The goal of war is simple: to win.
but finding a way to win has pushed many countries
to develop weapons, vehicles and gadgets
that look beyond badass.
With that, it’s time to gear up and move out
as we take a look at some of the most
insane military technology and vehicles in the world!
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All right, now that we’re all fired up,
shall we begin?
Tactical Tech.
At 56 inches long, 18 inches tall and eight inches wide,
this is one pretty big and pretty intimidating gun.
Although at just 16 pounds, it isn’t loaded with bullets,
it’s loaded with batteries,
14.4 volt lithium batteries to be precise.
This is the DroneGun Tactical from DroneShield,
a counter drone weapon used by military units
all over the world.
In recent years, drones, both military and commercial
have started posing huge security risks
to almost every country on the map.
Like in 2018, when the president of Venezuela
narrowly survived an attack by two drones
carrying explosives in an apparent assassination attempt.
DroneGun Tactical was designed
to help eliminate that threat.
Using radio frequency jamming to disrupt operator links,
it can drop drones over a mile and a half away.
All an operator needs to do is maintain a line of sight
and squeeze the trigger.
The frequencies immediately block
the video signal of the drone
and force it to land or return to its starting point.
The guns have been used during high profile events,
such 2019 South Asia Games.
Here, they took down seven commercial drones,
four of which were suspiciously lining the flight path
of the Philippines president’s helicopter without incident.
I’d say this plan crashed and burned,
but thanks to the DroneGun,
it just landed safely and failed.
Brilliant Bazooka.
Now not all anti-drone weapons rely on frequency jammers.
The Skywall 100, designed by British company OpenWorks
is another drone defense solution,
although this one gets more physical
with the drones at hand.
The shoulder mounted compressed gas gun
weighs in at roughly 22 pounds,
but this bazooka ain’t packing batteries.
Once the smart scope has locked onto the target’s range
and the trigger is squeezed,
it launches a projectile carrying a net.
This wraps around the drone
and prevents its blades from working.
As it drops out of the sky,
a tiny parachute attached to the net deploys,
ensuring the drones won’t plummet to the ground,
which would be a big problem in crowded areas.
Unlike the DroneGun,
this means the drone doesn’t have a chance
to return to its starting point
and can be taken away for forensic investigation.
The Skywall 100 can also be rapidly reloaded,
meaning a single operator can take down multiple targets
in a matter of minutes.
No wonder they call it a Skywall.
IRL Aimbot.
Out in the field, military snipers are often faced
with some of the most difficult working conditions.
If it’s windy, dusty,
or if their target just won’t stay still,
it can be impossible to get a good shot.
But in 2014, the United States
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
or DARPA for short,
presented snipers with a game changer,
self-guided sniper bullets.
The Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordinance Program,
AKA Exacto, uses specially designed ammunition
with a real time optical guidance system.
This directs the bullet to the target
by compensating for most of the conditional elements,
like wind and poor visibility.
It even works if the user
barely has any experience with a sniper rifle.
You can see that even when the rifle user is untrained,
the 50 caliber bullet still hits the target
even when it moves.
Intriguingly, the test program ended in 2015,
and any further developments of the tech
have been kept under wraps.
But in 2016, Russia came forward
with its own version of the smart bullet,
claiming it could hit targets more than six miles away.
And here was me thinking aimbots
only existed in video games.
Tank Boat.
You can usually look at a vehicle
and guess pretty accurately what it does,
but that might be tricky for this thing.
Is it a tank?
Is it a boat?
A nuclear powered sand castle destroyer?
Well, it’s actually the US Marine Corps’
Ultra Heavy Lift Amphibious Connector,
a prototype amphibious vehicle
designed to dock almost anywhere.
Although this is just a half scale prototype,
the final vehicle is projected to be
84 feet long, 34 feet high,
and will be able to carry up to 190 tons of cargo,
or three main battle tanks.
The tracks are made of captured air foam blocks,
which extend like flippers to propel the craft
through the water at a top speed of 20 knots,
or roughly 23 miles per hour.
When this behemoth hits beach, the foam flattens,
transforming into tracks
like those on a tank or a bulldozer, only softer.
This means it won’t just be capable of hitting the beach.
It’ll also be able to maneuver inland
over difficult terrain, such as marshes, mud,
and will even be able to conquer obstacles 10 feet high.
While this incredible concept was unveiled in 2014,
there’s been no word on its development since.
Maybe they’re making a stealth version of this thing,
although seeing how bizarre it looks,
I don’t think there’s any way this thing
could drive or swim under the radar.
The Minesweeper.
Tanks are arguably the most essential battlefield vehicles
when it comes to smashing through enemy lines
and allowing infantry to advance.
But one of their little known cousin vehicles,
the M1150 Assault Breacher is just as important.
This heavily armored 65 ton combat vehicle
is based on the M1 Abrams tank chassis.
But unlike a regular tank,
this vehicle is equipped with a mine plow and line charges.
These are features specially designed
to help rid paths and roads of hidden bombs and landmines
so the troops and vehicles can pass through safely.
To do this, first, the M1150 uses a line charge.
These are rockets that carry a string of explosives
up to 500 feet forward,
which are then detonated,
discharging any mines hidden in the ground.
Then the vehicle moves forward
with the 15 foot long mine plow.
This lifts and clears any remaining explosives
out of the ground, pushing them out to the side
and away from the vehicles about to come through.
The ski arms reaching out of the front
guide different sections of the plow,
ensuring it’s at a constant depth of 14 inches
so as not too shunt too deeply into the terrain
and get the vehicle stuck.
With so much specialized equipment,
each of these vehicles costs a staggering $3.7 million.
Well, I’m sure the military
would rather see a sky high price
over a sky high battalion.
Tireless Tires.
There’s nothing worse than getting a flat tire,
but could you imagine getting a flat
in the middle of an active war zone?
Like changing a tire wasn’t hard enough
without bullets and shrapnel whipping past your head.
Well, thankfully, many military vehicles around the world
use RunFlat tires,
pneumatic tires that have a solid
donut-like insert in the middle.
This means if the outer tube is punctured,
the tire won’t go flat or need to be replaced immediately.
That’s pretty ingenious.
But the vehicle can only travel up to 60 or so miles
at reduced speed before the RunFlat wears down.
So while it’s good, it’s not perfect.
However, the US military has something in the works
that’ll do away with tire air pressure entirely.
Say hello to the Non-Pneumatic Tire,
designed by the aptly named Resilient Technologies.
Using a polymeric web in a honeycomb structure
between the tread band and the rim,
the wheel conforms around objects,
similar to an air-filled tire
while being completely puncture-resistant.
This means vehicles sporting them can handle shrapnel,
rough conditions and difficult terrain
without the fear of getting a flat and being left stranded.
The Pentagon released the potential of this technology
back in 2008 and granted Resilient $18 million in funding
in the hopes they’d created a tire
the US military could use.
But it hasn’t been a quick or smooth ride.
After more than 12 years of testing,
Resilient’s tire is still in the prototype phase,
but they’re moving in the right direction
to bring these wheels to the US military en masse.
Man, future military vehicles
are going to look a whole lot cooler.
Corner Copia.
In urban combat, there’s nothing riskier
than sticking your head out from a corner,
like over a wall or around a corner,
to try and see where your enemies are.
If only there was a way to shoot around corners like this.
Well, thanks to an innovative lieutenant colonel
from the Israeli Defense Forces, now there is.
This is the Corner Shot.
It’s a mechanism that mounts a semiautomatic pistol
or grenade launcher at the front,
which remotely links to a trigger on the back end.
This allows the front section to rotate
up to 60 degrees left and right around corners,
while a digital camera feeds to the user
a view of what lies around the bend.
This means users can fire the weapon and hit a target
up to 650 feet away all from the safety of complete cover.
But it’s not the only one of its kind.
In 2015, Zen Technologies unveiled the ShootEdge,
which was funded by India’s Defense Research
and Development Organization.
It works on the same premise as the Corner Shot,
but the design allows the front
to swivel up to 65 degrees in both directions.
Both models provide a device that special forces can use
in urban combat environments,
such as hostage situations
without putting themselves in unnecessary danger.
I don’t envy the bad guys
who find themselves around the corner
from soldiers wielding this thing.
The PHASR.
As chaotic as war can be,
you might be surprised to learn
that it actually has a few rules.
Back in 1995, the United Nations issued a protocol
banning the use of laser weapons
designed to permanently blind or diminish someone’s sight.
After that, most UN countries decided to drop research
into laser blinding weapon technology.
But not the US.
Back in 2006 at Kirtland Air Force Base,
the US Department of Defense
developed this prototype weapon,
which looks like something straight out of Star Trek.
And considering it’s called
the Personal Halting and Simulation Response,
or PHASR for short, it sounds like it too.
It’s a non-lethal laser dazzler,
which uses both a low intensity laser
and a two wavelength laser to temporarily disorient
and blind a target.
It just about skirts the UN’s ruling on laser weapons,
although since it was developed in 2006,
it hasn’t become standard issue.
However, in 2021, the US Navy did announce its plans
to develop a compact transportable
high energy laser weapon system.
It’s not going to be used on humans though.
It’ll be designed to tackle drones
and other unmanned aerial vehicles.
Considering they’re pumping
a huge $18.7 million into this development,
I wonder what they’re going to look like?
Will they be rifle-sized PHASRs
or weapons small enough to fit in your pocket?
What do you think?
Let me know down in the comments.
The Fire Scout.
Now I’m no aerospace engineer,
but if you asked me whether a helicopter
needs a windshield the pilot could see through, I’d say yes,
which is why watching this thing take off
from a moving platform with its wind screen blacked out
seems absolutely insane.
Don’t worry, though, the pilot can see just fine
because he’s not actually inside the aircraft.
This is the Northrop Grumman, MQ-8 Fire Scout series,
a completely unmanned helicopter
designed to provide reconnaissance,
situational awareness, aerial fire support,
and precision targeting for ground, air and sea forces.
Able to stay in the air for up to 12 hours
with a maximum payload capacity of some 700 pounds,
it’s like a larger and more capable drone.
Along with an autonomous flight control system,
the converted copter as an integrated series
of advanced sensors,
which generate full motion video
in both day and low light conditions.
Not only that, but in 2021,
they were adapted to deploy
ultrasonic sonobuoys into the sea.
These little devices use sound energy
to detect enemy ships, submarines,
and even mines in the water
before sending the data back to the Fire Scout,
which is then relayed to a manned unit.
This method keeps the pilots
and the crew of nearby ships out of harm’s way
while providing detailed developments
in waters up to 100 miles away.
Man, is there anything this machine can’t do?
K9 Vision.
While militaries around the world
rely heavily on intimidating tech
to get the edge on the enemy,
many also use something furrier.
Service dogs have been used
in military operations all over the world
since the late 19th century,
with jobs ranging from messengers,
explosive detection and attack forces.
And as military tech for humans has evolved,
it has for the dogs as well,
thanks to the French innovation
of the canine vision system, also known as Rex Specs.
These are goggles with an attached collar
that contain a special designed canine camera system.
The camera is located at the top of the goggles,
which captures everything the dog sees
before transmitting the footage wirelessly
to a nearby handler.
This allows units to assess a situation
before sending their soldiers in
while able to keep constant tabs on their faithful hounds.
With the mask weighing just 140 grams
and the collar 200 grams, the entire set is so light,
it doesn’t impair the dog’s performance.
The device is also waterproof,
the camera has infrared abilities
and the goggles include a mounted torch.
It even has a radio system to deliver commands to the dog
and potentially any nearby targets.
If I had access to one of these,
I’d definitely pretend the dog could talk.
Get on the ground, keep your hands where I can see them.
All right, now give me a treat, human.
The Ghost Tank.
There’s something about adding ghost to a name
that makes things sound all the more terrifying.
Ghost pepper, ghost light, ghost tank.
Hang on, ghost tank?
That can’t be real, right?
Well over in the Swedish military, it very much is.
The CV90120-T Ghost is a battle tank
that uses a unique camouflage method
to get the drop on its opponents.
The base CV90120 tank was redesigned back in the 1990s,
when engineers attempted to create
a lightweight fire support vehicle
with the fire power of a main battle tank.
This meant the CV90120 weighed in at just 21 tons
with a 120 millimeter gun.
For contrast, most modern tanks with guns that size
weight between 40 and 60 tons.
They stripped everything from it, including its thick armor.
So BAE Systems came up
with an ingenious prototype protection
to keep the tank safe without adding weight.
ADAPTIV, a thermal camouflage system.
Individual modules honeycomb the flanks of the tank,
which are made of elements that can be cooled
or heated up very quickly,
as well as controlled individually
via electronic programming.
This allows different patterns to be created,
disguising the tank’s heat signature from the enemy,
like here, where it happens to be the shape
of an ordinary car.
It can imitate other shapes as well
like that of a truck or even a moose.
Man, if Sweden ever becomes a battleground,
invading forces are gonna think this country
has a lot of armored moose.
The Mothercraft.
When it comes to military vehicles of superior size,
Mother Russia doesn’t mess around,
which is proven by the existence
of the gigantic Zubr Class Hovercraft.
Even though they were built
in the Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War,
just as the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991,
these brilliant behemoths have stood the test of time
and are still used by the Russian, Greek
and Chinese navy forces today.
The amphibious vehicle uses air cushion technology
powered by five gas turbine engines,
which each generate a whopping 12,100 horsepower.
These make it capable of skirting over 300 miles of waves
at a top speed of 63 miles per hour.
The air cushion also allows the Zubr
to glide over solid ground,
so it can carry its payload right up to the shore.
Although, at 187 feet long and 84 feet wide,
this beast doesn’t land on the shore
so much as engulf it.
With a normal load, the craft weighs in at 415 tons
and can carry up to 10 armored personnel carriers,
three main battle tanks, 360 Marines
or some incredible combination of all three.
If that’s a normal load,
imagine what a heavy load looks like.
I reckon this thing could drag Godzilla back out to sea.
Not only that, but Russia has two of these incredible craft,
each sporting two surface to air missiles,
Gatling guns and rocket launchers.
Man, if I were Godzilla,
I’d just stay at the bottom of the ocean forever.
Mega Mat Deployment.
As amazing as many military land vehicles are,
a lot of them wouldn’t be much without a road.
And it’s here that the German military’s
Faltstrabengerat, or FSG for short, rolls in.
Translated, this literally means folding road device,
which is a pretty perfect a description of its job.
The eight by eight vehicle carries a mat
made of tessellated aluminum plates,
which way more than nine tons all together.
Using a folding line and pulley system,
the mat is laid out over difficult terrain
like mud or bog.
It takes the FSG around 10 minutes
to lay almost 165 feet of the mat,
which at almost 14 feet wide,
can accommodate even the girthiest of machines.
Being made of aluminum, the mat is durable enough
to support vehicles weighing up to 70 tons
while lightweight enough to be reeled back
into the truck mechanically in almost no time.
It’s so versatile, it can even be laid into water
up to four feet deep,
allowing boats to unload vehicles on shores
without fear of them getting stuck in the mud.
Now that’s how you roll out the welcome mat.
Taking to the Skies.
In 2020, the Us Air Force made a shocking claim.
By 2023, it was going to start fielding the use
of flying cars.
Well, they didn’t call them flying cars,
they called them ORBS, organic resupply buses.
This specifically referred to Joby Aviation’s S4,
a hybrid vehicle combining a car like chassis
with six rotors, which can carry up to five people.
With vertical takeoff and landing capabilities,
once it’s in the air,
it can travel at a top speed of 200 miles per hour
with a 150 mile range.
But here’s the best part.
It’s apparently 100 times quieter than a helicopter,
and the military can’t wait to get their hands on them,
because they have huge potential for missions
involving medical evacuation, firefighting,
disaster response and humanitarian relief operations.
But this isn’t the only flying car
on the US military’s radar.
Because they have such incredible military potential,
the US has been funding research
into a wide variety of models to fit different missions.
These includes smaller one man vehicles,
like the lift aircraft, Hexa.
Thanks to the five floats at its base
and 18 independent electric motors and propellers on top,
this flying pod can vertically take off
from the water as well as land,
perfect for search and rescue missions.
But the US military has also looked
into some more bizarre designs,
such as conceptual Humvee copters
that can conduct night raids
or whisk injured soldiers away from the battlefield.
That might be the most American thing I’ve ever seen.
Looks like the sky really is the limit
for this military endeavor.
The Flying Jeep.
If the idea of flying Humvees blew your mind,
then you’re gonna love this next vehicle.
The amazingly named Black Knight Transformer
from Advanced Tactics.
Anyone else think it sounds like
Christopher Nolan and Michael Bay made a movie together?
In development since 2010,
this is a proof of concept vehicle
for a multipurpose hybrid car slash aircraft.
It combines eight powerful engines with rotors,
providing this 4,400 pound chassis
with enough thrust to fly up to 10,000 feet in the air.
But it’s not just good in the sky.
According to its specifications, as a land vehicle,
it’ll also be able to hit a top speed of 70 miles per hour.
But why would the US military fund research
for a vehicle that’s bulky yet weirdly versatile like this?
Well, there are a few reasons.
For a start, at 31 feet long and 19 feet wide,
you’d have plenty of room inside.
So it’d be perfect for cargo drops in hard to reach areas.
And with all that space, it could also perform
easy casualty evacuations in areas of active warfare.
By landing in a safe zone away from enemy fire,
and then driving to the evac site,
the injured soldier doesn’t have to be carried,
reducing danger to other soldiers.
It’s a very neat prototype,
but it’s one that’s currently cost $2 million to build.
Man, I dread to think how much the finished version
will eventually cost.
Human 2.0.
A lot of us would give just about anything
to own an Iron Man suit.
While we’re lightyears away
from anything as technologically sophisticated as that,
the military does have access to the next best thing.
This is the Guardian XO,
a full body battery-powered exoskeleton,
which augments the operator’s strength.
With a maximum payload of 200 pounds,
an operator wearing this incredibly cool power suit
can lift 100 pounds with a single hand.
This kind of power assist can help ensure soldiers
aren’t injured doing mundane tasks
and can save their strength for duties that really matter.
But while the Guardian XO looks pretty snazzy,
it wasn’t always this sleek.
Sarcos, the company behind Guardian XO,
worked under defense contractor Raytheon over 10 years ago,
producing the XOS exoskeleton suit.
Like the Guardian, this early suit
also augmented the wearer’s lift capacity
to lift up to 200 pounds,
and could even punch through three inches of wood.
It achieved this by using an array of sensors
to collect data through the exoskeleton.
The sensors fed data into a computer,
which determined how the suit should move.
And then those instructions were sent
to a series of valves
that controlled the flow of hydraulic fluid in the joints.
The fluid moved a series of cylinder actuators,
which then moved cables attached to them,
like tendons pulling on the robotic limbs.
The main drawback was that it needed
to be attached to a main power source in order to work,
so it had limited applications in busy environments.
Still, being able to do endless pushups with this thing on
has to count for something, right?
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Which of these military technologies and vehicles
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