This 5-foot long torpedo with a moray eel painted on its sides is the Reusable Unambiguous Swimmer Warning Vehicle. It’s designed for one thing: To hunt enemy swimmers at 8 knots.
I can’t say that the Matrix Unplugged Chair looks very comfortable, but it certainly does look badass. That’s because it’s made from the torpedo-lifting jaws of a nuclear submarine. That’s right: the parts that used to handle delicate explosive torpedoes will now be handling your delicate ass.
newVideoPlayer("/torpedorrrrrr_gizmodo.flv", 510, 281,""); This is a US Navy Spruance-class destroyer sinking in mere minutes after being hit by the latest version of a Mk 48: a heavyweight torpedo which, as you can see in this video, can wipe a whole ship out of the water in a single strike. This version, developed by the US and Australia, has new sonar enhancements that make it an “effective weapon in shallow water and in a countermeasure environment.” The footage was taken during the Rim of the Pacific 2008 naval exercise to demonstrate its capabilities. Obviously, with frightening success (at least for someone who is looking to go to NYC in a freighter ship soon.) [Ares and BBC]
Researchers just finished a successful field test with a robotic submarine that can autonomously study the ocean for up to 6 months at a time. While it uses battery reserves for its more fundamental navigation and communication systems, the torpedo-like glider by Webb Research Corporation and WHOi can propel itself using the temperature differences within the ocean.
