Where are my frikin’ laser beams?

Looks like the USAF is beginning to have doubts about the effectiveness of fighter mounted laser weapons.

The Mark 14 torpedo

One of the biggest US failures of WWII.  A great explanation in the video below.  While watching it I can’t help but reflect on how many of our weapons development problems today seem to stem from the same issues from 80 years ago.

Go Navy

The USN is mounting and deploying anti-drone lasers on-board DDGs.  Personally I think that in the next ten years the big weapons developments will be in lasers, not hypersonics.

Well, this is interesting

Story here.  If this laser works as advertised, it could really change things in a number of arenas, such as air and missile defense, anti-anti-tank defense etc.  Of course, we need to wait and see.

Walking the dog #1

I’ve been a cat person most of my life.  While, my family had a small dog or two when I was younger, I’ve never really been a dog person, until recently.  About a year or so ago, my older daughter’s desire for a dog could be put off no longer and the modelwife and the girls adopted Charlie, who is a very good dog.

Charlie

One thing that comes with dog ownership is walking the dog.  It has the virtue of getting me out and moving when the weather is nice and getting me the exercise that I might not otherwise get.

Well, as I was walking the dog the other night, I was thinking about the recent incident in Russia wherein an explosion took place and radiation was released.  As I’ve said before, I think that Russia is, pretty much, a paper tiger, though one with nukes.  Russia doesn’t have the money to maintain the forces it does have, much less a bunch of extra money to pour into weapons development.  This makes the attempt to develop a hypersonic, nuclear powered cruise missile all the more irrational, or does it?

This is the thought that occurred to me as I was walking Charlie.  Because Russia is so cash starved, deep down they know that they can’t keep up conventionally.  In fact, their attempt to prop up their man in Syria is a drain on their meager resources.  Given this situation, investing in “Hail Mary” types of technological leaps makes a certain sense.  Very similar to what Germany did in the latter stages of WWII, pouring money into the V-1, V-2, etc.  It is even possible, but unlikely that one of these long shot investments might pay off and result in a great leap forward that staves off impending Russian military irrelevance.  I doubt it, but you can’t completely discount the possibility.  Viewed in that light, the recent radiological incident makes a bit of sense.

Hypersonic weapons

The US is speeding up development of these. (pun intended)  As Instapundit says, Faster, please. (that pun is intended as well.)

A ceramic hand grenade

At the end of the war in the Pacific, the Japanese were cut off from resources and desperately trying to improvise weapons.  One that I was unaware before yesterday was the ceramic hand grenade.  It is an interesting story. (h/t to Jeff “Inch High” Groves for the pointer.)

EMP weapons

I’ve always believed that any all out attack on the US would begin with a powerful EMP inducing nuclear blast high in the atmosphere over the US.  This report suggests a number of nations are developing such weapons.  China would obviously be the biggest concern.

Aircraft mounted laser weapons

Interesting thoughts on the coming use of aircraft mounted laser weapons.

Rods from God

I’ve been interested in this concept ever since I real about it in a Pournelle sci-fi novel.  With space lift becoming so much cheaper, I can see this becoming viable in the next decade.  The US needs to be the one to do it first.