The B53 wasn’t just any old megabomb. It was the first bunker buster. U.S. nuclear doctrine called for it to be delivered over suspected underground Soviet command-and-control facilities. The dumb bomb wouldn’t destroy them so much as it would destroy everything remotely near it, leaving — literally — a smoldering crater. That was the U.S. plan for “victory” in a nuclear war right up until the implosion of the Soviet Empire. (related) [more inside]
posted by Trurl
on Oct 25, 2011 -
75 comments
In 2015, if all goes well, the
USS Gerald R. Ford, the
most powerful warship ever
built, will begin
service in the U.S. Navy - retiring the venerable
Enterprise (CVN-65). Though displacing the same 100,000 tons as her Nimitz-class counterparts, increased automation will let her operate with hundreds fewer crewmembers.
Capable of launching 90 planes, including the
F-35C Lightning II, on 220 sorties a day, she will
defend herself against anti-ship missiles with the
Raytheon RIM-162 ESSM.
[more inside]
posted by Joe Beese
on Oct 30, 2010 -
138 comments
Though President Obama has signed no laws since taking office that prohibit gun purchases and ownership, that hasn't stopped permit applications and weapons sales in the United States from rising through the roof and worried state legislators from
passing laws they wouldn't otherwise pass, which greatly ease access and allow carrying weapons in, among other public areas, city, state and
national parks. Schools may have to
get their kids prepared.
posted by Blazecock Pileon
on Feb 23, 2010 -
102 comments
Wanna get nuked? the
Active Denial System [just say no?] was launched yesterday - its a microwave ray gun that makes people feel like they're going to catch fire. Wasn't there a ray gun at a certain point in a
book we trashed a while earlier?
posted by infini
on Jan 25, 2007 -
46 comments
Metal Storm Limited specializes in weapon systems featuring rapid fire electronically fired bullets, up to 1 million a minute. The weapons platform can be used to make the worlds strongest
handgun as well as be used to equip unmanned drones with firepower. The most frightening of which is perhaps the
"dragonfly" micro copter. Their site has a number of
videos showcasing some of the various weapons applications.
Metal Storm has been around for a while, without getting a product to market, but with a recent
influx of funding it doesn't look like they are going to go out of business any time soon.
posted by reverendX
on Jul 10, 2006 -
50 comments
Sound to make an army flee A NEW sonic weapon being developed for the Pentagon makes use of one of the most fearsome sounds known to humans: a baby crying.
The article also talks about use for crowd control. If I were a club owner, I'd buy one so that everyone clears out expiditiously. Clear them out like cockroaches when the lights come on!
posted by Modem Ovary
on Jun 25, 2002 -
14 comments
This amazing weapon was fired by a helicopter into the third floor of a building and was so accurate it actually decapitated its target without harming the other tenants.
posted by semmi
on Aug 28, 2001 -
60 comments
Cell Phone Guns Discovered. “We find it very, very alarming,” says Wolfgang Dicke of the German Police union. “It means police will have to draw their weapons whenever a person being checked reaches for their mobile phone.”
posted by pnevares
on Dec 5, 2000 -
70 comments
