The Pentagon's Ray Gun - David Martin Reports On A Non-Lethal Weapon Straight Out Of Buck Rogers

CBS 60 Minutes ^ | May 30, 2008 | NA

[neverdem]

CBS

[Nailbiter]

ping

If they need good proving ground, should take it to denver for the convention

[A.A. Cunningham]

David Martin is always late to the party.

New non-lethal weapon lets troops microwave hostile crowds 3 February 2005

[robomatik]

old stuff -but cool

[FixitGuy]

"Pentagon officials call it a major breakthrough which could change the rules of war and save huge numbers of lives in Iraq."

Why would they want to do THAT?

[Grut]

Hmm... looks like ‘tinfoil’ was an idea ahead of its time. I suspect this could be pretty easily countered, maybe by something as simple as wearing wet clothes.

[R. Scott]

That because in the middle of a war, the military just can't bring itself to trust a weapon that doesn't kill.

The "ray gun" is no more a weapon than is a water canon. It's not a weapon of war. It would discourage people from rushing a gate or a building, or in a riot control situation. It even made Sue Payton giggle.

[atomic conspiracy]

They can loan it to the Denver cops for the Dem convention.

[combat_boots]

“’That because in the middle of a war, the military just can’t bring itself to trust a weapon that doesn’t kill.’

The “ray gun” is no more a weapon than is a water canon. It’s not a weapon of war. It would discourage people from rushing a gate or a building, or in a riot control situation. It even made Sue Payton giggle.”

So, we shoot the giggles out of little Haji now? Good luck with that.

[Wonder Warthog]

"Hmm... looks like ‘tinfoil’ was an idea ahead of its time. I suspect this could be pretty easily countered, maybe by something as simple as wearing wet clothes."

Since this is just the effect of a microwave oven, I suspect that "wearing wet clothes" would result in severe burns, as the water traps the heat next to the skin. Two layers of clothes with aluminum foil between is more likely to work.

[BuffaloJack]

Yeah, but when will they be able to pull the trigger on a water-boarding ray?

[driftdiver]

In a war anyone pointing an RPG or weapon at me deserves to die. They do not deserve a good giggle.

[Caramelgal]

Pentagon officials call it a major breakthrough which could change the rules of war and save huge numbers of lives in Iraq. But it's still not there. That because in the middle of a war, the military just can't bring itself to trust a weapon that doesn't kill.

Let me ask some obvious questions. Save huge numbers of lives in Iraq? Whose lives? I don’t see how a weapon like this saves our soldiers lives. And what is the point of having a weapon that only temporarily incapacitates the enemy with no lasting physical harm to them, leaving them to live and fight and put our soldiers in harms way on yet another day?

"It's very difficult to make a case for a humanitarian operation if the only way you have of imposing your will is by killing the people you’re sent to protect," Heal says.

This is a wrong and misguided on several points. When anyone attacks our troops, they automatically become hostile enemy combatants and putting them down permanently is the only reasonable option.

And our military is charged with defending and protecting our country from hostile military threats posed by other nations. That’s their job, what they are trained to do and they do it very well. They are not trained (and should not be trained) to be humanitarian aid workers.

As General George Patton once said - No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.

[Nervous Tick]

>> We have war fighters that are in harm’s way and you know they don’t want to kill innocent people

I’m doubtful about the value of this device in war.

But I have no doubt at all that local LEO groups are chomping at the bit to have this. As law enforcement continues to move up the nanny-state spectrum from crime control towards total behavior and thought control of the citizenry, weapons like this will be of immense value to them.

They can mount them on the “bradley fighting vehicles” they also crave for their arsenals.

[Eye of Unk]

Best friggin non-lethal weapon would be one that can beam energy into the attackers brains causing them permanent amnesia, they would forget their very reason of what to do, they would forget their religion, military training and all hostile intentions.

[70th Division]

AMEN! Some people just need killin’! Why would we want to spare an unrepentant terrorist?

[Hacklehead]

Just look right here.

[Dr._Joseph_Warren]

it's that flat dish antenna which shoots out a 100,000-watt beam at the speed of light, hitting any thing in its path with an intense blast of heat.

Isn't it actually just the sensation of being hit by an intense blast of heat?

..the gun, when fired emits a flash of white hot energy - an electromagnetic beam made up of very high frequency radio waves.

If I held up a large mirror, would it reflect these radio waves right back toward the gun?

[ottbmare]

. . . the Marine Corps’ idea of force escalation went from M-16 to F-16. How many people we could kill and how fast we could do it."

Meant as a criticism but sounds like ad copy for a recruiting poster! Semper Fi.

~Marine Mom-To-Be

[3Lean]

You might try putting a piece of tinfoil in your microwave for a few seconds before you field test your idea personally. The sparks and smoking between your clothing layers might prove to be a bit distracting even if you don’t feel the heat.