Admiral Gary Roughead, the Navy's top officer, is all about practicality these days. In a document he issued to his sailors earlier this week, he vowed that when it came to military gadgets, the Navy would "only develop those capabilities we need, not just want." In these tough economic times, Roughead speaks for a lot of the military's top brass.
Except when he doesn't. R&D in the American military -- and other militaries, ally and enemy alike -- is a story of madcap engineering, oddball design, and loose definitions of "need" and "want." Think rocket launchers that shoot nukes, flying saucers and laser-blasting jets. Definitely laser-blasting jets.
We take a look at some of the crazier guns and vehicles to make it to the prototype stage, here and abroad. Sure, the admirals and generals say they're being practical. But we all know they can't resist a good WTF weapon. LINK
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