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CNN) -- The Chinese air force has a new secret weapon: monkeys.
The People's Liberation Army Air Force has trained macaques to keep its troops safe by discouraging birds from nesting near the air force base, the PLA's website reported earlier this week.
The monkeys are used in an unidentified air force base in northern China, which is situated right on a major migratory route for birds.
Inside Chinese military aviation museum Global policy issues plague Obama's trip
When swarms of birds fly around the base, it poses a threat to military planes that are in mid-flight. The birds could potentially get sucked into plane engines, endangering the lives of both birds and pilots.
"Don't worry, we now have a secret weapon!" Su Chuang, a high-ranking officer, was quoted as saying on the PLA website. The officer was referring to the specially-trained monkeys that answer to the sound of a whistle.
When the nests of birds are discovered in tree tops, the monkey army is deployed to remove them.
The PLA have tried many different methods to remove the nests in the past, including opening fire on the nests, using long bamboo poles to topple them out of trees, and having soldiers climb the trees to pick them out.
None of these methods were very effective. Apart from being time-consuming and dangerous for the officers who had to climb the trees, the birds kept coming back.
However, when monkeys remove the nests, the birds do not return, as the macaques leave a scent on the branches that discourage the birds, according to the PLA's web posting.
"The monkeys are loyal bodyguards who defend the safety of our comrades," said the web report.
A rather clever solution, actually. But what will happen when the monkeys take over?
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Pfft, just drop a tactical payload of bananas on the runways.
Self-proclaimed evil Cat-person. Dues Ex Felines
Cato Sicarius, after force feeding Captain Ventris a copy of the Codex Astartes for having the audacity to play Deathwatch, chokes to death on his own D-baggery after finding Calgar assembling his new Eldar army.
I take offense at the journalism! Endangering the lives of both birds and pilots? endangering? If a bird goes in a jet engine that bird is toast perhaps even with a side order of PLA pilot not endangered!
Journalists
M.
Jenkins: You don't have jurisdiction here!
Smith Jamison: We aren't here, which means when we open up on you and shred your bodies with automatic fire then this will never have happened.
About the Clans: "Those brief outbursts of sense can't hold back the wave of sibko bred, over hormoned sociopaths that they crank out though."
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Miguelsan wrote: I take offense at the journalism! Endangering the lives of both birds and pilots? endangering? If a bird goes in a jet engine that bird is toast perhaps even with a side order of PLA pilot not endangered!
Journalists
M.
Actually, Birds can cause very serious damage to jet engines.
Remember it was a bird that downed the plane that was forced to do a water landing in the Hudson a few years ago.
Even a relatively small bird can disable the engines of any sized aircraft, and if its in the middle of a delicate procedure like landing or taking off you'd very easily have a dead pilot.
Self-proclaimed evil Cat-person. Dues Ex Felines
Cato Sicarius, after force feeding Captain Ventris a copy of the Codex Astartes for having the audacity to play Deathwatch, chokes to death on his own D-baggery after finding Calgar assembling his new Eldar army.
Thought for the day: Hope is the first step on the road to disappointment.
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1500 pts
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Well what do people expect? The Chinese have used monkeys in their military for a very long time.
During the song dynasty they covered a monkeys in straw and oil and set them on fire in enemy camps.
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How do you sneak a straw and oil covered monkey into the enemy camp without totally exposing yourrself?
Self-proclaimed evil Cat-person. Dues Ex Felines
Cato Sicarius, after force feeding Captain Ventris a copy of the Codex Astartes for having the audacity to play Deathwatch, chokes to death on his own D-baggery after finding Calgar assembling his new Eldar army.
Grey Templar wrote: How do you sneak a straw and oil covered monkey into the enemy camp without totally exposing yourrself?
eh probably have it Gagged then you light it on fire near the perimeter. As it runs burning into the enemy camp it should catch alot of tents on fire and just cause chaos.
"I LIEK CHOCOLATE MILK" - Batman
"It exist because it needs to. Because its not the tank the imperium deserve but the one it needs right now . So it wont complain because it can take it. Because they're not our normal tank. It is a silent guardian, a watchful protector . A leman russ!" - Ilove40k
3k
2k
/ 1k
1k
Ninjacommando wrote: Well what do people expect? The Chinese have used monkeys in their military for a very long time.
During the song dynasty they covered a monkeys in straw and oil and set them on fire in enemy camps.
I...what? Seriously?
Supposedly, they were used by and against rebels during the Southern Song Dynasty.
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Miguelsan wrote: I take offense at the journalism! Endangering the lives of both birds and pilots? endangering? If a bird goes in a jet engine that bird is toast perhaps even with a side order of PLA pilot not endangered!
Journalists
M.
Actually, Birds can cause very serious damage to jet engines.
Remember it was a bird that downed the plane that was forced to do a water landing in the Hudson a few years ago.
Even a relatively small bird can disable the engines of any sized aircraft, and if its in the middle of a delicate procedure like landing or taking off you'd very easily have a dead pilot.
Oh I know well enough. I've been around planes all my life, a bird strike is serious bussiness but in an article talking about military jets I don't know pilots crazy enough to stay inside the plane when the engine blades start making funny noises after eating a bird. So I stand by my words that the choice of words ( ) it's wrong. Birds going inside a jet engine for a look are minced meat not endangering themselves.
M.
Jenkins: You don't have jurisdiction here!
Smith Jamison: We aren't here, which means when we open up on you and shred your bodies with automatic fire then this will never have happened.
About the Clans: "Those brief outbursts of sense can't hold back the wave of sibko bred, over hormoned sociopaths that they crank out though."
Ninjacommando wrote: Well what do people expect? The Chinese have used monkeys in their military for a very long time.
During the song dynasty they covered a monkeys in straw and oil and set them on fire in enemy camps.
I...what? Seriously?
When the Romans would fight against armies that employed elephants, they would use pigs to spook them. The Greeks (I think?) took it a step further and slathered the pigs in pitch first, then lit them up and the burning, screaming pigs would make the elephants stampede in retreat.
In keeping with that fine tradition, we had Project X-Ray, in which we strapped tiny incendiary bombs to bats and planned to drop them on Japan, as it was thought they would roost and cause enormous infrastructure damage.
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Flinty wrote: The benefit of slate is that its.actually a.rock with rock like properties. The downside is that it's a rock
Miguelsan wrote: I take offense at the journalism! Endangering the lives of both birds and pilots? endangering? If a bird goes in a jet engine that bird is toast perhaps even with a side order of PLA pilot not endangered!
Journalists
M.
Actually, Birds can cause very serious damage to jet engines.
Remember it was a bird that downed the plane that was forced to do a water landing in the Hudson a few years ago.
Even a relatively small bird can disable the engines of any sized aircraft, and if its in the middle of a delicate procedure like landing or taking off you'd very easily have a dead pilot.
True story. If this works, we should implement it around commercial airports.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/05/13 04:53:55
Ninjacommando wrote: Well what do people expect? The Chinese have used monkeys in their military for a very long time.
During the song dynasty they covered a monkeys in straw and oil and set them on fire in enemy camps.
I...what? Seriously?
When the Romans would fight against armies that employed elephants, they would use pigs to spook them. The Greeks (I think?) took it a step further and slathered the pigs in pitch first, then lit them up and the burning, screaming pigs would make the elephants stampede in retreat.
In keeping with that fine tradition, we had Project X-Ray, in which we strapped tiny incendiary bombs to bats and planned to drop them on Japan, as it was thought they would roost and cause enormous infrastructure damage.
As I recall, the Bat Bombs were actually quite successful in testing. However the war was ended before they could be deployed. And Japan's major targets had largely been leveled.
Self-proclaimed evil Cat-person. Dues Ex Felines
Cato Sicarius, after force feeding Captain Ventris a copy of the Codex Astartes for having the audacity to play Deathwatch, chokes to death on his own D-baggery after finding Calgar assembling his new Eldar army.
I think that it might have been a better route to have gone with over what we did instead. Tons of devastation but I imagine substantially less fatalities.
Also, I really like fire, so I'm a little predisposed to like the idea.
lord_blackfang wrote: Respect to the guy who subscribed just to post a massive ASCII dong in the chat and immediately get banned.
Flinty wrote: The benefit of slate is that its.actually a.rock with rock like properties. The downside is that it's a rock
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Hardly, a very large number of fires starting in the middle of the night with no warning and spreading quickly would cause far more fatalities than any normal bomb.
The Atom bomb actually saved lives. It prevented a drawn out conventional air war and eventual invasion, and what would have turned out to be the systematic annihilation of most of the inhabitants of Japan because they would have fought to the death or committed mass suicide. Only a tiny fraction of the population would have surrendered in the event of a conventional war.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/05/13 05:08:15
Self-proclaimed evil Cat-person. Dues Ex Felines
Cato Sicarius, after force feeding Captain Ventris a copy of the Codex Astartes for having the audacity to play Deathwatch, chokes to death on his own D-baggery after finding Calgar assembling his new Eldar army.
Well, was presuming the timers would be set to go off in the daytime, after the bats were roosting. If they went off at night, the bats might be flying around, right?
I didn't, by the way, say we shouldn't have dropped the bomb. I'm a little torn on whether or not we needed the second one, but... well, anyway.
lord_blackfang wrote: Respect to the guy who subscribed just to post a massive ASCII dong in the chat and immediately get banned.
Flinty wrote: The benefit of slate is that its.actually a.rock with rock like properties. The downside is that it's a rock
Waiting for my shill money from Spiral Arm Studios
As I recall, it worked because the bats were cold from their plane trip(a trick to keep them dormant) and thus they would try to find a roost to warm up. Then the bomb would explode. and set fire to the building the bat took shelter in.
And even if dropped in the day, the bats would hardly draw much attention. Especially when you also had conventional bombs dropping elsewhere so that areas that weren't being hit would seem safe.
And the second bomb was necessary. 1) It snapped the Japanese out of disbelief, they didn't believe the initial reports that Hiroshima was gone. "Gone? What do you mean its gone?" 2) it gave a, semi-false, impression that we were literally going to obliterate Japan from the air till there was nothing left and it was going to happen immediately. Otherwise they might have thought we only had the one. Nothing at the time would have withstood an Atomic bomb, as opposed to conventional explosives which could be built against. And it wouldn't be an honorable glorious last stand, it would have been an impersonal slow agonizing defeat with no glory as demanded by Bushido.
Self-proclaimed evil Cat-person. Dues Ex Felines
Cato Sicarius, after force feeding Captain Ventris a copy of the Codex Astartes for having the audacity to play Deathwatch, chokes to death on his own D-baggery after finding Calgar assembling his new Eldar army.
hotsauceman1 wrote: It is all fun and games, until they start throwing Feces.
Nerve gas infused feces a WMD!
As I recall, it worked because the bats were cold from their plane trip(a trick to keep them dormant) and thus they would try to find a roost to warm up. Then the bomb would explode. and set fire to the building the bat took shelter in.
And even if dropped in the day, the bats would hardly draw much attention. Especially when you also had conventional bombs dropping elsewhere so that areas that weren't being hit would seem safe.
And the second bomb was necessary. 1) It snapped the Japanese out of disbelief, they didn't believe the initial reports that Hiroshima was gone. "Gone? What do you mean its gone?" 2) it gave a, semi-false, impression that we were literally going to obliterate Japan from the air till there was nothing left and it was going to happen immediately. Otherwise they might have thought we only had the one. Nothing at the time would have withstood an Atomic bomb, as opposed to conventional explosives which could be built against. And it wouldn't be an honorable glorious last stand, it would have been an impersonal slow agonizing defeat with no glory as demanded by Bushido.
The bat bomb was so successful that they blew up up their own testing base.
And IMHO the atomic bomb was just a show of force, during that time generals were less worried about casualties, it is propaganda IMHO.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/05/13 08:13:10
Miguelsan wrote: I take offense at the journalism! Endangering the lives of both birds and pilots? endangering? If a bird goes in a jet engine that bird is toast perhaps even with a side order of PLA pilot not endangered!
Journalists
M.
Actually, Birds can cause very serious damage to jet engines.
Remember it was a bird that downed the plane that was forced to do a water landing in the Hudson a few years ago.
Even a relatively small bird can disable the engines of any sized aircraft, and if its in the middle of a delicate procedure like landing or taking off you'd very easily have a dead pilot.
True story. If this works, we should implement it around commercial airports.
Spanish airports use hawks to discourage birds from nesting.
M.
Jenkins: You don't have jurisdiction here!
Smith Jamison: We aren't here, which means when we open up on you and shred your bodies with automatic fire then this will never have happened.
About the Clans: "Those brief outbursts of sense can't hold back the wave of sibko bred, over hormoned sociopaths that they crank out though."