They're ba-ack (tip to Instapundit):
The 107-country Outer Space Treaty signed in 1967 prohibits nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons from being placed in or used from Earth's orbit.
What they didn't count on was the US Air Force's most simple weapon ever: a tungsten rod that could hit a city with the explosive power of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
I recall discussions about how a small rod from God could take out the engine block of a truck and stop an invasion. Putting a nun or baby on the hood would take out that expensive way of knocking out a truck, no?
But as a strategic weapon, with an effect like a nuke an enemy will respond in kind. And if they can't, why wouldn't they use nukes if we are nuking them in all but name?
I would not be the first to put those in space.
On the other hand, I like this but never heard of it:
During the Vietnam War, the US used what it called "Lazy Dog" bombs. These were simply solid-steel pieces, less than 2 inches long, fitted with fins.
There was no explosive: They were simply dropped by the hundreds from planes flying above Vietnam.
Lazy Dog projectiles (aka "kinetic bombardment") could reach speeds of up to 500 mph as they fell to the ground and could penetrate 9 inches of concrete after being dropped from as little as 3,000 feet.
Shades of the precision concrete bombs we have dropped to destroy with kinetic energy while having no blast for collateral damage to nearby civilian targets.
How many of those "Dogs from God" would be dropped from a plane today? It seems like these would have a good effect like cluster bombs against infantry, supply units, or artillery/air defense assets without the dud problem that leaves unexploded bomblets around to be picked up by civilians, stepped on by friendly troops who enter the area, or disassembled by insurgents to make IEDs to use against us.
Are we missing an opportunity using a simple weapon with our focus on precision and technology?
