The Development of Eco-Friendly Weapons

As absurd as it sounds, it seems that even weapon manufactures are trying to go green, with BAe Systems, who happens to be one of the world’s largest arms manufacturers, looking to develop a new breed of “green-weapons”.

Supported by the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD), the company is looking at ways to produce bullets with a significantly reduced lead content and even rockets which burn with less toxins being released into the atmosphere. The studies are even looking at producing grenades that explode with less smoke. Nice to know, then, that whilst you’re having your limbs ripped from your body courtesy of a grenade that having smoke in your eyes during your last view of the world is one less thing to worry about.

Already BAe has stopped using depleted uranium in its weapons, though American aircraft such as the A-10 Thunderbolt still use depleted uranium in its bullets (which, incidentally, are the size of cucumbers) as the use of such dense materials helps the rounds pierce armour plating such as that used in tanks (the destruction of which is the Thunderbolts primary objective).

The A10 Tankbuster – Soon to be dropping Compost?

During the Iraq war the US alone dropped a sobering 1,500 cluster bombs, a weapon that is touted as being widely attributable for civilian casualties and, in a bid to minimise the impact on the environment of such weapons, BAe are conducting a study into whether the remnants of such weapons could be turned into manure. You may have killed all the farmers in a blanket in indiscriminate fireballs, but at least you have enriched the soil on which they toiled.

The full study being undertaken by BAe is as follows;

• The development of bullets with less lead content on the basis that leas can “pose a risk to people”.
• Developing armoured vehicles with greener engines so they produce less carbon emissions.
• Looking into recycling weapons that are past their shelf-life – for instance, turning waste explosives into compost.
• The feasibility of biodegradable shell, rocket and munitions casings.

And, as if this wasn’t enough, the US are also looking into the practicalities of green weaponry, which one study focusing on the possible use of soybean oil as a propellant.

It seems that the world is becoming less of a target whilst also becoming no safer a place to live in.

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