The whole history of mankind is inextricably linked with the emergence and continuous improvement of weapons of war. In ancient times, man fought for survival with nature, a little later - with representatives of his own ethnic group.
What is a weapon. Types of lethal weapons
It is customary to divide into lethal and non-lethal. What is a lethal weapon? This weapon is designed to destroy the enemy. To lethal means include:
- Weapons for close combat. It is gunshot and cold.
- Weapons of mass destruction (WMD). It includes chemical, nuclear and bacteriological.
Consequences of the use of lethal weapons
Two world wars that took place in the 20th century have clearly shown what lethal weapons are. Only firearms perished in World War I about 10 million troops. The Second World War was fought with more advanced weapons and claimed the lives of 27 million soldiers and officers. At the end of the war, civilians of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki learned what lethal weapons were.
Within a few minutes, both cities were destroyed by the most barbaric weapons of the time - atomic bombs. Killed more than 220,000 inhabitants. Fortunately, atomic weapons were never used for military purposes again. But new types of nuclear weapons were created, many times superior in power to the first samples of atomic bombs.
Non-lethal weapon
Progress in the development of modern technologies, the humanization of society have a significant impact on the methods of warfare. Opposing parties are increasingly striving to minimize damage to civilians and the natural environment. Scientists and designers of developed countries are devoting more and more energy and attention to developing non-lethal (non-lethal) weapons.
Non-lethal weapons, often called humane, are designed to incapacitate an adversary for a certain time without causing particular harm to their health. This type of weapon includes a set of tools, the principle of which is based on mechanical, electrical, chemical and light and sound effects.
Non-lethal weapons are used in cases where it is necessary to minimize the number of possible victims.
Another direction of the development of non-lethal weapons comes down to the development of devices that disrupt the functioning of individual units of military equipment. For example, using such devices, you can change the characteristics of the fuel, the viscosity of oils and greases, the strength of wheels, gaskets, hoses, cause a breakdown of insulation, etc.
We are working on samples of weapons, which are based on the phenomenon of adhesion. They are able to firmly seal tank hatches, car doors, wheels, tracks of military equipment.
Promising types of non-lethal weapons
With the help of the latest systems based on different physical principles, it became possible to selectively disable the most important elements of the combat control system.
Experts believe that in the near future, the following non-lethal weapons will pose a serious danger:
- radiation;
- radiological;
- radio frequency;
- infrasound;
- geophysical.
Precision weapon
A high-precision lethal weapon is a set of devices that can hit a target from the first shot within its reach.
High-precision weapons are:
- missile systems of ground, aviation and ship-based;
- aircraft guided bombs;
- artillery guided weapons;
- guided mines and torpedoes:
- certain types of small arms.
High accuracy of hitting a target is achieved by controlling ammunition along the entire flight path. High-precision weapons automatically search for targets and solve the problem of overcoming counter-systems designed to destroy guided munitions. The combat task is solved by setting active and passive interference, performing complex maneuvers, extremely secretive approach to the target, performing a group attack.
New Russian weapons
In the Soviet Union, military production was created, capable of producing any type of armament and military equipment. From the middle of the twentieth century, the Soviet and then the Russian army were provided only with domestic weapons and military equipment. Our country is a recognized leader in creating unique models of modern weapons.
The latest Russian weapons are supplied to dozens of countries of the world community. The S-300 and S-400 air defense systems have no analogues in the world, the Topol-M and Yars missile systems are ahead of their time. Foreign experts spoke about the revolution in tank building after meeting with the T-14 Armata tank, the Kalashnikov assault rifle is deservedly considered the standard of reliability.
Russian gunsmiths are confidently looking to the future. What is a lethal weapon, they demonstrate their best developments.