Weapon

If, like me, you can't decide which ammunition to load into your chain gun, Northrop Grumman has a variant of its 30 x 113mm M230 Link Fed (M230LF) Dual Feed Bushmaster Chain Gun that can swap from one ammo to another at the flip of a switch.

The British Army has rolled out the prototypes of its Challenger 3 main battle tank, which are undergoing their first live-fire tests in Germany. The upgraded tank not only has a deadlier gun, but can destroy incoming anti-tank rounds in flight.

Boeing and defense company Nammo partnering with the US Army have set a new range record during an indirect fire test of a ramjet-powered artillery shell when a Ramjet 155-mm round was fired from a 58-caliber Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA).

A 'safe' handgun is a relative term, but Colorado-based Biofire Technologies is taking a high-tech crack at the idea with its Biofire Smart Gun, which uses an electronic identification and firing system to prevent accidental or unauthorized use.

In a bid to prevent the spread of killer robots in society, a group of robotics companies have published an open letter pledging not to weaponize their machines, and pleading with their customers to do the same.

In a double-shot of hypersonics news, the US Air Force has conducted an air-launched flight test of its AGM-183A hypersonic missile, while DARPA has successfully test fired a prototype of its OpFires ground-based hypersonic missile launch system.

In a live online sale on November 6, Auction Team Breker offered one of the four remaining CIAM-NASA Hypersonic Flying Laboratory (HFL) "Kholod" hypersonic test bed missiles, which sold to an undisclosed European company for €27,700 (US$32,100).

Elbit Systems has developed a new AI-powered rifle scope called the Assault Rifle Combat Application System (ARCAS) that turns a soldier's assault rifle into a portable combat information center, as well as allowing the users to shoot around corners.

BAE Systems has revealed its latest APKWS laser guidance kit that converts dumb rockets into precision munitions. The modifications increase the effective range by 30 percent and introduce the ability to strike at a greater angle of attack.

Lockheed Martin's Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) hit its target with "pinpoint accuracy" during its second test at the White Sands Missile Range. The next-generation long-range missile flew 180 km (122 mi) before reaching its objective.

India has conducted its first anti-satellite weapons test, destroying an existing satellite today in low-Earth orbit. The missile launched from the Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam Island launch complex took out a previously launched Indian satellite.

In 2018 we witnessed developments that pave the way for a future where AI systems could heal us, harm us, or even teach us. Here are the highlights from a fascinating year of advances in artificial intelligence.