[ Weaponry ]
A spy carries weapons mostly for self-defence. However it is not unheard of for secret agents to carry out assassinations, and they may require special tools for these purposes. Gun silencers were originally created for assassinations. They will also be issued with close combat weapons such as garrottes, coshes and knuckledusters.
Concealed Weapons
Surely the ultimate spy gadgets. Concealed weapons were developed mainly in order to give an agent who’d been detected some chance of escape. But later the KGB started developing assassination weapons that could kill silently and in ways not detectable at autopsy. These too would be concealed in unexpected ways. For a weapon to be successfully concealed, it needs to be built at a smaller than regular size, and this will affect functionality. A firing device hidden in a cigar may be activated by pulling a string rather than a trigger. Guns this small can fire one shot only, so they really are only for use in dire emergency. Weapons can be hidden inside a huge variety of everyday objects. Security services have concealed guns inside toothpaste tubes. cigarettes, pencils, and the KGB have even managed to carry out assassination by gas firing wallet and umbrella.
Explosives
Rarely an item used by a spy, but increasingly these are the kind of threats the spies are working to disrupt. There are several different types of explosive devices that spies come across:
Elecrto-magnetic weapons
Put simply, these are weapons that emit an intense electro-magnetic pulse which will short out electrical circuitry. Sending too strong a current through any electrical circuit will burn out components and destroy it. When an electromagnet pulse bomb is launched, a switch turns on the electrical current and creates a magnetic field - only then is the bomb detonated. The force of the explosion causes the magnetic field to compress, and it's then released as a short but intense burst of energy. This electrical energy is picked up by all the electric instruments in the area and will send more energy through them than they can handle, damaging them irrevocably. A great way to put a communications network out of service.
Bomb Disposal
Bomb disposal has come a long way in the last 30 years
Protection: The main problem with terrorist devices is that there is no way of knowing how the mechanism works, or what will trigger an explosion. This risk has lead to the development of remote control rob ots to investigate suspect items and enable deactivation from a distance. However operators still sometimes have to get in close to the threat, and so have special Explosive Ordinance Disposal Suits. These include helmets with in-built communications equipment
Detection: There are three main ways in which a bomb might be detected.
Deactivation: One of the quickest ways to deactivate a bomb is by blowing it up! But in order to do this in a controlled manner, this involves destroying the detonation device without affecting the explosive. Obviously this is best done from a safe distance! This can mean planting disrupters which are then activated from a distance
Concealed Weapons
Surely the ultimate spy gadgets. Concealed weapons were developed mainly in order to give an agent who’d been detected some chance of escape. But later the KGB started developing assassination weapons that could kill silently and in ways not detectable at autopsy. These too would be concealed in unexpected ways. For a weapon to be successfully concealed, it needs to be built at a smaller than regular size, and this will affect functionality. A firing device hidden in a cigar may be activated by pulling a string rather than a trigger. Guns this small can fire one shot only, so they really are only for use in dire emergency. Weapons can be hidden inside a huge variety of everyday objects. Security services have concealed guns inside toothpaste tubes. cigarettes, pencils, and the KGB have even managed to carry out assassination by gas firing wallet and umbrella.
Explosives
Rarely an item used by a spy, but increasingly these are the kind of threats the spies are working to disrupt. There are several different types of explosive devices that spies come across:
- C4 – Plastic Explosion: Like Semtex, the Czech equivalent, C4 is a remarkably stable explosive. It requires a detonator for use and has a soft , dough like texture, so it can be moulded into shape without risk of it blowing. However, if detonation is successful, this is a very powerful explosive, only requiring a tiny amount for a large explosion. In their purest form, plastic explosives are very difficult to detect. They are odourless and free from metal compounds that might be picked up by detectors. However they are also very strictly controlled to prevent them getting into the wrong hands. C4 is occasionally used in the civilian world, but primarily it's a military explosive. It certainly wouldn't be available for members of terrorist groups to buy
- Dirty Bombs: A dirty bomb contains radioactive material. Unlike a nuclear bomb this is not the cause of the explosion, its use is to cause radiation poisoning to the people and area around it. Neither the explosive nor the radio-active material is likely to be in a quantity large enough to kill anyone outright, but what it could do is increase the risk of cancer and other fatal diseases in people who are in the area of the explosion.
- Nerve Gases: VX and Sarin are the best known nerve agents, and the most deadly. They both work in a similar way, but VX is even more toxic than Sarin. They work by preventing the nerve cells from communicating with each other. Nerve cells use acetylcholine to send messages to one another. They rely on an enzyme called cholinesterase to allow them to pass acetylcholine to one another. Sarin and VX work as cholinesterase inhibitors, thereby preventing the communication process from taking place. In most cases death is caused when this process paralyses the muscles around the lungs, preventing the victim from breathing. There is an antidote, but it has to be administered incredibly fast. Just one drop of Sarin can kill in a couple of minutes, so there is very little time to take action.
Elecrto-magnetic weapons
Put simply, these are weapons that emit an intense electro-magnetic pulse which will short out electrical circuitry. Sending too strong a current through any electrical circuit will burn out components and destroy it. When an electromagnet pulse bomb is launched, a switch turns on the electrical current and creates a magnetic field - only then is the bomb detonated. The force of the explosion causes the magnetic field to compress, and it's then released as a short but intense burst of energy. This electrical energy is picked up by all the electric instruments in the area and will send more energy through them than they can handle, damaging them irrevocably. A great way to put a communications network out of service.
Bomb Disposal
Bomb disposal has come a long way in the last 30 years
Protection: The main problem with terrorist devices is that there is no way of knowing how the mechanism works, or what will trigger an explosion. This risk has lead to the development of remote control rob ots to investigate suspect items and enable deactivation from a distance. However operators still sometimes have to get in close to the threat, and so have special Explosive Ordinance Disposal Suits. These include helmets with in-built communications equipment
Detection: There are three main ways in which a bomb might be detected.
- A Clock Detector - uses microwaves to detect the presence of timing equipment.
- A Metal Detector - will point to the presence of any metal. More advanced models can be programmed to ignore common items such as paper clips
- Explosives Detectors - there are mechanical devices but it's more common to train dogs up to sniff out a huge variety of explosives and chemicals
Deactivation: One of the quickest ways to deactivate a bomb is by blowing it up! But in order to do this in a controlled manner, this involves destroying the detonation device without affecting the explosive. Obviously this is best done from a safe distance! This can mean planting disrupters which are then activated from a distance