US Weapons Research Is Raising A Stink-is projectile peaceful or hovering on the brink of illegality

[babylonsister]

US Weapons Research Is Raising A Stink
The US Army’s XM1063 projectile is designed to be ‘non-lethal’ - but is it peaceful or hovering on the brink of illegality?
by David Hambling


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” (=see PDF).

Smelling it out

Experts suggest three possible payloads: an existing riot-control agent, malodorants or a new chemical agent. Existing agents include CS gas and a form of pepper spray. But these seem unlikely choices, because their effects only last minutes, and could wear off before friendly forces arrive. They could also face a legal challenge: the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention prohibits the use of riot control agents in warfare

more...:scared:

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/07/10/10260/

[Lance_Boyle]

1. how would it "stop vehicles?"

Vehicles don't care if it stinks. Concentrations of "existing riot-control agents" would have to be incredibly high before they'd starve an engine of air, and I'm not aware of any chemical agent (new or old) that would stop a vehicle in any way that would not be lethal to humans in the area. Any ideas?

[babylonsister]

2. Maybe it renders the drivers of vehicles unconscious/immobile?

:shrug: