clements@vax.oxford.ac.uk (06/05/91)
From: clements@vax.oxford.ac.uk bmb@bluemoon.uucp (Bryan Bankhead) writes: > Smart bullets seem an unlikely developement, as the size of the > pattern reconition electronics and guidance mechanics would seem to form > an insupperable barrier. For snipers gyro-stabilized rifles will become > common. Night vision electronics will become cheaper and smaller. For bullets I probably agree with you, but the prospect of smart shells and morter rounds are very real. RSRE (Royal Signals and Radar Establishment) at Malvern in the UK have, I am told, developed a phased array radar integrated on a single chip. This can survive the forces of being fired from a gun or morter and can then direct a smart shell towards a target. When you consider that tanks have relatively little armour on their decks, the idea of a morter barrage that hunts tanks is not pleasant! > MELEE WEAPONS > I have never liked shurikens. Even with advanced materials they don't do > enough damage and only are usefull in narrow contexts. Think of a shuriken as an aerodynamically designed hand grenade made to an old artistic design, but with modern technology (shaped charges, plastic shrapnel... You knmow the sort of thing) :-) Dave