# next great weapon **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 26, 2001, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-great-weapon/95273 "2001-11-26T13:52:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SlickUSA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@SlickUSA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlickUSA)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-great-weapon/95273/1 "2001-11-26T13:52:22Z")
We have A-bombs, H-bombs, Neutron Bombs, Daisy Cutters, Stealth Bombers. . . any idea what the next great military weapon would be? For myself, I think obscurity would be a good one. ---
**Author:** ![royjwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@royjwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/royjwood)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-great-weapon/95273/2 "2001-11-26T13:55:46Z")
I would hope that we can eventually just stop trying to create the perfect way to kill as many people as possible as easily as possible. The more difficult it is to kil, the less likely that someone will be to try it. That said, I think that the laser/phaser has a great potential for battelfield and even aerial warfare. I would think that Gene Roddenberry would agree, if he were still around to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Getimboys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Getimboys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Getimboys)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-great-weapon/95273/3 "2001-11-26T14:12:10Z")
About the most sinister thing I can think of would be DNA-specific viruses for pinpoint genocide. ---
**Author:** ![Nukeman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce7236/32.png) [@Nukeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nukeman)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-great-weapon/95273/4 "2001-11-26T14:27:46Z")
I don’t think we will invent really new weapons any time soon. What is more likely is that we will produce more and more sophisticated and specialised weapons. These are being researched in response to unstable or extreme governments like those in Iraq that might threaten to attack America or their neighbours. For instance, America will soon be phasing out the heavy tank as a main weapon, and focusing on producing more sophisticated light tanks that can be carried in by aeroplane and deployed more quickly. These would be designed to be able to take out old heavy tanks being used by these countries from outside their range of fire, or without detection. More intelligent versions of the cruise missile and unmanned spy planes also seem likely. Perhaps in the future some sort of phaser mentioned by royjwood might be invented, mainly as a stun weapon, as these would be especially useful for rescuing hostages. There is a general consensus that focus is moving away from nation vs. nation war to defence against terrorism or extreme governments, where speed of deployment and better technology are more important than just firepower. ---
**Author:** ![Cougarfang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c67d28/32.png) [@Cougarfang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cougarfang)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-great-weapon/95273/5 "2001-11-26T14:29:31Z")
Me! YOWP! _sound of cat being kicked off thread_ ---
**Author:** ![lucwarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@lucwarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lucwarm)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-great-weapon/95273/6 "2001-11-26T15:37:22Z")
I imagine this will be moved to another forum, since the topic is one that basically invites speculation. In any event, here’s my WAG: “smart” weapons. It seems to me this is a likely result from two trends in the West: cheaper computer processing power; and higher value on human life. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-great-weapon/95273/7 "2001-11-26T16:20:18Z")
I’m thinking some sort of flechette gun/rifle would be a battlefield weapon of the future. They have actually been developing flechette weapons since the 60’s but none have ever quite worked as well as had been hoped. Still, I think it is an idea that keeps coming back and may soon be ready for primetime (Steyr has one in development called the ACR which I presume stands for Advanced Combat Rifle). Supposedly the Steyr ACR flechettes have such a high muzzle velocity that there is no drop in the projectile’s flight over the operational range of the weapon. This would have the effect of making soldier’s more accurate as they wouldn’t have to adjust their aim to account for drop or (maybe) even wind. The flechettes travel so fast that you pretty much point your gun at the enemy and pull the trigger. FYI: Flechettes are basically small steel darts…considerably smaller than a ‘typical’ bullet (about 1/5 the size of an M16 round). A flechette gun acts in many ways like a shotgun in that it fires many little darts on each go. The difference between a shotgun and a flechette gun is the flechettes travel MUCH faster and thus have a far greater effective range and greater penetrating power (i.e. a kevlar jacket isn’t likely to help you very much). [This site](http://shoga.wwa.com/~dvelleux/future.html) mentions that a study showed an impact from a… > [@](#): > > …65 gram(10 grain) flechette fired at 1220 meters per second(4000 feet per second) had the same effectiveness as the 9.8 gram(150 grain) bullet fired from the M1 Rifle. The problems with a flechette design (besides making it work effectively) is I believe they might be contravened by the Geneva Convention but I’m not really sure about that. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-great-weapon/95273/8 "2001-11-26T18:10:05Z")
Flechettes do violate the Geneva Conventions. However, new rifle bullets are being tested which really push the limits on the distinction between “bullet” and “flechette”. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-great-weapon/95273/9 "2001-11-26T18:28:46Z")
There is a lot of work being done on [non-lethal weapons](http://www.zarc.com/english/non-lethal_weapons/), for those times when a kinder, gentler nation simply wants to give a sort-of enemy the military equivalent of a noogie. [News of the Weird](http://www.newsoftheweird.com/) has occasionally reported on some of the results of this sort of research, which include a “guaranteed nausea” odor and particular sounds which cause people people to instinctively crane their heads in the direction from which it emanates. Then, there are the [electromagnetic spectrum](http://www.parascope.com/articles/0797/em.htm) weapons, the proverbial “death rays.” These weapons aren’t necessarily lethal, either. They may be tailored to produce a particular physiological effect, such as temporary (or, for that matter, permanent) blindness, or a burning sensation that doesn’t actually burn people. EM weapons might be something to watch for, um, soon. [Pilotless combat vehicles](http://www.janes.com/aerospace/military/news/jdw/jdw000919_2_n.shtml) are now operational. I’m sorry that link is dated. Even more interesting, the Hellfire-equipped Predator remotely-piloted vehicles now being used in Afghanistan appear to be operated by a [previously unacknowledged combat force](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=100119) within the CIA. While there may be some aircraft capable of doing better, pilots generally cannot handle much more than nine g’s of accelleration. Remotely piloted vehicles of the future will be under no such constraints, and that may open up a new level of aircraft performance. And then there are kinetic energy weapons. It’s a little difficult to find a link because there are several types of weapons which use that term, but the particular kind I’m thinking of are devices with no explosives at all, which would be de-orbited from space and allowed to fall at a target. You don’t need explosives if you can simply drop something on a target at near-meteoric velocities. This weapon in particular has the potential to cause _enormous_ damage, without all the nasty radioactive fallout normally associated with the level of destruction it can conceivably produce. ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-great-weapon/95273/10 "2001-11-26T22:01:04Z")
There is an Australian company called [Metal Storm](http://www.metalstorm.com) > [@](#): > > In Metal Storm weapons, there are no mechanical steps to slow the rate, and this has resulted in demonstrated burst rates in excess of one million rounds per minute from a 36 barrel weapon. It’s interesting because rifle technology hasn’t changed in a very long time. The 30-06 rifles that hunters still used are so named because they fire a **30** grain bullet and were introduced as the standard rifle for the US army in 19 **06**. But this technology seems interesting to say the least. Check out the FAQ on the site. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-great-weapon/95273/11 "2001-11-26T22:13:04Z")
> [@](#): > > The 30-06 rifles that hunters still used are so named because they fire a **30** grain bullet and were introduced as the standard rifle for the US army in 19 **06**. Actually, it’s because they fire a **.30 caliber** bullet, which frequently weighs around 170+ grains (Typical [range](http://www.reloadammo.com/3006load.htm): 100 - 220 grains). ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-great-weapon/95273/12 "2001-11-26T22:50:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sofa King \* > **And then there are kinetic energy weapons. It’s a little difficult to find a link because there are several types of weapons which use that term, but the particular kind I’m thinking of are devices with no explosives at all, which would be de-orbited from space and allowed to fall at a target. You don’t need explosives if you can simply drop something on a target at near-meteoric velocities.** My guess is you’re talking about rail guns (or mass drivers). The potential for destruction these weapons possess is enormous (although you can build ‘little ones’ that aren’t nearly so destructive). For all of their coolness however I think they really only have application in space. The incredible speeds projectiles from these guns can achieve would cause them to rapidly burn-up in the earth’s atmosphere. You have the additional problem of powering these things which means you either need a large powerplant supplying electricity or you wait a long time between shots as a smaller power plant (such as solar cells on a satellite) charges capacitors. ---
**Author:** ![Lao\_Tzu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Lao\_Tzu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lao_Tzu)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-great-weapon/95273/13 "2001-11-26T23:52:20Z")
Not exactly new weapons, but certainly the most effective… Love and diplomacy. … “The sharper the weapons, the more trouble in the state.” – [_Tao Te Ching_](http://www.edepot.com/tao4.html) ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2001, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-great-weapon/95273/14 "2001-11-27T00:05:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Whack-a-Mole \* > My guess is you’re talking about rail guns (or mass drivers). The potential for destruction these weapons possess is enormous (although you can build ‘little ones’ that aren’t nearly so destructive). > > For all of their coolness however I think they really only have application in space. The incredible speeds projectiles from these guns can achieve would cause them to rapidly burn-up in the earth’s atmosphere. You have the additional problem of powering these things which means you either need a large powerplant supplying electricity or you wait a long time between shots as a smaller power plant (such as solar cells on a satellite) charges capacitors. \*\* Provided power sources/storage can be made small enough, the next weapons we are likely to see will be: rail guns - small solid rounds fired by electromagnetic guns at about 5 miles per second. Probably see these on warships first cause their the only thing big enough to carry that kind of power source. chemical lasers - Boeing is already mounting a large chemical laser on a modified 747 for shooting down missles really cool small arms - [http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/index.html](http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/index.html) Weapons like the OICW rifle and OCSW machinegun/genade launcher with laser guided night vision air bursting ammo. probably a little furthur off: power armor - [http://www.howstuffworks.com/exoskeleton.htm](http://www.howstuffworks.com/exoskeleton.htm) And of course the usual assortment of robot drones, super space age armor, stealth materials and so on. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2001, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-great-weapon/95273/15 "2001-11-27T01:23:52Z")
DARPA is working on a Walking War Vehicle. While this is old news, (this was first tried in the 1950s), the new Walker uses no motors. Plastic bundles, doped with metals are used instead. They expand & contract when you run electricity through them. Mount 'em in pairs on a metal skeleton & there you go, _muscles_ not motors. That Powered Armor may not be so far off, either. ---
**Author:** ![peepthis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@peepthis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peepthis)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2001, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-great-weapon/95273/16 "2001-11-27T01:29:49Z")
I recall reading that the army is developing non-lethal weapons, one of which will project some sort of waves (?) at the enemy – resulting in targeted forces literally crapping their pants. The psychological effect, morale-wise, would certainly be devastating. We sure have come a long way since blasting heavy metal music was considered state-of-the-art PsyOps. ---
**Author:** ![SlickUSA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@SlickUSA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlickUSA)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2001, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-great-weapon/95273/17 "2001-11-27T01:47:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor \* > \*\*That Powered Armor may not be so far off, either. \*\* Is this similar to regenerating armor? ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2001, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-great-weapon/95273/18 "2001-11-27T02:03:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Whack-a-Mole \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Sofa King \* > > **And then there are kinetic energy weapons. It’s a little difficult to find a link because there are several types of weapons which use that term, but the particular kind I’m thinking of are devices with no explosives at all, which would be de-orbited from space and allowed to fall at a target. You don’t need explosives if you can simply drop something on a target at near-meteoric velocities.** > > My guess is you’re talking about rail guns (or mass drivers).\*\* Actually, I’m familiar with the weapons **Sofa** ’s taking about. Not _powered_ by anything, unless you want to count the potental energy inherant to large steel rods hanging out in orbit. The idea is that you place bundles of steel rods, weighing about 10 pounds each, in orbit. When you want to blast something, you launch one or more rods on a reentry orbit, calculated to have the rod slam home at the appropriate place on the surface of the planet. Careful calculations are required, but nothing a good computer couldn’t handle. Essentially, “meteorites-on-command”. A 10-lbm rod arriving at sub-meteoric speeds could have (according to the study I saw) energies resembling a 200lb bomb. I’m not up on all the assumptions, but 20 years ago, _some_ gov’t types were actually thinking about it. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2001, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-great-weapon/95273/19 "2001-11-27T02:15:27Z")
Infantry: We’re working on (generally bad) individual and crew served weapons that shoot out airbursting munitions. In the further future, we’re working on exoskeletal systems to boost strength and armor on individual soldiers. Tanks: We’re going away from the idea of big armored heavy tanks that are built to take a hit to small, technologically advanced tanks that can avoid a hit. The idea is to use electronic countermeasures in a high mobility, high firepower, low armor weapons. Fighters: We’ve already got several spy drones converted to fire missiles - and we’re working on platforms dedicated to that task. Bombers: We’re working on bombers that can climb to the very tips of the atmosphere and then “skip” off the atmosphere, achieving extremely fast speeds and great range. Artillery: We’re working on submunitions that are smarter and smarter, giving “bomblets” the ability to loiter (parachute) in areas and identify targets (tank, friendly-APC, enemy, ect.) and seek them out based on programmed parameters. We’re also working on liquid artillery propellants which isn’t a huge revolution, but are significant improvements in some areas. Missiles: In general, we’re looking on reducing the cost of missiles and making small, smart missiles with terminal seekers. The idea is to flood an area with $40,000 missiles. You either fire up your air defenses and waste a $400,000 missile going after it, or you let it hit and destroy whatever it wants. Lasers: Israel has already employed a joint US-Israeli tactical laser project. Called the THEL (Tactical high energy laser), it has been deployed in israel to shoot down old russian katyusha rockets. Obviously, research in this area is to make lasers more practical - cheaper, smaller, more powerful. That’s all I can think of at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2001, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-great-weapon/95273/20 "2001-11-27T03:52:13Z")
Although not as gee-whiz as lasers etc, as a WAG I would imagine that at some point in the near future technology costs will be low enough that practically everything past a bullet is going to be “smart” and will able to see and destroy targets based on internal decision making hardware/software systems. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-great-weapon/95273.md?page=2)