Airborne Laser Test A Success

[MKSheppard]

Hey, what if this weapons system gets used to defend Saudi-Arabia or Kuwait?

Mr. Maximumis Von Shroom, your logic is full of shit! You have to ship the oil out to be refined into jet fuel, and then ship it back! AFAIK there aren't that many refineries in the middle east -- witness Iran's perennial gasoline shortage.

SO HOW WILL YOU SUPPORT EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON IN SAUDI ARABIA? WILL YOU BUILD A KEROSENE REFINERY?!!!!?!?

[PeZook]

Clearly, the best weapon system on Earth is this:



100% oil-free, unless they use AK-74s (plastic magazines, man!)

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Clearly, the best weapon system on Earth is this:



100% oil-free, unless they use AK-74s (plastic magazines, man!)

You still need rifle oil to keep the barrels lubricated. Otherwise, the barrels wear out fast.

[PeZook]

You still need rifle oil to keep the barrels lubricated. Otherwise, the barrels wear out fast.

By the time they need to do maintenance on their rifles, the soldiers will already be expended as rounds of ammunition they are, so that's not a problem

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

You still need rifle oil to keep the barrels lubricated. Otherwise, the barrels wear out fast.

By the time they need to do maintenance on their rifles, the soldiers will already be expended as rounds of ammunition they are, so that's not a problem

Or their rifles would have jammed somewhere along the way, in which case, they'd be dead probably.

[PeZook]

Or their rifles would have jammed somewhere along the way, in which case, they'd be dead probably.

Uh...that's exactly what I meant. By the time their rifles jam, they're already dead, to be replaced with another warm body

[Shroom Man 777]

So, Shroomali mobs are the ultimate in next-generation weapon? Of course, these mobs would NOT have technicals because Toyota pickups with machineguns on them still use oil and this is a crucial design flaw when we're talking about combat in a hippotheticel Operation Middle Eastern/Arabian Freedom Storm! But this means that they are embargo proof! Khat will serve as an excellent force-multiplier, because it is oil free! And instead of technicals, they can have livestock - because in the Black Hawk Down book, the Shroomalians DID ride cows into battle!

[His Divine Shadow]

Sorry for the slight OT... but...

You still need rifle oil to keep the barrels lubricated. Otherwise, the barrels wear out fast.

...................what?

Please don't give out advice if you don't know what you are talking about, especially when doing what you say would be downright dangerous. Putting oil in your barrel can lead to pressure spikes which can lead to the barrel bulging and becoming useless/unsafe, or even worse, the barrel just going kaboom.

You don't need oil in a rifle barrel for lubrication purposes. You might use cotton swabs with oil when cleaning the barrel, which you then afterwards run through with unoiled cotton swabs, until they come out clean. Any oil in the barrel left will be microscopically thin and it's sole purpose is rust-prevention.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Sorry for the slight OT... but...

You still need rifle oil to keep the barrels lubricated. Otherwise, the barrels wear out fast.

...................what?

Please don't give out advice if you don't know what you are talking about, especially when doing what you say would be downright dangerous. Putting oil in your barrel can lead to pressure spikes which can lead to the barrel bulging and becoming useless/unsafe, or even worse, the barrel just going kaboom.

You don't need oil in a rifle barrel for lubrication purposes. You might use cotton swabs with oil when cleaning the barrel, which you then afterwards run through with unoiled cotton swabs, until they come out clean. Any oil in the barrel left will be microscopically thin and it's sole purpose is rust-prevention.

Erm... I might not have been precise, but that was what I kinda meant. And aren't there some moving parts in the system that need lubrication anyway? Especially the M16?

[Shroom Man 777]

Oh man. But the factory that manufactures the gun will still use fossil fuel power sources to provide energy for their conveyor belts and assembly lines, unless we are having cheapo Killyshnikovs manufactured at nuclear-powered factories!

[His Divine Shadow]

Erm... I might not have been precise, but that was what I kinda meant.

Thats pretty imprecise as you said for lubrication purposes which indicates you should keep the oil in the bore (Danger Will Robin-!).

The purpose of the oil is to dissolve and carry away particulate matter (i.e. fouling) from the bore during the cleaning session, for which you also should use a bronze brush or similar. Oil is actually a pretty substandard product for bore cleaning, it's mostly used on the outside of the rifle and other parts for rust prevention.

And aren't there some moving parts in the system that need lubrication anyway? Especially the M16?

Yes parts in the action that rub against each other should be lubricated (preferrably white lithium grease in a few spots), but the ammo and the bore should not. You don't want a lot of oil in the action of an M16, it'll make things worse by capturing crud in the action.

[Simon_Jester]

No, no, Shroomy, you use wood-fired steam engines to run the Kalashnikov plants... then the village blacksmith gets to maintain them! Fun for everyone! Seriously, though:

The point that deploying this system would be a good way to gain real-world experience is very valid. However, since it is not yet in production it seems to me that deployment can be delayed a year or two without any serious consequences. By contrast, if active acquisition programs (e.g. F-22, C-13) are terminated, they are virtually impossible to restart. Thus in a period where the defense budget is being squeezed, deploying ABL does not seem like a high priority.

I wish I had expressed my opinion here as well as you just did. Thank you.

ABL is nice, I think, but as you say we can probably afford to wait. Compared to other things that are getting cut because we've got the Gates DoD with recession pressure on top of it, or compared to the alarming rumbles about dropping the Constellation program in favor of new, not-yet-drafted rockets... this is small potatoes.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Thats pretty imprecise as you said for lubrication purposes which indicates you should keep the oil in the bore (Danger Will Robin-!).

The purpose of the oil is to dissolve and carry away particulate matter (i.e. fouling) from the bore during the cleaning session, for which you also should use a bronze brush or similar. Oil is actually a pretty substandard product for bore cleaning, it's mostly used on the outside of the rifle and other parts for rust prevention.

Apologies . My rifle cleaning drill is kinda fuzzy as it's been years since. I only vaguely remember that the rifle cleaning cloth had to be soaked in oil before cleaning, and it's as you say, to clean out the dust from the powder ignition etc. and to prevent rust. Typically, the barrel exterior and the loading chamber is dabbed in oil before storage in the armsqote room.

[[R_H]]

The "Tactical Garbage to Energy Refinery" ( , tactical) mentioned in the WaPo article MKSheppard and SirNitram linked to, does anyone happen to know what process it uses to convert the waste to fuel? There's also the coal to liquid process and the Fischer-Tropsch process. Sasol (in South Africa) uses coal and natural gas to produce most of the country's diesel.

The Nuclear Powered Fuel Depot wouldn't have a snow ball's chance in hell these days, right?

[Simon_Jester]

Probably not, not until/unless nuclear power becomes a bigger part of the developed world's power supply. If we get used to it in civilian life, using it for small-scale military operations will become more socially acceptable. Otherwise... no.

[MKSheppard]

And instead of technicals, they can have livestock - because in the Black Hawk Down book, the Shroomalians DID ride cows into battle!

And they can provide ABM by overrunning the enemy launch sites and silos with Shroomalian Objective Combat Swarms. MY GOD, ITS SO BRILLIANT!