RSS Feeds
Weapons
Military Arming Shadow Drones, Could Give Novice Teen Pilots the Power to Kill
Posted by Sean Fallon at 6:50 AM on October 11, 2008
Today, only seasoned, rated pilots are allowed to step behind the controls of an armed Predator or Reaper drone. However, the Defence Department is planning to change all that by fitting their low-flying Shadow counterparts with precision weapons. Currently Shadow drones function primarily as an intelligence asset—hunting down and collecting information on potential targets. They are also much lighter, smaller and cheaper than Predators or Reapers—which is why the Air Force felt comfortable allowing the most junior officers to pilot missions.
Being the blind bat that I am, I first got excited when I saw this M1 Abrams tank made out of paper because I thought those were comic-book pages. Is that Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos? Maybe coloured Milton Canniff's Steve Canyons? Doug Murray's 'Nam? Then I zoomed in and I realised what it was.
Piracy on the high seas 
Here's the first look at the final version of the deadly XM25. We learnt this morning about the weapon's 
This is the new XM25 Individual Air Burst Weapon. It looks straight out of the Marines' gun locker in Aliens, and in fact, it can take out an Alien if they actually existed because, according to the US Army, it is capable of killing anyone behind walls, beyond hills or even below a trench. The XM25 is not just a concept: three prototypes will enter the final testing phase on the field next month, which means it could be deployed very soon. According to Christian at 
Built in 1946 to protect Russia's northern coastline, this base near Murmansk city was abandoned semi-intact, its once deadly weapons rusting in the grass like an old Chevy. The full gallery is strangely haunting, a post-industrial rendition of the Anasazi—here one day, gone another. [
We've all picked up the Covenant Energy Sword in a multiplayer match of Halo, grinning with childlike glee...only to be combo sniped and teabagged into oblivion. Now you can settle the score in real life with this Halo energy sword replica. Cast in stainless steel finished with the reflective "spectrum treatment," the 27-inch sword will mirror the red blood of your enemies, the blue flashes of police lights and the dark consequences of your actions as you spend life in jail...oh so far from your precious sword. You were an Arbiter once, long ago. And for a moment, it was wonderful. [
In the 2009 defence authorisation bill approved last week, the US Senate called for the defence industry to get serious about bringing laser weapons like Boeing's 
It's a good day for non-lethal crowd control methods, but a bad day for their intended targets, as the Israeli Army has used the Skunk Bomb for the first time against Palestinian protesters in Naalin. The "bomb" is dispensed via a hose system, and the liquid is supposedly hard to wash off, even after repeated showers. It's also known to have created a clothespin shortage or two. Nyuk, nyuk.
Here's an idea for new unofficial Gizmodo game. It doesn't have a name, but it's based on guessing what Bob Woodward was talking about when he said the U.S. military had some super secret new gadget, gizmo or technology 
Are you the dictator of a country that's desperate to seem powerful to its neighbours, but not quite rich enough to afford the armaments it wants? Take a page from the 
Actually, it's more like set to "ouch": a UK government report has revealed the police are testing out non-lethal weapons. These include low-powered lasers which hit a miscreant's skin and burn off the outer layer, "leaving them in agony, but with no permanent damage," which sounds lovely doesn't it?
We've been kind of 
Wired's Danger Room blog is spot on in comparing Northrop Grumman's upcoming 
Yes, 
The International Defence Exhibition of Land Forces went down in Moscow this past weekend, and it seems like it was a pretty a great time, judging from these photos sent in to our good friends at 
Boeing is firing off laser weapon press releases and news at almost the speed of light these days. In June we brought you word that the company had successfully test fired 
The U.K. is looking to clean up its streets with a knife amnesty program, so you can imagine their surprise when a Klingon, er, excuse me, a Klingon fan, turned in a replica Bat'leth over the weekend. The 5-foot blade startled law enforcement officials, who were hoping the program would see youths turning in knives, blades and other more puny (but no less dangerous) weapons. "It is a particularly nasty weapon that can, literally, take someone's head off. We are very glad it is off the streets and we want more weapons handed in," said a Gloucester police spokesperson. To which we say "maybe," but only if it's being wielded by one Lt. Commander Worf. Plus, um, it's a replica. If you want real knives we've covered a few 
USB rocket launchers are expensive and overrated, in my opinion. I say give me Luddite papercraft rocket launchers or give me death. So you'll excuse me when I say I downloaded the template for this 
So, you have a army-sized stockpile of weapons in your basement for protection against the coming apocalypse. That's good, being prepared is key. But what happens when you are overrun with zombies in the aftermath? They may be slow, but they can still get you in a swarm. That means you need an more efficient way to reload--and the FAST (Fast And Smooth Transition) system can help you do just that. Basically, it is a magazine for your magazines.
