grenade

Grenade-tossing goodness

Fragger takes the concept of hit-game Angry Birds and adds a special-ops spin by instead having you toss grenades into structures that house enemy soldiers. Even with its similarity to the Angry Birds game mechanic, Fragger manages to offer enough variation in levels and enough of a graphical detachment from the popular game to make it both fun and addictive.

What separates Fragger from Angry Birds is the need to make highly precise shots in certain situations. Sometimes you'll need to bank grenades off of walls to drop them into a bunker, while other times the grenade will serve … Read more

New grenade launcher may work better at night

Ever since the Vietnam War, the U.S. Army has been trying to field a grenade launcher that duplicates the accuracy of that mythical grenadier and his M79 so compelling portrayed in Francis Ford Coppela's movie "Apocalypse Now."

The M320 40mm Grenade Launcher Module issued to the 82nd Airborne Division recently may do the trick. Specs for the M320 called for something more reliable, more ergonomic, more accurate, and safer than the so-so M203 launcher troops have been using for more than four decades. Heckler and Koch, who was awarded the contract, delivered a parcel of clever, … Read more

Sandia's second crack at fuel-air stun grenade

It took 20 years, but here it is--again: the new and improved flash-bang grenade.

Sandia National Laboratories, which created the original Mk 141 flash-bang two decades ago, is having a second go at marketing a "fuel air" version of an old SWAT standby that it says is far safer for law enforcement and the military.

Traditional flash-bangs are basically big fire crackers--the "flash powder," a mixture of aluminum and potassium perchlorate dust, explodes quickly when ignited and produces an intensely bright light along with its huge bang. The body or canister is generally a steel tube … Read more

Digital scope looks like lethal weapon

Good grief, look at this thing. It looks like a shoulder-mounted Stinger missile launcher.

Brookstone's portable VistaPix IS70 Digital Spotting Scope is a combination camera-telescope with a 70mm lens, 2-inch LCD screen and 3-megapixel resolution that promises to magnify images up to 14 times. But be careful where you point this handheld monster. In today's security-obsessed society, police may shoot first and ask questions later.

MP3 helmet: Music to crash by

Swimmers aren't the only ones who need head-mounted MP3 players. Terrestrial adventurers who also could use some audio inspiration can now turn to Shred Ready's Freestyle Audio helmet player with earflap speakers, which Red Ferret says would be ideal for "submerging, crashing, bashing and all things energetic." But for $200, we thought they could do a little better with the headgear's design, which looks like a cross between a London bobby helmet and standard issue for World War II paratroopers. Then again, that may be the appropriate fashion for playing tank paintball.