Monday, November 28, 2005

Landmine arrows

A bit of genius from Raytheon. The fine folks at the defense contractor have applied for a patent for a device that can be used to quickly and safely clear a minefield.

The invention is an artillery shell that encloses a bunch of steel "arrows". The shell is fired at a minefield. Just before the it hits, the shell is exploded in air, freeing hundreds of small steel arrows, which are accelerated into the ground by the shell burst. The arrows hit mines buried in the field, detonating them.

GPS-enabled artillery can ensure complete coverage of a field.

This is potentially a huge boon to former battlefields like Cambodia, parts of Africa, and other global hotspots.

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