No matter how pacifistic the leader of the state may have, worrying about the safety of his citizens is considered one of his most important duties. Peace can only be achieved through skillful deterrence of potential adversaries. Only the leader of the state that has the most powerful weapons in the world can guarantee the safety of citizens. Its very presence inspires respect for potential aggressors. Therefore, large countries are now acquiring the most powerful weapons. Nuclear weapons are considered the most dangerous weapons in the world. Today, there are ten states on the planet that have a nuclear stockpile. As the current situation has shown, the opinion of their leaders is always listened to. The desire to be friends with them, or at least not to quarrel, is a completely understandable line of conduct for the heads of countries who do not have such an advantage.
How did people fight in ancient times?
Throughout the history of its development, mankind has constantly invented more and more new ways to kill each other. Already in the years of the Middle Ages, considerable success was achieved in this area. Before the invention of gunpowder, weapons were cold. But already in those days, a person had samples aimed at mass destruction.
"Claw of Archimedes"
In ancient times, it was the most powerful edged weapon. The principle of its operation was to raise the enemy ram as high as possible and drop it down. For this purpose, special hooks were provided in the design of the gun to capture the enemy. At a certain moment, the hooks opened up, the enemy soldiers fell to the ground and broke. The "Claw of Archimedes" was used to lift and throw logs at the enemy, and also as a lever to turn over enemy ships.
Scientific progress has left the "Claw of Archimedes" in the distant past, instead providing humanity with much more effective ways to mass destruction of each other.
Weapons of mass destruction
Throughout its history, mankind has often asked the question: what is the most powerful weapon that can be used to massively hit the enemy? It is generally accepted that the most powerful is a nuclear weapon. But those who are interested should know that today the following types of means of killing a person by a person belong to the category of "weapons of mass destruction":
- Nuclear weapon.
- Hydrogen bombs.
- Chemical weapon.
- Laser.
- Neutron bomb.
- Biological weapons.
Each type differs from others in the principle of action and characteristic features. What unites them is unconditional effectiveness and powerful force of influence.
"Tsar bomb"
Surely many who wondered what the most powerful weapon in the world would answer that a 100-megaton hydrogen bomb contains a very terrible and destructive force. For the first time, such a weapon was officially talked about in 1963.
show of strength
The "Tsar Bomba", or as it was also called "Kuzkin's Mother", was tested on Novaya Zemlya a year and a half before Nikita Khrushchev's official statement about the presence of such powerful weapons in the USSR. Compared to the American thermonuclear bomb, the Soviet one was four times more powerful. Testing it, the scientists noted that the "king-bomb" exploded three minutes after it was dropped from a bomber. The height was 67 km, and the fireball had a radius of 5.6 km. The shock wave circled the globe three times. The created ionization for more than thirty minutes interfered with radio communications for several hundred kilometers. At the epicenter of the explosion, the heat turned the stones to ash. At the end of the test, the experts concluded: the "Tsar Bomba" is a "clean" weapon, since its power of 97% came from a thermonuclear fusion reaction, without creating radioactive contamination.
Atomic Bomb Gadget
In July 1945, the Americans tested the first plutonium-based Gadget atomic bomb near Alamogordo. In the same year, in August, she was dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
This event demonstrated to the whole world the fact that the United States has a powerful weapon. Five years later, the leadership of the USSR also officially announced the presence of such atomic weapons, which, in terms of their destructive power, are not inferior to the American ones.
Chemical weapon
In the history of mankind, it was first used in 1915 by German troops against Russian soldiers. A huge cloud of chlorine was released from special cylinders, as a result of which five thousand people died, another 15 thousand were severely poisoned.
Japan also used chemical weapons during World War II. While bombing Chinese cities, Japanese troops fired about a thousand chemical shells. As a result of poisoning, 50 thousand people died.
Chemical weapons were also used by the Americans during the Vietnam War. The use of American poisonous substances left both the military and the civilian population no chance of salvation. During the period of the military conflict, US troops sprayed 72 million liters of defoliants. American chemical weapons contained mixtures of dioxin that caused blood, liver and neonatal malformations. About five million people suffered from chemical weapons used by the United States in this war. Complications and health problems remained even after its completion.
laser weapons
It was first tested by the United States in 2010 at California test sites. Using a laser gun with a power of 32 megawatts, the Americans managed to shoot down four drones from a distance of 3 thousand meters. The advantages of laser weapons include:
- The ability to strike at the speed of light.
- The ability to attack multiple targets at the same time.
biological
This weapon was known as early as 1500 BC. His strength has been used by many armies. Often, warriors filled up enemy fortresses with infected corpses. There is an opinion that the ulcers mentioned in the Bible are nothing but the consequences of the use of biological weapons.
One of its modern varieties is the use of various viruses. In 2001, the most dangerous of them was the anthrax virus, which is extracted from the spores of the deadly bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Infection of a person occurs as a result of touching this spore or inhaling it. To date, 22 cases of human infection with anthrax are known. Five infected people have died.
neutron bomb
Compared with other types of weapons of mass destruction, this weapon, invented by American scientists, is considered by many experts to be one of the most "moral". The destruction of only living organisms is a characteristic feature of the neutron bomb. This is explained by the fact that as a result of an explosion, only 20% of the energy falls on the shock wave. While in atomic weapons 50% is allocated to the shock wave. Despite the proposal of the leadership of the USSR to consider such weapons prohibited, among the heads of Western countries this call remained without support. Neutron charges began to be created in America in 1981.
Scientific progress has given humanity a lot of powerful destructive power. Among them, a special place is occupied by nuclear as the most powerful weapon in the world.
Top 10 states with a large nuclear stockpile
- Canada is in tenth place. No official statements have been made by its government about the level of the country's nuclear stockpile. This indicates that Canada is not a full blown nuclear power. Its stockpiles of weapons are used primarily in trade.
- In ninth place in terms of nuclear potential is Israel. Although officially the state is not considered nuclear, in case of danger, according to rough estimates, it can use at least two hundred warheads.
- North Korea is in eighth place. Due to the repeated high-profile statements made by the head of state over the past few years, it may be believed that this country has the most powerful nuclear weapon in the world. However, it is not. North Korea is new to this area. According to rough estimates, the number of its nuclear warheads does not exceed a few dozen.
- Seventh place belongs to Pakistan. In terms of its nuclear potential, this state is almost the strongest in the world. The country's weapons (the nuclear potential that it has) are represented by one hundred and ten warheads. At the moment they are in an active state and are intensively replenished.
- India ranks sixth in terms of nuclear weapons. The state began to develop in this area to maintain peace. Today, there are more than a hundred nuclear warheads.
- In fifth place is China. The decision to acquire the most powerful weapon in the world was made by the government of this country in 1964. Today the state owns two hundred and forty nuclear warheads.
- Fourth place belongs to France. Despite the fact that for many this country is associated with romance, military issues were taken seriously here. Nuclear weapons first appeared in France in 1960. At the moment it has three hundred warheads.
- England. The country began buying nuclear warheads back in 1952. Other powers called for the same. In the UK, the warheads are active. Their number is 225 pieces.
- The Russian Federation takes the second place. Experimentation in the nuclear sphere began in 1949 and continues to this day. According to rough estimates, the number of nuclear warheads has already exceeded eight thousand.
- America has become the leader in nuclear weapons. In this area, this state is the strongest in the world. US weapons, as is known, are not used for peaceful purposes. America uses its nuclear potential to interfere in the lives of weaker states.
Russian "Tornados"
According to many military experts and scientists, the Smerch multiple launch rocket system is Russia's second most powerful weapon after the nuclear bomb. In order to bring this MLRS into combat condition, no more than three minutes are enough.
A full salvo will take half a minute. The 12-barrel "Smerch" is capable of hitting modern tanks and any other armored vehicles. The control of "Smerch" is carried out in two ways:
- From the MLRS cockpit.
- With remote control.
RK "Topol-M"
The core of the group of strategic missile forces was the Topol-M missile system (modernized). The weapon is a three-stage monobloc solid-propellant rocket, which is contained in a special transport and launch container. She can stay in it for up to twenty years. A characteristic feature of this missile system is the theoretical possibility of replacing its integral warhead with a warhead that can be divided into three independent parts. Due to this, Topol-M becomes invulnerable to many air defense systems.
According to the current agreements, military engineers of the Russian Federation are not allowed to make such a replacement. However, in the light of recent events, it is possible that these agreements will be revised.
Russia is a country in which huge funds are allocated for the modernization of strategic and tactical nuclear forces. The Russian possession of conventional nuclear weapons and systems with nuclear components in recent years has been an effective counterbalance to NATO countries.
Dream up and imagine the wars of the future: there are no tanks and machine guns, and the opponents fire at each other from electromagnetic guns with projectiles that can reach the opposite side of the Earth in a few minutes. Some of these plans have already been implemented, so future generations will not be bored. But the most dangerous weapon in the world probably has not even been invented yet.
1. Tsar bomb
The Soviet Union blew up the most powerful thermonuclear charge at a test site located on Novaya Zemlya, and only a year and a half later, N. Khrushchev “pleased” the world with the news that the USSR had a hydrogen bomb with a capacity of 100 megatons.
The political purpose of the tests was to show America its military power, since it was able to create a hydrogen bomb 4 times smaller than the power. The test was aerial - the "tsar bomb" (then it was called "Kuzkin's mother" in Khrushchev's language) exploded at an altitude of 4.2 km.
The explosion mushroom rose into the stratosphere (67 kilometers), having a diameter of 9.2 kilometers. Three times the shock wave of the explosion circled the globe, another 40 minutes after it the ionized atmosphere spoiled the quality of radio communications for hundreds of kilometers around. The heat from the explosion directly below the epicenter was so strong that it turned even stones into ashes. Fortunately, this gigantic explosion was quite “clean”, since 97% of the energy was released due to thermonuclear fusion, and, unlike nuclear decay, it almost does not pollute the territory with radiation.
2. Castle Bravo
It was the American answer to the “kuzkin mother”, but much more “thin” - some miserable 15 megatons. But if you think about it, this figure should impress. With the help of such a bomb, it would be quite possible to destroy a large metropolis. Structurally, it was a two-stage ammunition consisting of a thermonuclear charge (solid lithium deuteride) and a uranium shell.
The explosion was carried out on Bikini Atoll, and a total of 10,000 people watched it: from a special bunker 32 km from the explosion site, from ships and aircraft. The strength of the explosion exceeded the calculated one by 2.5 times due to the underestimation of the fact that one of the lithium isotopes, which were considered ballast, also participated in the reaction. The explosion was ground-based (the charge was in a special bunker) and left behind a giant funnel, but the main thing is that it was incredibly “dirty” - it contaminated a large space with radiation. Many local residents, Japanese sailors and even the American military themselves suffered from it.
In order to conquer nature, man creates megamachines - the most incredible technology in the world, the possibilities and dimensions of which amaze the imagination. Their yes...
3. Atomic bomb
This type of weapon started a new chapter in military affairs. As you know, the Americans were the first to create an atomic bomb, who on July 16, 1945 conducted its first test in the desert in New Mexico. It was a single-stage plutonium device called the Gadget. Not satisfied with the first successful test, the US military hastened almost immediately to test it in a real war.
We can say that the tests in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were successful - both cities were destroyed, thousands of people died. But the world was horrified by the power of the new weapon and the one who owned it. That use of nuclear weapons on real targets, fortunately, turned out to be the only one. In 1950, the USSR got its own atomic bomb, as a result of which an equilibrium was created in the world based on inevitable retribution and mutual nuclear destruction in the event of a “hot war” unleashing.
Having acquired such a powerful weapon, the two countries had to resolve the issues of its prompt delivery to the target. As a result, strategic bombers, ballistic missiles and submarines were developed. Since the air defense system began to outperform aviation, preference was given to missiles, which are now the main delivery vehicle for nuclear charges.
4. Topol-M
This modern missile system is the best delivery vehicle in the Russian army. Its 3-stage missiles are invulnerable to any modern type of air defense. A missile designed to carry nuclear charges is ready to hit a target 11,000 km away. The Russian army has about 100 such complexes. The development of Topol-M began back in the USSR, and its first tests took place in 1994, with only one of 16 launches ending in failure. Although the system is already on alert, it continues to be improved, in particular, the head of the rocket.
Since ancient times, people have traveled the seas, gradually improving their ships. Modern shipbuilding is very developed, and the range of ships has become...
5. Chemical weapons
The first mass use of chemical weapons in combat conditions occurred near the Belgian city of Ypres in April 1915. Then the Germans launched clouds of chlorine at the enemy from cylinders previously installed on the front line. Then 5,000 died and 15,000 Frenchmen, who were not ready for such a turn, were seriously poisoned. Then the armies of all countries indulged in the use of mustard gas, phosgene and bromine, far from always getting the expected result.
The Japanese in the next world war repeatedly used chemical weapons in the fighting in China. For example, when they bombed the city of Woqu, they dropped a thousand chemical shells on it, and another 2,500 bombs were thrown on Dingxiang. The Japanese used chemical weapons until the end of the war. According to rough estimates, about 50,000 soldiers and civilians died from the use of chemical weapons.
The next large-scale use of chemical weapons was distinguished by the Americans in Vietnam, who in the 60s sprayed 72 million liters of defoliants over its jungle, with the help of which they sought to destroy the vegetation in the thick of which the Vietnamese guerrillas, who so annoyed the Yankees, hid. These mixtures contained dioxin, which had a cumulative effect, as a result, people developed diseases of the blood and internal organs, and genetic mutations occurred. Almost 5 million Vietnamese suffered from chemical attacks by the Americans, and the number of victims continued to grow after the end of the war.
The last time chemical weapons were used in Syria was in 2013, with the conflicting parties blaming each other for this. As you can see, the ban on chemical weapons by the Hague and Geneva conventions does not stop the military much. Although Russia destroyed 80% of the stocks of chemical weapons it inherited from the USSR.
Formula 1 is not just the most expensive and spectacular sport. These are the latest technologies, these are the best design and engineering minds, this is any...
6. Laser weapons
This is more of a hypothetical weapon under development. So, in 2010, the Americans reported a successful test of a laser gun off the coast of California - a 32 MW device was able to shoot down 4 drones at a distance of over 3 km. If successful, such a weapon will be able to destroy targets hundreds of kilometers apart from space in a matter of seconds.
7. Bioweapon
By antiquity, biological weapons are ready to compete with cold ones. So, one and a half thousand years BC. e. The Hittites struck the enemies with a plague. Understanding the power of biological weapons, many armies, leaving the fortresses, left infected corpses there. The Japanese during World War II, in addition to chemical weapons, did not disdain biological weapons.
The causative agent of anthrax is one of the most dangerous for humans. This bacterium lives for a long time in the ground. In 2001, letters with white powder began to arrive in the American Parliament, and immediately there was a fuss that these were anthrax spores. 22 people were infected, 5 of whom died. Most often, infection can occur through skin lesions, but it is also possible to become infected by swallowing or inhaling bacillus spores.
Now both genetic and entomological weapons have been equated with biological weapons. The second is associated with the use of insects that suck blood or otherwise attack a person, and the first is able to selectively act on groups of people with a certain genetic feature. In modern biological munitions, strains of various pathogens are usually used - in this way, an increase in mortality among people exposed to it can be achieved. Preference is given to strains that are not transmitted between people, so that an attack on a specific target does not turn into a large-scale epidemic.
The German Union for Technical Inspection annually issues reports on the defectiveness of various brands of machines. Any brand that enters the technical inspection is checked at least ...
8. MLRS "Smerch"
The ancestor of this formidable weapon was the famous Katyusha, which was used with great success against the German army. After the atomic bomb, this, according to experts, is the most terrible weapon. It takes only 3 minutes to prepare a 12-barreled Smerch for battle, and a volley is fired in 38 seconds. This system effectively destroys modern tanks and other armored vehicles. Rocket projectiles can be launched from a remote control or directly from the cab of a car. "Smerch" can be successfully used in extreme heat and in severe cold, at any time of the day.
This weapon is not selective - it destroys armored vehicles and personnel over a large area. Russia exports this type of weapons to 13 states, including the United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, India, Peru, and Kuwait. The machine with the installation is not too expensive for its efficiency - about 12.5 million dollars. But the work of one such installation is capable of stopping the advance of an enemy division.
9. Neutron bomb
American Samuel Cohen invented the neutron bomb as a variant of a nuclear weapon with minimal destructive power, but a maximum of radiation that kills all life. The shock wave here accounts for only 10-20% of the energy released during the explosion (in an atomic explosion, half of the explosion energy is spent on destruction).
After the development of the neutron bomb, the Americans put it into service with their army, but after a while they abandoned this option. The action of the neutron bomb turned out to be ineffective, since the released neutrons are actively absorbed by the atmosphere, and the effect of their action is local. Moreover, neutron charges had a minimum power - only 5-6 kilotons. But much more useful were neutron charges in missile defense systems. A neutron anti-missile that explodes near an enemy aircraft or missile creates a powerful neutron flux that disables all electronics and control of the target.
Another direction of development of this idea was neutron guns, which are a generator capable of creating a directed neutron flux (actually an accelerator). The more powerful the generator, the more powerful neutron flux it can provide. The armies of the United States, Russia and France now have similar weapons.
10. Intercontinental ballistic missile RS-20 "Voevoda"
This is also a Soviet model of strategic weapons. NATO representatives nicknamed this missile "Satan" for its exceptional destructive power. For the same reason, she got into the ubiquitous Guinness Book of Records. This ballistic missile can hit objects at a distance of 11,000 kilometers. Its multiple reentry vehicles are capable of bypassing a missile defense system, which makes the RS-20 even scarier.
The atomic bombs were just the beginning. Over the past half century, the greatest military minds on the planet have developed an arsenal of terrifying weapons.
Can turning animals into cyborgs end well? Should lasers be attached to aircraft? Is spraying people a better alternative than burning their skin alive? You be the judge.
Atomic bomb
The first and most on the list is perhaps the most intimidating from start to finish. Whether you are one of those who say that its use prevented the Japanese invasion and much greater loss of life, or those who declare its use a war crime, but this is perhaps the only weapon whose effect is so vividly imprinted in the public consciousness after so little number of applications (twice). The destructive effect of the bomb extends far beyond the immediate radius of destruction; almost half of all the victims who died in 1945 as a result of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki died from burns, radiation exposure, and cancer.
X-ray beam project
During the early years of American intervention in World War II, a plan was devised by a Pennsylvania dental surgeon to tie tiny explosive devices to bats and scatter them by the thousands over Japanese cities. The mice (capable of carrying three times their own weight) were supposed to scatter in the night and take refuge in traditional, flammable Japanese houses made of wood and paper. As dawn approached, the timers on the explosive devices were supposed to trigger "mouse bombs", and entire cities would burn to the ground with little or no loss of life, as in the case of, say, an atomic bombing. The project was slowed down due to many complications and was finally canceled in 1944 because mice would not be ready for combat use by 1945.
MK-ULTRA
Beginning in the 1950s as the CIA's response to Korean technology used during the Korean War, MK-ULTRA was the code name for a vast and secret program dedicated to the study of mind control through the use of psychotropic substances. She gained particular notoriety for using LSD on unsuspecting people and observing their behavior. Another experiment involved an injection of barbiturates followed by an injection of amphetamines, which put the subjects into a trance-like state, during which asking the person questions resulted in various motor responses. In 1973, Richard Helms, then director of the CIA, ordered the destruction of all documents on the MK-ULTRA project, effectively thwarting any adequate investigation that Congress would undertake two years later, in 1975.
Stargate Project
This operation began in the bowels of the American military intelligence in the 70s. The project used a small group of "remote observers" who were people who claimed to have various psychic abilities, from reading tarot cards to predicting the future. And although the results of each particular experiment were kept strictly secret so as not to violate the confidence of the clairvoyants, we can conclude with a high degree of certainty that they were not very accurate, since the project was taken over by the CIA in 1995 and soon closed.
Angler
William Prescott admonished his men at the Battle of Bunker Hill with the famous words, "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!" Luckily, his men fought during the American Revolution, not on the modern battlefield against the Angleshot, a weapon specifically designed to keep your opponent from seeing the whites of your eyes at all. A miniature camera and LCD screen replace the eye arrow, while the front half of the rifle bends around a corner so it can fire without exposing its owner to return fire. This is achieved by mounting a semi-automatic pistol on a swivel front with a remote trigger connection at the rear, allowing the weapon to flex within a 120-degree arc.
Dolphin reconnaissance mission
The US Navy has been training bottlenose dolphins since at least the late 80s to patrol and protect warships, hunt for mines, and even attack scuba divers with special darts. But as soon as rumors about this program leaked out, animal rights activists raised a public fuss, forcing the Navy to immediately classify all information on the project; to date, very little is known about the current status of the operation. We know that the animals were equipped with electronic harnesses that allowed them to receive certain commands, and that they were trained to recognize scuba divers in diving suits. How the dart firing mechanism was supposed to work is not known to anyone.
gay bombshell
This project has never progressed beyond a brief 3-page report. A paper created at the US Air Force Research Laboratory in Ohio in 1994 proposed the development of several varieties of unusual bombs (at a cost of $7.5 million), including: a stink bomb that was supposed to smell so strong that it would force opponents to leave fortified positions ; a bomb that was supposed to make opponents sweat uncontrollably; and even a "chalicity bomb" that would infect enemy soldiers with bad breath. But the decisive blow was a bomb, generically called the Gay Bomb. Using a hypothetical aphrodisiac of unprecedented power, the bomb was supposed to spray enemy soldiers with a substance that would literally turn them into homosexuals, causing the soldiers to "experience an irresistible attraction to each other", and, apparently , forget that at this moment they are actually under bombardment.
Trophy Active Protection System
Tanks are terrible machines in their own right, without any need to increase their terribleness. But what could make these heavily armored vehicles even more unstoppable? An invisible force field, that's what. In fact, the Active Defense System is not literally a force field, but it is closer to one than any defense system currently in existence. Using an extremely complex network of sensors placed throughout the tank's hull, the SAZ can detect a rocket-propelled grenade or other low-tech projectile, target it, and destroy it with pinpoint fire as it approaches. SAZ has the ability to track multiple targets in almost any direction, making the tank equipped with it practically bulletproof.
iron storm
Iron Storm is an Australian company that develops a series of weapons that fire multiple projectiles. Multi-projectile weapons differ from traditional weapons in that they have no moving parts. Instead of loading a cartridge into a chamber, Iron Storm uses electronics to ensure the firing sequence. The bullets are closely arrayed within the weapon and each is surrounded by explosives; as a result, the weapon can fire at a much faster rate than a traditional automatic. The next bullet enters the bore before the previous one has even left, creating a whirlwind of projectiles with firepower not much different from a science fiction battle laser.
Cyborg moths
As if most people don't have a fear of insects anymore, DARPA is now working on creating cybernated spy moths. DARPA, the research wing of the Department of Defense, has already successfully implanted chips into cockroaches and rats, allowing people to "guid" the animals with joysticks. In the case of moths, the chip is implanted during the pupal stage so that the insect grows around it and forms a "reliable tissue-machine interface." The spy moths would then have to be deployed at the front lines and remotely guided deep into enemy territory, transmitting video and audio information along the way.
railgun
The Navy is exploring the possibility of replacing the explosive energy of traditional warheads with the kinetic energy of conventional projectiles. At first glance, this sounds like a technological step backwards. But when you see a prototype railgun in action, launching a 3-kilogram projectile at seven times the speed of sound, you'll begin to understand the power generated by tremendous acceleration: an unexploded piece of scrap metal has the same destructive potential as a Tomahawk missile. The railgun works by storing a huge amount of electricity (the US Air Force is targeting a 64 megajoule model) which is then channeled into the parallel rails. The current generates a strong magnetic field that accelerates any projectile to fantastic speeds. The final version of the gun will hit a 5-meter target from a distance of 370 kilometers.
Vomit Flashlight
This weapon is intended for use by the police and the military. Developed as part of a non-lethal weapons program, the flashlight uses super-bright, rapidly pulsing LEDs to first blind an enemy, then make them severely dizzy and even vomit. The pulsation quickly changes color and duration, which causes a psychophysical reaction in many people. A similar effect is sometimes unwittingly observed by helicopter pilots when the sun flashes quickly through the blades of their machines, disorienting them in flight. The flashlight has obvious drawbacks - the victim has to be directly in front of the light source and doesn't have to think fast enough to look away - but overall it's a promising development for law enforcement.
Mobility restraint system
This system works like this: two polymers are mixed together - a liquid and a powder - and form a suspension, which is then fed into the weapon's barrel, where it mixes with a stream of water. Upon contact with water, the suspension turns into a sticky and slippery gel that can be sprayed onto almost any surface. It remains liquefied for many hours, and when it dries, it can be brushed off or reactivated with fresh water. Its use is aimed at suppressing crowds and protecting the entrances to buildings or other key points. The only real danger of this weapon comes from falling; according to reports, people have less control over their movement on this gel than on slippery ice.
stink bomb
Researchers at the Monell Chemical Center in Philadelphia are working with the Department of Defense to create the most disgusting smell you can get. An important aspect of this work is the combination of different smells - because the brain can easily adapt to any one of them. But spray half a dozen of them - and the enemy will become a victim of his own gag reflex. As a result, a powerful chemical cocktail can be used as a bomb to disperse large crowds of people.
scream
The Israeli army is developing a device called the Scream, which emits short bursts of high frequency sounds aimed at forcing the enemy out of the device's range as soon as possible. The sound isn't very loud, and its effect has nothing to do with standing next to the speakers at a big rock concert. Instead, it is tuned to a specific frequency that targets the inner ear and disturbs the opponent's sense of balance. As a result, he experiences severe nausea and dizziness, even when he left the area of the device. It's an unbearable feeling, and plugging your ears won't protect you from this weapon.
Active countermeasure system
This system is better known as "Hot Beam". The Hot Beam device looks like an ordinary satellite dish mounted on the roof of a news service truck. But instead of collecting and focusing incoming radio waves, the weapon focuses millimeter waves and sends them out. The effect of these waves on human skin is an intense burning sensation that humans can only endure for a few seconds. The military claims that the waves penetrate the skin to a depth of only a fraction of a millimeter and cause no lasting harm, but the system is still in the early stages of development. and has not yet been field tested.
Rods of God
Rods of God is a device based on the use of kinetic energy, similar to a railgun, but instead of using electricity to achieve destructive speeds, it uses gravity. A still hypothetical system would consist of two satellites orbiting the Earth. One would contain the communications equipment and guidance systems, while the other would contain the rods themselves, each about thirty centimeters in diameter and six meters long. When fired, they will simply release and fall to the ground (with a little remote control). By the time they reach the surface, they will be moving at about twelve kilometers per second, and have the destructive power of a nuclear warhead, only without radioactive contamination.
Urban disc wing shells
Developed under the supervision of the US Air Force, these death frisbees are robotic drones in the form of flying discs and are designed for short flights in hard-to-reach areas, such as the top floors of tall buildings or behind large obstacles. Launched from a special mount, the drones can fly independently or be remotely piloted from the ground. They will be loaded with armor-piercing explosive rounds and can be set to detonate all rounds at the same time or to spread them in a certain radius.
air laser
While the Pentagon continues to fund the fantastically unsuccessful Star Wars project to shoot down incoming missiles from space, the US Air Force is well on its way to getting a modified Boeing 747 that can shoot missiles out of the atmosphere with a giant laser. Known as the Airborne Laser, this complex will include a multi-megawatt chemical laser capable of hitting targets many hundreds of kilometers away. At its core, this is the same basic technology that we see in a conventional laser pointer, but in millions times more powerful.
sedatives
With this delightful name, the Pentagon masks the words "chemical weapons." The most recent developments in the field of sedatives are substances based on fentanyl derivatives. These are very powerful opiates - carfentanil, for example, is a commercially available analogue used to euthanize elephants - that are also very dangerous. Many believe that one of these substances was used by the Russian police against Chechen fighters during the operation to rescue 850 hostages at the Moscow Theater Center in 2002. More than a hundred hostages died from respiratory depression as a result of exposure to the substance. Although these formations are classified as "non-lethal" by the US military, it is clear that they can easily have the most dire consequences.
Today, August 29, at an air force base in California, States, the latest secret American technology, the Delta IV spy satellite, was launched. The object is the most powerful rocket in the history of mankind. Its height is 71 meters, engine performance is 17 million horsepower, and one launch of the monster cost the United States one million dollars.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
America has always been distinguished by a special attitude towards world organizations and their large-scale events. Therefore, the owners of the most powerful rocket in the world decided to launch it on August 29 - the International Day against Nuclear Tests. The funny thing is that the States never admitted what the purpose of developing, building and launching the Delta IV is.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
Men's online magazine MPORT remembers that not only the States have super powerful weapons. There are many more countries in the world that can also boast of intercontinental ballistic missiles. Find out what you, a peaceful inhabitant of planet Earth, should be most afraid of?
The most mobile - Topol-M
Source: waronline.com
Manufacturer - Russia, the first launch was carried out in 1994. Starting weight - 46 and a half tons. It is considered the basis of Russian nuclear weapons.
The most protected - Yars RS-24
Source: waronline.com
Producer - Russia, first launch - in 2007. Flight range - 11 thousand kilometers. Unlike Topol-M, it has multiple warheads. In addition to warheads, Yars also carries a set of means to break through anti-missile defense, which makes it much more difficult for the enemy to detect and intercept it. This innovation makes the RS-24 the most successful combat missile in the context of the deployment of the global American missile defense system. And you can even place it on a railway car.
The heaviest - R-36M Satan
Source: waronline.com
First launch - 1970, weight - 211 tons, flight range - 11,200 - 16,000 kilometers. Missile systems placed in mines cannot be too light by definition. Satan just broke the record of all heavyweights.
The most accurate - Trident II D5
Source: waronline.com
Manufacturer - USA, first launched in 1987. Weight - 58 tons, flight range - 11,300 kilometers. Trident is based on submarines, and is capable of hitting protected ICBM silos and protected command posts with the highest possible accuracy.
The fastest - Minuteman LGM-30G
Source: waronline.com
Manufacturer - USA, first launch - 1966. The mass of the rocket is 35 and a half tons. Range - 13,000 kilometers. It is believed that this missile is one of the fastest ICBMs in the world and can accelerate to more than 24 thousand kilometers per hour in the terminal phase of the flight.
The most sophisticated - MX (LGM-118А) Peacekeeper
Source: waronline.com
Manufacturer - USA, first launched in 1983. Weight - 88.44 tons, flight range - 9600 kilometers. The heavy intercontinental ballistic missile Peacemaker is simply the embodiment of the latest technology. For example, the use of composite materials. It also has a higher accuracy of hitting, and - which is especially characteristic - increased "survivability" of the missile under conditions of nuclear impact.
The very first - R-7
The most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile is the Russian SS-18 model 5, officially called RS-20, equipped with 10 individually targetable warheads of 750 kt each. Another model has one 20 Mt warhead. During the Cold War, the RS-20s were the most dangerous missiles in the arsenal of the Warsaw Pact countries. Each warhead had a hit accuracy within 250 meters.
Last use of nerve gas
On March 20, 1995, in Tokyo, Japan, members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult released sarin, a deadly nerve gas, into a subway. 11 people died and more than 5,500 were poisoned.
The largest stockpile of chemical weapons
According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Russia has the largest stockpile of chemical weapons. Its total weight is about 40,000 tons. The United States, with a total stock of 25,000 tons, is in second place.
The most powerful nuclear explosion
The most powerful thermonuclear device is the Tsar Bomba. Equivalent to approximately 57 megatons of TNT, it was dropped from a height of 10,500 meters by parachute system at a mock target within a nuclear test site on the remote Arctic island of Novaya Zemlya. The bomb was detonated on October 30, 1961 at 8:33 GMT. The shock wave circled the Earth three times, with the first wave taking 36 hours and 27 minutes. The nuclear mushroom of the explosion rose to a height of 67 kilometers, and the diameter of its cap reached 95 kilometers.
The largest number of victims of anthrax
The greatest number of deaths was claimed by the anthrax epidemic that broke out in Sverdlovsk (USSR; now Yekaterinburg, Russia) in April 1979. At least 68 people who breathed in the infection have died. The source of the epidemic has not been established.
The highest nuclear explosion
The 1.7 kt nuclear device was detonated 749 km (466 miles) above the earth's surface on September 6, 1958, as part of a series of US tests under the covert Operation Argus. The W-25 warhead weighing 98.9 kg was launched from a three-stage Lockheed X-17A gun from the USS Norton Sound, which was located in the South Atlantic Ocean 1770 km southwest of Cape Town (South Africa).
The strongest nerve gas
VX nerve gas, or O-ethyl-S-2-diisopropylaminoethyl-methylthiophosphonate, was developed at the Chemical Defense Experimental Establishment (Porton Down, Wiltshire, UK) in 1952. It is almost 300 times stronger than phosgene, which was used during the First World War. A dose of gas in 1/8 of a raindrop is enough to kill a person. In the 1950s, the US tried to buy a way to produce this gas from Britain for thermonuclear weapons technology.
The largest number of simultaneous nuclear explosions
On October 24, 1990, at least 8 (possibly 9) nuclear charges were simultaneously detonated at the Russian test site Novaya Zemlya.
Longest running environmental campaign
Greenpeace has been opposed to nuclear testing since its formation in 1971. The first action was directed against explosions off the coast of Alaska (USA). Greenpeace continues to carry out international actions against nuclear weapons.
smallest nuclear bomb
The W54 atomic bomb, which was produced from 1961-1971 in the US and Europe, is the smallest nuclear weapon ever made. Its radius of action was 4 km, weight - 34.47 kg. The diameter of the bomb at its widest point was only 27 cm.
The largest number of victims of nuclear bombing
On August 6, 1945, the explosion of the American nuclear bomb in Hiroshima (Japan) killed 155,200 people. This number includes those who died from radiation sickness during the year after the bombing. The bomb exploded at an altitude of 509 meters above the city. The explosion completely devastated 10 km2 of Hiroshima territory. More than 65% of city buildings were destroyed.
First nuclear bombing
The first nuclear bomb was dropped by the United States on Hiroshima (Japan) on August 6, 1945 at 8:16 am. The power of the explosion was 15 Kt in TNT equivalent. Three weeks before this bombing, the first nuclear test was carried out in New Mexico (USA). The bomb, codenamed "Kid", was 3 meters long and weighed 4082 kg.
The largest non-nuclear bomb
The BLU-82B/C-130 weapon system, nicknamed "Daisy Cutter", contains a warhead with 5715 kg of explosive. The radius of the bomb is 91-274 meters. It was used in Afghanistan in 2001.
First use of smallpox as a weapon
The first documented use of the smallpox virus as a biological weapon occurred during the war of 1754-1763. between French and Indians (North America). British soldiers fighting against the French colonialists and the native Americans at the same time gave the Indians blankets that were used by smallpox patients. The ensuing epidemic claimed the lives of more than 50% of the infected tribes.
The most powerful nuclear explosion in space
On July 9, 1962, at an altitude of 399 km above Johnston Island in the Pacific Ocean, a nuclear explosion with a yield of 1.45 Mt was carried out. A 755kg warhead codenamed "Starfish Prime" was launched by the US Air Force using a Thor missile. The explosion occurred at an altitude at which orbiting spacecraft are located. The power of the explosion was 100 times the power of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
First use of biological weapons
In the 6th century BC, the Assyrians, who lived on the territory of modern Iraq, poisoned the water in the wells of their enemies with rye ergot. The poisoning caused attacks of paranoid schizophrenia, many of the victims died.
Largest stockpile of smallpox vaccine
The United States has the world's largest stockpile of vaccine against the deadly smallpox virus. There are currently 15.4 million doses, and by the end of 2002 the number will reach 286 million. That's enough for all Americans. So the United States is preparing for possible terrorist attacks.
The largest funnel from a nuclear explosion
On January 15, 1965, at a test site near Semipalatinsk, at a depth of 178 meters under the dry bed of the Chagan River, a nuclear bomb with a power of 104 Kt was detonated. As a result of the explosion, a crater 408 meters wide and 100 meters deep was formed. In this area, it is called Lake Chagan.
The heaviest nuclear bomb
The heaviest nuclear bombs were the Mk.17s, which were equipped with the American Convair B-36 "Peacemaker" long-range bombers in the mid-1950s. They weighed 19,050 kg and were 7.49 meters long. The maximum power of these bombs is 20 Mt, 1000 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima (Japan) during World War II.
The largest accident on a nuclear submarine
The largest accident on a nuclear submarine occurred on October 6, 1986, when the Soviet submarine K-219 (Project 667-A) sank in the Atlantic Ocean 965 km north of Bermuda. The submarine is currently at the bottom of the ocean at a depth of 5800 meters; it has 2 nuclear reactors and 16 nuclear missiles.
The most powerful weapon without human casualties
The BLU-114/B graphite bomb used by NATO during the Serbian operation in May 1999 knocked out 70% of Serbia's power grid with minimal loss of life. The bomb ejects ultra-fine carbon fiber conductors, causing short circuits in electrical installations.
Loading...
