Death lasers, invisibility cloaks and space NUKES – scariest future US military tech revealed
FROM killer lasers to space nukes, the U.S. military is working on a bunch of terrifying weapons to give it the edge in future conflicts.
The Pentagon splashes $800billion a year on its military forces, and a huge chunk of that goes into research and development.
That gives it plenty of scope to try out weird and wacky concepts that sound like something straight out of science fiction.
Generally, military chiefs keep the weapons they're working on top-secret to ensure they don't give too much away to America's foes.
However, bits and pieces filter through as patents are filed, budgets are released and when the Pentagon wants to flex its muscles.
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Many of the U.S.'s most high-tech weaponry is developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
That's the experimental research and development agency that falls under the Department of Defense.
Many of the weaponry it pours money into never sees the light of day due to technical issues or budgetary constraints.
However, some bits make it to the field after years of development and testing. Here are some of the most terrifying being built.
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Invisibility cloaks
The Pentagon commissioned research into invisibility cloaks inspired by Fantastic Four character the Invisible Woman, a secret Pentagon document reveals.
The real-life X-Files report, one of hundreds obtained by The Sun from the spy arm of the US Department of Defence under the Freedom of Information Act, looks into how people or objects can be made invisible.
Using Fantastic Four comic book character Susan Storm as "inspiration", the report, from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) examines how to achieve invisibility using cloaking devices.
The scientific study states it also takes further inspiration from HG Wells' famous book The Invisible Man.
There are three ways to achieve invisibility, according to the file, "camouflage, transparency and cloaking".
It also looks into hyperspace – a science fiction concept used in Star Wars relating to higher dimensions and faster than light travel.
"Hyperspace is not out of this world; it can be built, and it turns out to be practically useful for invisibility," the study says.
The report, from 2009/ 2010 concludes that it could only take one or two years until invisibility devices are finished and they will probably be made using "liquid crystals".
It adds that invisibility cloaks would be "rigid shells" as "flexible like wearable invisibility cloaks poses a significant challenge".
The invisibility study was one of 52 reports and 1,574 pages of explosive documents released by the Defense Intelligence Agency to The Sun after a four year long Freedom of Information battle.
AI drones
One of the most terrifying weapons the US (and its rivals China and Russia) are developing is AI-powered drones.
Drones are aerial devices that initially were controlled remotely by a person, however, they can now fly autonomously.
Today's AI drones use machine learning and sensors to gather data, assess their environment, and can even fire an attack on their own.
The Pentagon helped pioneer drone technology and has used it for reconnaissance, airstrikes, and other purposes in war.
Some of the most popular models now include the General Atomics Avenger and the Boeing Insitu ScanEagle.
Drones today are banned by international treaties from firing on enemy personnel without human intervention.
However, drones of the future are likely to be let off the leash leading to the terrifying prospect of AI-directed robot swarms.
Lasers
According to Task and Purpose, the future of short-range air defense may be powerful lasers that can "shoot down drones, helicopters, and mortar rounds out of the sky."
The weapon utilizes the Directed Energy Maneuver Short Range Air Defense (DE M-SHORAD) system, which is a 50-kilowatt laser mounted on a Stryker infantry carrier vehicle.
The high-powered beam could be used to seamlessly attack a target.
The first systems are heading to Fort Sill, Oklahoma in September 2022, where they will undergo further testing, per the Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO).
The DE M-SHORAD is one of several laser weapons that the military has been testing in recent years.
As well as air defense versions, military chiefs are also said to be exploring the possibility of deadly lasers to target enemy personnel.
The Rod from God
One weapon, dubbed "rod from God", is as powerful as it is terrifying – thankfully, it's not exactly on the market.
The idea behind this weapon was to create a man-made meteorite that can be directed towards the enemy.
But instead of using rocks, rods the size of telephone poles that are made from tungsten (a rare metal that can withstand high temperatures) are deployed.
In theory, a satellite would fire the rods towards the Earth's atmosphere while another steers them to a target on the ground at speeds of about 7000mph.
The impact once it reaches the ground would be something akin to a small nuclear warhead — but with no radiation fall out.
As bizarre as it sounds, a US Congressional report reveals the military has been pushing ahead with the kinetic space weapons.
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Weapons expert Amy F. Woolf said: "One warhead would be designed to destroy or disable area targets like airfields or buildings, using a reentry vehicle loaded with tungsten rods — known as flechettes — that would rain down on the target and destroy everything within an area of up to 3,000 square feet.
"The other might be able to destroy hardened targets, like underground bunkers or reinforced structures, if it were accurate enough to strike very close to the target."
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