This week’s New Yorker (yep, you heard me right) has a cool piece on the development of non-lethal weapons for military and police. You can tell the writer, Alec Wilkinson, had a good time reporting it. The story focuses on Charles Heal, a badass part-time Marine and part-time LA Sheriff’s Department officer known in some circles as “Mr. Non-Lethal Weapons.” As a product evaluator and consultant, Heal has helped create about 25 different non-lethal weapons, including:
newVideoPlayer("exoskelsuit2.flv", 463, 387,""); The Sarcos-Raytheon joint effort Exoskeleton has been around for a while, but the companies are trotting it out in honour of the Iron Man movie. This XOS seems really agile and powerful at the same time, but those hooks-for-hands really might be dangerous if you forget you have them on. But as you can see when their own roboman lifts those 90 kilos with barely any effort, it’s really really useful. If they can kinda enclose up this suit so the whole thing is bulletproof, flameproof and Iron Monger-proof, we’d be first in line. [Raytheon]
Here are new pictures and diagrams of the awesome Sarcos-Raytheon’s XOS Exoskeleton, the full-body motion-assisting suit for “super soldier.” For the time being it may look as fat and ugly as Iron Monger, but remember Iron Man’s clunky beginnings. This may get to the point of being like the hot rod red and gold armor in a few years.
A new prototype device developed by Raytheon Co. can bash through concrete walls like nobody’s business. Plans for the 100 pound (45.5kg) Controlled Impact Rescue Tool, or CIRT, will place the device in the hands of firefighters, military personnel and search teams as part of a program developed by the Department of Homeland Security. Hit the jump to see the CIRT in action.
A fierce battle is brewing between Boeing and Raytheon to become the main supplier of unmanned aerial vehicles for the US Navy and Marine Corps. Currently, Boeing holds that title with their battle-tested ScanEagle drone. However, Raytheon’s updated Killer Bee design is ready for sale, and the company claims that their aircraft has advantages over its competitor like more room for payloads, more than 100 miles of range, infrared feeds, and guide precision munitions with an on-board laser designator.
