Friday 29th of March 2024

Minister Hill's robotic warp

Minister Hill's robotic warp

Spreading war and pestilence by remote control

From the ABC
Hill unveils military's hi-tech future
Defence Minister Robert Hill says future Australian military missions will be supported by a force of hi-tech robots and unmanned vehicles. Senator Hill has released details of the machines at the Amazing World of Science exhibition in Canberra.

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"The more that we can send autonomous land vehicles, air vehicles, sea vehicles to do tasks that previously had to be crewed by men and women, the less chance we'll suffer injury or death," he said.

steak knives .....

I wonder how many steak knives we'll get for this order on weapons central?

Given military procurement leadtimes & our proclivity for picking-up redundant 2nd hand hardware, these gizmos should be 14 years old when we receive them: this is coincidentally the revised age for defence force recruitment recommended last week by fraulein bronwyn bishop.  

Rods from G_d

"Rods from God" is the evolution of a 1980s program. Basically, it consists of orbiting platforms stocked with metal tungsten rods about 6.1 meters long (20 feet) and 30 centimeters (one foot) in diameter that could be satellite-guided to targets anywhere on the earth within minutes, for the rods would move at more than 11,000 kilometers an hour (6,835 miles per hour). This weapon exploits kinetic energy to cause an explosion the same magnitude of that of an earth-penetrating nuclear weapon, but with no radioactive fallout. The system would function due to two satellites, one of which would work as a communications platform, while the other would contain an arsenal of tungsten rods. Each of the satellites would be seven meters long and its diameter would be approximately 30 centimeters.

From Star Wars: Empires strike back 

But, look, who cares? As long as a robocop is able to take a piss, then waste the wrong guy.