USA Commandos

Commandos’ Wish List: Ray Guns, Smell-Suppressors

U.S. Special Operations Command’s geek-in-chief has a wish list of all the new gear he’d like to get.  At the top: "tunable" weapons, and tools to keep his commandos from being tracked by their sight, sound, or odor.  National Defense magazine has the highlights:

Signature Management. The directorate is looking for any technology… that can help mask operators and their equipment.

That includes suppressing infrared and seismic signatures as well as what can be heard, seen and even smelled, [SOCOM advanced technology directorate chief Richard] Chandler said. Of particular interest is a noise suppression technology “that can drastically reduce the sound of medium-sized unmanned aerial vehicle engines.”

…The directorate also needs sensors that can track “natural signatures” such as unique biometrics, mechanical defects — perhaps in a car engine —
and even stains and perfumes.

Warrior Systems. SOCOM
is looking for “tunable weapons,” which can adjust from nonlethal to something more powerful. Like the Star Trek phasers of science fiction, such a weapon could presumably go from “stun” to “kill.” Such a weapon should “accommodate a broad variety of missions while limiting or eliminating collateral damage and casualties