militaries, ally and enemy alike -- is a story of madcap engineering, oddball design, and loose definitions of "need" and "want." Think rocket launchers that shoot nukes, flying saucers and laser-blasting jets. Definitely laser-blasting jets.

We take a look at some of the crazier guns and vehicles to make it to the prototype stage, here and abroad. Sure, the admirals and generals say they're being practical. But we all know they can't resist a good WTF weapon.

Grenade-Shooting Robo-Scout

Imagine seeing this rolling through your cul-de-sac. In 1993, the Marines figured they needed an unmanned scout to gather intel in hostile territory. By 2005, Carnegie Mellon University got a $26 million contract to design the Gladiator tactical unmanned ground vehicle -- a tube-heavy remote-controlled robo-scout, tricked out with a grenade-launching system, smoke cover and chemical-weapons detection.

Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Defense

Authors: Spencer Ackerman

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