Military of China, force comment.
Military of China, force comment.

U.S. Navy’s “Super Hornet” fighter first flight using biofuels scene.

News Background

2010 年 4 22, the U.S. Navy’s first aircraft to use alternative fuel type F/A-18F “Super Hornet” fighter in Maryland Naval Air Station has successfully conducted its first flight in the world caused quite a stir.

the aircraft is so remarkable, because it carries the fuel contains 50% camelina oil, therefore, it is called “The Green Hornet.”

according to plan, “Green Hornet” will be 15 flights, mainly to prove that this aircraft not necessarily require the existing engine oil and fuel. “Green Hornet” and a successful test flight, raises “green weapon” of great concern.

“green weapons”, also known as “environmental weapon” refers to borrow “green” concept, the natural environment does not produce or produce less pollution, environmentally friendly and does not destroy the ecological balance of the weapon. Now, let’s look at “green weapons,” the background and future prospects.

environmental disaster calls for “green weapon”

war is not only a human disaster, the global environment is the killer. Since the era of hot weapons, all kinds of weapons, give human life on Earth has brought great harm to the environment. Weapons of mass destruction, nuclear radiation, nuclear contamination, aircraft, tanks and artillery and other weapons and ammunition containing large amounts of toxic ingredients … These will not only harm innocent civilians, more direct pollution of the natural environment.

to bullets, for example. For a long time, the bullet warhead has been the main raw material lead. According to statistics, in the United States, training of recruits each year will consume hundreds of millions made M16 rifle bullets, lead bullets though each is only 2-3 grams, but add up the total amazing. Accordingly, by analogy, imagine that the world’s annual consumption of lead pollution caused by bullets, how much?

Let’s look at another “environment killer” – gunpowder. Use conventional in today’s world there are three kinds of gunpowder: TNT (commonly known as TNT), RDX (trimethylene three nitramine ring) and HMX (part four methylene four nitramine), they are rich lead. In the military shooting range, conventional explosives, lead pollution is particularly serious. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency survey, Arlington, Virginia, the staff ranges in the blood, lead healthy bottom line than the official requirement of 10 times as much.

In addition, the range surrounding ecological environment, “poisoning” deep. In the U.S., many abandoned military test field blank, TNT soil and vegetation have been severely polluted. TNT U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has classified as carcinogens, but it is still widely used in mining, causing a great source of groundwater pollution.

during the war in Iraq, United States and Britain in Iraq cast a large number of cluster bombs, firing thousands of rounds axis poor play. The ammunition is not only to cause serious harm to the Iraqis, but also endanger the health of soldiers in war, so that they suffer from a strange strange disease.

present, the two warring sides are on the latest weapons and equipment used to bring the pollution problem has a lot of “complaints.” It can be said, calling for an environmental disaster “green weapons.”

came into being “green weapon”

the international community has been very concerned about environmental damage from military activities, many arms control treaties expressly to protect the environment as a starting point.

1974 United Nations Disarmament Commission in the spring session, the first in Sweden to the United Nations on the “change the environment for military purposes,” the problem. October 1976, the 31st UN General Assembly adopted the “Prohibition of Military or any Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques Convention.”

protect the environment not only in the arms control treaties have been reached, but also in the restrictions on weapons development. Such as armor-piercing bombs in poor axis gasification process, and then condensed into small particles suspended in the air spread to a large extent, the soldiers will be inhaled, damage to health, and environmental pollution. Therefore, the poor play from the start shaft by the international community strongly resisted.

forced by international pressure, the world arms companies are eager to flaunt their environmental awareness, dedicated to developing a new generation of “green weapons.” Currently, countries are developing “green weapons,” including lead-free ammunition, armored vehicles emissions, less toxic weapons and explosives can be manufactured fertilizer. Development of other weapons including environmental noise pollution can reduce the “quiet warhead” and release less smoke grenades, and so on.

United States is considering how to make more weapons of the future “sustainability” and “greener”, including soybean oil used as fuel for the aircraft in the combat zone to use solar energy, small-scale development of hydrogen-powered vehicle and other environmental protection measures. U.S. Secretary of the Navy or the Navy Extremadura Jacobs building of an ambitious goal: to build in 2012 a local “green fleet”, fully completed in 2016 a “great green fleet.”

not everyone on the “green weapons” positive. Some experts pointed out sharply that “environmental protection should also be considered deadly weapons actually, it is ridiculous.” Of course, most experts still believe that “the user should try to make weapons safer and minimize the weapons on the environment impact. ”

“green weapons” development road must be taken

present, due to manufacturing technology and other factors, the “green weapons,” there are still many problems. For example, the development of biofuels, fighters can reduce dependence on crude oil, but low energy density of bio-fuels, food consumed in large quantities. It is calculated that each acre of soybeans into bio-fuel, not enough “Super Hornet” fighter needed to complete a take-off fuel consumption. This had reminiscent of the already fragile world food security.

But the “green weapon” is the future of high-tech high-intensity war, a necessary requirement is the depth of the war had to be a destructive self-restraint.

any military power can not but consider the tolerance limits of the earth, otherwise military victory will be meaningless. Especially for the world’s military power to safeguard their own interests, more on political considerations, after the war’s “aftermath” to consider more, they also want to reduce the pollution of war on the environment, thereby reducing the post-war reconstruction in the management of environmental costs .

in the context of globalization and the humanitarian appeal of green thinking under pressure, “Green weapon” will no doubt become the focus of world military power R & D direction, and to find ways to solve the technical problems of the development process . According to the official website of the U.S. Air Force, Air Force is currently being developed using algae and cyanobacteria produce fuel a new generation of biofuel technology, output is expected to increase 40 times.

In summary, the “green weapons,” the path of development certainly will not be smooth, but as time goes on, it will gradually become the world’s military equipment will be the development of a major trend.

Links

in the study of “green weapon” Know

“lead bullets” : In early September 2003, the U.S. military developed a new lead-free bullets. Contractor is the world’s largest manufacturer of ammunition, an annual output of 3.4 billion rounds of ammunition Alian special company. The company developed the tungsten as the main material of the warhead, “lead bullet” now in volume production. Currently, the U.S. military has been gradually replaced with environmentally friendly bullets Lead bullets to conventional training.

“Green explosives”: University of Munich in Germany, the German military to fund a research team of about 50 may be used as a “green fuse” of chemical substances were studied. One of the “green dynamite” ongoing technology tests, is expected to put into use the next 2-5 years.

“recyclable explosives”: As the world’s largest arms manufacturer, British Aerospace Systems (BAE) are experimenting with energy-saving and recyclable explosives, the explosive waste and crop waste into fertilizer explosives. Currently, the project can be made into fertilizer explosives has conducted a number of technical tests, and won initial success.

“saving armored vehicles”: At present, the British BAE Systems plans to develop a “hybrid engine”, which can use the batteries and diesel-powered armored vehicles to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, reduce environmental pollution.

“blunt shells”: British BAE Systems has begun production of a “blunt shells”, such shells would not explode accidentally, unlimited shelf life. Israel Military Industries is developing a new type of grenade used in tank guns to replace the lead-steel warhead warhead, built-in high-energy explosives, to improve the fight against concrete target performance. (Li Jing Jin)