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Comment Re:1st (Score 1) 918

We don't consider WP a chemical weapon, but an obscurant smoke device, the Russians consider it and all smoke chemical weapons. Now I realise that WP has some pretty devistating effect on human flesh as does other flame weapons like napalm. Interestingly the obscurant power of WP is primarily in the visual light spectrum, and it is difficunt to handle because the white phosphure has a low melting point and if the rounds aren't kept upright they will become unballanced and fly erratically. For these reasons WP is being replaced with red phosphorus which is easier to handle and has better obscurant properties in the IR spectrum, WP was only being used on an existing stock basis when I retired back in 1997, I doubt there is any left that hasn't expired.

Comment Re:$20,000 hammer (Score 1) 301

Another point people don't realize is that it's expensive to price out each part of an end item, and most contracts have a specification that the total price of all the parts may not exceed a certain percentage of the total cost. This leads to the condition where the public outcry over a $5,000.00 hammer that will never be purchased separately is adjusted back to a more reasonable level is done, the cost of parts that will be purchased rise accordingly.

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