new weapons systems news stories on Newser

Army Puts Out Call for 'Magic' Hovering Bullet

Kevin Spak — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 07:29:05 CDT

The Pentagon certainly has imagination when it comes to making up dream weapons. It's put out a new list of weapons small businesses should try to design for it, and one of them is a "Nonlethal Warhead of Miniature Organic Precision Munitions," or what Wired describes as, "one part bazooka...

New Way to Fight Pirates: With a Laser

Matt Cantor — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 13:49:59 CST

Somali pirates, beware: British scientists are developing a laser that works by confusing would-be attackers from more than a mile away, the Daily Mail reports. The laser hides the ship in a veil of green light, preventing pirates from easily steering toward or aiming at their victims. “We are using...

Gates' Pentagon Budget Overhaul Hits Heavy Resistance

Gabriel Winant — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:28:31 CDT

Defense Secretary Robert Gates talked tough yesterday in proposing to cut six major weapons systems from the Pentagon budget, and members of Congress wasted no time in talking tough right back, suggesting that the battle to refocus spending could meet major resistance. “This budget represents an opportunity, one of those...

Gates Poised to Cut Pricey Weapons

Ambreen Ali — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 04:05:41 CST

Armed with Barack Obama's endorsement, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is poised to change the Pentagon's pricey weapons priorities, reports the Los Angeles Times . Gates is expected to carve into expensive pending programs like the Army's $160 billion Future Combat Systems plan and high-tech fighter jets in favor of cheap, low-tech...

Army to Speed High-Tech Gear Into Combat

Kevin Spak — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:33:10 CDT

The US Army has moved up the timetable for its high-tech weapons program, hoping to get new devices into the field by late 2010, 5 years ahead of its original schedule, Popular Mechanics reports. It’s also shifting focus away from conventional warfare tech like tanks and artillery and toward the...

Pentagon Big Guns Late, Way Over Budget

Sam Gale Rosen — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:46:48 CDT

Some 95 of the Pentagon's biggest weapons systems are a total of $295 billion over budget and arrive an average of 2 years late, according to the Government Accountability Office. But GAO auditors say the Pentagon is getting sloppier, not better, reports the Washington Post . "It's taking longer and costing...