XM1063: The U.S. Army’s Mystery Projectile
July 12th, 2008Via: Guardian:
Is the XM1063 a stink bomb, a banana skin, or a bad trip? It’s hard to know. XM1063 is the code name for the US army’s new secret weapon which will “suppress” people without harming them, as well as stopping vehicles in an area 100m square. But is it a violation of chemical weapons treaties, or a welcome move towards less destructive warfare using non-lethal weapons?
Exactly how it works is classified, but we have established some details. The first part of the weapon is an artillery round – or as the army puts it, “a non-lethal personal suppression projectile” – fired from a 155mm howitzer, with a range of 28km. It scatters 152 small non-explosive submunitions over a 1-hectare area; as each parachutes down, it sprays a chemical agent. Development was overseen by the US Army’s Armament Research, Development and Engineering Centre (Ardec).
A presentation by the makers, General Dynamics, says the XM1063 will “suppress, disperse or engage personnel” and “deny personnel access to, use of, or movement through a particular area, point or facility”.
“It scatters 152 small non-explosive submunitions over a 1-hectare area; as each parachutes down, it sprays a chemical agent.”
I guess that limits protest marches to windy days only!
And this is why I don’t work for the military-industrial-financial-intelligence-complex anymore. Bah. Been there, done that, got the coffee mug.
It’s funny, you talk with people who live in the metro DC area, and this sort of thing is business as usual. Just another development project, it’s a good contract, excellent sales prospects, should get a good bonus out of it by the end of Q3.
Hell, in high school we brought our parents’ swag leftovers to class and traded them around. “I’ll give you a Tacit Rainbow 5×8 glossy printout for that F4-G Wild Weasel sticker.”