5 Projects You Won't Believe the US Government is Working On

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5 Projects You Won't Believe the US Government

Is Working On

The mad inventor from the James Bond movies, Q, is real. Only there are lots of him, and theyhave a lot more money at their disposal. In the real world, they're called DARPA -- the DefenseAdvanced Research Projects Agency.

Never heard of them? You should have -- they're responsible for some of the best technology(the Internet) and the worst (Agent Orange) produced in the last 50 years. Their job is to dreamup the craziest shit possible and make it real. And, since they're exempt from severalgovernment hiring and spending laws, they're not shy about thinking outside the box. Way,way outside.

Some of what they're working on right now includes...

5. Creepy Robot Hummingbirds and Space Planes

If you want a plane to get to where the bad guys are without being noticed, you have severaloptions: You can make it fly really, really high and really, really fast (as is typical with spyplanes), or you can get creative. DARPA has utterly insane plans to do both.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arpanethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arpanethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arpanethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_orangehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_orangehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_orangehttp://websearch.darpa.mil/search?q=cache:YQFeZ1t3bF8J:www.darpa.mil/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx%3Fid%3D1664+dr.+tony+tether&access=p&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&client=default_frontend&site=default_collection&proxystylesheet=default_frontend&oe=UTF-8http://websearch.darpa.mil/search?q=cache:YQFeZ1t3bF8J:www.darpa.mil/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx%3Fid%3D1664+dr.+tony+tether&access=p&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&client=default_frontend&site=default_collection&proxystylesheet=default_frontend&oe=UTF-8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_orangehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arpanet


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airforce-magazine.com

First we haveFALCON, or Force Application and Launch from Continental United States (wehope they pay their acronym guys really well). The FALCON program is mainly focused on theX-41 CAV -- an alien-looking, cone-shaped "near-space" plane that can go13,000 miles perhour(which is 20 times the speed of sound).

Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2

If you don't understand what 20 times the speed of sound gets you, how about this: It can goanywhere in the world, and photograph or kill anyone, in an hour or so.

But DARPA is also capable of thinking small -- the kind of small that is somehow creepier thana magical instant-death starship.

"An estimated 80 percent of conversations go unrecorded. DARPA can fix that."
http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2009/September%202009/0909game.aspxhttp://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/TTO/Programs/Falcon/Falcon.aspxhttp://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/TTO/Programs/Falcon/Falcon.aspxhttp://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/nov/25/pentagon-to-test-2nd-near-space-strike-craft/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/nov/25/pentagon-to-test-2nd-near-space-strike-craft/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/nov/25/pentagon-to-test-2nd-near-space-strike-craft/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/nov/25/pentagon-to-test-2nd-near-space-strike-craft/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/nov/25/pentagon-to-test-2nd-near-space-strike-craft/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/nov/25/pentagon-to-test-2nd-near-space-strike-craft/http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/TTO/Programs/Falcon/Falcon.aspxhttp://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2009/September%202009/0909game.aspx


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That's why they're also looking into something they call micro air vehicles, like theShrike,which basically looks exactly like a kid's RC copter and is built primarily for spying andreconnaissance. So, really, it isan RC copter, with an iPhone taped to it.

Shrike micro air vehicle

www.darpa.mil

The goal of the Shrike program is to demonstrate the feasibility and practicality of man-packable perch-and-stare micro air vehicles to provide real-time persistent intelligence,surveillance and reconnaissance to small unit commanders. Shrikes quadrotor designenables vertical takeoff, forward flight to an area of interest, vertical landing onto a perch site

and high-resolution observation of determined points of interest over periods of severalhours. Shrike then re-launches vertically from its perch and returns home. During perch-and-stare, Shrike transmits data and information to a ground station via a digital data link.

And if that sounds unimpressive, don't worry -- they're also developing the much smaller andmuch creepier NAV theNano Air Vehicle. One day you might find one hanging around yourneighbor's bird feeder.

Yes, we're talking about a tiny robot hummingbird that can spy on terrorists (and maybe you).The whole thing is less than 6 inches tall and lighter than an ounce, and as demonstrated bythe image on the project's page, it will fool absolutely everyone ever.

Nano air vehicle
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www.darpa.mil

The Nano Air Vehicle (NAV) program is developing an extremely small, ultra lightweight airvehicle system (less than 15 centimeters and less than 20 grams) with the potential to performindoor and outdoor military missions. NAV is exploring novel, flapping wing and otherconfigurations to provide warfighters with unprecedented capability during urban operations.

NAV will push the limits of aerodynamics, power conversion efficiency, endurance andmaneuverability for very small air vehicle systems. These platforms will be revolutionary intheir ability to harness low Reynolds number physics, navigate in complex environments, andcommunicate over significant distances. Flight-enabling nano air technologies includeaerodynamic design tools to achieve high lift-to-drag airfoils; lightweight, efficient propulsionand power systems; guidance, navigations and communication subsystems; and advancedmanufacturing and innovative subsystem packaging and configurations layouts.

4. A System to See Everything, All the Time

Sure, we have spy satellites. But they're still limited -- you have to wait for them to pass overthe area you want to photograph, for instance, and your targets might be doing their businessindoors. No, if you want to see your enemy in real time, you need to get sci-fi on that shit.

So let's start off with their giant supervillain space blimp.
http://www.darpa.mil/http://www.darpa.mil/


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www.darpa.milThe Integrated Sensor is Structure (ISIS) program is developing a sensor of unprecedentedproportions that is fully integrated into a stratospheric airship that will address the need forpersistent wide-area surveillance, tracking, and engagement for hundreds of time-critical airand ground targets in urban and rural environments. ISIS is achieving radical sensorimprovements by melding the next generation technologies for enormous lightweight antennaapertures and high-energy density components into a highly integrated, lightweight, multi-purpose airship structure - completely erasing the distinction between payload and platform.

And while that's fairly practical, another project called Combat Zones That See (CTS) is just ascreepy as it sounds. Remember in The Dark Knightwhen Batman used Gotham's cellphonesto try to track the Joker, and Morgan Freeman got really pissed off at him? Imagine somethinglike that, only using everycamera in an entire city instead of just cellphones.That's CTS.

Basically, it uses municipal and other outdoor video and a computerized logic routine to trackobjects from camera to camera. CTS is intended to be able to primarily track vehicles in warzones, but that hasn't stopped privacy hounds on the Internet from pointing out that it could

easily be used to track American citizens right here. Kind of makes you want to never leavethe house.
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Oh, wait, they've got something for that, too. First is HIBR, orHarnessing Infrastructure forBuilding Reconnaissance. Basically, DARPA wants to be able to map the insides of buildings,using RF signals like a kind of sonar (wait, wasn't that alsoin The Dark Knight? What thefuck?). And yes, there's even speculation that the technology could be used for real-timetracking of people insidethe building, with an early prototype that can see throughup to afoot of concrete.

If that makes you want to retreat to your underground bunker in Montana, well, don't bother.DARPA is also working on GATE, or Gravity Anomaly for Tunnel Exposure, which can detecttunnels and underground bunkers. It's a sensor attached to low-flying aircraft thatdetectssubtle changes in gravityand makes maps of the world underneath our own.

www.darpa.mil

The explicit action of digging tunnels introduces a void into the subsurface geology. Gravity

gradiometers measure tiny spatial variations in the pull of gravity caused by theseunderground voids. The GATE objective is to develop, integrate, and demonstrate a prototypeairborne gravity gradiometer system which is capable of detecting the mass deficit of a void inthe presence of geological and topological variability.
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3. Lava Missiles

Once more, in case all of this sounds like paranoid pie-in-the-sky bullshit from some agencytrying to justify their funding, let us ask you this: Did you ever play the Modern Warfaregames? And did you use the Javelin, that bazooka thing that lets you point at an enemy, thenlaunch a smart missile that will chase his ass down no matter where he goes?

FGM-148 Javelin

The FGM-148 Javelin is aUnited States-made man-portablethird generation anti-tank missilefielded to replace theDragon antitank missile
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Javelin is afire-and-forgetmissile with lock-on before launch and automatic self-guidance.The system takes atop-attackflight profile against armored vehicles (attacking the top armorwhich is generally thinner) but can also take a direct-attack mode for use against buildings orfortifications. This missile also has the ability to engage helicopters in the direct attack mode.It can reach a peak altitude of 150 m (500 ft) in top-attack mode and 60 m in direct-fire modeand is equipped with animaging infraredseeker. Thetandem warhead is fitted with twoshaped charges: a precursor warhead to detonate any explosivereactive armorand a primarywarhead to penetrate base armor. The Javelin was used in the2003 Invasion of Iraq on IraqiLion of Babylon tanksandType 69tanks.

Congratulations, youhave used DARPA technology the Javelin was created in a partnershipbetween DARPA and Texas Instruments. Here's a video of a real one blowing a Russian tankright the fuck up:

FGM-148 Javelinhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=z-yijab9ZrY

But that's what we have now. For the future, DARPA has once more decided to turn that shitup a notch. And because they use the exact same naming conventions as a comic booksupervillain organization, they call the prototype weaponMAHEM-- Magneto Hydrodynamic

Explosive Munition. It is a freaking molten metal-filled missilefired out of an electromagneticlauncher.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire-and-forgethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire-and-forgethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire-and-forgethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top-attackhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top-attackhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top-attackhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imaging_infraredhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imaging_infraredhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imaging_infraredhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tandem_warheadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tandem_warheadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaped_chargehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_armorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_armorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_armorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Invasion_of_Iraqhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Invasion_of_Iraqhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_of_Babylon_tankhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_of_Babylon_tankhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_69#Iraqhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_69#Iraqhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_69#Iraqhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FGM-148_Javelinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FGM-148_Javelinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FGM-148_Javelinhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=z-yijab9ZrYhttp://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/TTO/Programs/MAHEM/Magneto_Hydrodynamic_Explosive_Munition.aspxhttp://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/TTO/Programs/MAHEM/Magneto_Hydrodynamic_Explosive_Munition.aspxhttp://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/TTO/Programs/MAHEM/Magneto_Hydrodynamic_Explosive_Munition.aspxhttp://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/TTO/Programs/MAHEM/Magneto_Hydrodynamic_Explosive_Munition.aspxhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=z-yijab9ZrYhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FGM-148_Javelinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_69#Iraqhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_of_Babylon_tankhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Invasion_of_Iraqhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_armorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaped_chargehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tandem_warheadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imaging_infraredhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top-attackhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire-and-forget


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www.darpa.mil

Explosively formed jets (EFJ) and fragments and self-forging penetrators (SFP) are used forprecision strike against targets such as armored vehicles and reinforced structures. Currenttechnology uses chemical explosive energy to form the jets and fragments. This is highlyinefficient and requires precise machining of the metal liners from which the fragments andjets are formed. The Magneto Hydrodynamic Explosive Munition (MAHEM) program offers thepotential for higher efficiency, greater control, and the ability to generate and accurately timemultiple jets and fragments from a single charge. The MAHEM program will demonstratecompressed magnetic flux generator (CMFG)-driven magneto hydrodynamically formed metaljets and SFP with significantly improved performance over EFJ. Generating multiple jets orfragments from a single explosive is difficult, and the timing of the multiple jets or fragmentscannot be controlled. MAHEM offers the potential for multiple targeted warheads with a muchhigher EFJ velocity, than conventional EFJ/SFP. This will increase lethality precision. MAHEMcould also be packaged into a missile, projectile or other platform, and delivered close totarget for final engagement.

Basically, they launch the missile into the air and deploy the liquid-hot metal when it's at highvelocity, then have the metal cool into a giant spear sharpened by aerodynamic forces. It'scalled a "self-forging penetrator" (which is a boner joke just waiting to happen). Essentially,it's like catapulting a T-1000 at someone. It's meant to penetrate bunkers and other armoredbuildings and vehicles. Instead of a bunker buster, it's a bunker stabber.

2. Super-Soldiers

As we established, whenever it's time to revolutionize combat, DARPA is there -- for instance,when America needed a new gun in Vietnam, DARPA and Colt teamed up to develop the M16(and we've been using it ever since). But damn it, it's the 21st century. It's time to think bigger.That's why 10 years ago, DARPA began collaborating withSarcos(now Raytheon) to develop

a fucking combat exoskeleton.

Powered exoskeleton

In 2000,DARPArequested design proposals for a powered military exoskeleton. Of the 14designs submitted, DARPA chose the one submitted by Sarcos. The Sarcos design involves asuit powered by a single engine, including a tank holding 24 hours of fuel, which sits near thewearer's buttocks. The suit gives the wearer increased strength and endurance throughservomotorspowered by the engine. The finished suit is named the XOS Exoskeleton and weighs150 pounds (68 kg).
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Popular Sciencereported that the XOS gives wearers the ability to lift 200 pounds (91 kg)"repeatedly with minimal strain". DARPA specifications call for the suit to allow lifting of up to400 pounds (180 kg), but it is not known whether the XOS meets that criterion.

The army will use initial production models of the XOS for logistics and supply tasks such asrepetitive lifting of heavy objects. Future models will have various combat customizations forfiring heavy weapons or transporting wounded soldiers.[

This isn't some drawing on a Powerpoint presentation, either -- they'vegot prototypes andeverything, as you can see in this video starring a mildly awkward Agent Coulson from themost recent crop of Marvel films:

Raytheon XOS 2 exoskeletonhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-UpxsrlLbpU

Raytheon has unveiled its second-generation powered exoskeleton, the XOS 2, coincidingwith the release of Iron Man 2 on DVD. The XOS 2 is lighter, faster and uses 50% less power

than the XOS 1 proof-of-concept robotic suit. Powered by an internal-combustion enginedriving hydraulic actuations, the exoskeleton allows its wearing to lift 200lb repeatedly withouttiring, says Raytheon, but is agile enough to climb stairs, kick a ball etc.

We've talked a little aboutreal-life exoskeletons before, but unlike those, the XOS2 is intendedfor combat. Specifically, it "amplifies its user's strength 17 times, allowing them to easily lift200 pounds several hundred times without tiring, or punch through 3 inches of wood withease."
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Yes.

The only thing really holding it back at the moment is that it has to be plugged in to a powersource -- it takes a lot of juice, and batteries are still too heavy. Don't worry, work on acordless model (the XOS3) is already underway. And if DARPA is telling us it's underway, itmeans it almost certainly is fully functional and has killed several people by now.But they're not stopping at exoskeletons. There's also theZ-Manproject

It's a way for soldiers to scale buildings using the kinds of tiny gripping hairs and sticky goop

found in climbing animals in nature. According tothis budget sheet, it's already been testedusing 25-foot walls and a soldier loaded down with 300 lbs. of equipment. Sadly, they haven'tdone any public demonstrations of the product. We can only assume it's because it requireseach test subject to be repeatedly bitten by horrific, mutated spiders. Trust us, when that shithappens at DARPA, it's no accident.

1. Men Who Never Sleep

Of course, you can give the soldier all the fancy-ass equipment, weapons and battlefieldsurveillance you want, but at the end of the day, soldiers are still human and have all ofhumanity's frailties.

For now.
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If only they didnt need to sleep

It should come as no surprise by this point that DARPA is experimenting with chemicals,brains and medicine in an attempt to make soldiers that are as tireless as machines. Take, forexample, the ultrasonicbrain stimulation machines they're currently investing in, which work

by pulsing tiny sound waves directly into a subject's brain.

It's based on a concept calleddeep brain stimulation, which we currently use to treatParkinson's. DARPA wants to use it to reprogram a soldier's brain to relieve battle stress andincrease alertness during long periods without sleep. They're like tiny robot drill sergeants,right there in the soldier's helmet.

But the most potentially world-changing invention is a nasal spray they're developing calledOrexin-A. Forget all that bullshit about stimulants or giant camouflage thermoses of coffee --this stuff can make you feel like you just slept for eight hours,even when you totally didn't.

The drug is named after orexin, a hormone in your brain that tells you when you're feelingalert and refreshed (people who suffer from narcolepsy lack orexin, which is why theysuddenly fall asleep for no reason). Snorting it doesn't wake you up - it gives you the full-powered brain activity of someone coming off a good night's sleep.

The scientists who created it also claim it's completely non-addictive. And once this stuff getssmuggled out and sold on the streets, we're thinking approximately everyone on Earth willwant it.
http://science.dodlive.mil/2010/09/01/remote-control-of-brain-activity-using-ultrasound/http://science.dodlive.mil/2010/09/01/remote-control-of-brain-activity-using-ultrasound/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_brain_stimulationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_brain_stimulationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_brain_stimulationhttp://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-09/darpa-wants-mind-control-keep-soldiers-sharp-smart-and-safehttp://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-09/darpa-wants-mind-control-keep-soldiers-sharp-smart-and-safehttp://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-09/darpa-wants-mind-control-keep-soldiers-sharp-smart-and-safehttp://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/12/sleep_deprivationhttp://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/12/sleep_deprivationhttp://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/12/sleep_deprivationhttp://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-09/darpa-wants-mind-control-keep-soldiers-sharp-smart-and-safehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_brain_stimulationhttp://science.dodlive.mil/2010/09/01/remote-control-of-brain-activity-using-ultrasound/


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Thanks again, DARPA!

Documents

5 Projects You Won't Believe the US Government is Working On