Tag Archives: Popular Mechanics

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Weapon Wednesday: Military Mind-Controlled Weapons

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USS Blue Ridge operations

U.S. NAVY PHOTO BY MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 3RD CLASS KEVIN A. FLINN

The Department of Defense’s research and development wing, DARPA, is working on technology to read and write to the human brain. The focus isn’t on mind control but rather machine control, allowing the human brain to directly send instructions to machines. The goal of the process is to streamline thought control of machines to the point where humans could control them with a simple helmet or head-mounted device, making operating such systems easier. read more

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Weapon Wednesday – Kosovo Changed the Air War Forever

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F 16 Pilot From The 510th Fighter Squadron

USAFGETTY IMAGES

April 12, 1999. It’s 12:30 in the afternoon and Brigadier General Dan Leaf, flying in the cockpit of an F-16, is trying to stop a massacre unfolding thousands of feet below.

He’s the Commander of the 315th Air Expeditionary Wing, operating from Aviano Air Base in Italy during Operation Allied Force. The military campaign against Yugoslavia began on March 24, 1999, with British and U.S. using airstrikes attempting to curb an ethnic cleansing campaign by the Yugoslavian government. read more

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Weapon Wednesday – B-17’s Cold Blue Moment

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The B-17 “Flying Fortress” is one of the most iconic aircraft of World War II. Built by Boeing, the four-engine bomber was the United States’ primary weapon of destruction in the air campaign to annihilate cities and bring Nazi Germany to its knees. Its combat performance was decidedly uneven, yet no one questions its primacy in the war. read more

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Russia’s Belgorod Submarine

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Belgorod nuclear submarine launched in Severodvinsk

Oleg KuleshovGetty Images

Russia launched the world’s longest submarine today, the special mission submarine Belgorod. Designed to support a variety of military missions, including the Poseidon long-range strategic nuclear torpedo, the sub is far larger than anything operated by any other naval force, including the U.S. Navy. The six hundred foot long submarine displaces more water than a World War I battleship and can dive to a depth of 1,700 feet. read more

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Weapon Wednesday – Blues Angels to Replace Old F/A-18C Hornet

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Blue Angels Air Show Live

ED PERLSTEINGETTY IMAGES

The Blue Angels are getting new jets for their 75th anniversary—kind of.

The Navy’s flight demonstration team will move from the older F/A-18C Hornet to the newer F/A-18E/F Super Hornet for the 2021 flight show season. read more

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Weapon Wednesday – Making Soldiers and Tanks Invisible

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3ABCT equipment going green for Atlantic Resolve

Christoph Koppers, Training Support Center Grafenwoehr

The U.S. Army says it will develop technology to block the heat signatures of ground troops and armored vehicles. Army Chief of Staff Mark Milley said the future of warfare, in which soldiers will operate in a “highly lethal” environment, demands that the service develop the means to hide its soldiers. read more

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Weapon Wednesday – YouTuber Taste-Tests Military MRE Rations

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YOUTUBE/STEVE1989MREINFO

A YouTuber dedicated to reviewing soldier rations, past and present, has finally run into one pack of military chow even he can’t eat.

Steve1989MREInfo has reviewed rations from the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, in conflicts from the American Civil War (believe it) to those feeding troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. He’s reviewed scores of military rations from countries as diverse as the U.S., Russia, Spain, the U.K., South Korea, Belarus, France, New Zealand, Finland, Canada, Japan, Slovenia, and Indonesia. “Steve” has eaten it all…or tried to. read more

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Weapon Wednesday – U.S. Army’s First New Submachine Gun Since WW II

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YouTube

The U.S. Army has officially selected the Brugger and Thomet APC9K to outfit its Personal Security Details.

The APC9K is the first new submachine gun for the U.S. Army since the M3 “Greasegun” of World War II. The service will buy 350 of the compact automatic weapons for $2.5 million, with an option to buy 1,000 more. The B&T APC9K beat out guns from more than ten other companies, including Colt and Heckler and Koch, as well as guns based on the M-16 and MP-5 weapons platforms.

The APC9K is an entirely new submachine gun developed in conjunction with and for EKO Cobra, Austria’s counterterrorism unit. The gun uses a closed-bolt blowback system, has a maximum rate of fire of 1,080 rounds per minute, and weighs just 5.9 pounds with 30-round magazine, foregrip, and Aimpoint micro red dot aiming sight. It’s chambered in 9-millimeter Parabellum and comes standard with two 30-round translucent magazines.

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Weapon Wednesday – Textron’s Grizzly Pack-bot

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TEXTRON SYSTEMS

The modern solider is overburdened, so defense researchers have been trying to invent new ways to lighten the load, such as wearable exoskeletons that shoulder some of the weight. Now, here comes the latest possible solution, a tracked robot designed to operate with Army ground forces, carrying important, heavy gear. read more

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Weapon Wednesday – Marines New Plywood Supply Drone

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LG-1K, developed by Logistic Gliders Inc under contract with DARPA and the U.S. Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, is meant to be a very low-cost drone capable of being released from fixed-wing aircraft or helicopter. The plywood and aluminum drone is 10.4 feet long with a 23=foot wingspan. The LG-1K can carry up to 700 lb.s of supplies. It’s now flown twelve missions demonstrating its ability to glide—in some cases autonomously—to a landing zone with GPS precision.

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