The U.S. government is developing new firearm nanotechnology that can track, disrupt, and even self-destruct firearms.
The technological system, known as a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS), utilizes tiny devices that are implanted in guns and other weapons. These devices are more than chips; they are actual mechanical processes created by precision engineering that can affect the weapon’s operations. Media reports reveal the devices include miniature GPS systems designed to make guns easier to track and self-destruct systems that could cause them to explode if they receive a wireless signal.
The technology coincides with the ‘smart gun’ technology Anthony Gucciardi has broken down in the past, which can be used to ‘turn off’ weapons when in gun free zones or whenever designated by government.
Other capabilities being developed include software that could interfere with the operation of targeting systems. This could include laser sights that couldn’t lock onto a person in uniform. Another possibility is targeting systems or sights that simply stop working after a certain date or shut down if they receive a wireless signal.
Guns That Self-Destruct
The scary thing is that MEMS is being developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Pentagon’s science division. The idea is that this technology will be used in weapons given to questionable allies such as the Syrian rebels, who Obama is currently funding with weapons and other resources.
DARPA actually has a program to develop what it calls ‘Vanishing Programmable Resources’; in other words, weapons that will self-destruct. The idea here is to make weapons that can be ordered to self-destruct if they fall into the wrong hands.
High Tech Gun Control
The scary thing is that this technology is emerging right now, and it isn’t hard to imagine law enforcement or gun control zealots demanding that such technologies be built into all guns sold to the public. That way somebody could just push a button somewhere and thousands of guns could simply explode, or the targeting systems could stop working. They could also mandate that all guns contain a tiny transmitter that would make it easy for law enforcement to track down.
This technology isn’t a fantasy; weapons expert Chris Harmer told Bloomberg Businessweek that MEMS capabilities will be built into U.S. weapons within three to five years. Businessweek also reported that the market for MEMS will soon be around $1.1 billion.
Within a few years the federal government and others could have the capability to control guns without banning them. That will mean a huge market for older guns built before this technology became available.
