Free Republic

Russia announces plans for zombie gun, prepare your bunkers Memories of the cold war have been raised from the dead this week with the confirmation from Russian officials they are testing an energy gun that would essentially turn people into zombies. The "psychotronic" gun would not only inflict pain but also attack the central nervous system leaving enemies scrambled. The weapon, which is said to use electromagnetic radiation, was announced by Russian defense minister Anatoly Serdyukov and was confirmed by Russian Prime Minister and President-elect Vladimir Putin. It has apparently in some form been tested for crowd control. If this...

The U.S. Air Force continues development of its innovative, but infrequently used, 250 pound SDB (Small Diameter Bomb). The latest improvement is an encrypted data link, that will enable the SDB to hit moving targets. The new communications capability enables the SDB movement to be controlled via the air force's airborne Internet (Link 16). This capability is one of the main improvements to be seen in SBD II, which won’t enter service for another year or so. Meanwhile, existing SDBs have received a software upgrade that enables them to be used like a JDAM (GPS guided bomb). That is, it...

The U.S. Air Force has successfully tested its new Paveway II Plus laser guided bomb. The existing Paveway II bomb has a range of 14 kilometers and will hit within less than half a meter of where the laser designator is reflecting off the target. Paveway is actually a guidance kit (costing about $20,000) that is fitted to a dumb bomb, turning it into a glide bomb that homes in on the reflected laser light. The Paveway II Plus is more accurate and reliable, but the exact figures are classified. Laser guided bombs have been in use since the 1960s....

While the war on terror has been grabbing a lot of public attention, the United States has quietly been in the process of neutralizing the missile arsenals of China, North Korea, and even Iran. This is probably one of the most important stories concerning the strategic balance, yet one of the least covered. Prior to the attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States withdrew from the ABM Treaty (which it had signed with Russia in 1972), and began development of a national missile defense system. Research into missile defense had begun in earnest in 1983, but after withdrawing from...