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comment by smoorman1024
smoorman1024  ·  4785 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Bullets that explode to kill people taking cover
All I can say is... Awesome.




lessismore  ·  4785 days ago  ·  link  ·  
The technology might be awesome, but the application of it will not be.
b_b  ·  4785 days ago  ·  link  ·  
Reading about it is awesome, as it often is with new military technologies. But then you stop and think about what it is actually for, and you can't help but to feel bad.

I'm very curious about the details. 25mm is 1 inch. Its almost not fair to call these guns, in the typical infantry sense. They are basically shooting hand held cannons. What do you suppose the recoil is like?! Even at 210 m/s, which is quite slow (well below the speed of sound, so the enemy could hear death coming), a 25mm shell would probably hurt to fire.

mk  ·  4785 days ago  ·  link  ·  
I don't know. My father was in Vietnam, and he said that the US Army shot at him far more than the VC did. On one occasion that he related, he and his buddy were sent out to the perimeter of the base for watch. Once they got out there in position, the base opened up on them. They were very lucky to been able to take cover and radio back before they were killed.
smoorman1024  ·  4785 days ago  ·  link  ·  
A double edged sword indeed, but I don't think that argument necessarily disqualifies pursuing this technology.
mk  ·  4785 days ago  ·  link  ·  
Well, we can always kill people better. :/

I suppose the ultimate would be if our armed forces could simply select the people that they wanted to die, and they would.

Personally, I think war is becoming outdated. Force doesn't seem a very effective way of making predictable and stable political changes. Also, there are other, less costly ways to get access to resources. It's pretty stupid that we still resort to having our teenagers and young adults blow each other apart over what are ultimately economic interests. It's also unfortunate that helping people blow each other up is such an economic interest in of itself.

Having a dad that was in a war, reading a bunch of history, and shooting enough guns has convinced me that it's not something I want to be involved in, or support.

smoorman1024  ·  4785 days ago  ·  link  ·  
I understand and follow this, but I still can't deny that making the best and most useful weapons is so inherently human no matter how you use them.