Northrop Grumman's been plugging along on this little project for years now, and at long last, the company has surpassed the milestone that it's been striving for. According to a new release that's just beaming with pride, the defense company has reportedly achieved 100 kilowatts from a solid-state laser. For those unfamiliar with the back story, 100 kilowatts is the level needed to create a laser gun that could actually do more than cause temporary blindness on the battlefield. Sadly, it seems that lethal laser pointers are still a good ways away, with Dan Wildt, vice president of Northrop's directed energy systems program, noting that "it is still a little heavy and a little big." It's all good, Northrop -- we're down with backpack weapons, too.

[Via CNET]

So, we're not going to say this is the greatest thing we've ever seen, because we've seen some pretty awesome things in our years and years of living on the edge, but it's pretty, uh... heavy metal. Regardless, the so-called "Punk Skull" belt buckle is one multi-talented reminder of Death: he holds up your pants, but can also play MP3s (1GB player included) or display fascinatingly terrifying LED light patterns (LED module included) -- though sadly, not both at once. If that's not enough uses for you, the manufacturer suggests that the buckle is solid enough for you to use "as a handheld weapon," which is great, because we suspect that suddenly, a lot of people are going to start wanting to fight you. Available now for wholesale, we're pretty sure they'll be making their way to high-end retailers near you soon, and that they'll be horrifically affordable. A few more shots of the carnage after the break.

[Via Random Good Stuff]

The last time we heard anything about Northrop Grumman's development of a weaponized laser system, they were telling us that the "hardest part was over," and it looks like they weren't exaggerating. According to today's PR released by the 4th largest defense contractor in the world, the units, dubbed FIRESTRIKE, are now "ready for sale." In case you haven't been following every detail of the story, the FIRESTRIKE is a solid-state laser (think raygun), which weighs 400 pounds, has an Ethernet interface, and can be chained together with up to 7 other identical modules to create a 100 kw beam. The unit's obviously not very portable, and we don't have any information on its price, but we're going to go ahead and assume we can't afford it. Enemies of Engadget: you're safe, at least for now.

Huge shocker here: removing your shoes at airport security causes massive headaches and makes the wait longer for everyone. Now that we're all good with Captain Obvious' latest headline, let us point you to one prototype that's looking to solve said dilemma. SecuriScan, which has been developed by Professor Wuqiang Yang at the University of Manchester, would theoretically be able to "detect and pinpoint suspicious objects instantly," all without requiring passengers to remove their kicks. Better still, the system uses electric and magnetic sensing instead of a radiation source, which could also address safety concerns while helping you get where you're going more quickly. Moving forward, Yang hopes to develop a more advanced and realistic prototype for testing, and just in case you were doubting this guy's determination, he's also investigating a handheld version that could hastily screen abandoned luggage or packages.

[Via Physorg, image courtesy of ChangeAirportSecurity]

Israel is reportedly developing a sophisticated piece of software meant to help troops make quick decisions during battle and, under the right conditions, autonomously manipulate the nation's defense systems. First reported in Defense News (subscription required), the unnamed system would primarily be used for tactical decisions during periods of heavy bombardment, although in a worst-case scenario, the complex algorithm would supposedly be capable of taking over total military control. Yes, we know what you're thinking, but don't worry: Israeli officials have already sworn up and down that "there's no way we're letting this thing go Terminator on us -- no freakin' way."

[Via Danger Room]

While we certainly hope the average (read: not GI) jane / joe isn't overly concerned about the rate at which homegrown explosions detonate as desired, we understand the Army's need to have more faith in their own munitions. Reportedly, a new "smart fuse" conjured up at Georgia Tech could soon prevent bombs from experiencing fuse failure by using "semiconductor fabrication equipment to make hundreds of ultra-high precision detonators on a wafer at the same time." In addition to cutting down on the use of toxic heavy metals and increasing the safety of weapon production, the intelligent MEMS fuse will supposedly "incorporate built-in arm and fail-safe mechanisms that virtually guarantee that munitions go off when they should, every time." Weapons that fire when needed -- now there's a concept.

[Image courtesy of Rich's Incredible Pyro]

Blissfully unaware that it's up against a generation raised in the sensory madhouses known as techno clubs, the Pentagon is reportedly working on a non-lethal weapon that utilizes light and sound to sicken and disorient targets. Like Homeland Security's "pukelight," the so-called Distributed Sound and Light Array Debilitator being developed by Penn State's Applied Research Laboratory is meant to induce a feeling of nauseousness, in this case combining light patterns with "aversive noises." So yeah, like we said, sounds pretty effective unless you happen to run into a group of insurgents hardened by years of all-night raving and the accompanying neurological damage.

With non-lethal weapon manufacturers such as TASER International constantly finding new and insidious ways to incapacitate "non-compliant individuals," it's only natural that those folks who have frequent encounters with stun gun-toting authorities would want protection from their piercing, electrifying barbs. Well a gentleman from Arizona named Gregory Russell Schultz apparently empathizes with this demographic, and has filed a patent for an "energy weapon protection device" -- essentially a jacket embedded with alternating layers of conductive and non-conductive panels that complete an electrical circuit and leave the wearer impervious to the shocks of what would likely be a very surprised officer of the law. If they can retrofit our Members Only jacket in this manner, we're sold.

[Via Danger Room]

We first heard of Boeing's plan to mount a laser on a Humvee in July, but we weren't expecting results so soon -- yet here we are just a few months later and the company is already blowing stuff up with a truck-based "directed energy weapon." The one-kilowatt laser is retrofitted on Boeing's existing Humvee-mounted Avenger missile system, and tests have already demonstrated its effectiveness at taking out IEDs from a safe distance. More excitingly for the boom-boom crowd, the Laser Avenger has also managed to eliminate grounded UAVs, and Boeing says it's working on being able to target low-flying drones as well. That's all well and good, but we just want to know: how is it at making popcorn?

While the Army is already taking good care of our wounded robots patrolling through Iraq, a recent deployment of three special weapons observation remote reconnaissance direct action systems (SWORDS) has placed rifle-equipped bots in the line of fire. The trio, which all handle M249s, are "are remotely controlled by a soldier through a terminal," and while their exact whereabouts and missions remain classified, the armed machines were reportedly designed to handle "high risk" combat scenarios if necessary. Currently, there's no record of a SWORD actually firing its weapon, but considering that each of these devices can potentially remove a human from harm, don't be surprised to see full blown platoons being unleashed when finances allow.

[Via Wired]

A Florida-based startup dubbed SeaAway (no relation to Segway, truth be told) is looking to make our ports a good bit safer in the future by implementing an offshore screening process that could detect "chemical, biological, and nuclear traces as ships travel through." The aptly-dubbed Sea Sentinels would be anchored to the seafloor some 14-miles from a port, and will even house up to 15 humans and an array of unmanned aerial vehicles for extreme situations. The platforms would utilize RFID readers to detect what types of cargo passed through its screen, and if sensors flag a suspicious container, the Coast Guard is called into action. Unfortunately, the $100 million it costs to erect each system would have to be subsidized by a passage fee of $20 per container, but tax breaks for shippers are currently be pondered. Nevertheless, a prototype system will see construction later this summer, and if all goes well, finalized versions could be patrolling our seas in the not too distant future.

In case you didn't know, part of DARPA's job is just to think up some totally outrageous stuff and then begin to throw money at it. Well, its brain-trust must be working overtime this month, because as a follow up to the invisible, shoot-through shield, we're getting laser-guided bullets. On the very same "budget item justification sheet" in which the aforementioned sci-fi shield is proposed, DARPA honchos "justify" the laser guided bullet project, which will fund research into a low cost, high performance solution for designing "new guidance technologies" that will enable steering of bullets in flight. The hope with this technology is that compact targeting systems (to be embedded in said projectiles) will enable "overmatching fire power" and increased "first shot effectiveness", in addition to potentially cutting down on friendly fire and collateral damage -- and retroactively making JFK's "one-gunman" assassination plausible.

[Via Wired]

As if the UK didn't have enough gadget-related mischievousness going on, here's another liter of fuel for the perpetual fire. NASUWT -- that's the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers for those out of the loop -- is suggesting that mobile phones be classified as "potentially offensive weapons" and banned from school premises, all because a select few students found it necessary to use their handset to engage in "cyberbullying." Apparently, some students have used the camera function in their phones to snap pictures of their instructor, only to then post said images on "rating websites that can damage teachers' self esteem and careers." Sheesh, first iPods, now mobiles -- what are kids to do? Study?

[Image courtesy of Textually]

Defense institutions have been attempting to find the secret of detecting snipers before they strike for a good while now, but DARPA's latest initiative seeks to not only pick up on enemy snipers before they attack, but to "neutralize" 'em while we're at it. More specifically, the "objectives of the C-Sniper program are to develop a system and supporting technologies for the detection and neutralization of enemy snipers before they can engage US Forces," and while plans for the installation are still foggy, officials are hoping to create a system that "operates day and night from a moving vehicle, and can provide the operator with sufficient information to make an engagement decision" in due time. Of course, once detection is made, the choice to react will still be left up to a human (at least for now, anyway), and there's even hints of utilizing lasers so long as operators are kept safe from their blinding ways. Per usual on DARPA-headed projects, there's no set timetable as to when our boys will be geared up with sniper-sniping technology, but we'd love to get this stuff into the latest first-person shooters as soon as feasibly possible.

[Via Wired, image courtesy of PLIG]