[fsi.scsi]

Uhhh....

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/01/24/ray.gun.ap/

[Unknown Target]

Ooold.

[Mefustae]

Ooold.

POSTED: 5:34 p.m. EST, January 24, 2007

The overall project may be old, but this development is quite recent.

[IceFire]

Thats pretty nifty...but I think the real "beam weapon" will be the laser slated to be mounted as a pod on the F-35 sometime in the next 15 or so years.  Evidently as an offensive or defensive weapon.

[Fury]

Evidently as an offensive or defensive weapon.

There are other types of weapons?

[aldo_14]

Am I the only person who (as noted in the previous topic) feels very dodgy about the ease-of-use of this against, ooh, any sort of protestor?

EDIT; ooh, and moving from the 'potentially disturbingly repressive' subject to 'comedy'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6295567.stm

The US military has appealed to scientists to help develop a novel weapon - artificial black ice.  The plastic-like substance, the brainchild of the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa), would be used to force slip-ups from enemies.  The "polymer ice" would be designed for hot, arid environments, "as found in Iraq and Afghanistan", it said.  A spray-on "reversal agent" could be incorporated into boots and tyres to prevent friendly forces sliding around.

In a document published on the agency's website, officials point out that "to get from point A to point B, one must have sufficient traction with the ground".  Darpa believes a polymer-based compound could replicate the properties of black ice - a thin, translucent slippery coating, typically found on roads in winter - to reduce traction.

The agency's wish list for the "Mobility Control System" includes the polymer ice or raw materials to produce it very quickly, a spray-on reversal agent and a means to clean the ice up.  "Such a system will provide unprecedented situational control and sustained operational tempo," said Darpa.  "It would degrade the ability of our adversaries to shoot and chase us."

Researchers interested in joining the Polymer Ice Project are being invited to respond by the middle of April 2007.

[Dysko]

Thats pretty nifty...but I think the real "beam weapon" will be the laser slated to be mounted as a pod on the F-35 sometime in the next 15 or so years.  Evidently as an offensive or defensive weapon.

They are already mounting a laser cannon on a modified 747 to intercept ballistic missiles during their take-off phase.

[achtung]

Thats pretty nifty...but I think the real "beam weapon" will be the laser slated to be mounted as a pod on the F-35 sometime in the next 15 or so years.  Evidently as an offensive or defensive weapon.

They are already mounting a laser cannon on a modified 747 to intercept ballistic missiles during their take-off phase.

SAMs, not ballistic missiles.

[Unknown Target]

Guided surface to surface missiles, not SAMs.

[Dysko]

http://www.fas.org/spp/starwars/program/abl.htm

The ABL weapon system consists of a high-energy, chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL) mounted on a modified 747-400F (freighter) aircraft to shoot down theater ballistic missiles in their boost phase.

[KappaWing]

LRBGreens, not Guided surface to surface missiles.

[jr2]

OK, why aren't we more upset?  If we develop beam cannons before the Shivans arrive, well... I'm afraid that's just not canon! 

[IceFire]

Evidently as an offensive or defensive weapon.

There are other types of weapons?

Most lasers at this point are purely defensive.  This is supposed to be both...which is new. Thus the comment