Boeing's War Toys
Posted Oct. 13 at 8:24 am by Rick AndersonBoeing today announced it has delivered to the military its 20,000th Combat Survivor Evader Locator - a secure communications system to aid the rescue of personnel from behind enemy lines, for example. It's one of an innovative array of weapons produced over the decades by what Boeing now calls its Integrated Defense Systems - a $32 billion war operation that - whenever the commercial divisions stumble - helps keep the books balanced.
Of all the Lazy B's weapons, the massive B-52 is one of the deadliest. Designed by Boeing in 1954 to drop N-bombs, it helped devastate Vietnam and, as the above breathless video shows, is used in war operations even today. It comes in at No. 8 in the Discovery Channel's Casey Kasem-like countdown of the Top Ten Weapons (although, oddly, there's no No. 4).
Other Boeing weapons also earn a rank or mention in the Top Ten, including the now-ubiquitous Boeing (nee McDonnell Douglas) JDAM bomb guidance system, which turns dumb (gravity) bombs into smart (target-able) bombs. The system helps limit collateral damage; the bombs kill all the same. Video host Mack Machowicz picks as his No. 1 weapon the Military Industrial Complex itself - at least, when it is "behaving responsibly."
Topics: Business
