Mechanical engineering: weapons

mpopovic

Mechanical. Definetely.

CS Bence

I'm going to take a different angle on this thread...

When I was a freshman in Mechanical Engineering I wanted to design weapons systems as well. Then I started watching all the unedited video leaking out of Iraq and I changed my mind really quickly. Have you seen what a 30 caliber bullet does to a human? It shreads their skulls open like a pinata. A 2000 lbm JDAM (smart bomb) levels entire city blocks, killing women and children indiscriminately. My question for you is: Do you want this on your conscience? I decided that I couldn't live with myself if I made offensive for the US Military. Because even as noble as American ideals are and how much I love this country, war is hell and the American Government doesn't have a lot of restraint.

Before I give you tips I should ask what country you are in! If you are North Korean I'd say a liberal arts degree is best suited to design intercontinental ballistic missiles. ;)

Seriously though, I think Mechanical Engineering is the best path and focus on controls. Weapons of the future will be highly sophisticated in automation

xxChrisxx

Smart weapons, build smarter weapons and save innocent lives.

mpopovic

I'm a mechanical engineer, too, and I've worked for a few years with military aircraft. One of "my" airplanes was sold to Colombian Air Force, so that they could work better against the FARC. Although I agree with you when the subject comes down to Iraq, sometimes weapons are a real need.

Besides that, sometimes they're only a demonstration of power (let's say, I'm a big girl, quite strong and so, people don't bother me...) rather than something to be really used.

Have a nice weekend,

Milena

Kalrag

Thank you all for your answers and it is clear that I should take mechanical. And I see the world like this. If I have the biggest baddest weapon then nobody in their right mind is going to mess with me. So in a sence weapons create peace in the long run

Danger

I agree with you in principle. The tricky part is keeping said weapons out of the hands of the wrong people (ie: politicians). I lived through the years of the Cold War and "Mutually Assured Destruction". Can't say as I miss it much.

CS Bence

Same as what Danger said, I happen to agree with you too, even though the worlds only super power is currently locked in 2 wars... And our most high tech weapons aren't helping us defeat guerrillas.

mpopovic

Hm... Not really. You should ask Alvaro Uribe (former president of Colombia) about that. The FARC are not really peaceful and weapon are needed to deal with them.

CS Bence

Agreed. And we didn't stop Hitler with a sit in... But I'm not arguing that some people (such as the Taliban) need to be killed. My original point was that when you design a weapon, you hand it over to some 18 year old soldier, and he is told who to point it at by some politician in Washington. And I don't trust our politicians enough to give them the power of the weapons I design (an example: When I worked in the oilfields, one of my Pakistani co-workers' innocent friends was killed by a US Drone.) .

But you may not feel this way, and if not, then its all good. I just wanted to bring this thought up early in his career, because at some point you it will come, thats all...

mpopovic

I agree with you, that we should think about everything before running into weapons design, the only point that makes me disagree is when you say that weapons don't help us defeat guerrillas. That's why I came up with the Colombia example.

But I must confess, I'm not really fond of working on weapons design.

Freshtictac

You can start by reading books. Those actually have information in them. Secondly, as mentioned by others, governments train people specifically in the area's you described. I have had Aviation Ordinance Training with the United States Navy. The fields directly related to what you describe do not exactly require any engineering training. EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal) as seen in the movie HurtLocker is an intense training program with hundreds of different types of books containing just as many pages each. Otherwise you can continue to fabricate the weapons on video games that you seem to love.

spinnaz

Kalrag,

You can study Mechanical Engineering if you want but be aware that it will be extremely difficult for you to get a job designing weapons. You'll first need to graduate with very high marks and do your time either getting an advanced degree (Masters' or PhD) or working in non weapons related industry for 2+ years. Then you'll need to apply to work for a defense contractor such as Lockheed Martin or Raytheon, which are very competitive and take only the best of the best. Then once you're in, you'll have to somehow find your way to work on their current weapon's designs. Remember that a failed security clearance at any point will disqualify you. Also keep in mind that you won't be actually contributing significantly to the design until you have years and years of experience in the company-- something like 15 or more.

Freshtictac

The military offers a wide variety of programs, some of which are engineering related.

TERR0RBYTE

I have designed and built a coilgun and rail gun for fun in the past, but if your serious about designing weapons you need to ask yourself some deep questions. (plus watch the film ironman:) )

creepypasta13

I also am interested in this thread

In terms of just the science, I'm more interested in the theoretical physics as opposed to aerodynamics and engineering, since I don't like stuff like manufacturing, structures, CAD, etc. But from what I've seen of physics guys working on weapons, they just do stuff like sensors, algorithms, radar, etc. I'm more interested in the actual rockets, missiles, UAVs, lasers, etc.

Since I want to do the computational aspect, not experimental, then CFD seems like a good fit. I already have a BS in physics, so if I want to do research in the areas I mentioned earlier, would I need a phD in aerospace engineering? Or could I do something like CFD if I get a phD in computational physics, like plasma or nuclear?

What do EEs do? Stuff like lasers, sensors, signal processing, etc, right?

Kalrag

Then if mechanical engineering isnt the way then what type of engineering do I need to go in to make weapons.

xxChrisxx

Well none would be the answer.

You don't become a 'weapons designer', the world just doesn't work like that. I think you have a totally unrealistic expectation as to how the engineering world works. I realise you are young, but it's better to set your ideas straight now that in the future.

What do you imagine a weapons designer does? (and don't say designs weapons, as thats obvious). IE What do you expect to do on the job?