Beemer
08-10-2009, 01:36 AM
India Working on a Chili (Hot Pepper) Grenade
India’s ‘Hottest’ New Weapons Powered by Chilli
By David Hambling | July 20, 2009 | 1:15 pm
India’s military is getting ready to deploy weapons-grade chillis for counter-insurgency and riot control. The Indian Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) is harnessing the super-hot bhut jolokia chilli pepper as an alternative to tear gas as a filling for grenades, Asia Times notes.
Chili-based weapons have been around for years — think “pepper spray” — and are gaining popularity in the U.S. The bhut jolokia could take the spicy arms up several notches; it is rated the hottest chili in the world.
The active ingredient in chillis is Oleoresin Capsicum (OC), a complex mixture of organic compounds. Aficionados rate the hotness of chills using the Scoville scale, which measures the amount of dilution needed before the heat is no longer detectable to a panel of tasters. Bell peppers have a rating of zero, Jalapenos can rate up to 8,000, and Habanero and scotch bonnets a blistering 100,000. The Jolokia rates just over a million on this scale. (Existing OC “pepper pray” weapons using the refined product go over two million Scoville units.)
Capsaicin is nature’s own chemical weapon, targeting specific vulnerable nerve cells and generating the feeling of severe burning — without actual damage. OC causes immediate inflammation of skin and mucous membranes: instantly, eyes shut and breathing becomes difficult. Couple that with the burning sensation, and you have one extremely unhappy camper.In the 1970’s researchers developed OC-based “pepper spray” as an alternative to existing riot control agents such as CS gas.
OC was little used until 1989, when a FBI study indicated that OC was safer than the alternatives. By 1992, over 2,000 police forces were using OC spray. There were, however, a number of deaths in custody and arguments about whether OC can kill have continued. Meanwhile researchers have developed a synthetic chemical with the same sort of effects as OC, known as pelargonic acid vanillylamide, or PAVA.
The big problem with sprays are their limited ranges. In response, there’s been a surge in weapons firing PepperBalls and similar projectiles, which resemble paintballs — but burst on impact, producing a cloud of disabling powder. PepperBall themselves market a range of weapons resembling paintball guns, as well as the four-shot SA-4 which combines impact with ten times as much pepper as a standard pepper ammo.
Other companies are producing weapons that look more like conventional firearms. Real Action Paintball Inc. recently launched a Black Bird pistol and RAP68 Tactical Paintball Shotgun. Both have variable muzzle velocity which can be set to less than 300 fett per second for paintball games, or higher for tactical uses. The pistol holds eight rounds and is claimed to be the most compact pistol of its kind, the pump-action shotgun carried eight rounds and closely resembles a regular shotgun.
This type of weaponry is not available to the military; pepper is classified as a chemical weapon. But celebrity bounty hunter Duane “Dog” Chapman, for one, is a fan. “What I’ve got will put a mule to his knees,” he told Fox News.The other problem is that the effects of OC and PAVA are essentially pain. Early (7-14 Watt) Tasers relied on a pain to stop their targets, until an embarrassing demonstration in 1995 showed that motivated individuals could fight off the effects; the latest generation produces “uncontrollable muscle contractions capable of incapacitating even the most focused and aggressive combatants,” according to Taser International.
In contrast, as this video of U.S. Marine training shows, recruits are expected to be tough enough keep fighting after being sprayed.
The Indian chilli grenade might work on some people, but trained Marines and others could probably eat it up ask ask for a side-order of naan
http://afpakwar.com/blog/2009/07/20/india-working-on-a-chili-hot-pepper-grenade/
India’s ‘Hottest’ New Weapons Powered by Chilli
By David Hambling | July 20, 2009 | 1:15 pm
India’s military is getting ready to deploy weapons-grade chillis for counter-insurgency and riot control. The Indian Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) is harnessing the super-hot bhut jolokia chilli pepper as an alternative to tear gas as a filling for grenades, Asia Times notes.
Chili-based weapons have been around for years — think “pepper spray” — and are gaining popularity in the U.S. The bhut jolokia could take the spicy arms up several notches; it is rated the hottest chili in the world.
The active ingredient in chillis is Oleoresin Capsicum (OC), a complex mixture of organic compounds. Aficionados rate the hotness of chills using the Scoville scale, which measures the amount of dilution needed before the heat is no longer detectable to a panel of tasters. Bell peppers have a rating of zero, Jalapenos can rate up to 8,000, and Habanero and scotch bonnets a blistering 100,000. The Jolokia rates just over a million on this scale. (Existing OC “pepper pray” weapons using the refined product go over two million Scoville units.)
Capsaicin is nature’s own chemical weapon, targeting specific vulnerable nerve cells and generating the feeling of severe burning — without actual damage. OC causes immediate inflammation of skin and mucous membranes: instantly, eyes shut and breathing becomes difficult. Couple that with the burning sensation, and you have one extremely unhappy camper.In the 1970’s researchers developed OC-based “pepper spray” as an alternative to existing riot control agents such as CS gas.
OC was little used until 1989, when a FBI study indicated that OC was safer than the alternatives. By 1992, over 2,000 police forces were using OC spray. There were, however, a number of deaths in custody and arguments about whether OC can kill have continued. Meanwhile researchers have developed a synthetic chemical with the same sort of effects as OC, known as pelargonic acid vanillylamide, or PAVA.
The big problem with sprays are their limited ranges. In response, there’s been a surge in weapons firing PepperBalls and similar projectiles, which resemble paintballs — but burst on impact, producing a cloud of disabling powder. PepperBall themselves market a range of weapons resembling paintball guns, as well as the four-shot SA-4 which combines impact with ten times as much pepper as a standard pepper ammo.
Other companies are producing weapons that look more like conventional firearms. Real Action Paintball Inc. recently launched a Black Bird pistol and RAP68 Tactical Paintball Shotgun. Both have variable muzzle velocity which can be set to less than 300 fett per second for paintball games, or higher for tactical uses. The pistol holds eight rounds and is claimed to be the most compact pistol of its kind, the pump-action shotgun carried eight rounds and closely resembles a regular shotgun.
This type of weaponry is not available to the military; pepper is classified as a chemical weapon. But celebrity bounty hunter Duane “Dog” Chapman, for one, is a fan. “What I’ve got will put a mule to his knees,” he told Fox News.The other problem is that the effects of OC and PAVA are essentially pain. Early (7-14 Watt) Tasers relied on a pain to stop their targets, until an embarrassing demonstration in 1995 showed that motivated individuals could fight off the effects; the latest generation produces “uncontrollable muscle contractions capable of incapacitating even the most focused and aggressive combatants,” according to Taser International.
In contrast, as this video of U.S. Marine training shows, recruits are expected to be tough enough keep fighting after being sprayed.
The Indian chilli grenade might work on some people, but trained Marines and others could probably eat it up ask ask for a side-order of naan
http://afpakwar.com/blog/2009/07/20/india-working-on-a-chili-hot-pepper-grenade/