In the words of Tony Stark, “The best weapon
is one you never have to fire.” We’ve come a long way since sticks and stones,
and it’s almost inconceivable that only a few hundred years ago, Man was still waging
war with bows, arrows, cannons, and muskets. Modern militaries are constantly in the process
of developing new weapons, some of which will definitely make some mouths drop. We thought it would be fun to take a closer
look at the most amazing offensive and defensive weapons currently in the works, in this episode
of The Infographics Show; Top 10 Weapons of the Future. 10. High Energy Liquid Laser Area Defense System
or HELLADS is a system that will use a 150 kW laser, powered by a lithium-ion battery,
to destroy any rocket, missile, artillery shell or mortar heading towards its bases. It will also be offered, apart from a standing
structure, as an airplane-mounted system. General Atomics stated in 2015 that the preliminary
tests had been passed and that issues with the quality and accuracy of the laser beam
have been overcome. This project is presently being financed by
The Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency or DARPA, and the plan is
to have the laser model mounted on the drone Avenger by 2018. 9. Guided .50 caliber bullet. This bullet is being developed by DARPA’s
Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance (or EXACTO) and has already completed its first round
of testing. It will be able to move and change course
to hit targets. This will be used specifically for snipers,
but once perfected, will be applicable anywhere. The live-fire tests have shown the bullet
to maneuver in-flight to targets. The point is to avoid the sniper's need to
adjust for weather and wind, and to have these adjustments built into the rifle itself. The press release accompanying the tests stated,
“True to DARPA’s mission, EXACTO has demonstrated what was once thought impossible: the continuous
guidance of a small-caliber bullet to target. A live-fire demonstration from a standard
rifle showed that EXACTO is able to hit moving and evading targets with extreme accuracy
at sniper ranges unachievable with traditional rounds. Fitting EXACTO’s guidance capabilities into
a small .50-caliber gun is a major breakthrough and opens the door to what could be possible
in future guided projectiles across all calibers.” 3 8. Quantum Stealth. Definitely one of the stranger developments
in the field of camouflage, Quantum Stealth technology is a form of electro-optical camouflage
that strives to make its wearer invisible. Duke University and StealthIR are two institutions
currently engaged in research on bending light beams around the wearer. This is meant to “fool” night vision goggles
and long distance optical equipment rather than an up-close viewer. This new technology will manipulate light
around the wearer so as to fool even the unaided eye at close range. 4
According to David Schurig of Duke University, more crude versions of this have been out
for some time, and that microwave radiation as a means of detection will soon be rendered
obsolete. The purpose is to bend light around the object
rather than bouncing it off. Bouncing light rays is how the human eye sees
anything. A fabric that can redirect light can deprive
the eye of the light needed for sight. The process is called “negative refraction”
which moves the light in an unnatural way. So far, this has only worked at great expense
and is not ready to be made into a material any time soon. 7. The Long Range Strike Bomber. The US Air Force is currently developing the
B-21 Raider. It will be able to deliver a bomb deep inside
enemy territory under stealth cloaking. Many of the details are highly classified,
but they should be ready for operation by roughly 2025. The purpose of the bomber is to invisibly
reach any point on Earth. It will have the high payload capacity of
the old B-1, but with far greater range. It will also contain an advanced air-defense
system on board that could shoot down planes from hundreds of miles away. The US Air Force plans to purchase between
80-100 LRS-B aircraft at a cost of $550 million each. 6. Electromagnetic Rail Gun. The Electromagnetic or EM Railgun launcher
replaces fuel or gunpowder to shoot projectiles and uses electricity instead. Magnetic fields created by high electrical
currents accelerate a sliding metal conductor, or armature, between two rails to launch projectiles
at 4,500 mph (7240 kmh) or MACH 6. Inside each projectile, there are navigation
sensors and processors for guidance, navigation, and control. The railguns will most likely be equipped
on large naval units. The absence of high explosives necessary for
gunpowder-based munitions on ships will improve safety for sailors and marines. Each projectile can hit a target over 100
miles away. If you would like to see the Rail Gun in action,
we’ve created a second channel called The Military Show, featuring live footage of the
United States Military. The link will be displayed at the end of the
video and in the description. This is also probably a good reminder to subscribe
to this channel if you want to see more videos like this. 5. X-51 WaveRider is a 14 foot unmanned scramjet
aircraft capable of traveling at MACH 5 at 70,000 feet (21km), meaning that a report
of enemy activity in a region could be instantly acted upon. In its current form, the X-51 does not carry
explosives and relies on its kinetic energy to destroy enemy targets. The X-51 will be very difficult to intercept
by air defense systems due to its speed. The U.S. Air Force and DARPA are working together
to complete the X-51 WaveRider by 2023. 4. The centrifugal gun. Like the Electromagnetic Rail Gun, the centrifugal
gun is also designed to replace fuel or gunpowder as the accelerant for heavier automatic weapons. The popular term for it is the Dread Gun,
and it’s basically a machine gun capable of firing 120,000 rounds a minute. Because it uses force, it has no muzzle, noise,
or flash. And because it doesn’t really look like
a gun at all, it can be mounted pretty much anywhere. It is a mass of metal which has no heat signature
or recoil, and each bullet follows the other with only 1/32nd of an inch in between. DREAD’s ammunition will be .308 and .50
caliber round metal balls that will be spun out of the weapon at speeds as high as 8,000
feet per second. DREAD's complete lack of recoil will allow
it to be fired from space-based platforms, i.e. satellites, without knocking them off
of their respective orbital paths. Using non-lethal rounds, it could potentially
revolutionize riot control. 3. The sonic blaster or Thunder Generator. This is an innovation that can change warfare
entirely. In essence, these are cannon fired shock waves. Think Arclight from “X-Men: The Last Stand,”
only much, much more destructive! Crude versions of this have been used in the
past, but a military grade sonic blaster is still in development. The canon uses oil-based fuel systems to generate
the wave, increasing in intensity as it travels the length of the cannon barrel. A burst can travel up to 1.25 miles a second
(2,000 meters) and can be fired in 60-100 bursts per minute. Being hit with a wave has both physiological
and psychological effects. It is technically harmless, but it feels the
same as being shot. At a higher rate of intensity, it can cause
death with greater efficiency than a bullet. Presently, Israel is building a non-lethal
version of this to control riots and strengthen border security, in effect replacing rubber
bullets. 2. The “Zombie Gun.” No, it’s not a gun that kill zombies; it’s
a gun that turns people into zombies. The Russians are presently testing this low-frequency
radiation weapon that, at certain levels, can affect brain cells and thus psychical
states. It is also possible to transmit suggestions
to enemies. More crudely, this radio blast can be used
to temporarily disable higher cognitive functions in its target. As a lethal weapon, it can be used to burn
its target from the inside. The radiation burst can affect the central
nervous system and, in effect, short circuit executive functions of the brain, thereby
turning its victim into a zombie. For decades, military technologists have been
working to develop weapons that can incapacitate a person by attacking the central nervous
system, and previous research has shown that low-frequency waves or beams can affect brain
cells, alter psychological states and make it possible to transmit suggestions into someone’s
thought processes.11 1. The “powered exoskeleton.” This technology, which can be used for purposes
other than the military, is meant to give superhuman powers to its users. Presently, DARPA is testing a military version
of this set of powered cables to provide mechanical assistance to one's muscles. The exoskeleton was formulated by Harvard
University’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. In a sense, its purpose was to create a “supersoldier”
that can march long distances without becoming tired. Also, the new liquid armor being tested can
stop a bullet. The military version of the exoskeleton features
a liquid armor that instantly becomes solid upon the exertion of any force. The Raytheon version makes all physical exertion
seem 17 times less than what it really is. The system uses flexible hoses that increase
freedom of movement and agility, and it features powered limbs providing superhuman strength
to its wearer. Think Colonel Quaritch in Avatar, kicking
Jake Sully’s ass. 12 So there you have it! The future of weaponry is both scary and amazing! Which weapon on this list strikes you as the
most exciting? Is there a weapon in development that you’ve
heard of that we didn’t list? Let us know in the comments! And as we promised, here’s a link to real
life footage of the Electromagnetic Rail Gun...click it! It’s pretty freaking amazing!
That's not how that works, you eject matter in one direction in space it will propel you in the other direction, unless you were to eject matter with the same force in the opposite direction simultaneously.