Developing Open Source Defense Projects

An anonymous reader writes "I'm a developer looking to develop an open source surface-to-air missile guidance system, with the aim of helping developing nations develop low-cost missile defense systems to aid them against attack by the warplanes of invading forces. However, given the very nature of the project, I feel I may be walking into a bit of a minefield regarding the legalities of such a project, since, as I'm sure you can imagine, this project could easily benefit hostile nations was well as relatively peaceful ones! Unfortunately, since Google does not seem to shed much light on the subject, I'd be very interested in hearing Slashdot's views on the matter, especially some advice from those in the know about the legal matters - whether there would be any restrictions (exports, perhaps?) or whether it would be simply plain illegal to develop!"

Comments

Re:No, think of the horrible consequences!

[Build6]

Imagine what will happen if the Terrans start building Protoss cannons that can strike ground and air targets

The Protoss guns ARE already capable of hitting ground-and-air targets... .

Actually, IIRC if you look carefully at the box-cover picture of the original release of Starcraft, you can see that the terran tanks *could* hit air targets as well, instead of only ground-only, which must have really messed up the game balance :-)

Re:What's wrong with missile command?

[Jeremiah Cornelius]

Nothing - provided you live in Flatland...

Re:Excellent Question

[Frymaster]

cruise missle? amateur!

the internet is knee deep in instructions on how to build and h-bomb.

Ever heard of the Gerald Bull Supercanon project?

[ArcticCelt]

Ever heard of the "Gerald Bull Supercanon" project? If I where you I will not only be concerned about the legality of the project. By doing that kind of project you'll become an unofficial enemy of many industrial country's and that's the perfect scenario to finish like this guy. Is basic project wasn't mean, he just wanted to develop a cheap way to send payload in space but because he was helping enemy nations he got more than he bargained for. Even if he was a Canadian Citizen (I think) he wasn't out of reach of the Mossad...

Re:Just the opposite

[I confirm I'm not a]

Reminds me of David Brent's [The Office, BBC] recruitment policy: bin half the CVs (resumes) - that way you only employ lucky people ;)

You're pretty much guarenteed that you'll only have lucky beta-testers at the end of the process...

Your product will be ready for release when you run out of beta testers.
On the other hand...

get a permit first

[vinsci]

Well, make sure you get a permit from your government first, or your open source missile project could end up being shut down: DIY Cruise Missile Grounded.