THE CRUSADE COSTS TOO LITTLE TO STOP WAGING IT:

Afghanistan Technology Surge: From Unmanned Helicopters to Laser Guns (Sharon Weinberger, 12/07/09, Sphere)

2) Laser blaster. In September, a Boeing-built laser mounted atop a combat vehicle zapped 50 improvised explosive devices in Pentagon-sponsored tests. Called the Avenger, the solid-state laser could be ready to send to Afghanistan within a year, a Boeing spokesman recently told UPI. As of now, however, there are no definitive plans to send the laser blaster to battle roadside bombs in Afghanistan. [...]

4) The stealth drone. The Air Force last week confirmed to Aviation Week & Space Technology that recent reports of a mystery drone in Kandahar were, in fact, correct. The unmanned aerial vehicle, called the RQ-170 Sentinel, is built by Lockheed Martin's secretive Skunk Works division. It's still unclear how many of the stealthy drones may be operating in Afghanistan or what precisely they are doing. "With its low-observable design, the aircraft could be useful for flying the borders of Iran and peering into China, India and Pakistan for useful data about missile tests and telemetry, as well as gathering signals and multi-spectral intelligence," Aviation Week reports.

5) Mini-robots. Thousands of iRobot's PackBot robots are already in Iraq and Afghanistan helping to defuse bombs. But now Boeing and iRobot have teamed up to build the Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle, or SUGV, which is expected to make its way soon to Afghanistan to serve as a reconnaissance scout that can alert troops to possible dangers ahead.