Archive for category Video
Medical: The Skin Gun
Sep 1
This is a cool invention. For the military or this industry, burns can come from all sorts of sources during a war. So stuff like this is awesome. Check it out. -Matt
To quote the Joker, ‘Now You’re Talking’. lol It’s about time the Army invests in this weapon. Like I mentioned before, every contact with the enemy could produce tons of intel using drone archer weapons, and most of all, produce some kills. Or hey, if we really get good at this game, use the drones for non-lethal means and stun the prey so we can capture and get even more intel.
Weapons like this will also allow competent drone archer teams to take advantage of the chaos of a battle. As soon as the battle starts, these things go up and the hunters begin to hunt from a flank (the air) that most enemies are not prepared for. Not only can we see from the air with these devices, but we can kill, and that puts a lot of capability in the hands of small unit leaders.
Having a drone that can not only watch enemy movements during the battle, but could actually track the enemy as they try to escape is a tool that can be used for ‘relentless pursuit‘. (h/t to Eeben for that) And this also gives a squad leader choices. They can either watch with the drone and call it back if they can’t get a kill, or use the drone as a kamikaze weapon.
This weapon also helps in the ‘locate, close with, and destroy’ mission. Because as you close with that enemy, you need to be able to see if they are staying put while maneuvering upon their elements. You can also use the drone to see any terrain or enemy positions that a ground based observer could not see. This information is vital for a squad’s decision making loop (OODA) as they are trying to gain advantage in their fight and get a win.
Which by the way….. Something we can take from the insurgents here, is their methods for suicide assaults. Swarming is what they are depending upon–or to do a breach with one suicide bomber, then swarm in with multiple suicide assaulters fighting their way into pockets of human concentration to detonate. A drone archer team could probably take some interesting ideas from this process, as well as learn from the old Japanese Kamikaze attack strategies. I also like the idea of including these weapons within the strategic planning for an assault. Much like how you would use a SMAW team for initiating an assault, a drone archer team could have similar utility.
I also like the idea of being able to fly this thing across a canyon or to the tops of hills during a fight. I am sure most combatants have no respect for small drones at this time, thinking that they are not armed. I would love to see the expression on a booger eater’s face when they see that little thing slam right into their team and blow up. lol Or how about ten of those little drones swarming like some bees, and just plowing into targets of opportunity during a fight? And meanwhile the infantry is pouring on the lead and any other munitions to keep the enemy busy. That chaos, will provide plenty of opportunities for a drone archer team. Lots of ideas here….
I guess my intent is that I would like to see this weapon used to defeat hit and run tactics. These tactics are what insurgents depend upon for success against infantry units, and I would like to see drone archer tactics contribute to countering hit and run. In other words, if the enemy wants to expose themselves with a ‘hit’, then I want to deploy a weapon that will get them during the ‘hit’ and/or during the ‘run’ portion of that fight. We will see….-Matt
U.S. Army Awards AeroVironment $4.9 Million Contract for Switchblade Agile Munition Systems and Services
September 01 2011
AeroVironment, Inc. announced that it received a contract on June 29 from the U.S. Army Close Combat Weapons Systems (CCWS), Program Executive Office Missiles and Space (PEO MS). The $4,907,840 contract for the Switchblade agile munition includes engineering services and operational systems for deployment with the U.S. Army.
This award represents the culmination of years of development, testing, demonstrations and customer evaluations. The prototype Switchblade system previously received Safety Confirmation and underwent Military Utility Assessment with the U.S. Army in the fall of 2010. The award is for rapid fielding of this capability to deployed combat forces.
This is very cool. This vessel is a recreation of the original privateer schooner called the Lynx. The reason why I like this, is that this boat is a real representation of private industry during war time. This vessel is also a symbol of what an Offense Industry can create during times of war, and this boat is beautiful. This thing was designed for commerce raiding, and it is just neat to see it sail and exist.
The other deal I wanted to bring up is definitely go to the website and check out their schedule if you want to see where they are going next. They are sailing all over the world and their intent is to educate people about the history of privateering in America’s early wars. So they do tours on the vessel and this would be a fun way to spend a day. So definitely take the time to check this bit of contractor history if they happen to be in your area. -Matt
Lynx– America’s Privateer
HISTORY OF THE LYNX
Lynx is an interpretation of an actual privateer named Lynx built by Thomas Kemp in 1812 in Fell’s Point, Maryland. She was among the first ships to defend American freedom by evading the British naval fleet then blockading American ports and serving in the important privateering efforts.
At the outbreak of the War of 1812, the American Navy consisted of only 17 ships – eight frigates, two brigs, and seven assorted smaller vessels including a few schooners which saw service in the Barbary Wars. When a nation went to war, owners of private vessels were granted special permissions, called “letters of marque,” to prey upon the enemy’s shipping; thus, “privateers.” While rarely engaging enemy warships, their impact was felt by English merchants who insisted on warship escorts for their vessels. To perform this duty, warships were drawn away from engaging the scant American Navy and blockading our coast, and thus did the privateers, motivated by profit, assist in our national defense. Among the Baltimore privateers was the sharp-built tops’l schooner, LYNX.
This is pretty cool and I had to post this after finding it over at the FJ Facebook page. Til Valhall is Norwegian for ‘To Valhalla’. Valhalla in Norse mythology was the ultimate viking paradise for a warrior to go to if they died in battle. This is a short video of a Norwegian military unit in Afghanistan and that is all I know about it. -Matt
This is a really cool documentary, and it covers far more than the history of Col David Stirling’s adventures. Stirling was the founder of the SAS, which is a remarkable accomplishment and story on it’s own, but the history that intrigued me the most was what he did in retirement. Specifically his private military ventures and the private war he waged in Yemen. This was a privately funded war, waged by professional soldiers and forces in Yemen, with the approval of Britain.
This is also another example of a modern private military force, winning a war. They did it, and this would be a great source for a case study on the potential of private military forces. Stirling was quite the risk taker, and certainly an innovator back in his day. It is also pretty relevant to today’s issues with private military companies, and of the politics of the middle east and the defense industry. Check it out and go to the youtube link to watch the whole series if you are interested. They also discuss his work in Oman and the business he did with Saudi Arabia. Very interesting stuff. -Matt
Ok, I have to say it. I watched this video at TED and instantly thought–Opensource Military Hardware wiki (OMH). The same concepts these guys applied to farm equipment and the basic tools of a society, can easily be applied to weapons and military equipment manufacture. And in fact, if you watch what is going on in Libya or even Mexico, it is already happening on the world stage.
Honestly speaking, mankind has been doing this since the time of spears. What makes this unique though, is the concept of open source and collaboration. That some engineer in Sweden combined his knowledge with some student in Ethiopia, to help some Peruvian maker shop put together a cost effective armored vehicle that works. And the whole world can access the same open source material via a wiki.
Of course the down side of this type of wiki would be ‘everyone’ could access it. That makes this a dangerous idea. But on the other hand, OMH is going to happen regardless. The internet already provides plenty of resources for folks to check out and use.
The other idea is that OMH could be a closed wiki, only available between partner nations. That way, one nation could give preferred poorer nations a means to protect themselves from neighbors. The thought here is ‘give a man a fish, you feed them for a day’….’but teach them how to fish, and you feed them for life’. To basically give countries a means to create their own defense industries, as opposed to giving them expensive weapons and hardware and expecting them to be able to maintain this costly equipment.
This is also a PMC 2.0 topic. Companies have built homemade armored vehicles in places like Iraq, and often these designs were based on whatever ideas those contractors in the field had come up with. Imagine if a company had access to an OMH, and could cheaply build the equipment they needed in whatever country they were operating in? You could either make an OHH ‘tank’, or go through the risk of open markets and hostile neighbors to purchase such hardware?
Or if your logistics sucks, and you need an armored vehicle yesterday, OMH could come in extremely handy. Lot’s of angles to go with this concept, and definitely check out the video below. -Matt
Edit: 11/29/2011- Check out this wiki. It is called Open Warfare.org. and it is pretty much doing what I was talking about in this post. Making public projects based on open source information and using the feedback of a the crowd. Check it out here.
Sometimes, the best example of strategy can be found in the simplest and most interesting places. I believe this scene in the movie called No Country For Old Men, is a fantastic example of the importance of picking the right strategy. These two men in the scene were involved in a game of hunting one another, and the character played by Woody Harrelson named Carson Wells lost. The hitman played by Javier Bardem is named Anton Chigurh, and he obviously had a better strategy for this game. Anton also summed up the very essence of winning, be it business or war. He says: ‘If the rule you followed brought you to this…..of what use was the rule?’. Words to live by…-Matt
Interesting development. Although what the rebels need is what every military unit needs to be successful. They need to be organized, disciplined, trained, well equipped, well led, have unit cohesion, and most of all, have excellent strategy. So my question with the whole ‘robots with machine guns’ thing, is how does this advancement in their DIY weapons development, help in winning their war?
The other thing that strikes me here, is this whole DIY weapons movement going on in places like Mexico, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya? What would be fun is to start a whole new website just to track this very unique ‘makers’ industry. Much of it seems to be based on mimicry. They see a photo or video of a professionally made weapon system, and they try to copy it. This mimicry strategy helps to explain why you see the same type of armored vehicle design in Mexico, Iraq, or an attempt to armor vehicles in Libya. -Matt
