New Weapon Designed to Zap Scuba Divers

[Doc]

Is there a PADI cert and chevron for this?

(yet?)

 

[Scuba Brad]

I'm with Bruce. Just let them try it. No company, person, or thing has the right to commit murder in our country. I'm sure if we created a "ship denial" system designed to sink any ship that got close to us they would have concerns. I have my doubts that something like this would ever get launched. WHAT IN THE WORLD is Raytheon thinking???? Are they crazy.

Happy Diving

 

[mikswi]

Last I heard, the Taliban was attempting to turn our killer dolphins against us. Either that or recruit suicide puffer fish.

LMAO!!

 

[Gary D.]

I'm with Bruce. Just let them try it. No company, person, or thing has the right to commit murder in our country. I'm sure if we created a "ship denial" system designed to sink any ship that got close to us they would have concerns. I have my doubts that something like this would ever get launched. WHAT IN THE WORLD is Raytheon thinking???? Are they crazy.

Happy Diving

You do what needs to be done to protect yourself. If someone dies in the process lets just hope it the other guy.

Gary D.

 

[divinginn]

my advice stay away from navy ships

 

[james croft]

Sinking ships with limpet mines is an extremely efficient way to sink ships in harbor. Every military service has teams trained in this. That was the one thing the Italians did well in WW2. Terrorist will attempt this someday. The SEALS did it in Panama not too long ago. Get your head out of the sand. Spend money on scuba gear to blow up a ship? Heck, thats a cheap way to go. I say stay ahead of the bad guys.

 

[g2]

... As for the sound defense thing, it sounds better than what I've heard of them doing before. On a routine basis, the call of "divers in the water" would set off an entire naval base's active sonar systems, which would promptly ruin any living thing in the water in the vicinity.

Ships don't all go "active" on sonar just because of a report of a diver in the water. If "diver in the water" is called all ships man extra watches, and station lookouts to see if they can spot the diver. Then EOD is called into start searching vessels near where the call was made to determine if anything was attached to a ship.

I witnessed this combination of events at Norfolk a couple years ago. An unauthorized "swimmer" was seen diving from a small motorboat near the base. The base immediately closed, and the harbor was searched -- lots of patrol boats with .50 cals running back and forth. After a while they couldn't find anyone, so the sonars went active. It lasted for about 45 minutes, and everything in the harbor was vibrating (resonating?) with the active pings. If anything was in the water, it was dead.

We were just about to dive when this happened... needless to say, we stayed out of the water until given the "all clear" signal.
:eek5:

 

[RumBum]

I thought this sounded like BS to me, so I looked for more info.
Here is the US patent application: http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph...84".PGNR.&OS=DN/20050232084&RS=DN/20050232084

It's like something from Star Trek. However, Capt Piccard always had the crew start their phasers on "stun" not "kill"...

 

[archman]

I'm sure that purchase and application of this system will be tightly regulated, just like other lethal devices.

 

[Double_D]

A vessel in the open ocean is at less risk from swimmers - ports and anchorages are more vulnerable. However, relatively defenseless and common fixed sites like power generation, fuel transfer, bridges and dams could sure use this technology.

I'm for it - seems expensive and harmful until you consider the alternative. Not to mention the deterrent effect of the knowledge (threat) that such a mechanism exists whether you ever encounter one or not.

Dittos on staying away from naval vessels. Leave them alone and they'll leave you alone.