Future weapons

Alastair D. has an TEQZY article about future weaponry:

Invisibility cloaks, cyborg insects, laser beam weapons, you name it, it’s probably secretly being development as you read this right now. Advances in modern weaponry have leapt straight out of science fiction films and into military reality. The military budget for 2016 is nearly eight hundred billion dollars. With that kind of spending, it’s not surprising that there have been some insane recent advancements. Here is a list of the ten most futuristic weapons that will change modern warfare for ever:

The Navy has a high-tech thirty-kilowatt laser weapon system (LaWS) that is capable of destroying sea and air based targets. The weapon can be used in several different ways, which is important, because it is illegal, under the terms of the Geneva Convention, to use laser weapons directly against humans. To warn approaching sea- or air-based threats, operators can dazzle them with a super bright glare. The second level is a stronger beam which can disable control systems and sensors. Finally, if they haven’t got the picture after all that, the full strength beam can completely destroy the target altogether.

Self-guided bullets are designed to shoot and not miss. The laser-guided bullet flies with fins that allow it to change direction, and like laser guided missiles, it strikes the target which is lit up by a laser.

This system is menacingly known as the Pain Ray. It is an energy weapon that focuses an electromagnetic wave which heats up the target. We have all used magnifying glasses to cook things as kids, but the Pain Ray goes one step further: it heats the molecules of the target, which in humans would result in heating of water and skin by an increase of fifty degrees Celsius. With a range of five hundred meters, the invisible beam is literally microwaving the target. The weapon has been deployed for active use in Afghanistan; however, it has been withdrawn at this point in time.

Anyone who’s played first person shooter games knows how dangerous it is to shoot around corners. The realities of this in modern warfare couldn’t be more serious, especially for soldiers fighting in urban settings or against guerilla forces. The CornerShot (photo) has a steel hinge so that the weapon can bend and shoot. The shooter views the target using a high resolution camera and and LCD monitor. This weapon is in service now, and is a powerful tool equipped with a grenade launcher.

It’s a seriously menacing name, and the Dread Gun lives up to it. The weapon is capable of firing over a hundred thousand rounds per minute, silently and at the same speed as a handgun. By using centrifugal force created from rotating disks, rounds are shot without gunpowder and there is no recoil when compared with firing normal bullets. Something that can fire two thousand rounds per second is a terrifying prospect, but the Dread Gun is not a new concept. Attempts had been made to create a similar weapon during World War One, but they were abandoned for various reasons, including inaccuracy. It is uncertain whether the Dread Gun will be adopted for military purposes.

HELLADS (it wouldn’t be a cool weapon without a long acronym) stands for High Energy Liquid Laser Area Defense System. Laser weapons seem to be a very popular military choice at present, and it’s easy to see why. HELLADS can take down missiles, rockets, and artillery shells without having to pause between shots to cool down, a problem associated with laser beam weaponry in the past. The HELLADS has a built in cooling system that allows it to fire rapidly in high intensity situations. It is still in testing, but estimates suggest that this game changing piece of defense weaponry will be in use within the next five years.

Anyone who is old enough to remember the Predator movies starring Arnold Schwarzenegger will recall that the Predator was so lethal because of it’s ability to cloak itself to match it’s surroundings. Well, straight out of sci-fi film and into reality, a Canadian firm has developed “adaptive camouflage” that bends light around the wearer of the material. It has reportedly been demonstrated to both the American and Canadian militaries, and the applications are endless. For frontline infantry, counter insurgency operations or ejected fighter pilots in enemy territory, an invisibility cloak would prove unbelievably handy. Hyperstealth Biotechnology Corp, the makers of Quantum Stealth, remain extremely secretive of their product. No pictures released can display the product, just examples of it’s use.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which is a division of the Department of Defense, has developed a part insect, part machine that they call the Hybrid Insect Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems program. Basically, DARPA take an insect at the metamorphosis stage of development and then insert a controlling mechanical device. This allows them to fly the developed insect into tightly controlled spaces for surveillance purposes. This literally allows them to bug the enemy. It’s kind of spooky when you start to think about the domestic “big brother” applications.
(Rico says this is reminiscent of his friend Kelley's prescient cartoons about insect-sized surveillance devices, called Bugs, when Rico worked for Defense Electronics magazine...)

One of the biggest killers in the Iraq war was soldiers dying from gunshot wounds that could have been prevented with faster treatment. Estimates have the numbers somewhere around three thousand soldiers. If soldiers had received faster and more efficient medical care, many would have survived. In response to this, developers have created smart clothing that can notify nearby medics of critical information: where the bullet hit, how deep, what vital organs are hit, along with blood and urine analysis. This information allows medics to instantly know what kind of treatment is required and those at headquarters can track their soldiers in real time.