'Sonic weapon' deployed in London during Olympics

[Chippiewill]

The Ministry of Defence has confirmed a device which can be used as a "sonic weapon" will be deployed in London during the Olympics.

The American-made Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) can be used to send verbal warnings over a long distance or emit a beam of pain-inducing tones.

The equipment was spotted fixed to a landing craft on the Thames at Westminster this week.

An MoD spokesman said it would be used "primarily in the loud hailer mode".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-18042528

I'm not entirely sure whether I should be outraged and screaming about how this shouldn't be legal or really interested in how cool of a weapon this is. It's like those two things in the 2008 Hulk Film which pinned down the Hulk.

[-:Undertaker:-]

The Olympics become more and more of a tasteless farce as they go on. A crashed roller coaster tower, ugly buildings which will serve no purpose after two weeks, politicians having already congested roads closed and the MoD keeping us peasants safe with laser beams and rockets in a show of blantant public propaganda.

Thank goodness for the Diamond Jubilee is all I can say.

[Chippiewill]

politicians having already congested roads closed

They don't really get the meaning of logistics do they?

the MoD keeping us peasants safe with laser beams and rockets in a show of blantant public propaganda.

It's ok as long as they're only used on protesters terrorists there isn't a problem.

Thank goodness for the Diamond Jubilee is all I can say.

I can't wait for the Jubilympics either.

[xxMATTGxx]

Gives the armed forces some extra training

[Recursion]

Super cool 'weapon'... not sure on the intended use... lol

The Olympics become more and more of a tasteless farce as they go on. A crashed roller coaster tower, ugly buildings which will serve no purpose after two weeks, politicians having already congested roads closed and the MoD keeping us peasants safe with laser beams and rockets in a show of blantant public propaganda.

Thank goodness for the Diamond Jubilee is all I can say.

Bloody hell, something we agree on.

They really should have spread the Olympic village and events around the country, it would have encouraged growth massively outside of London, improved general transport (our train service sucks ass nowadays) and all manner of other things.

[Chippiewill]

They really should have spread the Olympic village and events around the country, it would have encouraged growth massively outside of London, improved general transport (our train service sucks ass nowadays) and all manner of other things.

The problem is that the olympics are tied to a city not a country, they actually have spread some of the events out into the country side though.

[lawrawrrr]

Only very few events actually take place in London though, so many are around the country. Yeah the stadium and stuff's there, but that's the case for any city that hosts it.

It's a very cool weapon IMO. I can't decide exactly how necessary it is though - I suppose it's cheaper than training all the police. Which they should be doing anyway. -.-

[Lee]

I've read about the LRAD before, and to be honest it probably will only be used to transmit messages to crowds. If things really do get out of hand though...

[Niall!]

Here are some videos of it in action

[Mathew]

So they can transmit verbal messages up to a distance of 1.8 miles. That's pretty impressive, providing it's used for the right reasons. No doubt people would take to the streets if it was used wrongly.. that seems to be the done thing these days.. :rolleyes:.