Military technology

Volunteers Are Making 3D-Printed Aerial Drones For The Ukrainian Army

Troops fighting pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine are being equipped with 3D-printed aerial drones. The AEVs, which are being paid for by volunteers, are currently being used at the front. Mercifully, a ceasefire is scheduled to take effect at midnight tomorrow (14 February). It’s not known, however, if and how long it will last. Last…

ATLAS, The Pentagon’s Humanoid Robot, Just Got A Major Upgrade

Tremble at the sight of the new and improved ATLAS. Redesigned for DARPA by Boston Dynamics, this robot is now stronger, more energy efficient, more dextrous, and quieter than its clunky predecessor. And best of all, it no longer requires a safety tether. It’s called ATLAS Unplugged, and it’s the new standard that’ll be used…

How The Military Could Turn Your Mind Into The Next Battlefield

Long a staple of science fiction, the idea of creating weapons that can disrupt or alter the cognitive processes of enemy combatants is starting to become reality. Inspired by recent advances in neuroscience, the U.S. military is considering the potential for “neuro-cognitive weapons”. Here’s what you need to know about this fascinating and frightening prospect.…

11 Secret Weapons Developed By Japan During World War 2

Normally, it’s the Western Powers who are remembered for developing some of the most innovative and conceptual weapons of the Second World War. But when it came to experimental military technologies, Japan suffered from no shortage of ideas. Here are 11 you should know about. Illustration: MXY-7 Okha Suicide Attacker, by Fiddlers Green Japan emerged…

The U.S. Army is now testing its lightweight warfighter exosuit. The assistive devices could significantly reduce soldiers’ risk to injury and improve battlefield performance. The exosuit, which can cut a wearer’s exertion level by 25% when carrying a 100 pound load, could be ready as early as 2016. Image: U.S. Defense Department

The U.S. Military Has Deployed A Laser Weapon To The Persian Gulf

As part of its annual training exercises in the Persian Gulf, the U.S. Navy has begun testing a prototype of its High Energy Laser (HEL) weapon. The futuristic device could be used to shoot down drones and small attack boats. The weapon, which has been fitted to the USS Ponce, is the first laser system…

A Circuit That Breaks Records, Runs At One Trillion Cycles Per Second

The Pentagon’s advanced concepts research wing has attained a crucial technological milestone by building the world’s fastest integrated circuit. Clocking in at a full one terahertz, it’s 150 billion cycles faster than the previous record. The stage is now set for some unprecedented new technologies. DARPA, along with its partner Northrop Grumman, has been working…

How WWI Shaped Air Combat — And Still Influences Modern Missions

Planes first appeared over a century ago, but they’ve changed considerably since then. What hasn’t changed, however, is their role in controlling the air, striking, reconnaissance, and mobility — the roots of which go back back to the first World War. Top image: Time to change the world: Thirtyfootscrew, CC BY-NC-SA. Since the end of…

This Badass DIY Tank Is Ready To Be Used In The Fight Against ISIL

Desperate for weaponry, the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo has thrown together a homemade war wagon comprised of a pickup truck patched with scrap metal, a .50 cal machine gun, and a camera. And incredibly, the gun is controlled with a PlayStation controller. The Jaish al-Mujahideen brigade of the FSA recently demo’d their improvised vehicle…

China’s Next Tank Could Be This Weaponzied Robotic Spider

Weapons designers in China have sketched out a tank-like robotic spider — and they’re pitching the idea to the military. A quick scan of the specs shows they’re actually quite serious about building this thing. Looking at this so-called “crab walker,” one can’t help but think these weapons designers took inspiration from scifi. It’s like…

China’s Answer To DARPA’s BigDog Looks Awfully Familiar

The arms race to develop hideous-looking dog-like robots is now officially underway. This quadrupedal “bionic mobile platform” was recently showcased at the 2014 Beijing International Emergency Rescue Expo. Hmm, now where have we seen this before…. Looks like the Chinese government has been paying attention to Boston Dynamics’ YouTube channel. Edwin Kee from Ubergizmo describes…

Check Out DARPA’s Insanely Agile ‘Tank Of The Future’

DARPA’s Ground X-Vehicle Technology (GSV-T) program is an effort to revolutionize tank design. To that end, the advanced concepts research wing is considering designs that focus less on armor and more on mobility and speed. This wild concept video should give you a good idea of what the U.S. military is striving to achieve. A…

A Surveilliance Drone That Can Fit Inside A Soldier’s Pocket

U.S. Army engineers are working on a mini aerial surveillance drone for troops working in challenging environments. Once deployed, the scifi-like device could allow soldiers to get a bird’s-eye view of their immediate area, or scan the contents of a room as they clear a building. It’s called the Cargo Pocket ISR, where ISR stands…

The Pentagon Takes Its Next Major Step Towards A Reusable Spaceplane

In an effort to reduce satellite launch costs, DARPA has awarded three companies with a $4 million preliminary design contract to develop the XS-1 Experimental Spaceplane — a reusable, unoccupied booster that functions similar to modern aircraft. The three companies are The Boeing Company (working with Blue Origin, LLC), Masten Space Systems (working with XCOR…

Pentagon Successfully Demonstrates Self-Guiding Sniper Bullets

A DARPA-funded project has successfully demonstrated a .50-caliber sniper round capable of maneuvering during flight in order to maintain a fix on its target. Called EXACTO, the bullet is optically guided to the target by a laser, allowing for accuracy up to 1.2 miles away. Headshots will never be the same. EXACTO stands for Extreme…

The British Military Is Designing a Real Life ‘Transformer’ Plane

BAE has unveiled its designs for a number of wildly futuristic aircraft, including 3D printed drones, self-healing aircraft, and a transformer plane — a long-range aircraft capable of dividing into smaller ones upon arrival at its destination. This isn’t the crazy ramblings of pie-in-the-sky conceptual designers. BAE Systems is the company who, under other names,…

Watch the U.S. Navy Blow Shit Up With Its Futuristic Railgun

Gamers and scifi enthusiasts are familiar with the much-vaunted railgun — an electrically powered projectile launcher capable of propelling objects at speeds reaching Mach 7. We’ve seen the Navy’s railgun in action before — but we’ve never actually seen it destroy stuff. Until now. Navy officials have been busy at work testing the railguns to…

This Robot Is A Crash Test Dummy For HAZMAT Suits

Introducing Porton Man, the UK Ministry of Defence’s answer to the Pentagon’s Petman. And like the U.S. version, this robot will be subjected to a series of unpleasant scenarios, including chemical and biological contamination. So you don’t have to. Indeed, the point of the £1.1 million (USD $1.8 million) robotic mannequin is to test light-weight…

DARPA’s New Biotech Division Wants To Create A Transhuman Future

The Pentagon’s advanced research wing has announced its latest budget — and whoa, does DARPA ever have some ambitious plans for the future. Their new Biotech unit will be harnessing biology for national security, and dealing with everything from stopping plagues to building synthetic soldiers. DARPA’s commitment to cutting-edge innovation is unquestioned. The very essence…

This Is How DARPA’s Robotic VTOL X-Planes Will Dominate The Sky

The Pentagon’s advanced concepts research wing has asked four companies to make “radical improvements” to vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. Revealingly, the initial proposals for these VTOL X-Planes consist entirely of robots. Above: Artist’s concept of Karem Aircraft’s proposed VTOL X-Plane. Frustratingly for DARPA, new designs for VTOL aircraft over the past few generations have…