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Russia says its hypersonic missile is now in active service
Russia's vaunted hypersonic missile is now in service -- though to what degree isn't clear. The country's Ministry of Defense has announced that the Avangard system is in use with its first regiment as of the morning of December 27th. The addition theoretically gives Russia the ability to strike targets around the world with relative impunity. The weapon launches like a conventional ballistic missile, but the re-entry vehicle glides into the atmosphere at extreme speeds while staying highly maneuverable at high altitudes -- it could be virtually impossible to stop using existing anti-missile systems.
The latest 'Fortnite' weapon lets you drop heavy stuff on opponents’ heads
Epic has another way to battle Fortnite's hated newcomer, giant mechs. Sure, the two-player B.R.U.T.E. mechs have 1,000 health, can travel hundreds of in-game meters in a few seconds and can blast you with rockets or stomp on you. But now, regular players can strike back by dropping something heavy -- like a dinosaur -- on giant mechs and other opponents.
'Fortnite's' latest weapon lets you summon air strikes with a grenade
Epic Games has added Air Strikes to the Fortnite arsenal. With the weapon, you can launch a canister of colored smoke into an area and summon a hail storm of fire from above. You'll find the canisters in floor loot, chests, supply drops, vending machines and llamas. Once a canister is launched and comes to rest, 20 missiles will appear about 120 meters above the smoke. Each missile has an explosion radius of 3.5 meters, and each missile deals damage to players and structures.
CIA 'Ninja bomb' replaces explosives with six long blades
The US apparently has a unique approach to minimizing bystander casualties from drone strikes: replace the warhead with old-fashioned knives. The Wall Street Journal has learned that both the CIA and the Pentagon have been using a variant of the Hellfire air-to-ground missile, the R9X (aka "Ninja bomb"), that deploys six blades moments before impact to cut through virtually anything in its path, including buildings and cars. The idea is to take out a terrorist leader or a similarly prominent target without risking the lives of nearby civilians.
‘Anthem’ bug makes starter rifle the game’s most powerful weapon
You've gotta pay your dues in shooter game Anthem. Like Destiny 2 and Warframe, you get ahead with tireless grinding, repeatedly working through the same missions to get your hands on better guns and better loot. So a recently-discovered bug is threatening the entire gameplay. As player YeetLordSurpreme revealed yesterday, the game's level 1 rifle is actually the strongest weapon in the entire Anthem universe -- and developer BioWare has confirmed the whoopsie.
Axon's latest Taser weapon calls police when fired
If you're in a dangerous-enough situation to fire a stun gun, you probably want help as soon as possible. Axon certainly thinks so, at least -- it's launching an upgraded version of the Taser Pulse, the Pulse+, that contacts police when you fire the weapon. Load an app from Noonlight on your phone and the new Taser can dispatch authorities to your location and give you the opportunity to speak to 911 if it's safe. Axon is betting the time savings will be vital in moments when you're either still in danger or are too shaken to make a call.
Texas company sells plans for 3D-printed guns despite ban
A judge may have extended a ban preventing Defense Distributed from publishing plans for 3D-printed guns, but that isn't stopping the company from finding loopholes to continue offering the weapons. Company owner Cody Wilson has started selling the plans to US customers through his website on his belief that the ban only rules out publishing the plans online, not selling them directly. Those who purchase the plans can receive them by email, secure file transfers or even USB thumb drives shipped by mail.
DeepMind, Elon Musk and others pledge not to make autonomous AI weapons
Today during the Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, the Future of Life Institute announced that more than 2,400 individuals and 160 companies and organizations have signed a pledge, declaring that they will "neither participate in nor support the development, manufacture, trade or use of lethal autonomous weapons." The signatories, representing 90 countries, also call on governments to pass laws against such weapons. Google DeepMind and the Xprize Foundation are among the groups who've signed on while Elon Musk and DeepMind co-founders Demis Hassabis, Shane Legg and Mustafa Suleyman have made the pledge as well.
'Destiny 2' adds new progression systems and exotic weapon tweaks
Bungie has been working to keep players interested in Destiny 2 with updates to the multiplayer Crucible, mobile companion app and rewards for its most loyal players. Now the company has just revealed a variety of exotic weapons and progression changes that should make things even more interesting.
What Trump means when he talks nukes at the State of the Union
President Donald Trump is expected to cover five main topics in his first State of the Union address tonight, including the economy, immigration, infrastructure and trade. The fifth topic, national security, will put the spotlight on North Korea and the erratic, ad hominem nuclear standoff between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Trump himself. The tension of this relationship has spilled over to Twitter, where Trump has lobbed insults and threats at Kim over the past year. Trump called Kim "little Rocket Man" and declared the US' "nuclear button" was "much bigger and more powerful" than Kim's. In August, Trump promised "fire and fury" if North Korea didn't stop testing nuclear weapons, and Kim later called Trump a "mentally deranged dotard." Meanwhile, North Korea carried out more than a dozen nuclear tests throughout 2017, including launching intercontinental ballistic missiles theoretically capable of striking the US mainland. Its most recent ICBM test was in November.
China reportedly tests new ballistic weapon that flies under radar
A US government source told The Diplomat this week that China has conducted flight tests of a missile equipped with a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV). Two tests of the HGV, a model known as the DF-17, took place in November and China is understood to have conducted a number of other tests of experimental HGVs throughout 2014 and 2016. The DF-17 is thought to have a range of between 1,800 and 2,500 kilometers and represents a new kind of weapon system, one that the US and Russia are also developing.
The Navy’s railguns are ready for live-fire field tests
The US Navy has been testing its railguns, which fire shells at high velocity using electromagnets instead of explosive propellant, for years. Test footage emerged in 2012 showing off successful demonstration of the experimental weapon on land targets. But at long last, the military's new artillery piece is ready for live-fire testing in the field.
US Army expects to take down planes with anti-air lasers
Forget shooting down drones with vehicle-mounted lasers -- the US Army is ready to take on the bigger machines. Space and Missile Defense Command chief Lt. Gen James Dickenson has revealed that the Army is preparing lasers that are ten times more powerful than the ones in testing now, at between 50kW to 100kW. That kind of wattage is strong enough to take down aircraft, and might even throw missiles off their targets by confusing their sensors. They won't necessarily require gigantic trucks like they do today, either.
'Guardians of the Galaxy' team says why it used Red's 8K camera
When director James Gunn revealed that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 would be the first movie shot with Red's 8K Weapon camera, he triggered a bit of speculation: what prompted the move beyond the incredibly high resolution? You might have a better answer today. Red has posted a behind-the-scenes look at the movie that, to no one's surprise, talks a lot about why the Vol. 2 team shot with such relatively exotic gear. And no, it's not just about that picture quality.
Death Star-like lasers become a practical reality
Like many elements of sci-fi, the superweapon in Star Wars' Death Star seems implausible: can you really combine multiple laser beams into one fearsome blast? Apparently, you can... if not quite as dramatically as you see in the movies. Scientists have developed a technique that uses diamond to merge multiple laser beams into more powerful ones. The key was to put an exceptionally pure diamond at the point where the beams converge, taking advantage of the crystal's inherent tendency to send the light's power in a specific direction. The material is good at shedding excess heat, too, which is rather important when you're funneling a lot of laser power into a small space.
The army may have laser-equipped vehicles by 2017
The army, in partnership with General Dynamics, is developing a short-range laser weapon designed to protect soldiers against mortars, missiles and drones. The news was broken by Scout Warrior, which reports that the weapon could be implemented in as little as a year. The idea is that the technology would be installed on the roof of an armored personnel vehicle -- specifically a General Dynamics Stryker (pictured). Once operational, the technology will scan the immediate area and destroy anything suspicious that approaches by air.
The USAF's new 'cyber weapon' hunts network vulnerabilities
The US Air Force's Space Command recently announced that its latest cyber weapon, dubbed the Cyberspace Vulnerability Assessment/Hunter (CVA/H), has come online and is "fully operational". The CVA/H is designed to perform threat assessment and compliance within the Air Force's command network. Basically, it tracks down and fixes potentially exploitable network security flaws that may hamper USAF missions.
The Navy wants to deploy railguns on its latest destroyer
The US Navy's latest toy, a railgun that can fire projectiles at seven times the speed of sound, maybe be deployed sooner than thought. The original plan was to test it on joint high-speed vessels (JHSVs) in 2016, but the Navy is reportedly building an operational unit that could be installed on the USS Lyndon. B. Johnson, according to the Associated Press. That ship, the last of three Zumwalt-class destroyers, would be an ideal candidate because its Rolls Royce turbine generators produce 78 megawatts, more than enough to power the electromagnetic weapon.
'Guardians of the Galaxy II' to be shot with Red's 8K Weapon
Red and director James Gunn revealed that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will be the first movie shot on the company's Weapon 8K digital cinema camera. The original film, which grossed nearly $800 million worldwide, was captured on Arri's Alexa XT camera. While directors like Quentin Tarantino and Christopher Nolan still demand celluloid film, digital cameras haven't exactly been sitting still. Red's 8K Weapon arguably rivals the resolution of 70mm film, even though the Vista Vision-size sensor is smaller. Arri, meanwhile, recently released the Alexa 65, a 6K cinema camera with a huge 65mm sensor.
This 'Fallout 4' flaming sword can set the world on fire
It's Fallout 4 week. That means it's safe to say that when gamers aren't busy logging more than 4.5 million hours in Bethesda's latest instalment, they're probably watching all of the impressive game-related videos on YouTube. The team over at Linus Tech Tips has already managed to fit a high-end gaming PC inside a Mini Nuke, but what about building a real-life Fallout 4 weapon? If you've played Fallout 3 or made it far enough into the latest game (hint: it's located in the Saugus Ironworks), then you may have come across the Shishkebab: a flaming sword crafted from motorcycle parts and a katana. Make built one, and it's awesome.
