Buzz
Humanity's weapon-making journey began when a stone was first used in combat. Since then, both offensive and defensive technologies have become progressively more intricate. The future of warfare is already starting to take shape on the current battlefield, with innovations continuing to emerge.
10. Adaptive Camouflage Technology
Since the release of Predator, the idea of an advanced camouflage system for soldiers and vehicles has captured the imagination. BAE Systems has taken a leap forward with the ADAPTIV technology, which could potentially keep threats like the Predator at bay.
The ADAPTIV system utilizes hexagonal modules that cover the exterior of armored vehicles. These modules alter their heat and cooling properties in response to their surroundings, effectively concealing the vehicle from infrared sensors. Additionally, the system can simulate thermal images of other objects such as vehicles, animals, or landscapes, disorienting the enemy visually. The system blends the vehicle into its environment in real time, rendering it almost invisible to infrared detection. Moreover, the hexagonal plates can also create thermal patterns to identify friendly forces by displaying specific symbols, patterns, and letters.
9. Autonomous Killer Robots
Unmanned vehicles have evolved beyond the skies and now have a presence on the modern battlefield with the introduction of the Modular Advanced Armed Robotic System (MAARS). This small, tracked robot is equipped with a variety of weapon configurations and advanced features such as motion sensors, day/night vision cameras, a hostile fire detection system, and other technologies, turning it into a formidable autonomous combat machine.
The Black Knight, much like the MAARS, resembles a small tank and operates similarly to one. This compact, armored vehicle is capable of performing the same functions as a full-sized tank, but without the need for human operators onboard. This provides enhanced mobility while eliminating the risks faced by a human crew, typically consisting of four members in a conventional tank.
8. High-Tech Smart Rifles
For over two decades, the concept of computerized rifles has been in development, but it faced significant challenges due to the bulky computer systems and heavy batteries that were required. However, with the advent of the Mile Maker, these issues have been overcome.
The Mile Maker is an advanced smart rifle equipped with a sophisticated computer system that calculates the precise point of impact for a bullet. By measuring variables like wind speed, temperature, and other atmospheric conditions, it determines the exact location where the shot will land, not just what is visually seen through the scope. This reduces the workload of the sniper, allowing the rifle to perform the calculations, resulting in faster, more accurate shots. This technology enables individuals without sniper training to land around 70 percent of their shots from up to a mile away—an impressive achievement for any shooter. Additionally, the rifle can sync with a wireless device to transmit a live video feed, allowing support teams and commanders to view the shot from the rifle’s perspective.
7. Directed Energy Weapon System (LaWS)
While we commonly refer to them as lasers, the U.S. Department of Defense officially designates these weapons as “Directed Energy” systems. These cutting-edge technologies currently undergoing battlefield tests are, indeed, laser weapons capable of neutralizing missiles, drones, and even sinking enemy ships.
The LaWS is a 30-kilowatt laser recently installed on the USS Ponce for testing in a maritime environment. The weapon system's creators have ambitious plans, envisioning that once fully developed, it could replace all line-of-sight weapons in military inventories. As the technology progresses, becoming smaller and more energy-efficient, it could even be deployed on aircraft to substitute for traditional missiles. At just $0.59 per shot, the LaWS offers superior efficiency as a line-of-sight weapon and is significantly cheaper than conventional kinetic weapons.
6. Free Electron Laser (FEL)
While the US Navy is working hard to deploy the LaWS, researchers at Jefferson Labs in Virginia are striving to make it obsolete. The Free Electron Laser project is focused on creating a directed energy weapon capable of producing a 1-megawatt beam, which could melt through 20 feet of steel per second once it is operational.
Nicknamed the Navy’s future death ray, the FEL operates differently from the LaWS and other traditional laser systems. The FEL utilizes multiple wavelengths simultaneously by injecting free electrons into the beam, resulting in an extraordinarily powerful burst. The research team recently reached a milestone of 500-kilovolts, bringing their goal of creating a megawatt-class weapon closer to reality.
5. Personnel Halting And Stimulation Response (PHASR) Rifle
Since the debut of Star Trek, the idea of wielding a real phaser has captivated us. Now, with the Personnel Halting and Stimulation Response (PHASR) Rifle, that dream is no longer fiction. While it may not disintegrate its targets, it can certainly stun them.
The PHASR is a self-contained rifle designed to temporarily disable a target by disrupting their vision with two non-lethal lasers that operate on different wavelengths. The laser creates a dazzling effect that temporarily blinds the target. Additionally, a second laser functions as a safe range-finder, ensuring that the operator can hit their target from any distance without damaging their own vision.
4. EM Rail Gun
Despite the advancements in directed energy weapons such as the LaWS and FEL, the US Navy continues to develop traditional steel-on-steel munitions, like the Mach 8 Electro-magnetic Rail Gun, which brings a whole new level of power to the battlefield.
A rail gun operates without the need for propellant, relying instead on a series of magnets placed between two conductive rails to propel a projectile toward its target. This innovative method allows the projectile to reach astonishing speeds, with the potential to hit targets up to 110 miles away at over 10,000 kilometers (6,000 mi) per hour.
3. Robotic Bugs
The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) is actively working to merge modern electronics with the capabilities of insects. The Hybrid Insect Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (HI MEMS) represents this innovation: insects embedded with electronic circuits that can be controlled with electrical impulses, transforming them into GPS-guided creatures.
These cybernetic insects could be deployed for surveillance missions across the globe. The electronics are integrated into the insects before their metamorphosis, allowing tissue to grow around the devices. This enables the implantation of various sensors, such as microphones or tiny cameras. Initial tests have been very promising: “Living, adult-stage insects have emerged with the embedded systems intact.”
2. Centrifugal Gun
Similar to the EM Rail Gun, the centrifugal gun eliminates the need for propellant, introducing a novel firearm concept to the battlefield. While the size and power demands of the EM Rail Gun restrict its use to naval vessels, the centrifugal gun aims to be deployed on much smaller, more agile vehicles in combat.
The concept behind the “DREAD” gun involves spinning a disk at incredibly high speeds, transferring its kinetic energy to a bullet that is then launched toward a target. Capable of firing up to 120,000 rounds per minute of .308 and .50 caliber ammunition at velocities of up to 8,000 feet per second, the centrifugal gun operates without the need for propellant, eliminating recoil and muzzle flash, making it an ideal substitute for traditional vehicle-mounted machine guns.
1. High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator (HEL MD)
Determined to stay at the forefront of technological warfare, the United States Army is actively developing its own directed energy weapons. The High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator (HEL MD) is a 10-kilowatt solid-state laser mounted on a tactical vehicle. It can rapidly track, target, and engage threats with high precision, such as mortars, rockets, and UAVs, within seconds of detection.
Since the system is mounted on a truck and has its own power supply, it can fire more shots with higher accuracy, and at a significantly lower cost compared to any kinetic weapons in the Army’s current arsenal. Plans for the future include making the system more rugged, compact, and increasing its power to 100 kilowatts.
