You gotta love the chutzpah of a company so controversial that they just go ahead and double down with a more aggressive product.
At Modern Day Marine yesterday, Ward and I strolled up to the Taser International booth and I saw this thing that looked like a cross between an electric switching station and a Claymore mine -- which is pretty much with this thing is...
Called the SHOCKWAVE, Taser has developed what it calls an "area denial" non-lethal weapon that features up to 18 shocker nodes that can go six-at-a-time or all at once. Standing up to 100 meters away, a trooper on overwatch can zap a bad guy and hold him there jittering on the ground until Joe's gone over to see why the intruder didn't have the proper password.
Taser reps tell DT that the system has been tested at full power on a pig who had no ill effects (I asked whether there was some residual BBQ from the test, but was rebuffed with a chuckle) and even a couple Taser employees stepped into the SHOCKWAVE's path for a go (a reminder: be in the office at 8:30am from now on, okay?).
No word yet on military use, but if the controversy over Taser effects continues, maybe we'll see F-22's dropping electro JDAMs soon.
-- Christian
