February 11, 2005
Strategy Page
Northrop-Grumman, leading manufacturer of combat lasers, believes these weapons are only a few years away from battlefield use. To that end, the company has set up a new divisions to develop and build the battle lasers. This optimism was caused by two successful tests last year. In one, a solid state laser shot down a mortar round. In another, a much more powerful chemical laser, firing from a customized B-747, hit a missile type target.
Solid state lasers have been around since the 1950s, and chemical lasers first appeared in the 1970s. The chemical laser has the advantage of using a chemical reaction to create the megawatt level of energy for a laser that can penetrate the body of a ballistic missile that is still rising in the air hundreds of kilometers away. The chemical reaction uses atomized liquid hydrogen peroxide and potassium hydroxide and chlorine gas to form an ionized form of oxygen known as singlet delta oxygen (SDO).) This, in turn is rapidly mixed with molecular iodine gas to form ionized iodine gas. At that point, the ionized iodine gas rapidly returns to its resting state, and while doing so releases photons pulsing at the right frequency to create the laser light. These photons are channeled by mirrors and sent on their way to the target (which is being tracked and pinpointed by other lasers). The airborne laser actually consists of six identical units, each weighing 2.3 tons and about the size of a large SUV. The six modules are hooked up in series within the B-747, producing a laser powerful enough to do the job. The laser exist via a targeting turret in the nose of the aircraft. The laser beam is invisible to the human eye. The chemicals are mixed at high speeds, and the byproducts are harmless heat, potassium salt, water, and oxygen. But the airborne laser, flying in an aircraft weighing 400 tons.
Nearly half a century of engineering work has produced thousands of improvements, and a few breakthroughs, in making the lasers more powerful, accurate and lethal. More efficient energy storage has made it possible to use lighter, shorter range ground based lasers effective against smaller targets like mortar shells and short-range rockets. Northrops move is an indication that the company feels confident enough to gamble its own money, instead of what they get for government research contracts, to produce useful laser weapons. The high energy airborne laser would not only be useful against ballistic missiles. Enemy aircraft and space satellites would also be at risk.
February 3, 2005: The reports of combat robots headed for Iraq are somewhat misleading. These UGVs (Unmanned Ground Vehicles) are controlled remotely by a human operator. The weapon these UGVs will carry will be fired by the human operator. A truly robotic weapon makes its own decision when to fire. UGVs that operate like this are not far away, even though that’s a scary prospect for many people. But such true combat robots are nothing new, they have been around for over a century. The first such combat robots were naval mines. Which lurked just below the surface, and exploded if a ship ran into them. Simple, effective and definitly robotic. Another 19th century development was the torpedo, which was initially thought of as a self-propelled naval mine. That was an accurate description, until World War II. That was when even smarter torpedoes were developed, like the German acoustic homing torpedo. This one went after the sound of a surface ship. After World War II, the wake homing torpedo (which sensed the wake of a surface ship and used that to find and destroy the ship) was developed. Land mines are also robotic weapons, and new versions were developed in the 1980s (WAAM) that were placed on the surface, and used sensors to detect targets. Anti-vehicle weapons were then fired into the air, and used more sensors to find, identify and destroy vehicles below. There are now naval mines with powerful computers on board, which make complex decisions on when, and what, to attack. These robotic weapons don't attract much attention.
But self-propelled armed land robots will not be so easily accepted. And we will soon find out to what extent. For example, there are already heat imaging systems equipped with software that can identify vehicles and people. These are now used for security purposes, but the technology exists to fit a weapon to these systems and produce a self-propelled vehicle that can patrol an area, and shoot at any vehicle or people it encounters. Manufacturers of these systems will point out that friendly troops operating near the killer robots can carry IFF (Identify, Friend of Foe) devices. But several generations of science fiction stories featuring evil killer robots will make these systems controversial. In response, developers are proposing fitting such systems with non-lethal weapons. A more likely solution is making the systems semi-autonomous. That is, the robots have to call for a human operator to confirm the use of lethal force. However, as the software and sensors become more capable, there will be the temptation to let the armed robots act on their own more and more. This will come from the fact that the battlefield is becoming more and more automated. This reduces friendly casualties. But the troops who are out there are always overworked and short of sleep. Letting the robots stay up all night pulling guard duty is an ever-present temptation. One solution for that is “remote support.” The technology exists to have some of the armed robots monitored via satellite link by troops, or even civilians, somewhere else in the world, like back in the United States. This is already being done with some UAVs.
In theory, the very intelligent and capable armed robot is possible. But human nature being what it is, people will remain somewhere “in the loop” for some time to come. Or maybe not. Future battlefields will be full of armed robots, exactly how these robots will operate remains an open question.
January 19, 2005: Who's got the best nine-millimeter pistols? Which is the best handgun for military service? Before we get going, it should be noted, that handguns are nowhere near as effective as rifles in combat. The bullets from handguns are much slower (1000-1200 feet per second) than rifles (which go from 2,400-3,600 feet per second).
A number of nine-millimeter service pistols are in service. In general, these pistols are around two pounds, about seven-and-a-half to nine inches long, with a barrel about four to five inches long, and usually hold at anywhere from 12 to 18 rounds. Some of the major designs are;
The Browning Hi-Power (or GP35) is in service with the United Kingdom, and carried thirteen rounds. The British have used this pistol for decades, and it was what the SAS carried in the takedown of six terrorists at the Iranian embassy in 1980. It was designed by the legendary John Moses Browning (who also designed the famous Colt M1911 and the Browning BAR). There are no real bugs in this single-action design (the operator must cock the pistol before the first shot can be fired), and it will be sticking around for a long time. It has already been around for a long time – it was widely used by forces on both sides of World War II.
The U.S. military primarily uses the Beretta 92 (designated the M9). It is a double-action design, which does not require cocking for the first shot – but there is a long tripper pull for the first shot, and a short pull for the second shot (an operator does have the option of cocking the pistol). It has a clip of 15 rounds, and drew controversy when it replaced the M1911, a .45-caliber pistol. Brazil and Egypt both make licensed copies of this pistol.
Germany’s Heckler and Koch makes the USP, which comes in nine-millimeter, 10mm .40 S&W, and 11.4mm .45 ACP. It comes in a choice of double-action or double-action-only (which requires a long trigger pull each time). The nine-millimeter version in service with the German Army has a 15-round clip.
Perhaps the most notorious nine-millimeter pistol is the Glock 17. This pistol was designed by Gaston Glock and has spawned a family of over twenty pistols in various sizes. The Glock 17 is in service with Austria and Norway, and Glock has a huge following among law enforcement agencies around the world, albeit not all of them use nine-millimeter (the FBI, for instance, uses the Glock 22 and Glock 23 in 10mm .40 Smith and Wesson). Aside from its polymer frame, the Glock’s other feature is its ability to function like a revolver – just aim, and pull the trigger.
The nine-millimeter round is kind of weak, and the United States Special Operations Command has used the Mk 23 SOCOM, a variant of the USP that fires the 11.4mm .45 ACP round and has a 12-shot clip. This is very understandable. The .45 ACP’s full-metal-jacket round is felt to perform better in combat situations. The Marine Corps uses an upgraded M1911 called the M1911 MEU(SOC) has an eight-round clip.
The best of these nine-millimeter pistols is probably the Glock. It is a simple pistol, and very reliable (with only 33 parts). It is also widely used, so in the case of a failure, spare parts can easily be acquired. It also has the highest ammunition capacity of these pistols. It has worked well in its twenty-year history for numerous military and law-enforcement customers. What is most impressive about the Glock 17 is that it was the first gun designed by that company, which has primarily made field knives and entrenching tools. – Harold C. Hutchison (hchutch@ix.netcom.com)
http://www.strategypage.com//fyeo/howtomakewar/default.asp?target=HTWEAP.HTM