) with which they have successfully detonated 60 mm mortars. On the other hand the second in the business that is Northrop is opening up a new directed energy production facility for building high energy solid state lasers.

The most important announcement is from the Raytheon group who has claimed that their lasers are capable of detonating mortars. But still they have not yet reached the 100 kilowatt threshold which they say is the minimum requirement for the weapons grade lasers.

The company has used been able to detonate only 60-mm mortars and they have not commented how long they were zapped. As even a weak laser can bore a hole in a metal if it is focused for enough time and moreover the mortars were on the ground and not flying in the air.

However, Northrop has also opened a new facility for producing what the company claims to be the first 100 KW laser. They have also stated that the first product will be made available by the end of next year.

Via: engadget

Protecting soldiers from the deadly weapons from the enemy side is one of the prime motifs that the think tank and engineers always gives preference while designing an arm-suit or protection-suit for soldiers.

Troy Hurtubise, an extreme designer, has come up with a real life Halo suit that can protect the wearer from daggers, pointed arms, clubs, bullets and light explosives as well. Featuring morphine containers, knife and gun holsters and emergency lights, the Halo suit also presents a built-in recording device, pepper spray and an ingestible transponder for extreme situations.

With the fresh air system, powered by solar panels in the helmet, you can breathe or inhale fresh air without any nuisance. Though, it took $15,000 and two years of his life to develop this well-protective suit, but Hurtubise claims that he could promote producing the Halo suit for the armed forces for just about $2,000 apiece.

Right now, the Halo suit just seems a wild creation for some gaming warrior, but who knows that you would see future soldiers armed with Troy Hurtubise’s creation.

Via: hamiltonspectator

Sniper has been one of the most effective battlefield assets. The gun is known to do the job accurately and turning the course of the battle. Snipers are trained to calculate the external influences due to atmospheric conditions that may deviate the direction of the bullet fired. DARPA has developed a new Advanced Sighting System (One-Shot) program with a view to enabling Snipers to accurately hit targets with the first round, under crosswind conditions, at the maximum effective range of the weapon (RE).

It aims at creating a system that finds the ‘perfect angle’ by digitally measuring all the required atmospheric information. The two systems, Laser Doppler Velocimeters and Coherent Doppler Lidar that are being used currently in the snipers are not adequate to design this system. Therefore, the researchers are trying to figure out better sensor technologies. The organization has set no time frame for the research so it is not possible to tell when would we be able to see this ‘one shot one kill’ machine.

Via: gizmag

With the latest innovations and new techniques that are going on in arms and defense equipments, future soldiers will turn out into a ‘Army of One’ Technology that would be capable of carrying out different operations on their own, even without any sort of intervention from outside. The advanced sound equipment and smarter lasers, new technology and arms that are under the development process of Future Force Warrior scheme of the U S Army, will make the future soldiers more fatal than ever before, and possibly be available by 2010.
These are some of the advancements that will turn future soldiers into Super Soldiers:

• Advanced radar

Advanced radars will allow them to see through the walls and high-tech armors will give them strength and protection from intruders and foes.

• Body-worn sensors

Latest body-worn sensors that monitor respiration, heart rate, and shock waves from bullets will shield and provide a more protective 2-inch gap between soldiers and their armor.

Jean-Louis Dutch DeGay, an equipment specialist at the U.S. Army Soldier Systems said

They will also tell a soldier’s distance and direction, so a medic knows where to go.

• Borg effect

The Borg effect soldiers will be equipped with the laser mounted arms that will enable them to spread the position of enemies to their fellow combatants and then to the Apache helicopters. Next-gen helmets would easily elevate pulsations from the skull and spread sound straight into the head, improving the capacity to distinguish changeable sounds around the soldiers.

• Nanotechnology

With the advancement in nanotechnology soldiers would be able to see even the smallest particles that are sightless to the naked eye. Integrated battle-suits sensors would help to discover chemical and biological weapons. Incorporated automated medical care in the battle-suits will help diminish the hazard of bleeding and hemorrhagic shock in wounded warriors.

• Microscopic trusses weapons

Enhanced weapons prepared by the network of microscopic trusses would absorb energy from bullets, shrapnel or explosion waves as similar as crease precincts in vehicles. The U.S. Army is developing a supple, lightweight amorphous, silicon solar power cells coated onto fabrics for fabricating tents and other foldable exteriors that can revive batteries and replace conventional bulky batteries and power sources.

• Military Free Fall Advanced Navigation System

The Military Free Fall Advanced Navigation System that fits onto a helmet and over the eyes like a pair of goggles will enable soldiers diving from ever high altitudes and land safely even without any previous experience. Built-in GPS unit will confirm the accurate position in help in safe landing. Dan Shedd, a senior mechanical engineer at the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center said,

Hopefully by the end of fiscal year 2007, we can start procurement of these for the U.S. Marine Corps.

• Sanitize surgical system

Chris Doona, Research chemist at the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center, has also come up with a sanitize surgical system that can sterilize a kit of surgical instruments using chlorine dioxide just within 30 minutes even without the need of electricity or energy and just weighs under 20 pounds. It certainly would prove life-saving in far off operations.

Doona said,

This system might also eventually find use in emergency response teams, community hospitals and humanitarian aid in Third World countries.

The hot inventions and systems will equip future soldier with up to date technology that will turn them into super-soldiers with lethal weapons as well as powers.

Image credit: space.com

Via: foxnews

High-quality communication system between soldiers as well as different wings of the armed forces is one of the most important factors that determine the fate or destiny of battles and wars.

Researchers at MIT are developing a vibrating vest for the military that works on the same idea, just as kids, while playing, writes on each others’ back with their finger and ask the recipient to identify the correct word. The vest features 16 small vibrating motors capable of creating 15 Braille-like patterns with a very high recognition rate, enabling the soldiers non-verbal and hands-free communication.

Via: gadgetreporter

Mushroom clouds or nuclear explosions have been a matter of concern since the deadly morning of August 6, 1945 witnessed the United States Army Air Forces dropping the nuclear weapon “Little Boy” on Hiroshima, followed by the detonation of the “Fat Man” bomb, three days later, over Nagasaki, Japan during World War II. Since then many countries have gone through the deadly practice and had developed their personal weapons of mass destruction.

Here are some of the most devastating pictures of nuclear explosions that will fill you with awe as well as fear.

Extremefunny : Via : Flickr

Have you ever thought what all the prisoners have to go through when they are in jail? I think that you never would have thought of that. They go through immense problems even for easy daily tasks like lighting a cigarette. Though they are not allowed to have a smoke in the jail yet some of them succeed in smuggling a smoke. But a cigarette has to be lit before you can smoke it and the prisoners have to make some weird inventions for doing so.

Some at the prisoners open up a light bulb and create a spark of electricity for lighting a cigarette.

Some of the inventions by the prisoners are mentioned below.

1) Zip Gun:

This is a 4-barrel zip gun that is kept in the Kingston Penitentiary Library. You will not find a trigger in the image but it was crafter carefully from an overshoe.

2) GUN:

This is a fake gun that is made from wood and then is painted. May be it was made to scare a sheriff.

3) SHIV:

This super sharp shiv was found at a blacksmith’s shop at William Head Institution. That looks real sharp to me...!

4) TATTOO GUN:

Well prisoners also had to show some of the skills crafted on their body. For this they made this amazing tattoo gun. This too was developed by some inventor in Kingston Area Institution.

Below is an image of the best invention according to me. This is a water cigarette that was carefully made from a old razor. This used salt-water solution to increase the resistance of the device so that it does not blow up when electricity is passed through it.

Here I have some video demonstrations to tell you how some of these great inventions were made from scrap. Do check these out as some of them are really interesting.

1) The Immersion Heater

2) Battery Cigarette Lighter

3) Paper Mache Dice

4) Candle Making

Via: crimesift