In Sci-Fi movies and videogames, we often see futuristic weapons like lasers, plasma shields or long-distance sniper rifles.
But did you know that a lot of weapons that are similar to these are already being used today?!
Disclaimer: I'm not promoting the use of weapons, nor am I a lover or expert of weapons, this topic just caught my attention because of the futuristic aspect and the advanced technology that's already being used.
Railguns
The railgun is a new technology that uses electromagnetic forces instead of gunpowder or bullets to shoot.
The innovation is still fairly new and cost over 500 million dollars to develop.
A railgun is able to fire a projectile with a speed of 4,500 mph !
It works by building up an energy store, and then capacitors are channeling the energy along two individual rails which have either a positive or a negative charge. This creates an electromagnetic force which propels a 25 pound projectile along the rails .
Laser Avenger
The so-called Laser Avenger can create a 10 kW highly focused laser beam to take out missiles from far away.
Boeing is currently working on an even stronger version with up to 60kW!
The Laser Avenger can be controlled from a vehicle with an Xbox Controller and a Laptop!
Plasma Forcefields
Plasma Forcefields are a technology developed by Boeing, which protects vehicles from the shockwaves of explosions.
It would be mounted on the vehicle you were trying to protect, and specific sensors can calculate from where the danger was coming, as well as its size and speed, to project a protection field.
They fill up the air around the vehicle with super heated plasma which is controlled by a magnetic field, so that the incoming energy from an explosion would be absorbed. The plasma becomes viscous and forms a shield that slows down other matter or doesn't even allow it to go through at all.
Swarmbots
Since mother nature seems to have the perfect solution for everything, scientists often get inspired by plants or animals.
In this case, it were insects - or more specifically, a swarm of bees.
Swarmbots are mini-robots that can act as a coordinated group to attack the enemy.
They are relatively cheap to produce, and can enter areas that would be too dangerous for humans.
And if a single unit is eliminated, the rest of the swarm still functions without any problems.
The Modular Advanced Armed Robotic System
This is essentially a small, unmanned robotic tank, armed with a machine gun, that was designed to protect and fight alongside ground forces. It can also be armed with a grenade launcher or tear gas, and is being remote controlled from up to 1km distance.
It can even transport a wounded soldier off the battlefield, while continue firing.
Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS)
This is a rocket system with an integrated, laser guided mechanism that allows a point shoot without external maintenance. It's currently already being used by the US military.
The APK WS is equipped with wings and folding fans mounted with laser seeker optics, and it comes with a device that can turn unguided munition into a precision rocket.
Precision Guided Firearms
These sniper rifles seem to be straight out of a video game.
They enable the shooter to precisely attack targets in over 1,000 yards distance.
You can tag a target with a red dot and then track it - this is common in many videogames.
It's a so-called smart gun, which even has wi-fi and will only fire if it's locked on a target.
Laser Weapon System
This is a directed-energy weapon that emits a 30 kW photon beam, with the aim of disabling or destroying far away targets (mostly in the air). It can disable a drone within seconds and fire automatically without the need of humans.
The Active Denial System
This system was designed by the US military for security and crowd control purposes: it makes someone feel as if their skin was burning, but without causing permanent damage.
It fires a highly powered beam of 95 gigahertz radiation waves, which works similarly to a microwave by heating up the water molecules of the top layers of the person's skin.
The weapon doesn't cause permanent damage, it only makes the target feel uncomfortably hot and can lead to blisters on the skin in rare cases.
Images: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Sources: 1, 2, 3
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