Smart weapons

Kill switches and safety catches

Arms control: New technologies make it easier to track small arms and stop them working under certain circumstances. To what extent can they prevent the unintended or undesirable use of weapons?

Technological tweaks may be able to make possible weapons that stop working after a certain period of time, or can only be used by specific people or in particular places. Proponents of such technologies believe they have the potential to succeed where political and legislative attempts at arms control have failed. In the 1980s, America’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) gave Afghan fighters shoulder-launched Stinger anti-aircraft missiles (pictured).

via Smart weapons: Kill switches and safety catches | The Economist.