’Rods from God’ Weapon System Gets Another Look

Dropping the atomic bombs that essentially forced Japan to end World War II led to a number of weapons and munitions developments. Amongst them was research into the use of a kinetic energy projectile, or basically finding ways to project a really dense piece of metal at ridiculous speeds. This would lead to damage, but without the explosive effects – similar to the Navy’s work with an electromagnetic railgun. However, earlier iterations didn’t focus on generating the velocity. Rather, basic physics could come into play by dropping it from really high in the sky. So, imagine a 2,000-pound tungsten rod dropped from 1,000 miles above the earth. Unlike a bullet, it would actually gain speed as it dropped, eventually hitting its target with power equivalent to an intercontinental ballistic missile, but without the mess of a nuclear weapon. The U.S. actually used a variation of this tactic in Vietnam. These Lazy Dog bombs were small pieces of non-explosive steel fitted with fins. They were dropped by the hund