Set Phasers To Defrost: Ray Gun Inflicts Heat On Targets Making Them Think They'll Catch Fire

This sounds like TORTURE to me! Waterboarding = false sense of drowning; this gun = false sense of catching fire.

Oh, the heart-ache this will cause.

The military's new weapon is a ray gun that shoots a beam that makes people feel as if they will catch fire.

The technology is supposed to be harmless -- a non-lethal way to get enemies to drop their weapons.

Military officials say it could save the lives of civilians and service members in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

The weapon is not expected to go into production until at least 2010, but all branches of the military have expressed interest in it, officials said.

The Air Force and the Navy have expressed interest? For what? To disperse crowds of gulls and manatees?

Sheesh. Control yourselves, guys.

During the first media demonstration of the weapon Wednesday, airmen fired beams from a large dish antenna mounted atop a Humvee at people pretending to be rioters and acting out other scenarios U.S. troops might encounter.

The crew fired beams from more than 500 yards (455 meters) away, nearly 17 times the range of existing non-lethal weapons, such as rubber bullets.

While the sudden, 130-degree Fahrenheit (54.44 Celsius) heat was not painful, it was intense enough to make participants think their clothes were about to ignite.

I don't know... seems kind of lame to me.

A Terrorist Pop-Tart Toaster? EC thinks it's not just for crowd control--

I think you guys are missing the point here.

Here's a weapon that can be fired from long range, with (I'm guessing here) little or no "bullet drop", no visible or audible signature, and can cause the enemy to reveal themselves and give their position away.

What if the military were to use this on an area suspected of concealed enemies? You could sweep the area and make them jump up and run around like their asses were on fire. As soon as they do, they are dropped by a sniper.

posted by Ace at 10:44 AM

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