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Heat Ray Gun Fails Final Test; Nixed From War

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the it-burns-mommy dept.

eldavojohn writes "The heat ray gun to be deployed in Afghanistan has failed its final test and will not be deployed. US military commanders who have had it in the field now have declined to use it. After being tested more than 11,000 times on around 700 volunteers, it failed to achieve satisfaction from the military and will not be deployed."

5 of 299 comments (clear)

  1. Another misleading /. summary by timholman · · Score: 5, Informative

    RTFA. There's nothing in the linked story about it "failing" any test. What happened is that the military decided that no operational need for the weapon existed in Afghanistan.

    The ADS does work for crowd control, but generally the military isn't dealing with crowds of rioting civilians attacking their outposts. They're dealing with insurgents fighting with guerilla tactics and IEDs. The ADS is the wrong tool for the job.

    1. Re:Another misleading /. summary by couchslug · · Score: 4, Informative

      "Civilian cars are often shot up at military check points because the drivers don't understand that they are supposed to stop."

      Military checkpoints often lacked APPROACH BARRIERS and SIGNAGE. Even if someone is shooting at you from a distance, if you don't SEE the muzzle flash or SEE/HEAR the IMPACTs you may keep driving or even speed up to get (what you assume is) "away".

      --
      "This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
  2. No, the BBC Changed the Story by eldavojohn · · Score: 4, Informative
    If you look at the right side of the page, the second most popular article is titled

    "US 'heat ray' gun fails final test"

    This morning, when I read this article and submitted it to Slashdot, that was the title. The words "fails final test" were all over the article. Unfortunately Google doesn't seem to offer a cache for it but those words are all over.

    The summary isn't wrong, it's just that the BBC changed their story. In the original version the final test was actually putting it to use in Afghanistan. And the US Military Leaders decided ADS doesn't work in that war scenario.

    The ADS is the wrong tool for the job.

    So if you use the wrong tool for the job and it doesn't work wouldn't you call that failing?

    --
    My work here is dung.
  3. Re:Not to worry! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    They already have the sound cannons that cause instantaneous and permanent hearing damage, and can rapidly cause permanent deafness.

    They were used against protesters to the G20 meeting.

    Just to protect against your comment being skewed as "police were causing permanent damage to protesters", the Toronto police were approved to use the LRAD in voice mode but blocked from using alert mode. Used as per their instructions and judge's orders, the devices are unlikely to cause permanent damage. Similarly, being authorized to carry guns isn't the same as shooting protesters dead.

    Sources:

    • http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontog20summit/article/828473--toronto-police-can-use-sound-cannons-but-at-lower-range
    • http://open.salon.com/blog/gordon_wagner/2010/05/27/lrads_--_sound_cannon_for_crowd_control
    • http://www.gcaudio.com/resources/howtos/loudness.html
  4. Re:Not to worry! by mmaniaci · · Score: 4, Informative

    It was last year's G20 in Pittsburgh. Heres a Guardian article (first one I could find, too lazy to find a better one) with a video attached. Youtube will also lead you to some horrifying videos.

    Now I'm not sure about a case of instantaneous and permanent hearing damage, but from the videos you can tell how terribly inhumane this weapon is.