Military invention

A military invention is an invention that was first created by a military. There are many inventions that were originally created by the military but are now used by civilians.

Military inventions

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Name	Date invented	Invented by	Original purpose	Civilian uses
Columbiad cannon	circa 1811	United States by George Bomford	Coastal defenses	Obsolete; Led to enhancements such as the Rodman Gun and modern breech loading guns
Aircraft tracking radar	mid-1930s	Royal Air Force	Early warning radar, air defence systems	Microwave oven, air traffic control systems
Walkie-talkie	1930s	Canada	Portable two-way radio communications system for military	Portable radio communications - business, military, public safety, marine communications, amateur radio, CB radio, outdoor recreation, toys
Night vision	1939 - 1940s	United States	Visibility for military personnel in low light situations	Low light photography, surveillance.
Ballistic missiles	1940s	Nazi Germany Soviet Union	Long range attack	Space exploration, launch of communication, weather and global positioning satellites
Nuclear technology	1940s	United States	Nuclear weapons, large scale destruction	Nuclear medicine, nuclear power
Jet engine	1940s	Royal Air Force Nazi Germany	Jet fighters, jet bombers	Airliners
Digital photography	1960s	United States Soviet Union	Spy satellites, eliminated the need to recover deorbited film canisters	Cameras
Internet	1960s[1]	United States	Reliable computer networking that is robust enough to survive nuclear attack	Led to the World Wide Web. Corporate websites, electronic commerce, e-mail, widespread availability of information, scientific and otherwise, forums, bulletin boards, social networking/blogging, collaborative encyclopaedias, media (sound, picture and video) sharing, peer-to-peer networking, widespread software distribution
GPS	1970s	United States Navy, United States Air Force Soviet Union	Nuclear weapons force multiplier, increased warhead accuracy through precise navigation	Navigation, personal tracking
Swedish Firesteel	2000s	Swedish Ministry of Defence Sweden	The Swedish Ministry of Defence needed something that could make a fire even in a extreme climate	Used to easily ignite a campfire regardless of weather

See also

• Military
• Civilian

References

1. ^ http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/08/090831-internet-40th-video-ap.html

2. Don-Hings-Walkie-Talkie-Development.PDF

3. [Hings]