Hacker News with Generative AI: Weapons

Army infantry officer calls new XM7 'unfit for use as a modern service rifle' (taskandpurpose.com)
An Army infantry officer has made a series of criticisms of the Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapon rifle, which is meant to replace the M4A1 carbine.

Military, Weapons, Army, Technology, Criticism

5 points by ilamont 2 days ago | 2 comments

What Air Defenses Do the Houthis in Yemen Have? (twz.com)
The loss of nearly 20 MQ-9 Reapers, increasing use of standoff munitions, and the deployment of B-2 bombers point to the Houthis' air defenses being a real problem.

Military, Yemen, Conflict, Weapons

16 points by nradov 12 days ago | 5 comments

Weapons of war are launching from Cape Canaveral since 1988 (arstechnica.com)
The US military launched a long-range hypersonic missile Friday morning from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on a test flight that, if successful, could pave the way for the weapon's operational deployment later this year.

Military, Weapons, Space, Hypersonic Missiles

13 points by Bender 13 days ago | 1 comments

Straight Out of Sci-Fi: Tracked Combat Robot Armed with the Browning MG (defence-ua.com)
Ukraine has officially integrated the Droid TW 12.7 robotic combat system into its Armed Forces.

Robotics, Military Technology, Ukraine, War, Weapons

7 points by rolph 14 days ago | 0 comments

Japan releases image of Railgun installed on naval vessel (navalnews.com)
On April 18, 2025, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) released an image of its state-of-the-art railgun currently undergoing testing aboard the test ship JS Asuka.

Military, Japan, Technology, Naval, Weapons

13 points by gnabgib 14 days ago | 0 comments

The CIA's 'Heart Attack Gun': A Cold War Weapon for Targeted Assassinations (military.com)
Of all the Central Intelligence Agency secrets revealed to the world by the so-called Church Committee of the 1970s, perhaps none captured the American public's imagination as vividly as the agency's "heart attack gun."

CIA, Cold War, Weapons, Assassinations, History

27 points by thunderbong 15 days ago | 9 comments

Time for Space Force to 'clearly say' it needs 'weapons in space': SPACECOM head (breakingdefense.com)
SPACE SYMPOSIUM 2025 — Gen. Stephen Whiting, the head of US Space Command, today put a capstone on the public campaign by top military space officials to reorient the US way of war to emphasize space is very much a new front for fighting — deliberately calling out the need for the deployment of “weapons” in space.

Military, Space Exploration, Weapons, Defense

4 points by TMWNN 24 days ago | 1 comments

With nod to neighbor Russia, Finland to quit global landmines ban (defensenews.com)
MILAN — Finland, which shares NATO’s longest border with Russia, will withdraw from the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel landmines, according to President Alexander Stubb.

International Relations, Finland, Russia, Military, Weapons

11 points by decimalenough 37 days ago | 0 comments

Space Force wants six kinds of space weapons–including anti-satellite lasers (arstechnica.com)
DENVER—The US Space Force lacks the full range of space weapons China and Russia are adding to their arsenals, and military leaders say it's time to close the gap.

Space Force, Military, Weapons, Anti-Satellite, China

9 points by bentobean 43 days ago | 1 comments

Magical Instant Bullets (militaryrealism.blog)
Welcome back, my new and regular readers alike. I’m doubling down on Unreal Tournament this week, following on from last week’s discussion of the Flak Cannon. If you need to get up to speed on Unreal Tournament (UT) you should read my previous posts on the game: Firstly on the Rocket Launcher, then the Flak Cannon. Today we’ll examine the Sniper Rifle with our usual pedantic criticism.

Unreal Tournament, Gaming, Video Games, Weapons, Reviews

72 points by baud147258 50 days ago | 58 comments

Maintenance of two infamous guns: the AK-47 and the M16 (worksinprogress.co)
SOME OF THE MOST VALUED MANUALS focus on known weaknesses of the device in question. John Hall’s musket manual did that. So did John Muir’s VW manual. This digression-within-a-digression examines what was behind the most famous of all manuals dedicated solely to maintaining a flawed tool. It emerged from the Vietnam War and is one of the harshest maintenance dramas in history.

Military History, Weapons, Vietnam War

11 points by speckx 52 days ago | 0 comments

Missile maker MBDA takes more calls from EU militaries seeking non-US weapons (ft.com)
Missile maker MBDA takes more calls from EU militaries seeking non-US weapons

Military, Europe, Defense, Weapons, International Relations

8 points by JumpCrisscross 52 days ago | 3 comments

Subsonic Weapon used on the crowd in Belgrade today (reddit.com)

Politics, Serbia, Violence, Weapons

74 points by justinzollars 54 days ago | 13 comments

Lockheed Offers a New Low-Cost Cruise Missile as Part of 'High-Low Mix' (airandspaceforces.com)
AURORA, Colo.—Lockheed Martin is testing a new low-cost, modular cruise missile meant to be built at scale, while it also builds even longer-range versions of its stealthy, high-end weapons—part of a strategy to provide the Air Force with a mix of exquisite and affordable munitions.

Military, Weapons, Technology, Aerospace

4 points by ilamont 59 days ago | 0 comments

Is a bone a viable weapon when combating a Rancor? (jgeekstudies.org)
In the first act of ‘Star Wars: Return of the Jedi’ (ROTJ), the protagonist, Luke Skywalker, infiltrates the palace of the notorious crime lord, Jabba the Hutt, while seeking to free his allies from captivity.

Star Wars, Science Fiction, Weapons, Movies

4 points by sohkamyung 60 days ago | 1 comments

Lithuania quits treaty banning cluster bombs despite outrage (france24.com)
Lithuania on Thursday quit an international convention banning cluster bombs citing security concerns over neighbouring Russia, in a move that has drawn criticism from human rights groups.

International Relations, Diplomacy, Weapons, Lithuania, Russia

4 points by vinnyglennon 64 days ago | 2 comments

Google removes pledge to not use AI for weapons, surveillance (cnbc.com)

Google, Artificial Intelligence, Weapons, Surveillance

10 points by nudpiedo 91 days ago | 1 comments

Google drops pledge not to use AI for weapons, surveillance (aljazeera.com)
Google has dropped a pledge not to use artificial intelligence for weapons or surveillance in its updated ethics policy on the powerful technology.

Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Surveillance, Weapons

13 points by Physkal 93 days ago | 1 comments

Google erases promise not to use AI technology for weapons or surveillance (cnn.com)

Google, Artificial Intelligence, Surveillance, Weapons

41 points by e12e 93 days ago | 4 comments

Google Lifts a Ban on Using Its AI for Weapons and Surveillance (wired.com)
Google announced Tuesday that it is overhauling the principles governing how it uses artificial intelligence and other advanced technology.

Artificial Intelligence, Technology, Google, Surveillance, Weapons

17 points by vinnyglennon 93 days ago | 3 comments

Google removes pledge to not use AI for weapons from website (techcrunch.com)
Google removed a pledge to not build AI for weapons or surveillance from its website this week.

Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Google, Weapons, Surveillance

245 points by filoeleven 93 days ago | 2 comments

US Navy releases photo showing USS Preble firing HELIOS laser weapon (bulgarianmilitary.com)
The US Navy has released a new photo showing the USS Preble [DDG-88] firing its HELIOS laser weapon into the sea.

Military, Technology, Weapons, US Navy, Lasers

10 points by belter 95 days ago | 1 comments

Ukraine Burning Through 155mm M777 Barrels So Fast the U.S. Army Can't Keep Up (twz.com)
The U.S. Army is moving to establish a second production source for barrels for 155mm M777 towed howitzers in response to what it calls “unprecedented demand” from Ukraine.

Military, Ukraine, Weapons, War, US Army

6 points by belter 105 days ago | 0 comments

Welrod (wikipedia.org)
The Welrod is a British bolt-action, magazine-fed pistol with an integrated silencer which was devised for covert operations during the Second World War by Major Hugh Reeves at the Inter-Services Research Bureau (later Station IX).

Weapons, History, Military, Espionage

12 points by rolph 152 days ago | 4 comments

Canada adds more than 300 assault-style firearms to list of banned weapons (cbc.ca)

Canada, Gun Control, Firearms, Weapons

5 points by geox 154 days ago | 1 comments

How Russian hypersonic missiles work [pdf] (jp-petit.org)

Military Technology, Russia, Weapons

23 points by squillion 159 days ago | 1 comments

An Iranian Ballistic Missile Hit Israel. We Got a Peek Inside Its 'Brain' (haaretz.com)
Printed circuit boards like those found in washing machines. Soldering done by hand. Limited production quality. What can we learn from the Iranian missile attacks – and how accurate are they?

Military Technology, Iran, Israel, Weapons

5 points by wslh 164 days ago | 3 comments

First ICBM Launch in Combat? (ycombinator.com)
Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/what-is-intercontinental-ballistic-missile-ukraine-says-russia-fired-2024-11-21/

Military, International Relations, Russia, Ukraine, Weapons

18 points by myrmidon 169 days ago | 46 comments

Electromagnetic coil gun seized in Japan (nhk.or.jp)
殺傷能力を備えた電磁石銃、いわゆる「コイルガン」を所持したとして、29歳の容疑者が銃刀法違反の疑いで逮捕されました。容疑者は製造する様子を写した動画を動画配信サイトで公開していたということで、警視庁が詳しい経緯を調べています。

Weapons, Japan, Law Enforcement, Technology

56 points by lando2319 171 days ago | 82 comments

North Korea's New ICBM May Have Biggest Transporter-Erector-Launcher (twz.com)
North Korea has tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that it claims is its longest-ranged so far — and which is carried on an absolutely enormous transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) vehicle.

North Korea, Military, Weapons, Missiles

5 points by perihelions 185 days ago | 0 comments