Special Operations commandos are already equipped with some of the military's most far-out gear and gadgetry. They've got stealth robo-copters. Deadly, Russian doll drones. And don't forget high-tech, heat-blocking camo suits.
But U.S. Special Operations and Command (SOCOM) is looking to make a few upgrades. Among them: new weapons with adjustable intensity levels -- from non-lethal to lethal -- that are capable of doing everything from thwarting enemy ships to paralyzing, disorienting or barricading individuals. That request is only one part of a new, wide-ranging SOCOM bid for research proposals aimed at the "advancement of technologies" for special ops forces.
More specifically, SOCOM's after "Scalable Effects Weapons" -- wherein a weapon's force or lethality would be adjustable, depending on the situation -- that are able to "neutraliz[e] the enemy while minimizing the risk to non-combatants and infrastructure."
SOCOM's interested in weapons that'd use various approaches to thwart a commando's foes. They want proposals for weaponry that can "stop vehicles and vessels," have a "disorienting effect on people," "temporarily immobilize/paralyze" or "deny an area to individuals for an indefinite period of time." And of course, if need be, quickly swap that temporary immobilization for a deadlier kind of impairment.
Sure, the military's got no shortage of ideas for exotic weapons that can stop vessels or wreak havoc on crowds. A recently leaked document from the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate, for example, suggests microwave systems that can prompt "electrical system malfunctions" on enemy ships, along with tasers that elicit longer-lasting paralysis and vehicle-mounted tube launchers that unleash “ocular and auditory impairment” combined with “thermal heating” to devastate hordes of wrongdoers.
The bigger challenge is making such weapons scalable -- allowing a commando to transition from "stun" to "kill" with a single flip of the switch. That kind of tech has yet to be developed. So far, the most sophisticated non-lethal weapons only go so far as disabling an individual using multiple tactics -- none of them particularly deadly. One intrepid inventor, for example, this year patented an all-in-one weapon capable of unleashing variable doses of pepper spray, dazzling lights or jolts of electricity. Then there's SmartRounds LLC, whose "Shockwave" munitions deploy a devastating payload that attacks "three of the five human senses.”
Of course, clandestine, high-stakes missions don't rely on weaponry alone. SOCOM's latest bid also emphasizes a desire for enhanced encryption of mobiles devices, lighter-weight uniforms and armor, and improved safeguards against chemical and biological threats. They're also after, as they have been for years now, all-out invisibility for commandos and their vehicles. Which'd be an added bonus where SOCOM's dream weapons are concerned: A surprise jolt of electricity probably stings a lot more than one you can see coming.
