It’s not the first crowd control tool to use sound waves, but Raytheon’s patent for a new type of riot shield that produces low frequency sound waves to disrupt the respiratory tract and hinder breathing, sounds a little scary. More »
Each Predator drone in the US arsenal costs between $4.5 and 10 million which puts them out of the reach of most forward-operating battalions who normally get stuck with smaller, unarmed UAVs. This new guided munitions from Raytheon is about to make those little fliers way more deadly. More »
Mike Booen, vice president of Raytheon’s advanced security and directed energy systems, has “a vision”: “We want to get to the point where it’s a hand-held device.” “It” is the assault intervention device. Development in that direction is underway. More »
Watch the Navy shooting down an aeroplane over the Pacific ocean using the new LaWS (Laser Weapon System) guided by Raytheon’s Phalanx Close-In Weapon sensors. Welcome to the future, where we all die in the hands of angry laser-firing bots. More »
We’ve written about the sci-fi sounding Army’s Future Combat System before, but the Army’s just demonstrated a successful test of one of its components: the Quick Kill vehicle defence system. Check it out: the Raytheon system uses an electronically-scanned radar array to detect an incoming anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade, then vertically launches a countermeasure missile that blows the round to smithereens in mid-flight, saving the RPG’s intended target. It’s a very simple test setup, and, of course the real system will have to deal with complications like vehicles in motion, but it’s an important first step. And it goes boom. [Danger Room]
In a competition to secure big UAV contracts with the Marines and Navy, Raytheon just gave an impressive demonstration of their KillerBee’s flight capabilities. Parking in the middle of the desert and setting up the system in just 45 minutes, the Raytheon crew flew the UAV for four hours during which time it was able to maintain communication with both Army and Navy computer systems. Raytheon still has to outfit their device with a new custom jet engine to qualify for contract consideration, but their KillerBee takes a heck of a photograph all the same:
