KiLLer Weapons of the future?

Russian Tank Forces - T90 Technology

The Russians desperately needed to mount a response after the 1991 Gulf War, when the Americans stormed through the deserts of Kuwait and Iraq. The Russian economy’s defense sector was reeling, after the American military’s Abrams M1A1 Main Battle Tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles left the battlefield littered with literally hundreds of burnt-out and charred carcasses of once mighty Russian T-72 and T-80 tanks. As if the Russians weren’t already in bad enough shape after the collapse of the Soviet Union, now the international image of their largest defense export, the T-72 tank, and their newest model, the T-80, as no more than a flaming hulk.

V22 Osprey

Manufacturer: Boeing [NYSE: BA]

Obviously, getting troops to the battlefield as quickly as possible is a paramount concern for military planners. Choppers can carry many troops, but really can’t fly very far or fast. Planes can get troops there quickly, but where can you launch transport planes without a runway? Aircraft carriers are too small, nevermind the deck of an amphibious assault ship. Clearly, a solution is needed for high speed troop transport in a scenario of limited runway space. Necessity is the mother of all inventions, and respectively the Americans invented the V22 Osprey to fill this vital role. Employed by the United States Marine Corp, the V22 Osprey is the only tiltrotor aircraft in production by any nation’s armed forces. Combining the essential elements of the vertical take-off of a helicopter with the speed and mid-air refueling of a convential airplane, the V22 Osprey can get lots of troops to anywhere, and fast. The top speed of the Osprey stands at around 316 mph, where the closest helicopter comparison, the CH-47 Chinook transport, only reaches 196 mph. In support of a high speed amphibious invasion, this aircraft is intended to work alongside the Marine Corp’s new LCAC’s and EFVs, which will enable the US Marines to rush up to any shoreline with overwhelming force.

M230 Chain Gun - Apache Attack Weapon

The omnipresent adjudicator hovering over the skies of Iraq can deliver heinous death at any waking instant. You are taking a stroll down the street, plotting some terrorist attacks in your imagination, and suddenly, without ever feeling a thing, you are reduced to a full sized human splatter pattern. The reality is, only you know for sure what you were really wanting, thinking, taking, doing…better shape up for the eyes in the sky

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These dealings in death, the fine line between reality and the ability to play god with the lives of lesser men, are made possible by the ubiquitous ATK M230 Chain Gun mounted on the chin section of the AH-64 Apache Gunship. With a rate of fire of 625 rounds/minute, firing 30 mm depleted uranium or anti-personnel fragmentation rounds, this weapon enables the FLIR vision films of utter anhillation the likes of which were never seen until recently. People 100 years ago would label a death like the one below an act of God, fire and brimstone punishing the guilty.