# Unconventional Warfare/Weapons

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unconventional-warfare-weapons/103165>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 12, 2002, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unconventional-warfare-weapons/103165 "2002-04-12T03:38:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**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:** [April 13, 2002, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unconventional-warfare-weapons/103165/21 "2002-04-13T13:36:14Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by KarlGauss \*  
> \*\*A number of you have mentioned “Aurora”. [This site](http://www.fas.org/irp/mystery/aurora.htm) from the FAS, concerning “Aurora” seems reputable. \*\*

If you read all the way down through the accounting information at the bottom of that page, you quickly learn that the cited page does nothing more than accumulate and tabulate the various reports and claims, many of which are highly speculative. FAS makes no claims as to the existance or non-existance of ‘Aurora’, but the accounting information & analysis at the bottom of the page provide a very good reason to _doubt_ that an ‘aurora’ aircraft is actually flying in real service. The funding that appears to be available might support a technology demonstrator or two, but hardly an opperational aircraft fleet.

One way to determine if Aurora is in service is to look for the specially modified airtankers. If you can find them, then it’s in operational use. If they _don’t_ exist, then it isn’t.

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**Author:** ![Bob\_Scene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Bob\_Scene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_Scene)\
**Post date:** [April 14, 2002, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unconventional-warfare-weapons/103165/22 "2002-04-14T04:59:33Z")

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Are you guys sure that sodium nitrate is used for cloud seeding? According to this page: [http://www.nmt.edu/mainpage/storms/chap3.html](http://www.nmt.edu/mainpage/storms/chap3.html) silver iodide, which is practically insoluble, is the traditional “seed” because its crystal structure resembles that of ice, and sodium nitrate, which is soluble, actually has the opposite effect because it acts as an antifreeze.

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