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Military tech is advancing at an incredible pace, evolving so quickly it can be overwhelming. We’re witnessing the deployment of innovations today that would have seemed like pure science fiction just a few decades ago, and downright magical only a century ago. Even now, when combat robots are almost as common as human soldiers, some of these technologies are so far beyond belief, you might think they’re fictional (unless you’re reading about them on Mytour).
10. Cold Resistance Technology
The human body has a natural neurological mechanism, called TRPM8, which detects cold. When TRPM8 turns the sensation of cold into an electrical signal, it triggers the typical responses like shivering, chattering teeth, and reduced blood flow to the extremities. These are survival instincts meant to warm the body up, but they can also occur in non-threatening conditions. If you've ever tried to fire a weapon while shivering, you’ll understand how this can affect a soldier's performance in battle.
But soon, this might not be an issue anymore. Neurobiologist David McKenny has not only discovered the location of the TRPM8 receptor but has also figured out how to turn it off. The result? Your body will no longer feel the cold. This has only been tested in mice so far, who were unfazed by temperatures as low as 5 °C (41 °F) after their TRPM8 receptors were altered. Once this is tested on humans, the military will be the next logical application. And when that day comes, we will have genetically enhanced supersoldiers.
9. Luke’s Binoculars
Officially known as the Cognitive Technology Threat Detection System, this piece of tech has earned the nickname Luke’s Binoculars from DARPA, the creators behind it. (Yes, “Luke” as in “Luke Skywalker.”) Currently in development, the system doesn’t resemble binoculars at all. Instead, it’s a high-resolution camera mounted on a tripod that can see both UV and regular light up to 10 kilometers (6.8 miles) away, as long as the view is clear.
But you don’t name something after Star Wars without a good reason. This system links directly to the brain through an EEG cap, detecting threats based on fluctuations in the soldier’s brainwaves. The idea is that our minds can recognize patterns before we are consciously aware of them, so the system pulls raw data directly from the soldier’s brain, bypassing their conscious thought process entirely. The brainwave patterns are fed into a computer, which then tells the soldier, “Yes, that’s a threat, engage.” All of this happens before the soldier could even process what they’re seeing and decide whether to act. The time difference is just milliseconds, but that small shift can make all the difference in combat. The main challenge, however, is ensuring that the computer can accurately distinguish between enemies and allies.
8. UV Vision
In 2012, Dr. Miguel Nicolelis shattered our understanding of sensory perception by creating a cyborg rat with an additional sensory organ—allowing it to see and feel ultraviolet (UV) light. His team built a neuroprosthesis consisting of two main components. First, a UV sensor was attached to the rat’s head, like a small hat. Second, a plug was wired directly into the rat's brain, specifically to the somatosensory cortex, the brain region responsible for processing touch and other sensations.
Once the two devices were connected, the rat could suddenly “feel” the presence of UV light. After a month of training, the rats were able to identify the source of UV light with more than 90 percent accuracy. Even more astonishing, the rats began modifying their behavior to make use of their new sense—they would move to one side of the cage, sweep their head back and forth to detect UV, and then move toward the source.
Rat behavior is one thing, but humans are a different challenge entirely. However, humans share a somatosensory cortex, and Nicolelis envisions this technology being tested on people in the near future. For instance, it could enable military amputees to “feel” their prosthetic limbs just like real limbs. Even more exciting, the UV sensor is fully interchangeable, meaning you could attach virtually any sensory device to the outside, provided the neural connection was established. This opens up incredible possibilities for military applications.
7. Nuclear-Powered Insect Drones
What do you get when you mix living insects, machinery, and nuclear power? If you guessed an army of mini-Mothras, you might be onto something. We’ve previously mentioned insect drones, but to recap, DARPA has been working on a project that involves implanting electronic controls into beetle larvae. As the beetle matures, the electronic components integrate into its growing body, enabling it to be wirelessly controlled by stimulating its wing muscles.
And it works. Cyborg insects have been around for years. However, the challenge isn’t the technology itself—it’s how to power these little creatures. A rhinoceros beetle, for example, can carry up to 30 percent of its weight—roughly 2.5 grams. That’s not a lot of space, and between the electronics and the power source, there’s little room for anything useful, like a camera or a microphone. What researchers are doing now is eliminating the battery entirely and using radioactive isotopes sprinkled onto something called a micro-piezoelectric generator instead.
The isotope, nickel-63, isn’t radioactive enough to be harmful to humans, but it still emits a steady stream of beta particles. These particles push the piezoelectric generator back and forth, generating a few milliwatts of power with each movement, which in turn powers the robobug’s steering controls. And since nickel-63 has a half-life of 12 years, this “battery” lasts for the insect’s entire life.
6. Nanobot Doctors
In 2010, a military report revealed some unexpected figures. Between 2001 and 2009, only 19 percent of evacuations from the Middle East were due to “battle-related injuries.” The majority, 56 percent, were due to illness. This may seem surprising, but it makes sense, even though it rarely makes headlines. Historically, most wartime casualties have been the result of disease, not enemy combat.
To address this, DARPA set out to create a solution—nanobots that would reside inside soldiers and diagnose diseases. Once a disease is detected, these nanobots will be able to treat it, effectively curing the soldier before they even show any symptoms. Called “In Vivo Nanoplatforms,” research began on the diagnostic aspect in 2012, then transitioned to treatment by 2013. Different types of nanobots are needed for each phase. These bots hitch a ride on a natural protein known as lipoprotein, monitoring the soldier at the molecular level to prevent diseases and chemical attacks before they can cause harm.
5. Intelligent Uniforms
When disease isn't a concern, there's a much more obvious downside to war—gunshot wounds. Another report from the Iraq War revealed a shocking statistic. A full quarter of combat deaths between 2001 and 2011 could have been prevented had the soldiers received quicker medical attention. In other words, 2,700 soldiers lost their lives somewhere between the rifle barrel and the hospital. The military is tackling this issue not by building more hospitals, but by developing uniforms that sense a wound and transmit the data to a nearby medic.
And we're talking about full diagnostic capabilities. These uniforms are made from cloth mesh with integrated sensors that can pinpoint the location of a bullet, measure its depth, and detect which vital organs, if any, were affected. Additional sensors monitor blood and urine, detecting any other types of damage, whether from chemical, nuclear, or biological threats. The goal is to give these suits the ability to immediately assess any physical damage to a soldier. When an attack occurs, the information is stored in a mini-computer within the uniform, which a medic can scan to determine the necessary treatment. The data is also sent to the nearest military base, allowing commanders to track their soldiers in real-time.
4. Weaponized Railguns
Railguns are far less “sci-fi” than people often think. The first one was actually built during World War II, and they've been resurfacing periodically ever since. In fact, you can make one yourself with a disposable camera and a few minutes of searching online. Essentially, railguns work by sending an electrical current through two parallel rails. When a metal projectile is placed on the rails, it completes the circuit and generates an electromagnetic field. This field creates a force known as Lorentz force, which accelerates the projectile down the rails—at high speed.
Railguns are incredibly powerful, but their electricity consumption per shot has made them impractical as a weapon—until now. The Navy has developed one capable of firing a shot at over seven times the speed of sound. It can hit targets as far as 160 kilometers (100 miles) away and delivers a force equal to “32 times the force of a car crash at 100 mph.” Although the Navy claims the railgun is fully weaponized, they’re still working on solving the power issue. Their plan is to mount it on warships and power it with a bank of rechargeable batteries. Testing with real projectiles is still on hold, as they would likely devastate a town miles away. Instead, they’ve been experimenting with the most un-aerodynamic objects they can find. And it still looks incredible.
3. War Forecasting
It’s one thing to have a variety of weapons and technologies at your disposal to react to war, but what if you could predict when wars would happen before a single shot is fired? Lockheed Martin has created a system that does exactly that—and it's already being utilized by the US government to forecast wars, much like how meteorologists predict the weather (hopefully with more precision).
Since 2001, the Worldwide Integrated Crisis Early Warning System (W-ICEWS) has been gathering over 30 million pieces of data from news reports worldwide. This data, combined with previous knowledge of political unrest, is fed into an algorithm called iTRACE. This system identifies warning signs by analyzing the world’s media. As they describe it, iTRACE turns “news reports into structured indices that capture the character and intensity of interactions between key leaders, organizations, and nations—who is doing what to whom, when, where, and how.” In other words, the system identifies patterns in global news and assesses whether those patterns indicate the likelihood of war. Let’s just hope no one gets the bright idea of linking iTRACE directly to our nuclear arsenal—just to save time.
2. Geckskin Suits
When a gecko scales a wall, it’s held in place by tiny hairs that generate a van der Waals force on the surface of the wall—the gecko's feet are literally attracted to the wall at the molecular level. Millions of microscopic hairs line the bottom of a gecko’s feet, and at the tips of these hairs are even tinier hair-like structures called spatulae, which create an electric attraction to the molecules in whatever surface they’re climbing. This force is so powerful that a gecko can cling upside down to a glass pane using just one finger.
And now, we can do the same. Inspired by years of studying geckos, a research team at the University of Massachusetts developed Geckskin, an adhesive fabric that mimics the same van der Waals force to cling to surfaces. Geckskin is strong enough to support 317 kilograms (700 lbs) on a strip about the size of an index card.
What does this have to do with warfare? Well, it turns out that DARPA was the original backer of the research, through their somewhat mysteriously named Z-Man program, which is working on creating suits that enable soldiers to scale walls like Spider-man.
1. HELLADS
The High Energy Liquid Laser Area Defense System, or HELLADS, brings together a range of cutting-edge technologies to achieve a single, extraordinary goal: laser weapons mounted on fighter jets. Managed by DARPA, the HELLADS project is focused on creating a 150-kilowatt laser light enough to be installed on a relatively small aircraft like a B-1 Lancer. This means the laser must be approximately 10 times lighter than existing lasers with comparable power. Previously, a megawatt (1,000 kW) laser was installed on a Boeing 747, but this time, the goal is to make it more agile and adaptable.
To make this possible, DARPA has been developing a series of smaller solid-state lasers that can be combined to produce a single, more powerful beam—a milestone they’ve already achieved. Currently, the project is in Phase 3, which involves controlled testing, and they plan to test it on a surface-to-air missile in early 2014.
