TechMilitary

US Army Training Exercise Goes Horribly Wrong As It Starts Raining Humvees

Now that's what you call some extreme weather...
Open Image Modal
By 

Technology editor, HuffPost UK

Now here's something you don't see everyday.

A US Army training exercise involving the 173rd Airborne Brigade went horribly wrong this week when a routine supply drop of military humvees resulted in cars plummeting from the sky.

Captured in the astonishing video above you can see the supply planes passing overhead and the humvees start to fall out of the back.

While most have their parachutes deploy a few start to slip free of their restraints and hurtle to the ground.

The resulting explosion causes pure joy and a flurry of excited expletives from the bystanders as the humvees utterly disintegrate as they hit the ground.

Open Image Modal
U.S Army W.T.F! moments

While it's glorious to watch this is something of an expensive mishap for the US Army. Each humvee costs over $200,000, which should bring the total cost of that colossal screw up to around $600,000.

Science Fiction Weapons That Actually Exist
Invisible Death Ray(01 of06)
Open Image Modal
This is the US Military's Active Denial System, or ADS. It's a truck-mounted high-powered microwave weapon that when directed at a person or crowd can produce a severe burning sensation of the skin. The Pentagon worked on the system in the hopes of finding a non-lethal crowd control weapon that could replace the water cannon. It's non-radioactive, non-lethal and safe to use, however it has caused controversy over the effects it causes to the body.
Hypersonic Missile(02 of06)
Open Image Modal
The X-51A WaverRider is a terrifying response to America's increasing military commitments around the globe. Using a revolutionary scram jet engine, the missile is able to reach the hypersonic speed of Mach 5. Once trials are completed it will give the US Military a missile that can hit any target in the world from the US, within an hour.
Giant Laser Cannon(03 of06)
Open Image Modal
The laser cannon has arrived, no longer will it be relegated to SyFy TV shows and Star Wars. The US Navy's directed energy weapon fires a highly concentrated laser at incoming targets and is capable of destroying drones, small boats and missiles. While the laser is highly advanced the military designed it to be easy to use with game controllers being the main form of input.
Robot Soldiers(04 of06)
Open Image Modal
The QinetiQ MAARS or Modular Advanced Armed Robotic System, is essentially a small robot tank. It's a track-based robot that happens to contain a large machine gun, grenade launcher and a myriad of targeting sensors. While the weapons are controlled by a human, the robot has been designed for defence and patrol so it'll use in-built AI to help it follow troops or patrol a base.
Self-Aiming Rifle(05 of06)
Open Image Modal
The TrackingPoint XS1 poses a worrying question for the future of armed warfare. With a state-of-the-art connected scope, the holder simply tags the target and the gun's sensors work out distance, wind speed and elevation showing you exactly where you need to aim. Gone are the days of sharpshooters, replaced instead with scopes that'll work through Google Glass and help you fire through walls.
The Railgun(06 of06)
Open Image Modal
The railgun started life as a mythical weapon that often appeared in video games and sometimes showed its face in films (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen). Using electromagnets to hurl a metal slug at hypersonic speeds, this weapon is the future of artillery and small arms, and now the US Navy has one. Constructed by BAE Systems, the railgun prototype can fire a metal slug at over Mach 6 and at a target over 110 kilometres away.
Suggest a correction
|
Submit a tip