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    XM29 OICW

    XM29 OICW

    [ranking: 11]
    Standing for "Objective Individual Combat Weapon," the XM29 OICW was part of an endeavor to improve on existing combat devices. The machine looked like something out of a futuristic war videogame. In addition to having all the capabilities of a standard assault rifle, it included a semiautomatic six-round grenade launcher.
    The XM29 OICW could also be taken apart and used as two separate entities, if ever necessary on the battlefield. However, the main drawback was that it was extremely bulky and difficult to handle. Operations for XM29 OICW have since been shut down.

    Horten HO 229 'Bat'

    Horten HO 229 'Bat'

    [ranking: 1]
    No, that's not a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber - it's the German wonder weapon that inspired it. The "Bat" wasn't just incredibly fast and futuristic - it was the world's first purpose-built stealth aircraft. Most historians agree that the conflict could have gone very differently if the "Bat" had actually entered service earlier, not least of which because of its planned big brother.
    The "Amerikabomber" would have been capable of reaching New York or Washington from bases in Germany, slipping under our radar, dropping a few tons of explosive devices, and returning without refueling. The original "Bat," though, would have been more than sufficient to rain havoc all over Europe, Russia, and England with near impunity. 

    Boeing YAL-1

    Boeing YAL-1

    [ranking: 14]
    Dating back to the Reagan years, the Boeing YAL-1 was part of the Airborne Laser program. Billions were spent on the machine, which was meant to be a massive futuristic machine that could shoot down ballistic projectiles using lasers. However, the machine proved a failure for a variety of reasons.
    First, the lasers were not strong enough to shoot down enemy projectiles without orbiting dangerously close. Second, even if this could be corrected, the machine was extremely large. The army envisioned a fleet of Boeing YAL-1 aircrafts orbiting near enemy countries, but this would have been astronomically expensive. In the end, the Boeing YAL-1 became one of many that were too ineffective and expensive for the government to sustain. 

    2,000 M1 Abrams Tanks

    2,000 M1 Abrams Tanks

    [ranking: 15]
    America has a government program known as "The Military Industrial Complex," and that complex needs something to do whether the military needs it or not. Case in point, the Abrams tank, assembled in Lima, Ohio. After "contributing" $5.3 million to the re-election campaigns of House Armed Services Committee Member Hank Johnson (D-GA) and several other members of defense appropriation subcommittees, manufacturer General Dynamics got a $3 billion contract for 2,000 tanks that the Pentagon explicitly said it didn't need or want. Not just because it had enough tanks, either.
    The Abrams, with its flat bottom, has proven very vulnerable to the mines and IEDs typically employed in the middle east, essentially rendering these incredible tools utterly useless. The Pentagon literally would have been better off spending $3 billion on horses and muskets. So, now we've got 2,000 brand new, useless tanks sitting in the desert in the American West, and that great social welfare program known as the Military Industrial Complex rolls on another day. 

    Excalibur Space Laser

    Excalibur Space Laser

    [ranking: 2]
    Otherwise known as "the project that bankrupted the Soviet Union," this space laser was at the heart of the 1984 "Star Wars" program touted by Ronald Reagan. It harnesses the power of a small nuclear blast to create a concentrated dose of X-ray or infrared energy at the Earth. That might sound like a Doctor Evil doomsday device, but this laser was meant to prevent doomsday for the United States.
    It was designed as part of a projectile defense system and would have been used to shoot down incoming ICBMs while they were near orbit themselves. Technical problems, as well as the inability to target multiple warheads, kept this one from becoming a reality, but we could easily do it with modern technology. The air force is already working with airplane-mounted laser cannons to do exactly the same thing.

    Tsar Bomba Hydrogen Device

    Tsar Bomba Hydrogen Device

    [ranking: 10]
    How does one describe the most powerful man-made explosion in history - Russia's 50 megaton "Tsar Bomba"? All right, imagine a piece of the Sun about 2.2 miles in diameter suddenly appearing overhead. Now, imagine that 2-mile fusion fireball (itself bigger than the whole blast radius of "Little Boy") suddenly explodes, releasing all of its energy and simply vaporizing everything in a 20-mile radius. That's the entire city of London, turned into ash.
    Everything within 50 miles perishes within hours, and within 100 miles a couple of days later. The mushroom cloud could be seen from 100 miles away, and the fallout could spread from New York to Colorado. The Tsar Bomba was never so much a weapon as it was a statement to the West: Beware the power of Mother Russia.

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About Random Greatest Weapons That Never Saw Action

It's an exciting tool for displaying random greatest weapons that never saw action. We collected a list of "Random Greatest Weapons That Never Saw Action" from ranker, which was screened by countless online votes. You can view random greatest weapons that never saw action shows from this page, click on "Show all by ranking" button to show the complete list, or visit the original page for a more detailed introduction.

It doesn't matter how great in power some armaments seem on paper - sometimes, stuff just happens and even the most ingenious devices end up relegated to the White Elephant chapter of history. Often times, these devices and machinery that never saw action get caught up in a political quagmire, or show up in the wrong place at the wrong time, like when there's no conflict. 

Other times, in the greatest stroke of irony, some of the instruments and machines were just too great for their own good. Too big, too powerful, too expensive - or just too over-the-top to prove practical in battle. But no matter what ultimately kept them off of the field (including peace), it's hard for military hardware enthusiasts to not feel a little pang of regret at the idea of these machines winding up in mothballs.   

Vote up the most innovative armaments that never saw action below, and be sure to let us know what you think in the comment section. 

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