In a new bid for research proposals, Special Ops is asking for adjustable weapons capable of myriad tasks, from stopping vessels to disorienting people. Photo: SOCOM
Special Operations commandos are already equipped with some of the military’s most far-out gear and gadgetry. They’ve got stealth robo-copters. Deadly, Russian doll drones. And don’t forget high-tech, heat-blocking camo suits.
But U.S. Special Operations and Command (SOCOM) is looking to make a few upgrades. Among them: new weapons with adjustable intensity levels — from non-lethal to lethal — that are capable of doing everything from thwarting enemy ships to paralyzing, disorienting or barricading individuals. That request is only one part of a new, wide-ranging SOCOM bid for research proposals aimed at the “advancement of technologies” for special ops forces.
More specifically, SOCOM’s after “Scalable Effects Weapons” — wherein a weapon’s force or lethality would be adjustable, depending on the situation — that are able to “neutraliz[e] the enemy while minimizing the risk to non-combatants and infrastructure.”
Read More: http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/06/socom-scaleable/
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