By Ted Thornhill
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It sounds like something from a science fiction film, but soon, a ‘magic bullet’ that floats around in the air waiting for its target could become science fact.
This far-fetched sounding piece of ammunition isn’t designed to kill, though.
Called ‘Nonlethal Warhead for Miniature Organic Precision Munitions’, there isn’t even a prototype yet - but it’s on the U.S Army’s wish list.
Looking to the future: The U.S Army wants small businesses to develop a floating non-lethal bullet
It’s been requested through the U.S Government’s ‘Small Business Innovation Research’ program, which encourages companies to research and build products in return for a potential commercial deal.
For the floating bullet, the Army admits that ‘this effort will require innovative research and advancements in non-lethal technologies which can be packaged within a very small volume and weight’ and suggests that designers should consider ‘mechanical, such as rubber balls; acoustic; chemical; electrical; or dazzle’.
The idea certainly isn’t pie in the sky, as the U.S Army already has a ‘kamikaze’ robotic drone dubbed Switchblade, which quietly hovers before dive-bombing and blowing up a target.
It launches from a tube before its wings fold out as it flies into the air.
The U.S. Army is paying manufacturer AeroVironment $4.9million for the drones to help it develop a new way of killing suspected militants.
The drones have a miniature electric motor and transmit live video from overhead, which helps soldiers identify the enemy.
Impressive craft: A soldier launches a 'kamikaze' drone and watches its live feed as it flies out of a tube. It will soon be available for use by the U.S. Army
The operators can then send a message to the drone ‘to arm it and lock its trajectory onto the target’, the company said.
The drone will fly into a target and detonate a small explosive - but it can still be disarmed at the last moment even if it is heading for a kill.
The Army's Close Combat Weapons Systems (CCWS) signed the contract for the drones with AeroVironment last June.
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The US needs to produce a soldier with a brain, and one who's not on drugs,and takes the easy target of civilians.
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Think about the amount of money that could be redirected into failing economies if we stopped building ways of killing each other...?
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A recipe for disaster in a similar vein to the minefields which are still killing people in Vietnam... Death by proxy goes against all the moral laws put in place to prevent the killing of 'innocent' people. A simple look at the indiscriminate killings caused by drones is enough to sound alarm bells.
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They will still manage to shoot the wrong people anyway. - Saying what I think., Used to be "Great" Britain, 26/4/2012 14:31
But not nearly as often as the British.
(You should check official records rather than news reports. You would be shocked to find that the UK causes nearly as many "Friendly fire" cases as the US, with only a tenth of the troops on the battlefield.)
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If only these scientists put the same effort into creating world peace this planet would be a better place to live. - Coiled Spring, Oldham, 26/4/2012 14:21
Are you suggesting that scientists should find a way ro re-engineer humans to remove all emotion, thus removing the reasons behind fights? After all, it's impossible to have "world peace" as long as humans have emotions such as anger, desire, resentment, and jealousy.
So, are you really suggesting humans should be stripped of their emotions, or perhaps you just have utopian pipe dreams with no consideration to the realities of an emotional human race?
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Magic floaty bullet, eh? While we're at it, how about a "WIN WAR INSTANTLY" button?
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They will still manage to shoot the wrong people anyway.
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If only these scientists put the same effort into creating world peace this planet would be a better place to live.
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They've been watching too many Bugs Bunny and Who Framed Roger Rabbit cartoons.
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This kind of bullet was invented years ago. One was used in the assassination of President Kennedy. If you read what the magic bullet did to JFK and Governor Connally, you will see it is old hat.
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