What if someone tells you that the name of India’s IT capital is also applicable to a weapon? Sounds improbable, but defence experts would tell you that “Bangalore” is the colloquial name for Bangalore Torpedo, an explosive charge fixed at the end of a long, extendable tube used to clear obstacles that cannot be approached directly.
“Bangalore Blade” is the latest version of this weapon developed originally by Capt McClintock of the British Army in Bangalore in 1912 — hence its name — and it is among some of the deadliest and most efficient weaponry under different stages of development in various parts of the world.
This and a number of other hi-tech weapons will form the core of Discovery Channel’s new 13-episode series called “Future Weapons”, beginning on June 25, channel officials said.
Bangalore Blade, made of lightweight aluminum and using “shaped-charge” technology to clear obstacles which the original Bangalore would not have been able to break through, blasted five metres of a concertina wire fence and created a trench deep enough to detonate most nearby anti-personnel mines during a test for the TV show.  But if this is a weapon of the future, wait till you hear about Dragon Skin, reportedly the world’s most-effective body armour whose design mimics the interlocking scales of a reptile or a fish.
Then there are mine destroyers Vulcan and Aardvark, wall-breaching device Gatecrasher, F22 Raptor fast attack stealth plane, the almost-invisible-to-radar Block 30 version of B2 Stealth bomber, the USS Texas Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarine and many others that will be showcased in the series.
“The series is about the secret world of weapons development, tracking down the most lethal and sinister weapons yet developed, looking into the science and technology that go into developing them,” says Discovery Networks India associate director (marketing & communications) Rajiv Bakshi.
The series has episodes depending on the category of the weaponry under focus. Thus if “Massive Attack” explores lethal weapons like the Abrams M1A2 battle-tank and the world’s most-powerful bunker buster MOP, “Close Quarter Combat” showcases weapons made for urban combat, particularly those likely to the used in anti-terrorist operations.