Navy patent reveals underwater sound weapon

The U.S. Navy certainly doesn't seem to have any shortage of unconventional weapons in development, but it looks like it still has plenty more ideas on its plate, with a recent patent revealing yet another new weapon that takes a slightly different path towards its target. While this one is unconventional, it certainly doesn't appear to be non-lethal, employing sonar to generate what the Navy describes as "acoustic remote cavitation," which can supposedly destroy torpedoes, mines, and any other "undesirable objects" in its path. What's more, the Navy says that can be done from a distance of up to one kilometer away, which is apparently far greater than other similar examples of the technology. Less clear, however, is how the Navy plans to deal with the seemingly inevitable swarms of irate dolphins set on enacting some revenge.

[Via Danger Room]

[Roman @ Apr 30th 2007 4:23PM]

Is that a shuttlecock?

[required @ Apr 30th 2007 4:28PM]

This device "sounds" like it just might destroy part of our world/environment/food chain/ocean/life which doesn't "sound" like it protects us since we rely heavily on our world/environment/food chain/ocean/life. Now if it only got "undesirable objects" then ok, carry on!

[johnny b. good @ Apr 30th 2007 4:30PM]

Poor whales...

[Matt B @ Apr 30th 2007 4:39PM]

Is this the military version of the "Brown Sound"?

[required @ Apr 30th 2007 4:40PM]

Imagine if our military made weapons that destroyed pollution.

[required @ Apr 30th 2007 4:47PM]

Like a Nuclear Ourorboros, we could call it NO.

[andy @ Apr 30th 2007 4:48PM]

this has to be terrible to sealife.

as if fish (the kind we eat) populations weren't dying off enough. i won't even get started on all of the other sea animals that aren't faring so well as it is.

[EDomain @ Apr 30th 2007 4:48PM]

Imagine if people here had a realistic worldview and didn't think the Navy was going to start blasting away underwater at reefs and poor animals with large, soulful eyes. Give me a break. The thing gets pointed at mines, torpedoes, and I am guessing, undersides of ships and maybe subs?

What happens when flipper bumps into a mine laid by some whack job dictator and gets blown up? Or worse yet, U.S. sailors? I think this weapon is a great idea.

Wouldn't it be great is the world was full of people that were all nice and left each other alone so weapons like this weren't necessary?

Yes, it would. It would also be nice if their were unicorns, magical fairies, Santa Claus, and the Eater Bunny.

Sadly, that is not reality-- so bring on the sound weapons!!!!

[required @ Apr 30th 2007 4:54PM]

a realistic worldview is one that reflects on earth

[Ralph @ Apr 30th 2007 5:20PM]

DAS LIMPET!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Incredible_Mr._Limpet

[OddManOut @ Apr 30th 2007 5:41PM]

"this has to be terrible to sealife. "

Uh...name one weapon that ain't...

Sides...I'll bet this is nothing more than a big underwater speaker and an iPod...

[J @ Apr 30th 2007 5:36PM]

Underwater speakers playing that new Avril Lavigne single would have the same effect.

[EDomain @ Apr 30th 2007 5:42PM]

Avril LaVigne.... an awesome weapon of unspeakable magnitude

[ryan @ Apr 30th 2007 5:36PM]

From what i know, this just sounds like it makes air bubbles in the water wherever its pointed, and so when the torpedo/mine/whatever hits the air pocket, it will detonate there instead of on the sub. This could be dangerous, perhaps, if you pointed it into the center of a school of fish, otherwise it shouldn't affect anything that isn't in its direct path.

The moral of this story: just because its new doesn't automatically make it bad for the environment.

[Das @ Apr 30th 2007 6:48PM]

Actually cavitation is when the pressure at a particular point becomes low enough that the liquid spontaneously vaporizes so it creates bubbles of gaseous water, and I assume the other dissolved gases but mostly water. The trick here is that when the bubble eventually collapses it produces a relatively powerful shockwave, if you look up cavitation on google you can find pictures of propellers that have been damaged by cavitation cause by their own rotation.

As I understand it it wouldn't cause the mine/torpedo to detonate early so much as actually blow it up. Also, I don't see how this is particularly bad for the environment, no toxic chemicals no mess.

In conclusion, this is pretty fucking cool.

[Seth @ May 1st 2007 9:40AM]

"Less clear, however, is how the Navy plans to deal with the seemingly inevitable swarms of irate dolphins set on enacting some revenge."

It works on dolphins.


But just in case, they can call a tuna boat for help.

[Urza @ Apr 30th 2007 6:19PM]

I have just one thing to say:
How does this damage the environment any more than a massive explosion and tons of shrapnel and dangerous chemicals? I have a feeling this will actually be better for the environment than most conventional weapons.

[obiwan @ Apr 30th 2007 5:56PM]

I bet this originated in the Mind of Woody Norris
http://www.woodynorris.com/
Go to:
http://www.woodynorris.com/Successes.htm
and scroll a bit further down than half-way, read about the ultrasonic spotlight sound things.
Two emitters, each produce something you can't hear, when they collide, look out!

[Kentucky Wildcats! @ Apr 30th 2007 5:59PM]

The US military has tried to proclaim itself exempt from environmental and endangered species law, even though they have never been able to point to a specific case where they were not able to obtain an exemption that allowed them to proceed while the environment or species were still protected. If the weapon is unreasonably harmful to marine species, I will be glad to support the environmental groups that help ensure a balance between our military defense and our planet's well-being.

[dcsmith @ Apr 30th 2007 7:00PM]

Weren't there stories a few years ago about the navy testing some new kind of sonar and alot of whales dying?

[thomas_malkin @ May 1st 2007 1:00AM]

It isn't fucking cool. Whales and other cetaceans live in a world of sound. Evidence shows that simple things like prop noise and sonar have harmed their communications, maybe even their navigation abilities. What the Navy is creating is a sound bomb. Such a device will be orders of magnitude more agonizing to a creature that literally lives on its ears. What. The. Hell do we need this for? Why don't we just finish it and shoot everything on the planet that isn't a dog, cat, or human? Or just pop one in our own heads, cut out the first act.

Some children might think that the military's job is to destroy. The job of the military is to defend, not to make everything dead. And one country's military taking it on themselves to deafen the entire planet's sentient ocean population, just 'cause it's "cool", is abhorrent. We live with the rest of the world. If we want to act like kingly assholes by developing ever more destructive weapons without even the excuse of having to protect ourselves, mayhap it's time to embargo the US until it grows up.

[dcsmith @ May 1st 2007 1:27AM]

And btw, I didn't think it was cool, my only point is that the patent has already been implemented.

Found it:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5143698.stm

[Matt Hall @ Apr 30th 2007 7:31PM]

That would be pinging, which nearly makes those of us inside the sub go deaf. It screws with the whales ears, so they cant navigate as easily.

Active sonar is a lot like glacouma tests for the ears, but far more powerful.

This weapon sounds pretty awesome!

[Kamokazi @ Apr 30th 2007 8:53PM]

For all you 'environmentalists'....if you were in a submarine with a hundred other people...and there is a torpedo heading your way...can you really claim you'd rather have a hundred+ people dead than a few dead dolphins?


Sheesh, it's not like they're going to mount this on front of every ship and run it 24/7. I don't know exactly how many million km^2 the oceans are, but you'd have to fire off a hell of a lot of these to make any sort of remote impact.

[hank_sassafras @ Sep 22nd 2007 1:00PM]

Actually, in the grand scheme of our ecosystem, it may be better to lose a submarine of 100 humans in order to save blue whales that are on the brink of extinction. We have plenty of humans to replace the dead ones, not as many whales.
Of course whales aren't true patriots who give freedom to the world.

[Kamokazi @ Sep 29th 2007 3:08AM]

Wow you really dug up an old post of mine.

Maybe in the grand scheme of the ecosystem with the interest of preserving all species, I agree with you there. However, I would expect all humans to have the morality to value a fellow human's life over any single creature. (Could you really tell the family of a departed loved one that they died in place of a whale?) If blue whaled go extinct, yes, it would be tragic. But would their extinction cause humans to die? VERY unlikely (although the remote possibility remains). It's best to preserve the environment as much as we can, not only for preserving species simply for the sake of them continuing, but also because their loss may have an unforseen impact on the rest of the ecosystem, and possibly even humans.

And even if they do go extinct and we need them later, Captain Kirk will come back in time and get some :-)

[johnny b. good @ May 1st 2007 4:32AM]

It's good to see an American scrutinize these things. Unfortunately few people do even care.

[electrictroubadour @ May 1st 2007 6:48AM]

You can tell all that? From a drawing?
Seriously though, while I agree that it's unlikely the welfare of the environment figures highly on military agendas (and I agree that making ANOTHER weapon refutes the idea yet again that the collective intelligence of humans is in any way increasing), producing a weapon that spreads high energy shockwaves throughout the ocean is a bit energy inefficient. For it to work surely it would have to be very focussed and localised? It looks more like a way of having inexhaustible torpedo countermeasures. If somebody has fired a torpedo, then that torpedo will blow up, killing wildlife and confusing Right whales everywhere anyway. It's just probably better that it doesn't blow up near people.

[brian @ May 2nd 2007 1:32PM]

wrong patent link. here is the correct one

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=7,206,257.PN.&OS=PN/7,206,257&RS=PN/7,206,257

[Magallanes @ May 1st 2007 10:10AM]

Die Flipper, die!

[Mark @ May 1st 2007 1:57PM]

How do we know whales won't like this sound? For all we know it may be like Marvin Gaye music to them and will encourage whales to get it on and procreate in greater numbers.

"We're all sensitive creatures..."

[Meghan @ May 5th 2007 4:57PM]

Poor whales, when whales beach themselves it's mainly because of military sonar.