'Ray Guns' For The U.S. Army?

A specialist with the 533rd Brigade Support Battalion competes in a 9mm pistol course at the Best Warrior Competition at Fort McCoy, Wisc., on April 29, 2014. U.S. Army photo by Army Staff Sgt. Scott Griffin

Defense One: The Army Is Testing Handheld Ray Guns

Fittingly, these rifle-sized weapons would gun for other electronics

Pew! Pew! Soldiers with handheld energy blasters are the stuff of G.I. Joe, not real life … until now. The U.S Army is currently testing electricity guns for possible use against electronics on the battlefield. They don’t look like props from the popular cartoon show but, rather like regular standard-issue M4 rifles with a pair of antennas that shoot out from the barrel and then spread, giving the front end of the gun a musket-like shape.

Soldiers “already carry rifles. Why not use something that every soldier already carries,” said James E. Burke, an electronics engineer with the U.S. Army’s Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center, or ARDEC. Burke spoke with Defense One at a National Defense Industry Association event in Baltimore on Tuesday.

WNU Editor: The fact that details for this technology have been classified "top secret" tells me that they are impressed with the results. But will we be seeing soldiers having these weapons in the future .... my gut is telling me that we have a long way to go before that becomes a reality.